How to Write a Critical Analysis

Article: Vanderberg, A., & Capodagli, B. (2015). The "Ottawa way" thrives. Public Management, 97 (6), 14-18 

The customer-centric culture within local governments remains unpracticed due to the monopoly of services and lack of competition. In their article, “ The "Ottawa way" thrives ”, Vanderberg and Capodagli present a case study on how the service culture was introduced and continues to thrive in Ottawa. The local government scores excellently from the initiation process, rollout phase, and its plans to sustain the new culture. After two years, there is evidence that the culture is succeeding. However, little has been done to motivate future employees and sustain this culture thus making it a likely short-lived success story. 

The initiation process of the customer service culture in Ottawa comprised of key parameters needed to achieve their goal. The team dreamt to have skilled personnel that collaborates and works with fun integrity and empathy as their values. They identified accountability as their code of operation and came up with a storyboard aimed at identifying obstacles and their troubleshooting steps. The initiation process also included a roadmap of the customer service culture, where the inclusivity of every employee was agreed upon. After the initiation process, the management team was trained to offer leadership for the rollout phase. The rollout process involved training of all the local government staff and the real implementation stage. During the training, employees identified possible barriers and their solutions using a storyboarded approach. A hot seat stage was also incorporated where the staff ironed out management and leadership issues that were a hindrance to the new customer service culture. The hot seat stage pointed out areas of weaknesses and recommended possible measures for improvement. Areas tackled included accountability, good leadership, and empowerment. Finally, the future of the new culture was planned to ensure continuity. Assessments were scheduled to check the quality of services, initiate future training, eliminate fear, and remove departmental barriers. A customer service member team was established to determine the next steps when the need arises and to train new personnel. 

In my opinion, the initiation and rollout phases of the customer service culture in Ottawa were arguably carried out with perfection thus a guarantee for the initial success felt after two years. Teamwork was achieved when every staff member was involved in the new system. Enrolment in training and problem solving ensured that every staff got on board and passionately worked to achieve the government’s sole goal of service delivery. One of the indicators showing personnel’s will to implement the new culture was their fearless contributions that pointed out areas of weakness among their leaders. There was also continued assessment of the performance of the system thus offering a track record for possible improvements and changes. With all these measures placed, the Ottawa customer service culture was seemly going to start on a successful note. 

However, the success of customer service in Ottawa is thriving in a short period. The system and culture established fail to put in place a motivational policy for the local government staff. For instance, personnel are rewarded individually while the new system is being encouraged as a team effort. What happens to those employees who get no prices and awards after several years? It is likely, that such employees will be dejected along the way and abandon the new culture thus leading to its failure. Local government achievements and success should directly trickle down to every employee. Also, the current staff is probably riding on the excitement of being initiators of a new system. A new generation of employees will eventually occupy the local government staff and without motivation, they may fail to have the same passion towards the culture. 

In conclusion, the new service delivery culture in Ottawa is exceptional and will lead to better performance of the local government. The training, rollout and implementation process involved every member of the staff thus a guarantee of the initial success felt after two years. However, a motivation policy is required to ensure the quality of services offered is sustained. Failure to motivate every employee implies that the Ottawa customer service achievement story is probably thriving on a short-lived success. 

Reference 

Vanderberg, A., & Capodagli, B. (2015). The "Ottawa way" thrives. Public Management, 97 (6), 14-18. 

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