PUBA 306__Chapter 2 Assignment 1

The lesson of Chapter Two from our textbook is the context, nature and structure

of public administration in America. These are the five most important lessons I have

learned from this chapter and why I found them to be important.

1. Political and Administrative Values

According to our text, there are three main functions to political and

administrative values. To understand fundamental beliefs, to recognize the impact of

values, and how conflict in these values affects the system. I feel that it is important

for people working in public administration to recognize that citizens all have their

own opinions on how government should be run. Affirmative action and its

usefulness have been losing support over the years citing that it is generally

discriminative. Therefore, our democratic system is so important so we can pick

leaders who can represent the popular consensus of their constituents.

2. Individualism and Pluralism

Another concept within political and administrative values in our society

are individualism and pluralism. Individualism is the belief that everyone has

worth within our society and participates in the pollical process. This is

showcased in our civil liberties and rights. Groups organizing as a way to secure

protection for broader interests is referred to as pluralism. Having this kind of

system is sort of a balancing act that usually benefits everyone by finding

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compromise. This is important as it gives citizens the freedom to become active in

the political process in the way of fighting for a cause.

3. Pluralist Democracy vs Administrative Efficiency

A pluralist democracy is a system in which there is not just one group that

dominates power and control. This allows for coexistence of other interests and

ideals to be debated. Administrative efficiency looks at the system through

scientific and logical reasoning and avoids politics. I found this to be an

interesting concept. While I think it is important for the general public to have a

say in matters of democracy, I also feel that there are certain subjects of public

administration that should be left to the experts. For example, our current

President does not believe in climate change even though scientists have an

overwhelming consensus that it’s a huge problem for Planet Earth. In this

instance, I would rather leave up policy to experts in the field to make policy

change based off of these facts. However, there are other areas of government

policy, such as Net Neutrality, that I would rather have up for public vote.

4. Freedom of Information

Holding public administrators, departments and agencies accountable for

the job they are preforming is something that needs to be done in a functioning

system. Transparency and being able to inquire about activities within public

service is known as a sunshine law. Sunshine laws require openness in

government which include having access to meetings and records. Sunset laws
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add another level of accountability by requiring legislative action to review

performance before renewing positions, or programs. Private citizens also can

gain access to a variety of government records via the Freedom of Information

Act (FOIA). This is an important law in our democracy so we can not only keep

people/agencies accountable, but so citizens are not discriminated against or taken

advantage of.

5. Iron Triangle

The Iron Triangle represents the relationship between congressional

committees, bureaucrats and policy makers, and special interest groups. This

force of members creates subsystems that have heavy influence in the policy

making process. How they influence each other and what they might do for each

other. This is important to understand as it usually ends up with people or groups

benefiting themselves, and not necessarily what is in the best interest for the

people. Special interest groups will try to influence a person or party by donating

to a campaign or program, in hopes that they will return the favor by giving more

funding to the bureaucracy or lower regulations.