The Benefits of High Turnover of Bureaucrats

Spring 2011 started and last night we talked about the role of organizations in the context of public administration.

There was a brief discussion on the reasons for organizations to exist followed by a presentation and a group activity concerning the boundaries of organizations.

Honestly, I paid less attention to the description of boundaries like mission, resources, capacity, responsibility, and accountability than to an observation made by a faculty who said that once Abraham Lincoln took office the elected president replaced over 90 per cent of public servants with political appointees.

This observation was made in the context of a discussion over bureaucracy as a pool of standardized procedures aiming the effective implementation of policies as well as the Weberian conflict between political appointees and bureaucrats.

At first, I thought that this high turnover may jeopardize the continuity of important policies. As many people leave office there would remain only few ones with enough expertise to carry on tasks that have proven to be successful for the common good.

After considering the risks, though, I began pondering on the possible advantages of a deliberate high turnover of personnel in public organizations.

Assuming that transparency is increasingly dominant in public arenas, that organizations’ structure and regulations facilitate the mechanisms of check and balance by constituents, and that key servants are maintained in their positions during transition periods, my understanding is that whenever an elected official takes office and decides to substitute a large number of senior staff and other lower ranks for newcomers, higher are the possibilities of bringing about benefits such as technological and procedural innovations, the reinforcement of democratic values, increasingly public participation in political processes, establishment of a healthy competitive environment, and the provision of more accountability to taxpayers.

In addition, assuming that principles, not rules, must drive public organizations and that objectives are permanent but means adaptable, and public representatives are committed to the common good not to procedures, staff high turnover becomes a positive change because it i) creates a productive sense of uncertainty in public arenas, thereby propelling public administrators to excel in daily activities iv) attracts new ideas to time-consuming and costly procedures v) accelerates policy-making processes vi) prevents the formation of “guerrillas employees” vii) strives to secure the clarity of existing procedural rules and appropriate behavior viii) challenges deep-rooted institutional beliefs and assumptions xix) facilitates the process of adaptation to contemporary issues x) expands the number of constituents interested in actively participate in policy and decision-making in public realms and finally xi) combats cronyism, patronage, corruption.

The average citizen today is more educated, information travels much faster, and rules and policies can be quickly understood and implemented by a larger number of people than in the 19th century. Considering the current scenario, the high turnover of public servants after elections does not necessarily mean discontinuity of successful policies or higher costs in training but continuation of constitutional principles as well as procedural innovation deriving from policies that allocate the best possible way scarce public resources.

Mulgan: Crisis and Innovation

Geoff Mulgan gave a talk about crisis and innovation at TED Talks in 2009.

The former assistant of Tony Blair for public policy affairs believes that 2008 economic crisis signifies a great opportunity for rethinking capitalism.

Leaders and societies are expected to invest less in large corporations and networks and more, maybe 1% of GDP, in social entrepreneurship.

Young entrepreneurs should receive this money since they understand that coming generations seek businesses that add on relationships, empathy, compassion, and care, not consuming bare products and services.

A disciple of Michael Young, the founder of Open University, Mulgan argues that public policies have to undergo thorough experiments before turning consumption societies into sustainable ones.

Best innovations usually come from intelligent leaders who daily face social deprivation. Ideas that change lives are polished by practice, not literature.

Quoting Young, Mulgan concludes: “If you see a problem, you shouldn’t tell someone to act, you should act on it yourself”.

http://www.ted.com/talks/geoff_mulgan_post_crash_investing_in_a_better_world_1.html

Economics and Innovation

I picked up friends at the airport last Friday and spent part of the time stuck in traffic wondering how Chris’ classes would help partially address this public problem.

Today I came across this online debate over “light rail transit in Honolulu” and ended up writing the text below. Looking forward to hearing from your perspectives.

Cheers,

http://www.808talk.com/2008/06/19/start-or-stop-light-rail-transit-in-honolulu-you-decide/comment-page-1/#comment-259531


I have seen on freeways many cars with only the driver in them. I wonder what it would be if drivers had given a ride to other commuters and half of these vehicles occupying every centimeter of public areas would have stayed home. There would certainly be more space allowing traffic to flow faster. The question, however, is: How to encourage drivers to give rides to other people? Which structure would be necessary to implement this idea? Can technical issues be addressed?
My answer for these questions is “Yes”. There is a way to encourage drivers to give rides. The system required is significantly less costly than investments in public transportation systems. Technical problems would be solved by tapping into state-of-the-art technology and providing training to police officers. The solution is the combination of tax incentives with an extensive network of smart park meters.

A short narrative illustrates this proposal.

John gives a ride to Paul in the morning. Before getting into John’s car, a park meter reads Paul’s and John’s cards. On the way, John picks up Maria. Maria’s and John’s cards are also read by a close meter. John arrives downtown and drops off Paul. Paul’s and John’s cards are read by another smart park meter. Maria’s card is also read after being drop off in front of the building where she works. John arrives at his office and checks online how many kilometers he has saved by preventing two cars being out on the streets that morning and how much he has contributed to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and global rising temperatures. Finally, John checks how much credit he has just earned and predicts further financial gains through tax reductions in the next fiscal year or monthly deposits in his bank account.

Communication and Innovation

As Christine mentioned twice the word "innovation" yesterday
and I just received an email from a friend suggesting links
and a book about this topic,
forward his message.
Cheers,

http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_where_good_ideas_come_from.html

PS. In short, bring together experts
so that they can connect, share, and find creative solutions
to complex problems.

PS. Edge is also a great site to tangle ideas.
http://www.edge.org/