Fiscal Health of Public Administration Response Paper

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Five future trends in Public Administration are 1) global interconnectedness and self-sufficiency; 2) changes to public health policy; 3) incorporation of advanced technology into administration; 4) more grassroots advocacy; and 5) emphasis on sustainability (Florida Tech, 2019). The first trend—the global interconnectedness of public administrations and a focus at the same time on self-sufficiency—may seem like two diametrically opposed trends going in opposite directions, but the reality is that global interconnectedness and self-sufficiency are compatible and public administrators in the future will need to realize how. First off, globalization is a fact of life in the modern world. The China-U.S. trade war is a perfect example of how what is happening on one side of the world can have a tremendous impact on the entire rest of the planet: the reason is that we live in a global economy, and every country’s economic output is integrated with every other nation. Thus, public administrators will have to be willing to work more closely with administrations in other countries in order to bring stability to their own communities. At the same time, they must not appear weak on the global stage and must be able to show that they are self-sustainable—otherwise they are more likely to be taken advantage of. Tomorrow’s public administrators must be “tech-savvy, communicative, globally minded and efficiency driven” (Florida Tech, 2019) in order to succeed.

Second, public administrators in the future will have to address the issues of public health, including expanding access to care for underprivileged populations and making sure that everyone is covered. Public administrators are going to have to face problems such as making sure that drinking water for school children is clean and safe from chemicals and minerals that could harm. They will have to address the issue of vaccinations and the extent to which they will be made mandatory. They will have to address the issue of drug abuse and the opioid epidemic and how society can solve it without having to turn people over to the justice department.

Third, technology is going to be a major factor in public administration going forward. This means that public administrators will need to be experienced in and knowledgeable of tech concepts and tools that will make the work of public administration more efficient. This falls under the category of scientific management and public administrators will need to know both how to use these tools effectively and also how to safeguard and protect data, for as the world becomes more technological the risks of hacking increase as well.

Fourth, public administrators will be relying more and more on grassroots advocacy in order to get policies moving and implemented. Social media has became a major tool of the grassroots community and because it is such a powerful tool it means that the grassroots community has obtained more power for itself. Public administrators will need to work with these communities to help keep the state progressing forward.

Finally, public administrators will have to address the issue of sustainability and whether the world can switch over fully to green energy or whether it is an impossibility. The issue must be addressed because more and more focus by the grassroots communities is being put on the problem of climate change and even though not everyone agrees it is happening, the problem will not go away and it will be a major policy focus in the coming years for public administrators.

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According to VCU (2019), public personnel administration is the practice of “acquiring the best folks you can find, paying them the least you can get away with, and matching the strongest skills to your public organization's priorities.” In other words, it is about creating efficiencies in the public administration through the area of human capital. Overpaying employees and staff will undermine the objectives of public administration; thus public personnel administration focuses on doing what one can to reduce the costs of human capital while maintaining the highest degree of efficiency and effectiveness.

Five future trends in public personnel administration will be: 1) using digital technology to build virtual teams, 2) recruiting workers from the global talent pool; 3) training workers in order to maximize their potential by focusing on the scientific management approach, 4) emphasizing the principles of diversity and inclusivity, and 5) retaining employees and improving their performance through the use of mentors and an improved onboarding process (VCU, 2019).

These trends will impact public employment and public administration in numerous ways. First, the trend of using digital technology to build virtual teams means that people from all over the world will be able to work for an…

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…latest in ID technology software so that people could not abuse the system to receive funds, for example, from welfare or Social Security, that are not actually due to them. This system would enhance the existing system and reduce the scale and scope of errors and criminal abuses.

Second, blockchain technology could help as it acts as a digital ledger on a decentralized platform. This means there is more transparency and trust involved in its usage as it cannot be controlled or manipulated by any one agency. It belongs to everyone and cannot be changed or altered except by an actual, legitimate transaction, at which time the transaction is written (encoded) on the blockchain—the digital ledger—and shown to all. This would cut down on abuses in the delivery of public services by reducing the ability of individuals in public administration engage in fraud or deny people services that are their rightful due.

Third, using virtual learning systems can promote the application of free education and training for people in the community so that they can obtain skilled jobs for themselves. One way to do this is through the system of public libraries already in place. Public libraries can offer online learning courses through their system that patrons can log into and learn from so that they can cultivate and develop skills that will be useful in a trade, such as Information Technology, where a lot of jobs have been appearing in recent years.

Fourth, telehealth systems can provide virtual care to patients who receive medical benefits from the government but cannot drive long distances or overcome obstacles related to time and distance to receive check-ups and other types of care. Telehealth systems allow doctors and nurses to check up on patients without patients have to leave their homes. Doctors and patients connect over the Internet using their computers to contact one another, exchange information and so on. It can improve the quality of care that people receive in the community.

Finally, technology can be used to improve public transportation systems. The monorail could be developed to ease congestion, and trains could be improved to get people to their destinations in big cities more quickly. This can ease the strain on cities dealing with overcrowded districts by allowing more people to live outside the city in the…