Topic: Memorandum 2

Topic: Memorandum 2

Order Description

Please read and review attached File before reading this assignment and write the memorandum according to the instructions given below..

We are continuing with the scenario from Assignment 1. Your boss, Rose Riveter, the state Secretary of Labor, has asked you for a second memorandum and briefing, this time on the topic of performance
measurement. She is interested in making changes in the organization, operations, and policies of the labor cabinet, and is aware (thanks in part to your previous memorandum) of the many accountability demands placed on her and the cabinet.
As you know, the Secretary was recruited from the private sector and she knows that performance measurement is widely used in businesses and she has heard that it has been used with some success in
government. (In her immediate experience as a partner in a law firm, her performance was principally measured in terms of billable hours for herself and associates, new business she brought into the firm,
and case outcomes.) Moreover, the Governor has made it clear that she wants to show that her administration is frugal with public funds, that she is working to ensure that the citizens get one dollar of service for each dollar spent without waste and corruption, and the Secretary believes that performance measurement can help back up this claim, or at least manage performance until the claim can be backed up. The Secretary has observed in her discussions with department heads that they have a variety of
measures that they use to assess agency performance, that the measures are largely informal, and which measures they refer to depends on to whom they are talking. (For example, the legislative committees on ways and means and the committees on labor ask for different information reflecting
the varied priorities and perspectives of the committee chairs, the Governor’s office asks for different information, and various other stakeholders like businesses and unions ask for yet other information.)
The Secretary has asked you write a memorandum the topic of “public sector performance measurement” which will be followed up with a briefing when it can be scheduled.
Your assignment is to write a memorandum to the Secretary outlining for her some important public sector performance measurement concepts –what she needs to know right now to help make a decision
about whether and how to implement performance measurement in the cabinet. If you want to use a concrete example in your communication to her, consider the Division of Industrial Accidents Prevention
and Reporting which is her first candidate for performance measurement.

Your memorandum is not to exceed three pages (using 1-inch margins, 12 point type, single-spaced and numbered pages). So you do not spend a lot of time worrying about format, use the format I suggested
that you use for your first memorandum

MEMORANDUM 1
TO: Rose Riveter, Secretary of labor
From:
Date:
Subject:

Accountability is the act of taking complete responsibility of one’s actions. Public accountability on the other hand is the means by which public officials who are entrusted with public resources are answerable for the managerial program, fiscal responsibilities that have been delegated to them, and have the obligation of reporting to their superiors. It is simply the act of public administrators being held accountable by both the state and the citizens for their actions. Public administrators are entrusted with a lot of public resources thus the need to ensure accountability. Public accountability is both a goal and an instrument. As a goal, public officials should always aim at ensuring their accountability and the accountability of the organization they are running in general. As an instrument, public accountability can be used successfully to ensure effective and efficient use of public resources. The issue of accountability is therefore very important when it comes to the aspect of governance. Governance is a very crucial aspect in the public sector. This is because proper utilization of public resources can only be achieved through good governance. To ensure good governance, it is very important to consider all the four basic elements of governance, which include: accountability, predictability, participation and transparency. Accountability is thus a critical aspect of good governance. To provide good governance, there must be accountability of the public administrators. The main role of public accountability is ensuring democracy and transparency by responding to the concerns of the citizens. Two important aspects thus bind accountability: trustworthiness and transparency. Public accountability is also used to critically evaluate and compare the efficiency and effectiveness of different public agencies.

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Public accountability can be broadly classified into two groups, internal accountability and external accountability. Internal accountability is exercised within the organization and is mostly done by the superior administrator over the subordinates. Accountability is always exercised within the chain of hierarchy among the organization’s employees. On the other hand, the external bodies such as the judiciary and legislative usually exercise external accountability. As much as external accountability is out of the organization’s control, it must always be exercised within the constitutional framework of the state.

Conceptions of public accountability

Transparency- Accountability requires total transparency in all public offices. Public administrators are expected to show transparency at all times; they should reveal all the facts and information pertaining the use and availability of resources in the public office. The public should be availed with all the information regarding the regulations, rules and the decisions made by the administrator while in office. Transparency is very crucial especially when it comes to budget allocation. The administrator should give a clear description of how all the public resources in his authority will be utilized.

Liability- Accountability can only be ensured if there is proper liability of one’s actions. Public administrators must be ready to face the consequences of their performance.  Measures have to be put in place to make sure that public administrators are held accountable for all their actions. If a public administrator behaves in an unreasonable manner then he is bound to face the severe consequences of his actions.

Controllability- Public administrators must at all times act in accordance with the desires of their superiors. Accountability implies that the public administrator should always follow all the orders given by those in a higher authority than him or her. Controllability also involves making sure that all the work is done in the specified manner and within the scheduled time.

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Responsibility- Responsibility entails following all the rules and regulations in an agency. The rules and regulations are usually put in place to ensure accountability of the public administrator. Public administrators have the obligation of providing all the necessary information and justification to a higher authority.

Responsiveness- Responsiveness is ensuring that all the expectations are met.  Every organization has a set of goals and objectives that employees are expected to achieve and the public sector is not an exception. Public administrators are expected to meet certain goals as specified by the state authority and their job description.

Principles of public accountability

Clear definition of roles – Accountable to whom? All public administrators should have a clear understanding of their roles and their inter-relationship with their team. Public administrators have accountability responsibility where they are expected to be accountable to a senior authority while at the same time they expect a subordinate to be accountable to them. Administrators thus can only exercise their accountability functions if they vividly understand who they need to be accountable to and also for what reasons. A public administrator should be in a position to clearly explain to his juniors their responsibilities and also evaluate their duties. A public administrator must be held accountable and be answerable to the superior authority as much as subordinates must be accountable and answerable to him.

Well-defined objectives – Accountable for what? Objectives define the role of the organization and its responsibilities to the public. It explains what is expected of the administrator from the public and the superior authorities. This gives the administrator an insight of what needs to be achieved. Well-defined objectives determine the critical activities that must be carried out and how the activities will be organized to ensure proper utilization of time and resources. Accountability also involves the proper allocation of the resources to the organization’s tasks.

Delegation of authority – For the effective running of a public agency, there must be proper delegation of authority. For efficient and effective achievement of obligations, every public official must have some authority. Accountability therefore ensures that the delegated authority is qualified for the duty assigned.  Accountable public administrators must ensure proper delegation of their authorities to their juniors and ensure easy flow of decisions from the top to the bottom. Delegation of responsibilities must also be free and fair with no form of corruption involved. An administrator should not demand any bribe in exchange of delegation of authority to a specific member of the agency. Additionally, the criteria of delegation should strictly be on the basis of professional qualifications and merits.

Report preparation – A public administrator is expected to frequently issue reports detailing all the responsibilities given to him. In the report, the administrator must clearly elaborate how he used the resources entrusted and how he delegated authority within the organization. The administration is expected to maintain a reporting timetable specifying the interval at which the reports are to be presented to the superior authority.

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Report verification – To ensure the reliability of all the facts in the reports, the information in the reports must be verified. Proper measures must therefore be put in place to ensure effective verification of the facts before they are adopted for public use. All the information provided in the administrator’s report should be true and must also be backed with evidence.

Performance evaluation – The superior authorities are tasked with the responsibility of assessing the performance of the administrators. The administrator’s performance is measured in regard to how he used the authority delegated to him. The state normally establishes public accounts and expenditure review committees that evaluate the performance of the administrator. If the committee finds the administrator guilty of misuse of authority then the administrator must be ready to face sanctions.

Tools of public accountability

These are the methods used to ensure accountability in the public sector.

Internal and external audits- the government has established various audit institutions that are responsible for the financial analysis of all the public agencies. These audit institutions review all the transactions in the agency to ensure that all the resources are accounted for. The audits are very helpful in curbing corruption in public offices and ensuring proper service delivery to the public.

Legislative overview – The legislative body has the responsibility of overlooking the duties of public administrators. If the legislative feels that the administrator is not performing duties as expected then it holds a debate in parliament and vote the administrator out of office. The body therefore performs the oversight responsibility of ensuring zero corruption in the public sector.

Media- The media is always free to critique the performance of a public administrator, by doing this it educates the public on how their money is being used. The media presents the financial audits and budgets of the public agency for public scrutiny.

Judicial review- the administrators must always follow all the set of rules and regulations when carrying out their duties. Also, the administrators should ensure that they act in accordance to the set standards of the agency. Failure of an administrator to act within the set of rules and regulations will attract a lawsuit from the judiciary whose main role is to review the actions of those in authority to ensure public interest is given first priority.

Civil society organizations- civil society organizations always arrange for open hearings where the citizens are given the opportunity to give direct feedback to public agencies. Such forums are meant to empower the citizens and to push administrators to be highly accountable to the public.

Public accountability is therefore a very important aspect of the public sector since it encourages democracy, integrity, transparency and equity in the sector thus reducing corruption. Corruption is the cause of most of the misappropriation of public resources thus by countering corruption through public accountability the country’s economy is also improved.

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