Economic struggle is an issue that faces a considerable number of cities around the country. The struggles come amidst the need to maintain public confidence, improve the general conditions of the city, and attract investors. There is no doubt that this is an aspect that calls for tested and effective measures to ensure that the situation is contained. While means of improving such conditions may be available, the time that they take to achieve the intended results may take too long than expected. This is a factor that drains the patience of the city's residence since they are eager to experience dynamic changes that take place. Considering that a struggling city has problems ranging from social to economic issues, the management is one of the first responsible bodies to be held accountable for the shortcomings. This is an implication that the city's management should be prepared with active proposals than the previous leadership. It is, therefore, imperative to delve into human resource management in public administration by utilizing Oakdale Administrator as the case study. There is a need to look at facts about the city of Oakdale and the decisions that were made. A review of the decisions made and alternative decisions is also provided. Oakdale is a small city that was established in the early 1940s. The small city is also struggling with keeping the citizens’ expectations. Oakdale comprises mixed ethnic races, with the whites occupying a considerable part of the population. The city of Oakdale has a total of 5000 residents comprising of the whites, African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics. One of the most significant features associated with Oakdale city is the weak economic base. This is a factor that has been attributed to the changing and unstable leadership of the city. Oakdale city operates with an annual budget of $3.5 million (Cropf, Giancola & Lewis, 2016). This is a figure that has led to the stalled speed of development around the city. Compared to the neighboring cities, it can be concluded that Oakdale is behind in terms of generating revenues. This has also been attributed to the lack of a productive business environment to support investments. The city has a median average of $47,869 and a house value of $100,900. These are average numbers that help to figure out the prevailing conditions of Oakdale city residents. Oakdale city has been impacted by uninformed decisions when it comes to voting new leaders. This has further been influenced by new leaders who present ambiguous manifestos that lure the trust of the residents. The city is, therefore, characterized by weak leadership, sluggish development, old buildings, and a weakening economy. According to Cropf, Giancola, and Lewis (2016), this is a factor that has also contributed to Oakdale city being in the shadow of other neighboring cities in terms of development. Many of the residents consider it an eyesore and do not want to associate with it. They prefer using the neighboring municipalities in their official mail addresses. It is a fact that Oakdale city lacks consistency in their building designs, whereby some buildings have been revamped while others look in need of repair. This status adds more pain to the already ailing condition of the city. There are significant decisions that were made throughout the case study. The choices are not limited to the management only but also run to the citizens. Firstly, the citizens decided that they would elect new leadership. According to Landerer (2016), it is unethical for a leader to promise what they cannot deliver to the citizens. This was a noble gesture; however, it was clogged by misjudgments. This is because the citizens overlooked personal ethics and instead went for appealing words. Thus, the residents of Oakdale city decided to elect Hoffnagel. Traditionally, Hoffnagel was supposed to appoint his cabinet that would help in reviving the deteriorating condition of the city. While it was his duty to do so, Hoffnagel appointed an individual who had failed in various public dockets to lead the revival mission. The residents questioned this move, but the mayor insisted on their long friendship as the reference. Thus, the new city administrator was excused from her previous failures and offered a chance to redeem her image. This was a harmful attempt since the status of Oakdale city did not require testing a leadership; instead, it called for practical steps. The new mayor also decided to fire all the staff from the previous administration that was familiar with the plights of the city. This means that the new cabinets were strange to some of the challenges facing the city. Hufnagel and his office, led by Donny, decided to initiate a new complex in the city. This was a step that was not significant at that moment. The reign of Hoffnagel did not last for a long time before the appointment of new leadership in the city. It is now clear that the citizens needed fast development, and they could not be patient with any administration. The next choice of Clarkson and Asher, were not ready for the challenge as they were previously in the record for declining tasks related to the city administration. According to Katz (1974), a good administrator should have sufficient skills to lead. This is an implication that Clarkson’s administration lacked the practical experience to manage and drive the agenda of the city. The administration led by Clarkson and Asher also decides that they ought to advance the projects that were initiated by the previous reign of Hoffnagel. This was a critical decision that determined their success and failure. Considering the limited amount of revenue of Oakdale city, it was a hard task to decide what to do with the existing projects and the plans for the new goals. I believe the decisions made were not appropriate. This is an observation that touches the decisions made by the citizens and the administration. Firstly, the citizens were impatient and hurriedly elected new leaders without making informed decisions. This was a factor that led to the appointment of Hoffnagel despite his ambitions being unreasonable. Furthermore, citizens do not trust their administration. This means that there is nothing tangible that can go on if there is no trust between the citizens and the administration. It is under Hoffnagel that several decisions were made and worsened the situation of the city. According to the United States Department of Justice (2018), a leader should not use their position for personal gains or benefit others. Firstly, the idea to have all the workers under the previous administration dismissed created an enormous gap in developing the city. Although the decision looked wise according to the law, Hoffnagel had to integrate them into his cabinet to realize the intended developments. This is because they had vast experience in the problems of the city. Secondly, the idea to appoint Donny, who had performed poorly in her previous positions, was also misguided. This is because she was not selected based on performance rather than her relationship with the mayor. The scripture in Proverbs 29:12 says that “If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.” This is what is expected from a leader, and in this case, Hoffnagel did the opposite. Donny makes unilateral decisions that she does include other cabinet members. This means that the choice she makes does not represent a pool of ideas but individual objectives. This is in opposition to what is required of an individual leading a public position. The administration of Clarkson and Asher was not selected based on their experience. This was a huge setback that derailed the efforts of achieving a stable Oakdale city. According to Wellman (2016), a country that elects corrupt leaders, will the consequences of bad leadership. These are some of the reasons that influence my view on the decisions made amid the struggling Oakdale city. Therefore, the decisions were not appropriate to address the problems that were facing the city of Oakdale. Considering many decisions that were made to alleviate the conditions of Oakdale city, critical measures for the city were missed. I believe that there was a need to be patient and trust each leadership. This is an aspect that could have led to the full exploitation of the proposed development measures. Thus, citizens should have provided the working environment by maintaining patience and trust with the city leadership. There was also a need to stop the commissioning of new projects such as the new complex. This is because the initiation of new projects will force a rise in tax while the city is already facing a huge debt. According to the Telecommunications Facilities and Demonstration Act of 1975, it is better to upgrade the existing structures to be available to more people than initiating new ones. Thus, the funds for new projects should be used to upgrade the existing systems of the city. This is because there are systems in the city that would require less funding as compared to new projects. This would help to re-establish the city’s looks and attract investors. Besides, the city administrator should always engage with fellow cabinet members in every step that they wish to take. According to Do (2018), public service accountability and transparency are vital in human resource management. This is an effective measure of ensuring that any proposed idea is evaluated and its feasibility recognized. This was a factor that was overlooked by the administrators as they advanced their assumptions about the needed result. They ended up doing shoddy analysis about companies that should be assigned the tenders in the city’s development.
Conclusion
Summarily, human resource management in public administration is a critical responsibility that comes with significant roles. Uplifting the face of a struggling city both economically and socially is a duty that calls for integrated effort from the administration and the citizens. This implies that every party has its commitment, and when the situation calls, there needs to be collaboration. The city of Oakdale administration is a mess that acts as an eye-opener for other issues that face different city administrations. The facts of Oakdale provide the primary focus on how to evaluate its status. The citizens ran out of patience and looked for a mayor who is determined to change the phase of the city by offering impossible goals. The mayor, upon being given the mandate, goes on to appoint an administrator that has had questionable characters in her previous roles. This further leads the public to lose trust in the leadership of Hoffnagel. The administration, after Hoffnagel, too, is not appointed based on their experience but their connections. This is a factor that contributes to continued bad leadership in the city. Thus the decisions made by the administrations are not appropriate to address the problems facing the city. There is a need to appoint leaders based on experience and ethics in leadership. Furthermore, there is a need to stop new projects and focus on existing ones. This will save taxes and reduce expenditure while improving the phase of the city.
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References
Cropf, R. A., Giancola, J. M., & Lewis, C. (2016). The public administration casebook. Routledge.
Do, P. H. (2018). Human resource management in government: Case study of Vietnam. Asian Journal of Social Science, 2 (4); 1-13. DOI: 10.9734/SAJSSE/2018/46634.
Katz, L. R. (1974). Skills of an effective administrator. Havard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1974/09/skills-of-an-effective-administrator .
Landerer, N. (2016). Mass media and political decision-making: Analyzing mediatization in Switzerland. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Telecommunications Facilities and Demonstration Act of 1975. Hearings before the subcommittee on communications of the committee on interstate and foreign commerce, house of representatives, ninety-fourth congress, first session, on H.R. 4564.
The United States Department of Justice. (2018). https://www.justice.gov/jmd/misuse-position-and-government-resources .
Wellman, J. (2016). What happened to nations under corrupt or bad leadership in the Bible? Patheos. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2016/08/16/what-happened-to-nations-under-corrupt-or-bad-leadership-in-the-bible/ .
