The effectiveness of public administration and its assessment

Today, public administration should be understood as an important term of a scientific nature, in the process of analysis of which researchers manage to clarify the features inherent in the organizational structure of the state in different time periods and countries, as well as describe the activities of individuals who are included in this system and propose certain mechanisms for so that the problem of public administration was eliminated, and the effectiveness itself grew rapidly.

Efficiency Approaches

To begin with, it should be noted that the modernization of the system related to public administration is closely linked to the identification of optimal parameters that contribute to the creation of public administration as a dynamic, open social system. In order to public administration efficiency, namely its model, was qualitatively formed, it is necessary to analyze the ratio in the complex between the following categories:

• Political system.
• Government.
• Institutions inherent in civil society.
• Socio-economic standards.
• Sociocultural norms.

Today, the problem is very urgent, the central link of which is effectiveness of public administration. The fact is that due to actual changes in the social and political environment, it is not able to effectively respond, for example, to challenges from the external environment. So, today the need for the development of a balanced system of criteria and performance indicators of state authorities is obvious.

Performance Definitions

What is public administration efficiency?

In modern times, several approaches of a theoretical and methodological nature to the interpretation of the essence of efficiency are known. It is important to note that representatives of various fields of activity understand it in their own way, with its inherent features. For example, public administration efficiency in politics it is understood as something desirable and positive, as if in this case the whole point of activity lies in this. If we talk about the activities of state authorities, the presented term turns into an effective symbol of political orientation, which is able to organize the opinion of society in order to support certain proposals.

The effectiveness of state and municipal government in a generalized form is considered as an opportunity to achieve a result or the significance of its receipt for certain individuals or their categories. In addition, effectiveness can be defined as the ratio of the significance of a given result directly to the amount of effort spent to achieve this goal.

What else?

In administrative management and organization theory, efficiency should be understood as the ratio of the net results of a positive orientation (that is, the excess of the desired over the undesirable) and costs that are considered acceptable.

In Management and Economics Studies assessment of the effectiveness of public administration produced in proportion to two approaches. In accordance with the first, economic efficiency is evaluated, and in accordance with the second - technical. The indicators of the latter category reflect the characteristics of the activity that is being evaluated.So, she says that "the right thing is done." Efficiency indicators of the economic nature characterize the implementation of the evaluated activity, that is, they indicate how productively the actual use of certain resources is, in other words, how well these things are done competently.

Relationship of effectiveness with specific factors

In studies conducted in areas such as public administration efficiency, state bureaucracy and state institutions, many approaches of theoretical and methodological nature stand out. They associate effectiveness with specific factors. Among these approaches, the main points are the following:

• An approach based on the concept of leadership. It is important to note that representatives of this area link government performance with management style, leadership skills, as well as individual characteristics. In addition, the qualities of the leaders of state authorities, the selection system, the assessment of the implementation of key tasks, the professional development of civil servants and, of course, motivation play an important role.
• An approach that develops a theory such as Weber's rational bureaucracy. According to her state property management efficiency, for example, is achieved through factors such as a hierarchical structure, functional specialization, as well as the presence of clear principles related to the regulation of the activities of public servants, which is professional in nature.
• An approach to the effectiveness of state activity, which in one way or another relates to the theory of life cycles. According to him increasing the efficiency of state and municipal administration It is considered in close connection with the assessment of cyclically and continuously created influence groups or coalitions in state authorities. It should be noted that the characteristics of decision-making in structures of a bureaucratic nature, as well as their effectiveness, should be considered in the context of life cycles, which in any case are characteristic of the structure.

Additional approaches

In addition to the approaches presented above, the following items play an important role:

• Within the framework of the concept of professionalism, the effectiveness of an activity completely depends on the professionalism of employees of state authorities, the availability of professional (career) officials, as well as the degree of their competence and professionalism.
• The economic approach somehow connects increasing the efficiency of public administration with the work of a mechanism providing for competition among departments, as well as with the system of introducing new technologies, other innovations and social, political accountability to taxpayers (primarily) of state authorities.
• In the framework of the ecological approach, it is emphasized that the results of the bureaucracy’s activities in any case depend on the nature of the external environment (in other words, the ecology of the structure) and the ability of state authorities to manage innovations and changes in order to adapt to these changes in a qualitative manner.
• Within the framework of an approach based on the concept of managing such a category as quality, all attention belongs to the creation in the government of the system of continuous improvement of public services and processes; involvement in the activities of this category of employees, subject to the maximum use of their creative potential and the organization of their group activities. It is important to know that quality management in one way or another is based on the close connection of the potential of state authorities with the results of their activities.It is necessary to add that at the same time there is a constant correlation with the goals of a strategic orientation and the involvement of civil servants in the quality processes, their training, increase in their motivation and competence.

Types of Efficiency

In accordance with the presented theoretical and methodological approaches to the interpretation of efficiency, we can conclude that in the traditional aspect, economic and social efficiency of public administration. It is important to note that the independence of the presented varieties is relative, because they are in close interconnection and unity.

In the process of analyzing the effectiveness of such a category as public administration, the social effect occupies a special place. Its essence is that it is stable, reproducing, progressing, containing a source in order to continuously increase the level of social development in the future. Social efficiency, which determines the category of public administration, is divided by the Russian sociologist G.V. Atamanchuk in accordance with the three varieties considered in the next chapter.

Varieties of Social Efficiency

Below are the types of social effectiveness that are relevant today:

• Social efficiency of a general orientation discloses the results of the functioning of the management system in the state (in other words, the results of an organized set of public authorities, as well as objects managed by them).
• Social efficiency of a special orientation characterizes the state of functioning of the state as a whole and, in particular, of individual organizations as subjects of the management of processes occurring in society. Criteria for the effectiveness of public administration this type: purposefulness and expediency of the organization, as well as the functioning of the system governing the state, its large-scale subsystems and other structures of an organizational nature; norms of time costs associated with solving management issues, the development and passage of any management information; style and methods of functioning of the apparatus of public administration; technologies, norms, standards, in accordance with which each public servant and leader undertakes to act; the complexity of organizing the apparatus of public administration, which stems from its multi-stage, "fragmentation" and the abundance of managerial relationships; the costs associated with the maintenance and operation of the apparatus of public administration.
• Social performance of a specific focus reflects the activities of absolutely every official and state governing body, every action, individual decision or attitude. Government Performance Indicators of this type: the degree of compliance of specific areas, structure and results of public administration activities with the parameters indicated in the competence and legal status; legality of actions and decisions of state authorities, as well as relevant officials; the reality of management-related impacts.

Criteria for evaluation

To assess the activities of state authorities, specific public administration performance criteriathat stand out from the general. The latter include efficiency, efficiency and effectiveness.

This nuance is key in the process of preparing for the implementation of the evaluation exercise. It is important to note that in the development of the criteria under consideration, some flexibility is needed. So, under the criterion of effectiveness should be understood facets, signs, aspects of the manifestation of state management.An efficiency indicator is nothing more than a specific measure that allows you to compare: the activities of a state authority at different times and the activities of various structures, if you compare them with each other; activities of state authorities in fact and similar desirable or required activities.

Evaluation Criteria

The main requirements for the evaluation criteria are the following points:

• One way or another, the criteria lead to the implementation of the assessment tasks and cover absolutely all current problems.
• The criteria are specific enough to allow the organization of an evaluation procedure in practice.
• The criteria are supported by appropriate agreements or come from reputable sources.

In addition, the criteria that are used to assess the performance of state authorities, in any case, should be consistent with each other, as well as with those indicators that were used in previous assessments.

Integral indicators

Today, in international practice, different indicators of the integrated plan are used in order to assess the effectiveness of public administration. It must be undone that they were developed by the efforts of specialists from international organizations. So, these indicators include the following items:

• The GRICS indicator measures the effectiveness of public administration in comparison between different countries.
• WBES indicators today provide an assessment of the business climate, the level of corruption, public policy in a comparative aspect.
• BEEPS indicators provide a comparative assessment of the business climate, management quality, and competitive environment.
• CPI is interpreted as an index of corruption perception. Through its application, it is possible to obtain a slice regarding the level of corruption in different countries every year.
• Barometer of corruption around the world.
• IES is interpreted as an index of economic freedom of structure.
• An opacity index that allows you to evaluate the impact of opacity in relation to a country on the effectiveness and value of capital investments.
• Indicators by which an assessment of public administration is carried out, measurable on the basis of surveys of the population and civil servants.
• Institutional Environment Index, calculated on the basis of surveys of civil servants in fifteen countries.

Public administration is complex in its elemental composition and relations and a multifaceted system in terms of its functions. The volume and nature of the public processes and phenomena covered by it reflect the specifics of public administration, and systematic and organized integrity are its integral feature. Together, systematicity and organized integrity provide the necessary coherence, coordination, subordination, commitment, rationality and effectiveness of public administration.