12 Jun 620 Wk 1 Replies
Original Question:
For this week’s Forum, respond to the following
Topic: Statesmanship in the Public Administration Context
Define statesmanship and apply it to the Public Administration context. In doing so, discuss the following relevant factors: 1) constitutionalism, 2) representative democracy, and 3) the necessary personal skills and statecraft needed to successfully achieve statesmanship.
APA citations/references required
PLEASE READ!!
Reply to the following response with *** 300 words minimum, including direct questions to the post ***. (please make response as if having a conversation, respond directly to some of the statements in below post. This is not providing an analysis of the original post. Respectfully address it and even ask clarifying or additional questions.)
Responding to a classmate’s post requires both the addition of new ideas and analysis. A particular point made by the classmate must be addressed and built upon by your analysis in order to move the conversation forward. Reply posts that merely affirm, restate or unprofessionally quarrel with the previous post(s) and fail to make a valuable, substantive contribution to the discussion will receive appropriate point deductions.
** These responses are to be informative and contribute to advancing the knowledge of the topic **.
1.
According to Charles E. Lindblom, “a decision is “correct,” “good,” or “rational” if it can be shown to attain some specified objective” (Lindblom, 2010, pp. 15). The objective of East Wellingford city officials is to reduce the average trip time for drivers travelling along Routes 146, 9E, and 9W, due to high volumes of traffic during peak travel hours each day. The current commute time along these routes during these hours takes roughly 30 minutes, which is well below state standards. Officials wish to reduce the current trip time by half. Through a preliminary analysis conducted, M. Ubahn determined that there were four alternative options that have the potential to resolve the traffic problem within the city, those being a Southway or a Northway to curb the traffic, the widening of the current road structure, or purchasing additional public buses while building two new parking lots along 9E and 9W.
Unfortunately, the proposed Southway would cut through residential areas. For this reason, this alternative is not popular with local citizens in the South. From a social context, this can be a negative for any local politician wishing to win favor with constituents in the South; however, there are an array of overall benefits that would result from having the highway constructed within this area. “Cost benefit analysis is one of the most common techniques of rational decision-making” (Dresang, 2012, 6). Additionally, this particular option would be the most expensive of the four alternatives, costing one million dollars over a five-year period. One positive is that it would be expedient for travelers in that it would allow for an estimated reduction of 24 minutes in trip time. Additionally, another benefit of this option is that the Federal government would match the funds being utilized by the state government to pay for highway construction, offsetting some of the associated costs of the highway. Economic costs were given the lowest value with regards to factors affecting total costs. Despite the greater expedience afforded with reduced travel time, the proposed Southway comes at a high cost and great public opposition.
On the other hand, the proposed Northway would impede on undeveloped wildlife reserves. The same highway matching funds from the federal government would apply for the construction of this highway; however, environmental costs were given considerable weight in this decision-making process and far outweigh this incentive.
The perimeter parking option was considered the least viable option due to the possibility that it might be completely ineffective in solving the traffic issue and could have some environmental impact with regard to the development of two one-acre parking lots. It is the cheapest option; however, the potential environmental impact it could have through the development of new parking lots limits its viability.
After careful consideration, the most rational option is to widen the current road structure. While this would initially hurt local businesses due to the longevity of construction for two years, the community would be best-served by having a long-standing structure that does not damage the environment or impede into residential areas. Construction could be planned in a manner that least impacts these businesses. In the long run, once construction has been completed, businesses will stand to benefit from the improved infrastructure. Additionally, the estimated reduced travel time would be 16 minutes, which is almost in compliance with State Department of Transportation standards. Therefore, widening the road structure is the best option.
Resources:
Dresang, D. L. (2012). The Public Administration Workbook (7th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Lindblom, C. E. (2010). “The Science of “Muddling” Through.” Emergence: Complexity and Organization, 12(1). Mansfield: 70-80. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/522114712?accountid=12085.
2.
Rational decisions are decisions that are thought through, made with the purpose of accomplishing a goal in mind ( Dresang, 2017). “Rational decision making favors objective data and a formal process of analysis over subjectivity and intuition (Boundless).”There is a seven step process when it comes to making a rational decision in public administration (Dresang,2017). First you need to define the objective/problem. In Exercise one the problem was that there was a much longer travel time in East Wallingford than necessary. The second step is to identify possible solutions. In the exercise provided there were four solutions: building a northway, building a southway, widening the streets, or doing bus transportation. The third step is to evaluate alternative solutions, the exercise had three alternatives for whatever decision is made. The fourth- seventh steps are to select the best option, announce the solution, implementing the decision and evaluating the results (Dresang,2017).
In this exercise the option that I saw as being most rational was the building of the northway. Overall this option is going to cost much less than the building of the Southway. They are looking at spending 840,000 during the first year for the southway and 550,000 the first year for the northway. The other two options are lower (330,000 for street widening and 430,000 for perimeter parking). These two options are just not rational enough. By choosing those two options you will not be lowering the drive time enough and will be causing too much stress and conflict thought the town and their day to day life. I dont feel the cost benefit is there for the amount of stress that will be caused. The reason that I feel the Northway is the most rational is because it is saving almost 40 percent from the cost of the southway. This option will still get drive times down to 10 minute trip which is below the goal.
This will also cause less social stain because it is not a populated area. The downfall to this option is the environmental effects. This will cut through streams, and woodlands that will have many people defending them and trying to protect. In order to state this as a rational solution and implement this option there is going to have to be some sort of environmental resolution created to support not only the areas that would be effected but also the area that could be effected later.
Boundless. (n.d.). Boundless Management. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/rational-and-nonrational-decision-making/
Dresang, D. L. (2017). The public administration workbook (8th ed.). London, UK: Routledge. ISBN: 9781138682085.
3.
In this week’s exercise we discuss the growing traffic congestion of East Willingford and dissect four possible outcomes that could address the problem. The exercise was very thorough and required the reviewer to reach certain conclusion based on the criteria that was presented. Figures had to be plugged in certain formulas in order to reach a specific outcome. After considering all outcomes a rational decision had to be reached that would be financially sound and economically astute for the community. Rational decision making implied that the best option is selected for an optimal outcome (Dresang, 2017). Decision making “formulized” as a means-ends relationship (Lindblom, 2010). Means are evaluated and chosen once the desired end is selected.
In this exercise we were given four examples that could possibly be the solution to the congested traffic concerns. With the growing town size and peak traffic times, commutes from Route 146 and Route 9W and 9E were taking on average 30 minutes (Dresang, 2017). The desired commute time from city officials is a recommended 15 minutes. The Northway construction would have a proposed travel time of 10 minutes however the disruption of the wildlife and natural streams would not be beneficial to the environment. Widening both Main street and State street could possibly impact the local business’s that could overall impact the flow of revenue into the town. The construction is projected to last 2 years but that still may cause a financial blow to businesses.
The other option was a twofold proposition that included a 2 acre parking lot and the addition of increased bus routes. This was the most least expensive option but it only cut down the commute to 20 minutes. This option also included the purchase of 5 new buses that would be in addition to the costs of the construction plus the cost of hiring more staff to drive the extended line. The best option was the Southway construction. This option cut down the commute to only 6 minutes and would not disrupt the natural environment nor shopping or tourism. The bus option was the least inexpensive but the perimeter parking would not have addressed traffic concerns for commuters trying to get home. The Southway option would be the quickest route to get from one side of town to the other.
References
Dresang, D. L. (2017). The public administration workbook (8th ed.). London, UK: Routledge.
Lindblom, C. E. (2010). The science of “muddling” through. Emergence : Complexity and Organization, 12(1), 70-80. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu
** Please don’t just rephrase their info, but respond to it. Remember to answer question at the end if there is one. **
3
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