GOVERNANCE, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, AND THE CHALLENGES…
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is to implement policies. Based on the definition in Gordon (1986), public administration involves all the individuals, organizations, and processes involved in the implementation of public policies. This requires the cooperation of both the public and the private sector, as well as local, national and international actors. The organizational theorists have advocated for an open system because of its interaction with the environment, which is volatile and subject to constant change. The advocates of strategic management emphasize scanning the environment to analyze the opportunities and threats for the organizations. To execute strategic planning, public administration must take into account the socio-political, economic, and technological environment, which also includes the interaction with various actors. Thus, public administration as an open system requires interaction with all the actors, who have an impact on public policy implementation. Public administration deals with the governance of public issues. Under the process of globalization, the differences between the public and private, and the domestic and international spheres are becoming blurred. At the same time, globalization has led to a number of new challenges for public administration/public governance. Accordingly, this book does not differentiate between public administration and governance of the public sector. Despite demands to reducing the size of the bureaucracy, its role is increasing rather than diminishing due to the rise in the numbers and range of the complex problems faced by the government. Olsen (2006) emphasized that the bureaucracy is no less important today than in the past. The importance of bureaucracy is crucial for transitional countries whether developing or the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Verheijen 2003). Peters (2009) explains that the bureaucrat now plays the role of a manager, a policy maker, and a negotiator. The key point is that governance is no longer a simple, hierarchical activity; it now involves more complex interactions between the public and private sectors. Kooiman (2003) and Peters (2009) reiterate that the role of public administrator has never been easy; even when the role was clear the implementation of public programs posed a number of challenges. The less-defined role of the public administrator in modern times has made their life increasingly difficult (Peters 2009). There are wider demands on the public servant in the age of globalization; their role is not limited to the simple implementation of the law. Public servants have to interact with both formal and informal actors and justify the tasks in an age of increased public scrutiny.
