Global Perspectives of Public Administration
From a global perspective, public administration still raises
passionate debates. Many of us presume to know the virtues of a
globalized world, where commerce flourishes without barriers,
cultures intertwine with each other, communication and
technologies connect distant places to local villages and even to
one’s living room. We probably agree that globalization creates a
sense of togetherness, a feeling that events on one side of the
world concern people living on the other side and that democracy
and good governance are globalized aspirations to which people
of all nations are prime subscribers. We soon realize however
that globalization carries within it an insatiable spirit of
competition and greed. The idea that the fittest, the strongest
ultimately destroys the weakest, is straight from the jungle. The
notion that globalization facilitates the overhauling of established
norms and values, for better or for worse, is very much
practicable.
What are public administrators to do when globalization
seems to threaten the very customs and values that glue their
society together? […]
The notion that public administration is a global
phenomenon, subject to universal principles of moralities and
values is tantalizing but questionable. A particular form of
governance seems to work well for societies with common cores
principles and traditional heritage, while another form of practice
seems to facilitate better the development and aspirations of
citizens in other corners of the world. Public administrators are
first and foremost responsible for the management of their
constituent’s affairs. They should dedicate their time and energy
to respond to the aspirations and desiderata of their people and
within the established boundaries of their societies. Public
administrators seem to be more effective when they are inspired
by concrete societal goals and objectives rather than when they
are driven by a subjective sense of universal morality and
goodness toward mankind. Too often, we have witnessed
senseless wars and targeted killings in the name of subjective
greater goods and selfish interests. […]
Nevertheless, the world is interconnected and public
administrators have to deal with internal as well as external
issues outside of their national borders. International laws and
regulations require that countries’ citizens behave in a certain manner toward fellow neighbors that certain principles of
coexistence such as respect for diversity and basic understanding
of human rights and dignity are undeniable. Public administrators
in a globalized world have to focus on these ideas and create
structures that essentially characterize these viewpoints.
(Adapted from https://patimes.org/global-perspectives-public-administration/
Retrieved June 28th, 2022.)
