Reinventing Government Term paper

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SUMMARY

In their book Reinventing Government, Osborne and Gaebler (1992) suggest that there has been a transformation in the confidence in the government and an overall decline in efficacy of government structures. The book outlines some effective trends and imperative changes that need to be put into place to restructure the floundering governmental system in the United States. Osborne and Gaebler suggest that in 1990, the government in general hit rock bottom. State governments, which struggled to deal with multi-billion dollar deficits, began the process of laying off government employees in order to reduce their costs (p.1). At the same time the federal government battled with a ballooning national deficit and increasing unemployment rates. The necessity for change was imbedded on the recognition of the fallibility of government.

Osborne and Gaebler go on to outline the reason for the bankruptcy of the bureaucratic system currently in place and the reasoning behind a general emergence of proposals for a more entrepreneurial government (p.16).

But while a number of economists and politicians, like Ross Perot, have proposed the running of government like a business, Osborne and Gaebler outline the reasons, especially the multifaceted role of government, that make this venture impossible (p.20). Instead, they propose that it is possible to encourage a greater degree of entrepreneurialism within the government structure without a corporate design (p.22).

One of the major issues that Osborne and Gaebler address is the fact that government officials have generally outlined two avenues for creating necessary change: to cut spending or to raise taxes (p.22). The problem that becomes apparent in this design is that people still wanted education, public road repairs, and many of the programs supported with the American tax dollar. However, they want government to find a way of meeting these needs in a more efficient manner.

Osborne and Gaebler suggested support for Deming's approach, called Total Quality Management. Not only because it is considerably popular in the private sector, but also because it pushed public institutions towards focusing on five elemental principles: results, customers, decentralization, prevention, and a market approach (p.22).

These five basic principles become imperative to the author's contentions regarding the changing face of the American government.

The authors suggest that there is the capacity within the design of social structure to support a government of change. That through the process of redefining government, including grasping an understanding of the way bureaucracy has developed, it is possible to implement change (p.26). One of the major premises in this chapter is that it is possible for government to reduce the size and the bureaucratic complexity of government while making it stronger. The key to this kind of change has to come from the people (p.30). Throughout their work, the same recurring theme comes into focus: that change necessitates individual action.

Key also is the premise that there is a difference between support that keeps the governmental

process in action and support that directs government

processes. Osborne and Gaebler describe this as the

difference between rowing and steering (p.34). They consider the role that individual action has within government. They also recognize some of the basic misconceptions, including the perception that public employees are victimized within the existing system (p.37).

They promote the idea that individual action, including action taken from within, can create ways of defining steering organizations that can effectively promote government action that represents the needs of the

people (p.39).

Conservatives have called for the privatization of

government. Though the authors consider the importance of entrepreneurial elements to government and a greater role of the people in developing effective decentralized government, they do not contend that privatization is the only solution that can provide support for the changing governmental structure (p.45). While they recognize that the private sector can provide tasks more efficiently than government could, they also recognize that private markets cannot benefit in all tasks currently within the scope of governmental design.

Osborne & Gaebler provide an overview of the most elemental point to government involvement on a local level. They support public choice and believe in the impact of the voice of the people on governmental processes. Although empowerment is an "American tradition" (p.51), there appears to be a general lack of empowering the American people towards organized public action.

The authors believe that we let bureaucrats control too much of our public services (p.51).

Rather than empowering communities to solve their own issues and find unity based on interactive modes of participation, the governmental process has reduced Americans to individuals willing to be controlled.

Public housing is an important issue, especially in

large urban communities, and Osborne and Gaebler use the Kenilworth-Parkside development in Washington, DC, as an example of effective community action designed to improve what government was unable to improve over many decades. The ability of the community members to work together from 1982-1990 to improve the overall status and quality of life in this housing development demonstrates effective community action at its best (p.60).

Osborne and Gaebler recognize that there is a difference between professional services and community care. They believe that there is a greater need to focus on community care as an inherent part of societal development and effective government (p.65). Within the design of this premise is the necessity to recognize the transition from expectations surrounding the governmental provisions of services to empowering the people (p.70).

They suggest that participatory democracy is the most important factor in the empowering of the citizenry (p.73).

One of the basic problems in government today is the

lack of competition, based on the essential monopoly that

government holds on many different kinds of services.

Osborne and Gaebler reflect on the advantages of...

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