1.Review the information on Pendleton Act of 1883.Hypothesize three to four (3-4

Question

1.Review the information on Pendleton Act of 1883.Hypothesize three to four (3-4) revisions that a law maker could consider in order to improve performance and eliminate political influence in today’s government agencies. Provide a rationale for your answer.

2.Review the fundamental manner in which the National Performance Review has contributed to civil service reinvention since 2000. Debate whether or not the contributions from George W. Bush and Barrack Obama have made a significant difference towards administrative reform overall. Provide a rationale to support your response.

Provide References!!!

Explanation / Answer

1. When a political party comes to power, its leaders tend to place many of their faithful followers into important public offices. The use of public offices as rewards for political party work is known as the "Spoils System." The system is popular in numerous nations. Some consider this practice to justifiable when capable persons are appointed to high places where policy is made. They hold that the party in power must craft policy to meet its constituents' needs. On the other hand, it is unwarranted when political leaders dismiss able persons from positions that do not make policy. They do this to haul aboard others whose merit consists merely of party loyalty, thus compromising governmental effectiveness.

It was once commonly assumed that the spoils system in the United States came into general use first during Andrew Jackson's presidency. It has an older history. President Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, favored a policy of keeping rival Federalists out of government offices. By 1840, the spoils system was widely used in local, state and federal government. The United States fell far behind other nations in civil service standards of ability and rectitude. In 1841, when William Henry Harrison becamepresident, the practice had reached groaning proportions.

I would say that the spoil system still exists nots only in the United States but also in other parts of the world. It is wildly used in places like Africa and other areas, especially areas where there is less respect for the law. In the United States we see Democrats and Republicans practice it. For example very often, we seating president choose Supreme Court based on partisan affiliation. For example, President Obama appointed David Axelrod and Ron Emmanuel in the White House after winning the 2008 election, which I believe was a way of saying thank you gentlemen for helping me win the White House.

In Russia, when President Vladimir Putin won the election, he placed his closest friends and members of his party in positions of authority.

2. Before I dive into any discussion on the NPR let’s first get an understanding what it is. The National Partnership for Reinventing Government, which was formerly the National Performance Review, is an interagency task force designed to fundamentally change the way the federal government works. President Clinton announced the creation of NPR on March 3, 1993. The President mandated the Vice President to report on the findings of this national performance review within six months. Its purpose, according research is to create a government that "works better, costs less, and gets results that Americans care about or that positively impact

The original task force included about 250 career civil servants and a few state and local government employees and consultants. Vice President Gore participated extensively in this initial phase. He personally led a series of "town hall" meetings in several dozen agencies to learn first-hand the problems and challenges facing employees. In June 1993, the Vice President also hosted a "Reinventing Government Summit" of corporate executives, government leaders, and consultants who were leaders in organizational change. This summit provided a business perspective on reforming the government and private sector approaches to managing change successfully. NPR started its work with an inspiring set of principles and a clear vision of what it wanted to accomplish. Strategically, President Gore chose to focus efforts on creating a government that works better and costs less by: putting customers first, cutting the red tape, empowering employees to get results, and getting back to basics. According to the Vice President first finished report, Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less to President Clinton on September 7, 1993.

The Vice President said these efforts would begin the shift from an Industrial Age, hierarchical bureaucracy to an Information Age empowered organization. Within days after the report was released, the President issued a series of directives to implement a number of the recommendations, including additional reforms on how to make the government work better. By September 1995, NPR had made approximately 200 new recommendations with an estimated savings impact of nearly $70 billion over a five-year period.

At the beginning of the second Clinton-Gore term, NPR began to look for ways it could be more effective in effecting change in government and spreading reinvention. The task force had originally focused on encouraging hundreds of frontline teams to reinvent their departments or a certain part of the government. NPR decided, however, that it was necessary to shift its focus to transforming entire agencies instead of only select portions -- especially in those agencies with direct impact on the public. This new focus was designed to begin to permanently imbed reinvention in the day-to-day operations of the government.

NPR has enable Americans to have to file a separate report each year with SSA regarding end-of-year earning. This saves not only time for beneficiaries, but also reduces the paperwork burden for both agencies. Provide all Americans a seamless learning and employment system to get the job skills they need to be successful in the 21st Century.

Therefore, I do not think that the contributions from the Bush and Obama administrations have made any significant difference in the way various government agencies has been operating. Ever since the Clinton Administration left offfice, government agencies have had tourgh time properating efficiently to the satisfaction of the people. Instead, we seen too many dysfunctional institution. For example, the school system needs to be revamp and so is the health care system as well as the states' social welfare system. The interagency task force has not made any substantial impact to me.

References:

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/whoweare/historyofnpr.html

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse 1
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.