Reply to these two student overall course review posts:
Lyndsay:
Has your opinion or views changed in significant ways since the beginning of the course? What surprised you?
I was so worried starting NAU and completing my first ever university course, however I feel very confident knowing what I have learned throughout this course; I know this is the field of interest where I belong and want to contribute most. I had no idea how in depth Public Organizations were, and I was really surprised that researchers have conducted real research into organizations. I really enjoyed reading the history behind public organizations. I now grasp the understanding as to why public administration is so bureaucratic and progressively complex. Understanding as to why the confidence in government has deteriorated. I like how Rainey described roles within political systems as actors.
What questions still remain unanswered for you?
Nothing really remains unanswered for me as of right now, however I have a better grasp as to what makes our government function and how important it is to vote and be vocal within the community and organizations.
How does the material we covered relate to your experience as an informed citizen?
As an informed citizen, I now understand how much work is involved behind the scenes of public administration. I feel so much better equipped with the insight I have gained during this course.
In what way does public organization theory relate to your overall academic and professional experience?
Organizational theory relates to my overall academic and professional experience because it is the assessment of efficiency and performance of organizations, along with the activities of employees and different groups within an organization. I loved learning about the different organizational theories and comparing them to my current line of work. I noticed that we pull different aspects of these theories into our department.
What new perspectives have you gained about your role as a member of an organization from the topics of discussion?
Various perspectives that I have gained regarding my role as a member of an organization is that it takes a village. What I mean by that is that everyone seems to have an idea that is brought to a consensus. Understanding the impact of political power and how it determines public policy. Better comprehension of what motivates people in the and perceiving work-related attitudes. Understanding that being a strategic leader also means that you are the cheerleader of your team and being able to resolve conflicts as a manager
Michelle:
Has your opinion or views changed in significant ways since the beginning of the course?
Through the study of this course in the past few weeks, I sorted out the organizational theories of traditional public administration, new public administration, and new public management. On the basis of sorting out, I re-understand the influence of new public services in today’s social environment and how they affect each other. Public organizations have always been tentatively moving forward in the process of development, and they should strike a balance between stability and change.
What surprised you?
With the rapid update of information technology and the advent of the knowledge economy, any organization must constantly reform, innovate and learn for its own survival and development. Learning organization theory is one of the most cutting-edge organizational theories in the contemporary era. It is not only the basis for enterprises to carry out human resources innovation theory, but also the basis for public service organizations to form new management concepts and management ideas.
What questions still remain unanswered for you?
Although this course systematically introduces the relevant concepts and theoretical knowledge of public organization theory. It expounds on the connotation and elements, types, and characteristics of public organizations, as well as research methods, research significance, and theoretical system, and then sorts out the historical evolution of public organization theory, and from the structure, environment, culture, operation, performance, ethics and emphasis was placed on aspects of change. But I still have some doubts about ethics. Even though I have completed PADM 411 (Ethics, Policy and Admin), I still cannot understand some of the knowledge points.
How does the material we covered relate to your experience as an informed citizen?
Public participation is indispensable in the operation of public organizations. “Public participation” means that the public participates in or influences the government’s public policies or public affairs through certain channels, so as to ensure that the government’s decision-making is as open and fair as possible.
Elections: Citizens express their political will to decision-makers through periodic elections.
Participation in decision-making: Under the current market economy conditions, interest relations are diversified and diverse, which requires decision-making to be based on democracy in order to help the government make scientific and reasonable decisions.
Supervision: Democratic supervision is a guarantee and an important way for citizens to participate in politics. A complete supervision system includes constitutional supervision, parliamentary supervision, administrative supervision, political party supervision, social supervision, etc., all of which are directly or indirectly related to political participation.
In what way does public organization theory relate to your overall academic and professional experience?
Organizational theory is an important basis for the study of public administration. As far as the theoretical orientation of public administration organizations is concerned, it can be divided into rational orientation and human orientation. Simon is a representative of rational administrative organization theory, agrees with the establishment of administrative science, emphasizes the separation of facts and values, that is, advocates to get rid of the intervention of value factors, take efficiency as the primary goal, and conduct empirical research to build a general theory of public organization; Dahl is representatives of humanistic administrative organization theory also agree with the establishment of administrative science but believe that it should be based on value factors. Among them, efficiency, as a value choice, competes with other value factors, and at the same time attaches importance to the human factor in the organization.
No matter what kind of theory it is, it’s better to choose the appropriate means of implementation according to the actual situation. Among them, bounded rationality is the most widely used in my work. Especially during the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, many situations are unknown. Under the premise of insufficient information, it is our only choice to pursue a relatively satisfactory and efficient solution through bounded rational decision-making.
What new perspectives have you gained about your role as a member of an organization from the topics of discussion?
In teamwork, the core competency of a manager is to solve problems and control the situation and be brave and good at facing conflicts. If I want to continue to be promoted, I have to adapt to the role change and adapt, and the ability to manage the face and handle the conflict. But frankly speaking, people are born with an instinct to fear conflicts, but if I want to become a manager, daring to face conflicts is the first step in growth. Secondly, when dealing with conflicts of different degrees and forms, one can also flexibly change one’s organizational role to deal with strategies to resolve conflicts, adapt to the needs of families, organizations, and society, and meet the expectations of various roles.
