Social Class And Gender Inequality - 972 Words

Equality has been and will always be a problem in our world. Not everyone can choose to have the job they want, do what they want or simply live the life they want. There is inequality in matters of race, sexual orientation, social class and gender. I know that both genders face some sort of gender inequality. While browsing through the internet, I saw four advertisements that depicted women in a sexist and discriminatory way. I chose to do my essay on these advertisements because I find them relatable. These ads are promoting UN Women, a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women. All of the the ads are similar but also convey different messages. The first thing that the audience will see is the sad, empty look the women have. They seem lifeless and discontented. There is also a google search bar replacing the mouths of all women. At first, I thought the google searches were there just to show discrimination against women. I then read online that the search bar was used to represent silencing the women. The google searches correspond with the hidden message of silencing women. In each image, it is stated what women should or shouldn’t do. Its as if women should simply exist but should not make any decisions or have a say in their own lives. Sadly, the statements on the search bars are genuine google searches, highlighting popular opinions across the world wide web. Of course, the observer can easily recognize that the females come from differentShow MoreRelatedSocial Causes and Consequences of Inequalities Based on Race, Class, Gender, and Sexual Orientation2854 Words   |  11 Pagesï » ¿Social Causes And Consequenc es Of Inequalities Based On Race, Class, Gender, And Sexual Orientation In spite of all the efforts made within United States to eradicate racial disparities, the media still broadcast discriminatory images and thoughts. Ethnic minorities are constantly being depicted as the culprits and the prime suspects in any crime. Muslim are always associated with fascism, Blacks are always associated with thugs, Mexicans are always depicted as illegal immigrants or drug cartelsRead MoreThe Realities of Social Inequalities1658 Words   |  7 PagesThe concept of class stratification in relation to the average person within the US tends to be confused by the promises the United States advertises: a land of opportunity where if you work hard enough, you can achieve your dreams of wealth and prosperity, despite your background. It is reported that most Americans, 42 %, believe that they fall within the middle class (Gallup Poll, 2012). However according to a report released by the Pew Research, the middle class has experienced shrinking andRead MoreRacial Segregati on And The Educational Institution964 Words   |  4 Pagesindividuals of every race, gender, and background experience while growing up. Since social class is determined in large part by education, the effects of education carry forward into the rest of each person’s life even after they’ve long left the institution itself (Roy, lecture 10). In his lecture on the institution, Professor Roy adds that education allows for a path to social mobility while also reproducing inequalities. This paradox can be seen in both race and gender – albeit in varying degreesRead MoreDivisions And Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird1481 Words   |  6 PagesIn the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the major themes that author Harper Lee highlights are the divisions and inequality in society. The story is set in the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama when class, gender, and racial discrimination were highly prevalent. In this time Jim Crow laws were in effect. Jim Crow laws ma ndated the segregation between black and whites. Consequences of questioning Jim Crow laws were violent and people were rejected from society and their family. The 1930’s is also theRead MoreThe Marxist Feminism Theory And The Social System1176 Words   |  5 PagesHealth is a social construct system and health inequality is the result from social dysfunction. Health determinants are the combined factors that influence an individual or the community’s’ health such as the social environment, economic environment and the individual characteristics and behaviours (Germov, 2014). Firstly, the Marxist feminism will be discussed. This theory believes social structure shapes the group’s behaviours and perspectives. People who have a higher socioeconomic status haveRead MoreIn January 2013 a prominent national US newspaper quoted former Secretary of State, Condolezza800 Words   |  4 Pagessignificant inequality is in America. The social class that you are bor n into will influence your outlook on social class and will also be the social class you stay in (Loewen, 1995. 322). Your social class will determine the opportunities available for you including health, fitness, nutrition, education, SAT scores, medical resources and more (Loewen, 1995. 321-322). Loewen also proposes that the education system in America does not incorporate a proper analysis of our social class (Loewen, 1995Read MoreA Response on Social Inequality Essay683 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿ A Response on Social Inequality We live in a culturally diverse world. Age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic heritage and race are some of the diverse areas in society that are deemed significant. In spite of all these differences we tend to center ourselves around people who are similar to us; those who share the same biological and physical characteristics, same status and similar lifestyles. Because of this it is our human nature to be ethnocentric towards those who are different fromRead MoreThe Impact Of Social Stratification On Minorities1195 Words   |  5 Pageson minorities due to inequality†¨Introduction †¨During the course of this class I have learned about social problems within the society in which we live and around the world. It is disturbing to learn that poverty, social inequality, race and cultural discrimination, gender stratification, environmental damage, population growth, and urbanization are among the social problems and controversial issues that still exist in the United State s. What is Social Stratification Social stratification is definedRead MoreSocial Inequalities Within New Zealand Essay1322 Words   |  6 PagesThis essay will be discussing the social inequalities within New Zealand. These inequalities can include unequal income, education and healthcare. Through extensive research of academic resources, I will be discussing how educational, family, social and political factors contribute to the development of these inequalities. I will also be providing a line graph that shows the unequal income between classes and a second line graph that demonstrates the difference in student success between high decileRead MoreThe Inequality Of Health Distribution1197 Words   |  5 Pagessee the pattern related to health inequality. They are many reports furnished by the sociologists after their research that proved the inequality on health distribution. Researchers have find that the health has been inequality distribution by groups including: social class, gender, and ethnicity. Many issues have served them to come on these conclusions included: infant deaths, morbidity, disability, mortality rates and life expectancy. In terms of social class They are many factors that contributed

Breast Feeding An Essential Way Of Expressing Love...

body is an essential way of expressing love towards it. Though, the intimacy of breast feeding it is easy for a mother is given her baby closeness, warmth and comfort; feeding that it derives nutrients for its soul through affection and security, as well as nutrients for its body. Breast feeding provides lose contact between mother and the child. Babies show how they like close body contact by their clear enjoyment of being carried, as they are in rural areas all over the world. Being carried fills their environment with the human warmth, movements and sounds that we beginning to understand are important both before and after birth. Other benefits–Breast feeding perfectly combines the three fundamentals of sound nutrition–food, health and care. A number of studies shown a strong link between the early initiations of breast feeding and reduces risk of post partum haemorrhage. Initiating breast feeding immediately following birth stimulates the contraction of the uterus and reduces blood loss. This obviously reduces maternal mortality and morbidity (Hanson, Lars et al, 1996). In recent years, research has also demonstrated that this immediate post partum benefits is by no means the only way in which breast feeding can improve women’s health. A recent large sample study in United States demonstrated that women who breast fed their children has a lower risk of breast cancer in the premenopausal period, and the longer they breast fed, lower the risk (Rasmussen, Kathleen M, etShow MoreRelatedThe Essay : The Benefits Of Breastfeeding3133 Words   |  13 Pagesthou beautiful damsel, may the four oceans Of the earth contribute the secretion of milk In thy breasts for the purpose for improving The bodily strength of the child O, thou with the beautiful face, may the child Reared on your milk, attain a long life, like The gods made immortal with drinks of nectar† --Sushruta, ancient Indian surgeon (translated) I: INTRODUCTION How a child is reared is critical towards shaping them as a person for the rest of their life. This starts at a very early age, in factRead MoreHesi Practice31088 Words   |  125 Pageswith unrestricted activities. B. a bowel-cleansing procedure will precede radioactive implantation. C. she ll be expected to use a bedpan for urination. D. the preferred positioning in bed will be semi-Fowler s. 14. Before administering a tube feeding to a toddler, which of the following methods should the nurse use to check the placement of a nasogastric (NG) tube? A. Abdominal X-rays. B. Injection of a small amount of air while listening with a stethoscope over the abdominal area. C. A checkRead More023 Understand Child and Young Person development6353 Words   |  26 Pagesto fade; toward the end of the third month babies start lifting and turning their heads. 3-6 months When lying on front babies can lift their arms and legs balancing on their tummies; they can reach and grab a toy and they can pass it from one hand to another; they can also roll from their backs to front; around sixth month babies are becoming able to sit with support (e.g. high chair). 6-9 months Babies can sit without support; they are beginning to crawl or find other ways of beingRead MoreUnderstand Person-Centred Approaches in Adult Social Care Settings12139 Words   |  49 Pagesin-depth understanding of the individual’s life circumstances and preferences, combined with up-to-date evidence-based knowledge about individualised medical and social condition and treatment. 1.2. Explain why it is important to work in a way that embeds person-centred values Characterises a person-centred care: †¢ Has its focus on the person with an illness and not the disease in the person. †¢ Has the person’s own experiences as its point of departure. †¢ Strives to understand behavioursRead More50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified (Gm) Foods14312 Words   |  58 Pagesof GMOs actually can potentially far outweigh that of chemical pollution. This is because chemistry deals mostly with things altered by fire (and then no longer alive, isolated in laboratories - and not infecting living terrains in self-reproducible ways). Thus a farmer may use a chemical for many decades, and then let the land lie fallow to convert it back to organic farming. This is because the chemicals tend to break down into natural substances over time, Genetic pollution, however, can alter theRead MoreIgbo Dictionary129408 Words   |  518 Pagesi Igbo Dictionary: KayWilliamson. Draft of Edition II Editor’s note: The Echeruo (1997) and Igwe (1999) Igbo dictionaries Since the preparation of the manuscript, two other dictionaries of Igbo have appeared. Since these differ in important ways from the present document, the following notes are to assist the reader. Michael J. Echeruo 1997. Igbo-English Dictionary. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1. Includes an English-Igbo finderlist 2. Aims to be comprehensive (the Igbo-EnglishRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesSubject Index 709 Combined Index 713 iii This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Preface xvii INTRODUCTION 1 3 THE CRITICAL ROLE OF MANAGEMENT SKILLS The Importance of Competent Managers 6 The Skills of Effective Managers 7 Essential Management Skills 8 What Are Management Skills? 9 Improving Management Skills 12 An Approach to Skill Development 13 Leadership and Management 16 Contents of the Book 18 Organization of the Book 19 Practice and Application 21 Diversity and IndividualRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesand transmit all or any part of the work under the following conditions: (1) Attribution You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author, namely by citing his name, the book title, and the relevant page numbers (but not in any way that suggests that the book Logical Reasoning or its author endorse you or your use of the work). (2) Noncommercial You may not use this work for commercial purposes (for example, by inserting passages into a book that is sold to students). (3) NoRead MoreStrategic Marketing Management337596 Words   |  1351 Pagescommunications 12.14 Distribution strategies and the distribution plan 12.15 Channel management 12.16 The ‘soft’ elements of the marketing mix CONTENTS ix 12.17 Integrating the elements of the marketing mix 12.18 Summary Stage Four: Which way is best? Strategic evaluation 13 Criteria of choice 13.1 Learning objectives 13.2 Introduction 13.3 Financial versus non-financial criteria; effectiveness versus efficiency 13.4 Financial criteria 13.5 Non-financial criteria 13.6 Multiple criteria 13

Brief Literature Review Free Essays

Pelvic examination is an important component of the primary care of women especially by internists. This study conducted an internist-run education program that consisted of 4 weekly patient-care sessions with 2-3 patients under a resident internist. They supervised each pelvic examination and gave real-time feedback and used a skills-assessment checklist during the first and last exam of the program to yield a comprehensive and formative feedback. We will write a custom essay sample on Brief Literature Review or any similar topic only for you Order Now Number of questions used in the questionnaire was not distinctively discussed, though it was stated the questionnaire was administered twice, first prior to the program, then the second questionnaire was administered after 3 months. With regards to the questionnaire, a 5-point Likert Scale was used in this study to asses results. Based from the results, the patient’s self-assessed competencies have improved and it may help increase the likelihood of residents performing pelvic examination in primary care. (Goldstein C. E. , 2005) The second study evaluated the effects of an in-service program on the perceptions, knowledge and concerns of nursing faculty members about students with disability. 112 faculty members were trained in 8 nursing programs. The number of questions utilized in the study was not specifically stated, though it a definite Likert Scale of 6-point was used. The areas aspects which the Likert Scale dealt with were legal issues, classroom strategies, clinical teaching strategies and accommodations Likert Scale was administered to the faculty members to rate their awareness of whether people with disabilities could succeed as nursing students or professionals. The results of the questionnaire were reported in terms of an average value or the mean ratings, which was defined or found out to be approximately 4. From this result, it was concluded that there was a big significance on the faculty members’ perception before and after the training. The results of this study suggest that faculty members’ perceptions, knowledge and concern can be positively affected through training. (Sowers J. A. , 2004) The third study utilized a modified Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) to assess the teaching of medical communication skills. First year college students completed a CEQ that would be potentially useful in evaluating innovative programmes and securing support for their development. In this study, a course experience questionnaire (CEQ30) having 30 questions was used, which was an innovation of the course experience questionnaire (CEQ25) (Broomfield Bligh, 1998) having 25 questions only. In this questionnaire, five items were devoted specifically to on medical communication skills teaching. The questionnaire which was administered used a Likert Scale of 5-points. The developed questionnaire was employed to test whether it’s applicable or not in evaluating the medical communication skills teaching Measures: In 1997 to 1998. Results were reported using average values, stating the number of principal components factor analysis of responses equal to 165. From the results, it was found out that the CEQ30 was a reliable instrument to evaluate a course design. (Steele G. , 2003) The fourth study is about the perceived efficiency of teaching methods used for health services management education. The study was conducted to bring into consideration the challenges of establishing an experimental link between teaching methods and the outcome of education in a classroom. Program directors from the AUPHA graduate programs were surveyed in 1998 regarding the supposed success of a wide range of teaching methods employed. No definite number of questions or items in the questionnaire was mentioned, and it the Likert Scale used was not specifically mentioned, only that its range varies from very effective to not very effective. The results were not reported quantitatively, but rather qualitatively, whereas the highest and the lowest ranked teaching method was elaborated. Based from the results, the authors they suggested a research agenda for measuring the education outcomes in a classroom. (Hilberman D. W. , 2000) The fifth study is about the participation in continuing nursing education programs by staff development specialists. Staff development specialists were surveyed regarding their reasons for their participation in continuing nursing education programs. Hospital-based staff development specialists from the American Hospital Association member facilities responded to the Participation Reasons Scale (PRS). No definite number of questions was mentioned in the study, though it was mentioned that a Likert Scale with a rating of 1 to 7 was used. The Likert Scale was used to determine if it was effective or not, where results were presented in terms of mean scores. It was found out that the average scores of the Hospital-based staff development specialists in the Likert Scale was 3. 52 to 6. 40. Results were also reported that there were significant differences in the responses. Furthermore, the results showed a statistically significant difference in the responses of certified and noncertified staff development specialists. It was stated that the result scans help continuing education professionals make decisions and programming, though further studies were still recommended. (Aucoin, J. W. , 1998) The last study investigated whether physiotheraphy students’ attitudes towards physiotheraphy changes during training in what way. Literature and studies on this topic is limited and there is controversy about the process of professional socialisation and attitude changes that occur during the training in health care professions. In the study, no exact number of questions used in the questionnaire was stated. Though in it was mentioned that there were 52 respondents, wherein a Likert Scale, of no definite scale mentioned, was used. The results were presented using frequencies of respondents on a particular aspect or subject which the questions tackled. The result showed no significant difference in the attitudes of the first, second and third year students. This study provides useful information which could be used to help in the selection of students and in the planning of the future courses. Also, recommendations for further studies are made. (Wadsworth, S. J. , 1991) References Goldstein C. E. , H. I. , Foldes C. , et al. . (2005). Internists training medical residents in pelvic examination: impact of an educational program. (Publication. Retrieved August 22, 2007, from The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Library and Information Services: http://www. csp. org. uk/director/libraryandpublications/libraryandinformationservices. cfm Hilberman D. W. , D. P. L. , Andersen R. M. , et al. . (2000). Perceived effectiveness of teaching methods for heath services administration education. (Publication. Retrieved August 22, 2007, from The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Library and Information Services: http://www. csp. org. uk/director/libraryandpublications/libraryandinformationservices. cfm J. W. , A. (1998). Participation in continuing nursing education programs by staff development specialists. (Publication. Retrieved August 22, 2007, from The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Library and Information Services http://www. csp. org. uk/director/libraryandpublications/libraryandinformationservices. cfm S. J. , W. (1991). A study to show changes in physiotherapy students’ attitude to physiotherapy during training Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge School of Physiotherapy. (Publication. Retrieved August 22, 2007, from The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Library and Information Services: http://www. csp. org. uk/director/libraryandpublications/libraryandinformationservices. cfm Sowers J. A. , S. M. R. (2004). Evaluation of the effects of an inservice training program on nursing faculty members’ perceptions, knowledge, and concerns about students with disabilities. (Publication. Retrieved August 22, 2007, from The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Library and Information Services: http://www. csp. org. uk/director/libraryandpublications/libraryandinformationservices. cfm Steele G. , W. S. , Simeon D. . (2003). Using a modified course experience questionnaire (CEQ) to evaluate the innovative teaching of medical communication skills. (Publication. Retrieved August 22, 2007, from The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Library and Information Services: http://www. csp. org. uk/director/libraryandpublications/libraryandinformationservices. cfm How to cite Brief Literature Review, Essays

Traditional Public Administration vs. The New Public Management free essay sample

The development of modern bureaucracies made possible the industrial revolution and the breakthroughs of modern economies. But at the end of the 20th century that classical model of public administration was challenged by what has been called the â€Å"new public management. † This chapter will characterize the â€Å"traditional† and the â€Å"new public management† approaches to public administration and then compare them on three fundamental questions that every theory of public administration must answer: 1) what shall be done, i. . policy direction; 2) who shall do it, i. e. personnel management; and 3) how to enforce compliance, i. e. accountability. The conclusion will examine the tension between accountability and efficiency in traditional public administration and the new public management in answering the three fundamental questions posed above. I. Classical Public Administration The traditional model of public administration rests in important ways on the articulation by Max Weber of the nature of bureaucracy. Weber emphasized control from top to bottom in the form of monocratic hierarchy, that is, a system of control in which policy is set at the top and carried out through a series of offices, with each manager and worker reporting to one superior and held to account by that person. The bureaucratic system is based on a set of rules and regulations flowing from public law; the system of control is rational and legal. The role of the bureaucrat is strictly subordinate to the political superior. Max Weber described the role of the civil servant and the importance of hierarchical control in a bureaucratic system: To take a stand, to be passionate . . . is the politician’s element . . . indeed, exactly the opposite, principle of responsible from that of the civil servant. The honor of the civil servant is vested in his ability to execute conscientiously the order of the superior authorities. . . .Without this moral discipline and self-denial, in the highest sense, the whole apparatus would fall to pieces. 1 While the system which Weber observed in Germany developed over several centuries, there was a parallel development of bureaucracy in other countries during the industrial revolution. This model of bureaucracy was crucial to the development of large scale enterprises, private or public, throughout the developed world. 1 In the United States public administration Woodrow Wilson, later to become president, contributed to the traditional model by arguing for the separation of administration from political policy making. According to Wilson, citing as authority â€Å"eminent German writers,† â€Å". . administration lies outside the proper sphere of politics. Administrative questions are not political questions. Although politics sets the tasks for administration, it should not be suffered to manipulate its offices. Wilson was one of the main proponents of the politics-administration dichotomy which has been much reviled by later public administration scholars, but which has often been misunderstood. Those who dismiss the concept as obsolete take it as an empirical assertion about how administration works in practice. They observe that in fact, many high level civil servants have an important impact on policy, and thus dismiss the dichotomy. The real importance of the politics-administration dichotomy, however, has to do with its normative implications. 4 That is, the principle implied by the dichotomy is that elected officials and their direct appointees have the legal right to make policy decisions for the polity, and it is the duty of career civil servants to carry out those policies in good faith. Thus it is the moral obligation of the dichotomy that is important, not its empirical content. Frederick Taylor made a contribution to the classical model with his time and motion studies and careful analysis of the role of managers and workers. His techniques and managerial practices were adopted widely in the United States and throughout the world in the early 20th century. Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management, published in 1911, was translated into German, and â€Å"Taylorism† was popular with German engineers before and after World War I. 5 Taylor’s principles of management emphasized tight control of work processes and careful planning by managers. Although his management techniques have een used at times to control workers to the point of domination, his original ideas did not necessarily imply the exploitation of workers. The traditional model of public administration spread throughout the industrialized world and ushered in the relative success of modern industrialized economies. Guy Peters summaries the principles of the traditional model in the following list of its major characteristics. An institutional civil service; 5) Internal regulation; 6) Equality (internally and externally to the organization). Since this traditional model was so successful in aiding the development of modern economies and Weber argued that it was the most efficient mode of organization possible, how could recent critics see it as old, outmoded, and inefficient? The answer is one of context and scale. In his historical context, Weber was comparing bureaucratic organization to charismatic and traditional modes of organization. Clearly, bureaucracy is capable of more efficient organization than these other historical modes of domination. But the broader point is one of scale and time. If one wants to coordinate the actions of hundreds or thousands of people in any sophisticated endeavor (such as those that governments undertake) there is no realistic alternative to bureaucratic organization. Or if one wants a large scale enterprise to exist over a long time frame, from years to decades, one must organize it bureaucratically. This does not mean that all elements of every large scale organization must adhere to each of Weber’s ideal type criteria, but the general outlines must be there: hierarchy, continuity, files, etc. When contemporary organizations are criticized for being inefficient, the implied comparison is with other contemporary organizations that sometimes work marginally better, not with completely different means of organization. In contemporary times, the most obvious alternative to bureaucracies is a market system; but in market systems large scale enterprises must be largely bureaucratic in order to exist over time (e. g. Fortune 500 companies in the United States). Similarly the exhortations to devolve or decentralize within government does not mean abandoning bureaucracy as a form of organization. It merely means shifting some functions from a large, centralized bureaucracy to smaller or geographically separated bureaucracies. As Klaus Konig points out, some aspects of the NPM are not incompatible with traditional public administration: Yet a distinction must be made as regards this renewal movement between those of its components that are compatible with the bureaucratic administration, even where it has a classical continental European character and those components which extend beyond the modernist, detail differentiations of state and administration. The idea of decentral responsibility for resources, for instance, is perfectly familiar to an organizational scenery featuring federalism, local self-government, departmental responsibility, formal organizations under private law, shifts of functions to external bodies and so on. 7 Thus the point of departure for the â€Å"new public management† prescriptions is not nonindustrialized economies or non-developed countries. The NPM rather wants to improve fully developed governments at the margins. As we have learned from Russia after the fall of Communism, market capitalism in the absence of a strong system of business law, enforcement of contracts, and a regulatory structure can easily lead to lawlessness and the private use of force to enforce contracts (or to break them). According to World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn, developing economies need: good governance with a system of laws, a justice system that enforces the laws (e. g. a contract system and bankruptcy laws), a financial system with accountable financial institutions, and a just social system. Without these prerequisites, economic development is impossible; and these prerequisites depend on a traditional form of public administration (which is not to say that NPM ideas are never relevant to developing countries). One of the main concerns of the traditional model was the accountability of the implementors of public policy to the governing constitutional rulers. If a system of government has not yet achieved the threshold of accountability, the implementation of NPM techniques is risky and may be counterproductive. II. The New Public Management The term new public management encompasses a wide range of techniques and perspectives that are intended to overcome the inefficiencies inherent in the traditional model of public administration. Robert Behn defines the New Public Management as â€Å". . . the entire collection of tactics and strategies that seek to enhance the performance of the public sector. The starting point is that the traditional bureaucratic structures that shered in the industrialized economies of the 20th century may have been appropriate for that era but have reached a point of diminishing returns. The large size and rigid structures of the traditional system are too cumbersome for the new era of instant communication and an economy in which economic value is based on information and its manipulation rather than industrial production. Production is still important, of course, but it is increasingly based on information systems. Controlling behavior of workers from the top does not allow those closest to service delivery to react quickly enough. Thus the new public management favors decentralized administration, delegation of discretion, contracting for goods and services, and the use of the market mechanisms of competition and customer service to improve performance. It aims to achieve accountability through the measurement of outcomes rather than accounting for inputs. Performance measures will take the place of tight control from the top through rules and regulations. Granting more discretion to managers to manage is necessary; if they are to be held accountable for their performance, they must have the flexibility to use their judgment. In the United States the NPM was embodied in the Clinton Administration’s National Performance Review (NPR). The proponents of the NPR contended that the prevailing paradigm of government organization in the U. S. was established during the progressive era at the turn of the century and was a reaction to the negative effects of the spoils system with its lack of competence and susceptibility to governmental corruption. The progressive paradigm of government organization, they argued, was designed during the industrial revolution and was modeled on large scale bureaucracy with hierarchical control from the top to ensure responsiveness to law and adherence to policy. But they argued that with the coming of the information revolution in the late twentieth century, the usefulness of the bureaucratic paradigm had been superseded by the need for more flexible organizations that can operate in a profoundly changed environment of global competition. The governmental reforms of the progressive era had been developed and elaborated so much that the rules and procedures that originally facilitated management came to choke off innovation. The admitted original benefits of large scale organization prevalent throughout the federal government were diminishing and the originally useful reforms had been counterproductive for some time. 10 To Guy Peters the new public management includes a range of reforms that have been tried over the past two decades by governments seeking to improve efficiency. The approaches of the NPM include more participation, flexibility, and deregulation internally, and the use of market mechanisms externally. 11 Perhaps the most dominant theme of the new techniques is the attempt to use market mechanisms to improve performance in the public sector. This includes privatization, in which functions formerly performed by government are given over to private sector or business organizations. In the celebrated case of New Zealand, the government privatized state enterprises in telephone service, oil production, insurance, post office, and air transport. In economies where the governmental sector is smaller and most sectors of the economy are already in private hands, such as the United States, privatization has taken the form of private sector delivery of goods and services that are paid for by the government, referred to as â€Å"contracting 4 out. † It is argued that businesses act more efficiently than governments because of different incentives and greater flexibility, and so contracting will save the taxpayers money. Donald Kettl summarizes the goal of the new public management approach as aiming to â€Å"Remedy a pathology of traditional bureaucracy that is hierarchically structured and authoritydriven,† and â€Å"to root out authority-driven hierarchical systems. †13 He summarizes the six â€Å"core characteristics† of the New public management approach as: productivity, marketization, service orientation, decentralization, a policy orientation, and accountability for results. Thompson and Thompson observe that the new public management approach â€Å"borrowed primarily from the literature of business administration, calling for more managerial freedom to use resources, a focus on results rather than inputs, and greater reliance on the private sector for service delivery. †14 III. Contrasting Approaches to Public Administration With respect to Public Administration, each modern state must answer the questions: 1. What shall be done: That is, who shall control policy? 2. Who shall do it: That is, who shall implement policies? 3. How shall compliance be enforced: That is, how shall performance be measured? Each of these questions must be answered by striking a balance between accountability and efficiency. If emphasis is placed primarily on accountability, tight hierarchical controls will be imposed; only certified officials will take actions for the state; and success will be measured by how faithfully processes are followed. If emphasis is placed primarily on efficiency, hierarchies will be loosened and discretion delegated; people outside the governmental hierarchies will conduct governmental operations; and the emphasis will be on measuring outcomes rather than monitoring compliance with procedures. Answering the question of what shall be done: That is, policy control. In the traditional model of public administration fundamental control lies in the laws enacted by the legislature and their faithful execution by the executive authority. In the words of Klaus Konig: In a state upholding the division of powers, the core of public administration lies in its executive function. Bound by the rule of legal regulations, it executes the laws passed by the democratic legislative body. In its hierarchical system of order it follows the instructions issued by the executive’s political leaders. Laws are carried out or implemented by executive branch departments or ministries that are structured as strict hierarchies. Accountability is achieved by the control of each level of implementation by the superior level of control. If a policy is not faithfully carried out, accountability can be assigned by examining each stage of the process to determine who (in which position) is at fault. Accountability and control are the greatest strengths of this type of system; compared to all other systems, it is very reliable. The downside to this traditional model 5 is that it is often relatively slow and cumbersome, and it is subject to the criticism that workers can become so concerned with complying with rules that they can lose sight of the overall goal or mission. The new public management would alleviate the problems caused by tight, hierarchical control by delegating greater flexibility and discretion to lower levels in the production of goods and services. It would delegate implementing discretion to those closest to service delivery. They would have greater control of hiring and firing personnel as well as discretion about how to spend money in the accomplishment of policy goals. If program implementation is contracted out, management decisions are at the discretion of private sector managers; and their decisions are acceptable as long as they legally produce the goods or services under contract. 16 2. Who shall do it? That is, personnel control. In traditional public administration the personnel of government are hired through a merit system designed by the government personnel agency and often enacted in law. A merit system is designed to prevent partisan political interference in the implementation of policy. The hallmark of such a system is neutral competence, with competence achieved through a system of hiring the most qualified workers for the positions. Partisan neutrality is achieved through rules that protect workers from partisan political pressure and prevent them from actively participating in partisan political campaigns. The new public management approach would carry out the policies of the state largely with employees who are not directly employed by the government. In the case of privatization, the government would abandon the attempt to provide some services entirely and leave their provision to the private sector. Control would be achieved through the market system; if goods are overpriced, a competitor will spring up to provide them at a lower price in order to make a profit. When the market will not provide some services because there are not enough customers who will pay for them, or not enough will be provided to accomplish the goals of the state, the new public management advocates the contracting by government with private businesses to carry out the purposes of the state. It is argued that private businesses can manage efficiently because they are not encumbered with the rules and regulations of merit systems (e. g. merit competition, classification, appeals of adverse actions, etc. ) and they can hire the workers they need in an efficient labor market. The result will be that the government’s goals will be accomplished at a cost to the public that competition will keep to a minimum. When government functions are contracted out to private organizations, some contract-imposed constraints may apply. But to impose a set of merit constraints on contractors could very well undermine the flexibility that contracting out is intended to provide and is one of the bases for using contracts in the first place. 17 The conditions for successful contracting include a market for goods and services in which there is competition among many firms and few barriers to entry. The costs that ought to be calculated when governments write contracts, in addition to the cost of production, include the 6 xpertise needed to write a precise contract and the cost of overseeing the contractor and inspecting the product. 3. How shall success be measured? That is, inputs, outputs, or outcomes. Without the discipline of a market system which is presumed to measure the economic value of goods and services produced in the private sector, it is difficult to place an economic value on goods and service produced by governments. The decision to produce public goods is a political choice made by political authorities. The definition of public goods includes those goods and services that the private sector will not produce (or will not produce enough of), because their production is not profitable enough. The decision about what goods and services this category includes is thus a political judgment. But this leaves the problem of how to measure the economic value of such goods and judge whether they are being produced efficiently. The traditional model of public administration places its major emphasis on accomplishing the mission and accountability for resources. A hallmark of the traditional model is its rhetorical stress on efficiency. But efficiency is very difficult to measure, and perhaps the rhetorical value of efficiency is so high because it is so hard to measure objectively. At a microlevel, of course, efficiency can be judged over time (e. g. more output from the same resources than last year) or compared with a similar unit producing comparable goods. But at higher levels of generality, e. g. at the program level, there are no broadly accepted measures of efficiency. Thus one of the most common measures of government production is that of resources used, that is, inputs. There is a parallel between stages and functions of budgeting as analyzed by Allen Schick and developing approaches of measuring the production of governmental services. Schick argued that â€Å"line item budgeting,† that is, careful accounting for the inputs used in government programs, was developed between 1915 and 1935. 18 It is control oriented, good at preventing financial impropriety, and easy to understand. Traditional accounting for governmental programs emphasizes the inputs that are used to accomplish missions, for example, number of personnel, dollar totals, number of vehicles, number of computers, energy consumed, etc. These measures are very good for accountability and for assuring that resources are not being stolen and that they are being used for the purposes for which they were intended. This type of accountability is also easy for overseers to understand, e. g. chief executives, the central budget agency, or legislators. Thus this inputs approach is quite popular and hard to replace with more sophisticated measures of efficiency or productivity. In contrast to the line-item or inputs approach, performance budgeting was developed between 1935 and 1960, and was intended to provide measures for evaluating the performance of certain functions. Rather than a control orientation, it was management oriented, and intended to measure the performance of governmental activities. The focus was on work to be done (activities) rather than the things (inputs) to be used in the work. The activities done were the outputs of the government programs. 7 In contrast to performance measurement, Schick argued that program budgeting, developed since 1960, would focus on outcomes rather than inputs or activities. Outcomes are the societal changes that are the intended purposes of governmental programs, for example, good health, national security, efficient transportation, justice, etc. The problem, of course, is that it is very difficult to measure outcomes, and even if they can be measured, it is extremely difficult to attribute their achievement to any one governmental program. The New Public Management approach rejects measuring inputs and advocates the use of â€Å"performance measures† to evaluate programs and management. Accountability for resources is less important than the accomplishment of goals at a given cost. Creative managers should be given the widest flexibility to use the resources at their disposal to accomplish programmatic missions. Their success will be measured by their performance in accomplishing goals rather than in their careful accounting for the resources (inputs) used. This model of performance measurement is quite attractive, as long as valid measures of public purposes can be devised. If we have good measures, we can choose between contractors by evaluating their measured output, and we can judge government agencies against proposals by contractors on the common measures. Managers can be rewarded based on the achievement of their performance goals. The difficulty lies in choosing the correct indicators that will validly measure what the governmental program is really intended to accomplish. The more precisely the service or good can be objectively specified, the more likely the public will be able to evaluate the product and judge whether it is getting the best value for its payments. In comparing public versus private delivery of goods and services, the costs of production must be evaluated as well as the costs of writing the contract and monitoring its implementation. 19 Thus NPM techniques work best when the government wants to purchase goods whose quantity and quality can be easily assessed. The closer the production resembles traditional private sector goods, the easier it is to create performance measures to assure that contracts have been honored. There are some services that can be relatively easily measured, such as janitorial services or medical services. But when it comes to analytical services or unique products, the more difficult the problem of measurement becomes. Even if precise measurement is impossible, it may still make sense to contract with businesses, for example for advanced weapons systems or computing systems. But social services or analytic services are difficult to measure. The more you move to professional services that call for judgement or products that are unique, the more expertise is necessary to monitor the quality of service and the more costly it is to monitor performance. IV. Conclusion A tension between accountability and efficiency has marked the contrast of traditional public administration and the new public management. The traditional model tilts toward accountability. Max Weber’s answer tilted toward accountability in the form of bureaucracy, with strict hierarchical control from the top. Woodrow Wilson’s answer was the politics/administration dichotomy in which civil servants would use efficient techniques to carry out political policy choices. Frederick Taylor’s answer was the tight management control of 8 efined manufacturing techniques of scientific management. The new public management favors loosening the strictures of the traditional model to allow for more creativity and flexibility in order to achieve new efficiencies and better customer service. It would give lower level managers more flexibility to use their own information and judgment to make decisions (that is, â€Å"let managers manage†). It would encourage managers to take risks and be more entrepreneurial. And it would achieve accountability by measuring outputs rather than by monitoring processes. In states with large public sectors, it encourages privatizing functions, and in states with smaller public sectors it encourages contracting with private organizations for the provision of public goods and services. The tension between traditional public administration and the new public management reflects the fundamental tension between accountability and efficiency that has always characterized public administration, but the balance is in flux. In Anglo-American systems the balance has shifted toward efficiency in the late 20th century. While much progress has been made, the main political vulnerability of the contracting out movement in the United States is corruption. 20 The U. S. political system has had long experience with the corruption of public officials by the bribery of greedy contractors. If large scale or high visibility corruption is discovered and attributed to increased contracting, the pendulum will swing back toward accountability. But the advances of the NPM will not be lost entirely, just as the positive contributions of previous management fads were not lost even after their initial formulations had been abandoned. A less visible vulnerability of the NPM approach in the U. S. is the gradual eroding of the capacity of the government to oversee competently the production of goods and services. It is difficult for governments to match the higher salaries offered in the business world, even though financial gain is often not the most important incentive for public administrators. But a strong counter weight to any move by the government to take back control of the production of formerly contracted out services will be the political clout of contractors who will lobby the legislature against elimination of contracting programs.