Large public organizations are infamous for making a mess of things. Sometimes it results in wasted resources due to huge amounts of inefficiency, and other times it results in tragedy, such as the Space Shuttle disasters. More recently, the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, has proven to be a comedy of errors during its launch. Part of the problem is that large organizations suffer the risk of compiling enormous amounts of information, so much so, that the information does not get processed correctly, if at all. Nor do the leaders of the organization necessarily receive all of the vital information that they need to make knowledgeable decisions. Couple this with lines of communication which are often broken, and it creates a virtual organizational fog, and hidden in this fog is the looming potential for disaster.
Information Overload
In this day of instant information gratification, information overload is inevitable. On the organizational level, this can lead to decreased productivity due to the constant barrage of interruptions from being continually connected. Gone are the days of being able to focus on one task at a time, and multitasking is the new norm, despite the fact that multitasking greatly decreases productivity. Research indicates that people who multitask not only take longer to complete their tasks, but they also commit more errors (Dean & Webb, 2011). In a 2006 study of how the brain functions during multitasking, it was found that the area of the brain that processes information, bottlenecks the information; thus the brain cannot process information concurrently, causing a delay in being able to complete concurrent tasks. (Asplund, Dux, Ivanoff, & Marois, 2006). Also, information overloa...
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...rm. This will help dispel the virtual fog that blinds large organizations and instead, will create a clear path to success.
Works Cited
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Asplund C.L., Dux, P. E., Ivanoff, J., & Marois, R. (2006). Isolation of a central bottleneck of information processing with time-resolved fMRI. Neuron, 52(6), 1109–20. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2006.11.009
Dean, D., Webb, C. (2011, January). Recovering from information overload. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/recovering_from_information_overload
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Casamayou, Maureen. “The Columbia Accident.” Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Stillman, Richard Joseph. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 105-114.
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Public Administration involves the development, implementation and management of policies for the attainment of set goals and objectives that will be to the benefit of the general public. Since Public Administration involves taking decisions that affect the use of public resources there is often the question of how to utilize public resources for maximum public good. The National Association of Public Administration has identified four pillars of public administration: economy, efficiency, effectiveness and social equity. These pillars are equally important in the practice of public administration and to its success. This paper seeks to explain the role of each of the pillars in the practice of public administration.
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Strayer, D. L., & Watson, J. M. (2012). Supertaskers and the multitasking brain. Scientific American Mind, 23(1), 22-29.
Jay M. Shafritz, E.W. Russell, Christopher P. Borick. "Introducing Public Administration" Pearson. 7th Edition, 2011.
Since its emergence as a field of study, there have been some important contributions to public administration. Its goal has always been to improve productivity which then improves workplace performance. All of the contributions have been aimed at completing the work with the highest level of efficiency and at the lowest cost.
In the future I would like to see myself, as a continuously promoted public official who could possibly become a pro-active politician in today’s demanding political arena. To achieve this, I would like to gain more knowledge which can help me reach intellectual maturity to the latest practices adopted in the field of Public Administration. My desire for self-development in this area and curiosity to learn past and contemporary developments in different societies will help me to solve the problems easily.
Pfiffner, J. P. (2004). Traditional Public Administration versus The New Public Management:Accountability versus Efficiency. Unied States: George Mason University.
Rabin, J. (2003). Encyclopedia of public administration and public policy: K-Z. United States: CRC press.
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