Public Administration

Public Administration

What is Public Administration? (PA 270)

Will a masters in Public Administration allow me to get better jobs?

My wife is getting a masters in Public Administration, but she is getting disheartened by her friends earning money while she just spends it. Will it pay off in the end or would it be better to earn experience in a certain field?

What can you do with a Master's degree in Public Administration?

*Jobs at the federal government level can include policy advisors or budget analysts, or jobs focused on constituent service. These careers require at least a master's degree and considerable background interest in the political issues of your chosen agency, division, or bureau. A great source for jobs in Washington DC is opajobs.com.

*As a City Manager, your salary range would be between $51,000 to 79,000 and as high as $175,000 depending on the size of your community and area. The career involves the daily operations of a local government, according to the directives of the elected council. A bachelor degree is the minimum requirement, but with the level of responsibilities you'll have, a master of public administration (MPA) is more appropriate. Your managerial training will be called on to determine what programs are needed, to oversee the design and implementation, and to provide an accurate system for monitoring and evaluation. You'll be involved with every department - from crime prevention, to seniors housing, to garbage collection - and you'll answer to the elected officials and the citizens affected by your decisions. **Similar job titles include City Planner or Executive Assistant.**

*You can also combine your interest in education with your organizational expertise to work as a public school administrator. You should have completed a master's or doctoral degree , depending on your position and location. In 2002 the median salary for elementary and secondary school administrators was over $71,000; slightly lower for postsecondary administrators at under $65,000; and preschool or daycare administrators made just over $33,000. A college or university dean of students made about $70,000 and a Dean of Business made over $107,000 on average in 2002.

*Health care represents the largest of the non profit service sectors. Your administrative job will likely combines business and organization skills with the unique challenges of providing cost effective medical services - to manage costs and improve delivery of patient care. An example of a career in public administration is *Home Care Contract Administrator*. This career involves the negotiation and implementation of contracts for people needing heath service at home. You will administer reimbursement agreements, ensure contract compliance, and provide program cost and usage evaluation. Some recent estimates for salaries in the health care field are: human resources management $28,000; marketing $34,000; and financial administration $43,000. *Recent reports show annual salaries of over $76,000 for chief of direct marketing in Social/Welfare groups, the highest post by group type.

*'Associations' cater to everyone from special interest groups, trades and professions, and religious or political groups. Association executives perform a variety of duties depending on their positions and the size of the association. Entry-level salaries vary based on your education and experience and the size, budget, and geographic location of the association. They may range from $20,000 to $40,000. The figures below are from the 2003 ASAE Association Executive Compensation and Benefits Study, representing average salaries without bonuses:

Chief Financial Officer $92,319
Director of Administration $68,047
Director of Education/Certification $74,355
Director of Government Relations $98,377
Director of International Activities $100,450
Director of Marketing $77,108
Director of Publishing $73,138

*The Director of Administration, handles internal administrative matters of the association, including personnel, office equipment, facilities, and support services.

*The Director of Government Relations/Public Policy, develops and guides the association's legislative programs, and maintains contacts with legislative and government agencies on matters of association interest.

Other Career possibilities:
Like a regular degree in management, a public administration or public policy education can focus on organizational governance, finance, and administration. With this specialization you can look into jobs as local, state / provincial, or federal bureaucrats; in public service such as health care and animal control; or non-profit organizations such as arts or international relief agencies.

Suggested Skills Needed:
A formal business education is increasingly important in public administration and policy. Seen now as crucial to the organization's success, the minimum acceptable level of expertise through education and experience is rising along with the earning potential. You'll need to have a solid background in computer software applications, but because public administration and policy involve so many "soft" skills, this is an area that is least susceptible to technology advancements. Human contact, judgment, intuition and compassion are not duties that computers can replace.

Management Specializations in Public Adminstration:

*Government Management,
*Nonprofit Management
*Public Health Management

Within these, you can further specialize according to the field and function you want to focus on. Specializations within Master of Public Administration degrees can include:

*Public Management and Leadership -advanced knowledge and skills crucial in the interrelated responsibilities of managing and leading during times of change in public administration.
*Public Policy - provides a critical context within which organizations and individuals act to develop well-grounded new public policies and management practices.
*Nonprofit Management and Leadership - nongovernmental agencies and associations promoting everything from the arts to world famine relief
*International Non Governmental Organizations -explores how countries organize, regulate and foster nongovernmental activities; how international intergovernmental, non governmental, and voluntary organizations operate; and how their representatives can learn from, partner with and work within cultures and sociopolitical environments of diverse nations.
*Master of Justice Administration (MJA) - focusing on both criminal justice and public administration, you will study the justice system, organizational management, research and evaluation, law and ethics, policy and planning, public finance and budgeting, and human resource management.
*Knowledge Management -students learn to develop innovative solutions to their organizations' most critical challenges through the comprehensive creation, sharing and use of knowledge and effective adult education. The curriculum can focus on organizational change and learning, including the deployment of corporate universities.
*E-Government - democratic institutions need to use technological effectively and ethically in communication and policy development, as they rely on it more often to operate and relate to their constituents.
*Emergency Response Policy and Coordination - prepares homeland security professionals to implement protective measures without compromising individual rights and freedoms.
*Public Safety Management - offers emergency response professionals the skills to lead, manage and motivate others during emergencies; to build confident and capable teams; and to address challenging ethical situations that may arise during the course of duty.
*Health Services - gain valuable knowledge about health delivery systems, health policy, health administration, and health finance centers, so you can manage effectively and successfully in this unique environment.

FYI: Significant changes in the public administration over the last 10 years include:

*regulatory: changes to the ways services are delivered;
*socio-economic: a demand for professionals with the skills and abilities to manage widespread technical resources and IT systems;
*technological: an improvement in the quality of services delivered through technological innovations.

One of my good friends worked with Agricultural Research, got a degree in Public Admin, and has now worked for the NIH for years running different research projects and now research teams...

Good luck!

Using Iso 9000 as a Way to Improve Public Administration

 This week marked the first certification of ISO 9000 obtained by the present state administration; the first of what we expect will be many. The IPEM (Institute of Weights and Measures of the Amazonas) was recommended for the certification without exception, after one year of arduous work, certainly recognizable by those who already worked on implementing a quality system.

     The ISO provides a framework of three practical applications that, given they do not guarantee good management, at least give the certainty that an effort has been made to demonstrate a continuous commitment to improvement that may eventually, in itself, be classified as good management. The three practical applications are:

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    • Management of talent: the ISO requires that a manager pays close attention to the qualifications and training of its servers. Hours of training and an adequate graduation are basic requisites for the attainment.
    • Indicators: as Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, has already said: “What gets measured gets managed.” The ISO requires the establishment of indicators at the principal levels of the organization. For example, an organization should measure: productivity of a sector (number of concluded processes), the average delay of processes (always searching for faster possibilities), and quality (in how many cases repetition is necessary).
      • An indicator of special importance, and still not yet regarded as such in the field of public service, is the satisfaction of the public with the provided services. For example, IPEM takes precise care of important items to the economy, such as taximeters, scales, gas pumps, and others. In this process, it makes frequent contact with consumers as well as with entrepreneurs. The IPEM now measures the satisfaction of these users and gets audited to verify accurate treatment of possible claims.
    • Continuous improvement: the ISO demands the mapping of processes and verification of possible bottlenecking and difficulties in the execution of tasks. After this mapping, of course there will still be problems existing. The ISO disposes of a tool, the Treatise of Non-Conformity, which ensures that every time a significant problem is discovered, there will be a search for a lasting solution. The external auditor, while performing the audit, searches for evidences that the organization is always searching for these improvements.

     These simple practices are of unquestionable effectiveness in private or public administration, if implemented with vigor. The ISO simply systemizes the adoption of these practices and guarantees the continuity of them. Today, we operate with more than ten state agencies with implementation, with probable certifications soon of SEPLAN, CIOPS and CGL, and will be initiating more shortly.

     I would like, finally, to make a suggestion to those that agree with the principles of the above mentioned practices. Those that know public managers, in any spheres, question them on what they are doing in each of these items. Is there research being done of satisfaction of your clients, the public? What are the policies involved in the valuation of servers, of training, of recruitment? What system do you adopt in your search for continuing improvement? It is only with a demanding society that we can have some hope of a better future.

About the Author

Secretário Estadual de Planejamento e Desenvolvimento Econômico, Amazonas, Brasil / Secretary for Planning and Economic Development, State of Amazonas, Brazil

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