Provide a supportive
response of a minimum of 250 words and with at least two (2) references, to the
following:
Public opinion should
always be a part of making decisions and problem solving. In the age we live
in, people feel like they should have a voice. If a person was to take this
away, and start making decisions by themselves, the people the decisions affect
and even people not involved will join together and make your job and life
harder than it already is. While listening to public opinion is a long-term
benefit, in my opinion, there are pros and cons that should be considered
during this process. As mentioned, “In government, as in virtue, the hardest of
hard things is to make progress”
(Shafritz, Hyde, 2023, p.40). While progress
should be achieved as soon as possible, looking at problems from all
angles in
needed. This includes getting public insight into issues which can allow for
viewpoints that a decision maker may never see. The community I work for is
very diverse in the types of people and lifestyles. If a public administrator
has never been around or tried to learn about the differences and was not open
minded to getting help with
decisions, the decisions made that were made with
good intent could be detrimental to that part of the community. Using influence
and input from community members and other outside sources can help come up
with decisions
that embrace change and advancement that fit the needs of the
impacted community and members. As mentioned though, public opinion does
prolong the process of making decisions as you will need to hear everyone’s
input and
then tailor your decision using your own views and philosophy. This
is where the effectiveness starts to dissipate as some decisions are needed
quickly and wanting input from as many sources as you can get can sometimes not
be a
realistic way of decision making. Finding a balance between the two is
crucial and can be the deciding factor on if
you are an okay public
administrator or a great one. My local communities are struggling with this
topic as we speak. They are all small enough that public input is wanted, bit
big enough where sometimes there is too much input and
differences in opinions.
This has caused many issues between government employees and elected officials
and the community. Some issues have now been in the process of public debate
for years now.