Public Relations Final Exam

Part A 

1. Formal, informal, upward, downward, and lateral communication

Formal and informal communications are vital in public relations. Written communications are formal while informal communications are typically verbal (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 210). The informal communication also encompasses nonverbal communications, such as gestures and body language (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 210). Formal communication supports accountability by establishing the rules, procedures, and policies for organizational members. Formal communications encompass recordkeeping and formal instruction while verbal communications are more casual and less formal, and can evoke an immediate response from the receiver of the message (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 2013). The office grapevine is an information communication approach within an organization. 

Communications with the organization will be upward, downward, or horizontal (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 220). Upward communications sound like what it means. These communications move upward starting with individual. Communicating upward can be difficult especially if the employee fears the information they provide may be used to control the actions. Downward movement starts at the top or moves down from the superior to the employee (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 220). The purpose of the downward communication is to share information that will assist the employee in performing their job duties, organizational policies and procedures, and organizational mission and goals (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 221). Downward communication is also used to provide employee with performance reviews and feedback. Lateral communications are communications with work peers. These communications provide social support in the organizational setting and to coordinate tasks. These communications can be formal or informal. These communications can be productive and helpful, or they can be destructive to the organizational environment. 

2. Leadership, leadership qualities, and charisma

A leader provides guidance and direction for followers. They can perform necessary functions and possess the qualities required to encourage others to follow them. According to Rouse et al. (2016), leaders should have the qualities of optimism, energy and enterprise, intelligence, virtue, verbal ability, creativity, and judgment (p. 222). All leaders must be optimistic. The leader must have a positive outlook on meeting goals to encourage followers to embrace the same viewpoint. Energy and enterprise are also important characteristics of the leader. This means they must be diligent, dedicated, and capable of leading followers to meet company goals. leaders must be intelligent, not only to be able to perform their advanced duties, but to problem solve and provide the organization with a specific skill set. 

A good leader must also be virtuous. A virtuous leader is honest and display integrity, compassion, and competence (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 222). A leader with values is vital to the creation of good relationships with followers. Verbal ability is the ability to speak eloquently to be able to engage people to follow. When a person cannot communicate, they cannot lead effectively (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 222). Lastly, creativity is considered a good quality of the leader along with judgment.  A leader who is only creative and does not have good judgment, may be incapable of performing the duties required of the leader. According to Weber, one of the three “pure type of authority” is charisma (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 223).  Charismatic leaders are role models and they build an image that others will be willing to follow (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 224). They are effective at articulating goals, they are confident, and exhibit high expectations. Word count: 285

3. Phases of the budget cycle and incremental budgeting

The budget cycle has four phases that include the executive preparation, legislative consideration, implementation and control, and audit and evaluation (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 254). During the first phase, the president or government leader provides direction to the agency or department creating the budget (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 255). Current operations are analyzed as well as future needs. Research is conducted to compare cost and cost effectiveness. Legislative condition is phase two. In this phase, Congress grants budget power to the department or agency who then uses a budget committee to draft a budget (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 255). Congress will vote to authorize the budget. The implementation and control phase are where the budget is applied based on legislation and the authority for using the budget is given to the department or agency. Authority to use to the budget comes from the budget committee. 

The last phase is the audit and evaluation. During this phase, the use of the budget is examined through documentation and review (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 257). Audits are generally financial and ensures financial records are accurate (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 257). Financial documents are examined to ensure their credibility. They also examine the efficiency of operations in the department or agency to ensure the budget is being applied properly. The audit examines the program to ensure it is meeting the expected outcomes. Incremental budgeting is the use of the previous years budget to make decisions about the current budget (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 258). Money should be spent, so it can be counted towards the next years budget. With this budgetary approach, there is less inquiry. The budget is reviewed in increments to determine the distribution of funds. Negotiation is necessary to determine budget distribution. Credit for enhancements are shared by everyone who shares in the budget.

4. Privatization and Public-Private Partnership

The term privatization refers to businesses or nonprofit organizations that were once government owned (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 289). The entity can be sold to a private owner or it can be the government purchasing the business from the private owner (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 289). This is known as “contracting out” and consists of harnessing competitive forces and places the pressure on the worker (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 289). Another benefit of contracting-out is it frees the organization of bureaucratic processes resulting in more efficiency. Managerial decisions are placed in the hands of stakeholders who holds the greatest risk. One example of privatization is the use of security forces to protect government officials to perform security duties. 

Public ownership encompasses businesses that are operated by government officials while the private business is owned by one person or a group of individuals who make all the decisions, provide the resources used, and select the producer (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 290). The public-private partnership involves the government providing a service that is used by the public. The government will provide funds along with the private owner. The public-private partnership can consist of funding projects or a private enterprise providing funding from building a government project to receive profits from the buildings revenue. in the public-private partnership, the risk falls to the private and the public sector. For example, a private business might erect tolls booths for a city and receive a percentage of the profits. Water and waste facilities are another example of publicly and privately-owned businesses. The private owner operates the facility, but it is partly government funded. Prison and public schools can be considered public-private partnerships.

5. Performance Measurement in Local Government

Government performance is measured through citizen influenced and result influenced evaluations (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 296). How the government performs is measured by stakeholders to ensure accountability and transparency. Citizens are afforded the opportunity to measure performance due to a democratic process. Performance measurements are used to influence decision-making, service delivery, and public participation along with inputs, outputs, outcomes, cost effectiveness, and productivity (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 296). The design and implementation of a performance assessment system requires knowledge about the program and public services provided (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 297). The steps in designing and implementing the performance measurement include identification of program, statement of purpose, identification of programs inputs, outputs, efficiencies, and productivity indicators, setting targets for accomplishments, monitoring, performance reporting, analysis and action (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 297). 

Identification of the program and statement of purpose identifies the program and what the program does. Identification of programs inputs, outputs, efficiencies, and productivity indicators refers to aspects of the business, such as hours worked, operating budgets, worked measures, etc. Setting targets for accomplishments means establishing the specific objectives that must be met. This includes taking quantifiable measurements and establishing specific goals and quantities (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 297). Monitoring is continuous. This involves tracking whether the target is being met. Performance reporting is generating data that can be compared to the target to ensure they are being met. Analysis and action refer to the evaluation of the performance to make decisions about areas needing improvement or change. Once strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities are identified, action is taken (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 298). For the program to grow, challenges must be addressed, and opportunities recognized.

6. Administrative Law

There is no agreed upon definition, but administrative law encompasses powers and remedies. This includes the powers invested and the limit of the powers as well as keeping the agency within predefined limits. Administrative law encompasses the laws that direct and describe the procedures of an agency. In other words, administrative law regulates the operations and procedures of the agency through legislation. Administrators interpret the law to establish the procedures for the agency. For example, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) regulates broadcasting and interstate telephones (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 317). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) administers laws dealing with safety in the workplace (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 317). The law establishes rule and the administrators enforces it. 

When citizens do not agree with a decision made by an administrating agency, there is an appeals process for the citizen. For example, if a citizen is denied social security payments by the Social Security Administration, they can appeal to an administrative judge (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 319). The administrative judge will examine the law and the complaint of the citizen before rendering a judgement. They are responsible for enforcing the law and reviewing case against the agency. Judicial review is a responsibility of the judicial branch including the administrative judge. Judicial review is used as a checks and balance of the administrative agency. One concern involving the administrative judge is their connection to the administrative agency. This has caused critics to complain about a potential conflict of interest (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 319). Even though there is a need for policy management and control, there is also a need for regulatory figure to be independent of the administrative process.

7. Traditional and contemporary cornerstones of administrative law

The traditional and contemporary cornerstone of administrative law is the administrative agency functions as an independent regulatory agency and involve the uniform administrative procedural law (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 315). It also includes substantial evidence, judicial review, and notice and comment ruling (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 315). Even though they are referred to as independent regulatory agency, these agencies rely on the executive and legislative branch (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 315). They are also answerable to the judicial branch. The three types of regulation include old-style economic regulation, social regulation, and subsidiary regulation (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 316). Economic regulation emerged during the Great Depression in response to the failure of the banking industry and other economic challenges that surfaced. Regulatory agencies established to prevent the bank from collapsing include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 316). 

New problems emerged in society after World War II. There was a need for regulatory agencies ro regulate developments in space with NASA and the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 316). In the 1960’s, the EEOC was created to regulate the Civil Rights Act. Each regulatory body was created in response to the creation of a new law. Administrative law was standardized with the creation of the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 316). The law organized administrative law by standardizing administrative practices. Judicial review is also a cornerstone of administrative law. It provides the checks and balances needed for administrative action. The rule-making procedure is the last cornerstone of administration. Rule-making is used to ensure farness in the process and is used to create regulations.

8. Laws, regulations, administrative rules, and rule making

Accountability and responsibility are important aspects of a democratic society. Administrative control is needed to place the necessary constraints and restrictions on government (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 322). Government regulation is in place to control how the government operates. Regulations ensure the safety of the public and prevents corruptive or risk behavior that could potentially harm the consumer. These regulations are used to ensure the food citizens eat is safe and labeled, prescription drugs are monitored and regulated, and investments are monitored. 

Regulations are important for the market. The Interstate Commerce Commission was created to regulate the market (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 323). The market is prevented from market failure through regulation along with the transportation of goods. Regulatory agencies are put in place to ensure government oversight. Oversight focuses on industries to establish boundaries and to support the well-being of the industry (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 323). Interest group pressures can also result in regulation. When the public desires regulation in an industry, the pressure put on the government will result in regulation. The government has a duty to act in the best interest of the public.

Rule-making power is delegated to administrative agencies Congress. They have the power to formulate the rules, and interpret, and enforce regulatory legislation. They also investigate, adjudicate, and impose sanctions when regulations are violated (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 324). The administrative agency has legislative, executive, and judicial powers (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 324). Rule-making includes Congress proposing a bill and getting approval, so it can become a bill (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 325). The law is put in practice by government agencies approved by Congress and by creating regulations.

9. Human Resource Management

People are the most valuable resources in any agency or department. Human resource management is focused on managing people in the organization. People make decisions and control the organization (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 346). Human resources involve hiring, selecting, placement, evaluation, and promotion (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 346). It also includes implementing policy, crafting strategies, and advance organizational objectives (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 346). The nonprofit organization (NPO) involves topics, such as “strategic human resource management (SHRM), employee motivation, and compensation” (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 347). 

Human resource management (HRM) has many definitions, but it is a system of characteristic designed to direct and manage the people in the organization. The four, basic functions of human management are “planning, acquisition, development, and discipline” (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 347). The human resource department is responsible for creating policies that adhere to employment law while creating approaches that ensue the creation of a satisfied and motivated workforce. The manager of the human resource department directs efforts to recruit attractive candidates through proper compensation and training and development.

The reason it is hard to define HRM is because of the many duties fulfilled by this department. There are also other definitions of HRM. They manager has many responsibilities including placing the right person in the right job and hiring the best person for the job. It makes up the laws, regulations, and policies that impact the employees. There is no available framework for HRM for the nonprofit sector and public sector, but these departments play similar roles in both sectors.

10. Public sector, public organizations, and nonprofit organizations

The public sector refers to businesses or organizations owned by the government. In the United States, the public sector only makes up a small sector of the market which is mostly made up of privately owned businesses and private citizens (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 348). The organizations in the public sector are designed to help and services to the public. The public organization is owned by the people and is designed to benefit the public. Revenues from the public organization go towards supporting the public (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 348). These organizations can be run by government authorities or contractors for the government. 

The nonprofit organization is an organization that serves a population in society. These organizations are designed to helps others and do not operate solely for financial incentives (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 349). Some nonprofits donate all their profits while others just donate a part of their profits. The organization fulfils a private need, like providing aid to the homeless or the American Red Cross. When public aid organizations are not sufficient to help the public, the nonprofit organization steps in to fulfill the need. Like businesses that make profits, the NPO must report income to the IRS. 

The nonprofit organization must be legally established. The organization will be required to distribute profits based on the purse of the business (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 350). The nonprofit has a board of directors or trustees. The organization is held in public trust and has a fiduciary and legal responsibility.

Part B

1. Question One 

There are numerous factors impacting the effectiveness and efficiency of government agencies when delivering goods and services to the public. Communication and leadership are two of these factors. Government agencies have a duty when delivering goods and services to the public to provide effective leadership and to communicate effectively. Communications will be formal and informal, but all communications are vital to public administration. Formal communications foster accountability which is a vital characteristic of the public figure (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 210).  Formal communications are written while information communications are verbal. 

Formal communications in public administration refer to documentation. This includes written reports and communications required by public officials. The challenge with the formal communication is they can bog the public official in a plethora of documents (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 210). Communications have become more effective with the introduction of new information technology. Technology makes generating the required documentation simpler and more efficient. Challenges surfacing due to implementation of new technologies involve risks to privacy.

Effective leadership is also essential to the effectiveness and efficiency of government agencies when delivering goods and services to the public. The style of the leader impacts how they lead. Specific leadership qualities have been identified for the effective leader. Leadership qualities include energy and enterprise, intelligence, virtue, verbal ability, creativity, and judgment (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 222). Charisma is another important quality of the effective leader. The charismatic leader creates a vision and motivates others to follow. 

Another factor influencing the effectiveness and efficiency of government agencies is ineffective performance measures. Performance in the public sector is productivity. Public officials are paid to run the government. If they are wasteful or less than productive, it can impact the efficiency and effectiveness of the government. Performance measurements are ineffective for measuring the productivity and effectiveness of the government agency. Not being able to measure performance can make it difficult to provide evidence to the public (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 292). Performance management contributes to better accountability, decision making, and service delivery (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 296). 

Bureaucratic red tape contributes to inefficiencies and the ineffectiveness of the government. Red tape impacts performance and makes productivity much harder. It slows down the ability of the government agency to perform their duties or to aid members of the public. When government agencies are bogged down in red tape, they cannot perform to the best of their ability. Effective communication, leaderships, and the introduction of new technology has helped reduce the amount of red tape slowing down government processes. But better efficiency is needed to make government agencies more effective. 

Ineffective human resource management can be detrimental to any organization especially the public organization. Human resource management (HRM) plays a vital role in any organization. This department is responsible for hiring, selection, job placement, rewards and benefits, and the training and development of employees as well as creating policies, procedures, and motivating employees (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 346). They recruit the most attractive candidates and retain these employees through benefits, rewards, and opportunities for career growth. Through HRM, employees are properly monitored and developed resulting in a productive and high performing staff. This is especially important to the effectiveness and efficiency of the government agency.

Unmotivated employees can be detrimental to any organization. Motivation is especially important in the nonprofit organization. Employees will not receive the same level of pay and benefits as the employee at a private business. Recruiting attractive candidates and retaining them can be difficult for any organization, but for the nonprofit organization, human resources must get creative to motivate employees to be high performers as well as to stay with the organization. People who volunteer for nonprofit organizations have private motivations (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 359).  These motivations must be nurtured and supported (Rouse et al., 2016, p. 359). When nonprofits are completely staffed by volunteers, developing effective motivation approach is essential to the survival of the nonprofit. 

2. Question Two 

Trust in leaders is vital. When leaders are not trusted by followers, they can not motivate them to meet organizational goals. Leader must develop trust through the creation of interpersonal relationships. These relationships form as the employee gains trust in the leader’s abilities and the leader displays integrity. The leader’s behavior will influence trust and the way followers act. when employees do not trust their leaders, there performance will be directly impacted (Asencio & Mujkic, 2016, p. 6). The employee will spend more time focusing on the behavior of the leader over performing their duties. 

Leaders are responsible for building trust in an organization. This begins with the employees. A leader’s style will influence how they lead. The transactional and transformational leadership style can build support with employees. employees in the public and the private sector require the same level of support from their leaders (Asencio & Mujkic, 2016, p. 7). Similar to private organizations, public organizations must be properly led. The difference is not only should the employee trust the leader, so should the public. Leaders in the public sector run businesses that address the need for the public. The private and public sector are different, but they both create effective and efficient leadership. 

Transactional and transformational leaders are equipped to lead the organization in meeting goals while motivating employees. Different leaders apply different leadership styles to build the trust needed to create an effective and efficient workforce. The transactional leader leads through a series of exchanges resulting in leaders providing an appropriate level of direction and supervisions while motivating the staff to perform better. This type of leader uses financial incentives to encourage the employee to perform at their highest ability. The transaction involves the employee performing and being financially rewarded for their contribution. 

As a transactional leader, I would go beyond just providing financial incentives. Employees must feel appreciated along with ensuring the employee receives proper compensation, their efforts should also be praised. To make employees trust me as a leader, I will properly reward and manage employees. This include keeping my word and working alongside employees to reach company goals. I will display integrity and display fairness with all my interactions with followers. I will support employees in completing tasks and reward employees who meet company goals. By building trust, I can ensure employees are compliant and motivated. 

Transactional leaders differ from transformational leaders who build trust by creating a vision. As a transactional leader, I will make the employee aware of the rewards and encourage them to perform to the best of their abilities. I will take corrective action when needed but builds trust by forming interpersonal relationships instead of leading by threatening punishment. When I successfully lead followers in meeting goals and they receive the promised reward, it will build trust. Followers learn to trust transactional leaders when they reward high performing employees and correct those that do not perform to their highest ability.

The transformational leader is capable of inspiring others to meet goals. They build trust by creating a vision and making employees aware of this vision (Asencio & Mujkic, 2016, p. 8). As a transformational leader, I will promote organizational commitment by encouraging followers to meet goals and giving them the tools to be a success. I will motivate employee to meet organizational goals ad reward their successes. Praise and recognition will be vital to building trust along with the leader displaying integrity in their actions. When employees feel empowered, they feel appreciated and will work harder to meet organizational goals. 

The most effective leader and the one who builds the most trust uses a combination of transactional and transformational leadership. A high level of trust can be built when the leader rewards the employee for the transaction as well as creates a vision for others to follow. As a transactional leader, employees will be trained and developed and properly rewarded for their success. Applying a transformation approach will allow me to inspire employees to meet goals and motivate them to succeed. Transactional leaders ensure the work gets done while the transformational leader makes sure employees understand the vision and are motivated to succeed. For employees to trust me as a leader, I must develop interpersonal relationships and display integrity. I will be fair with all employees and recognize and reward their successes as well as develop creative ways to motivate employees to reach organizational goals.

References

Asencio, H. & Mujkic, E. (2016). Leadership behaviors and trust in leaders: Evidence from the U.S. federal government. Public Administration Quarterly, 40(1): 6-22

Rouse, J.E., Meyer, C.K. Noe, L.J., and Geerts, J.A. (2016). The craft of public administration (11th ed.). Des Moines, IA: Millennium HRM Press. ISBN 9780977088188.