Alternate Question for Comprehensive 5-7 exam
Many factors cause change in City & County government. Give an example or two of change you have seen as a result of each of the factors shown on page 5.1.3 from Level 5. Relate them changes to City or County management.
Here are some class examples:
Demographic
Decentralized physical offices to make City services available at satellite
facilities (e.g. City Hall in the Mall, Utility Payment Center, Police
Substations).
Transient Population consisting of students and legislators are accommodated
by a flexible service delivery (e.g., utility connection at the Mall, Deposit
waivers).
Technological
The City expanded computer from 300 to 1800. This has allowed
e-mail capabilities to faster communication.
Implementation of the People Soft system dramatically impacts our business
system (e.g., payroll distribution and capital project management).
Techniques
The City began a new initiative designed to encourage management-level
employees (and those who aspire to those positions) to take part informal
public management training through the Certified Public Management course
(CPM).
Total Quality Management is implemented to move us toward a high performance
organization, thereby, operating more “business-like” with a focus on still
offering government services.
Ecological
Using irrigation systems to effectively handle biologically hazardous
materials (Lake Ella).
Holding ponds are designed to capture runoff water causing flooding
and at the same are aesthetically pleasing to neighborhoods (Carter/Howell/Strong
Park, Recycle paper).
Idea/Information
The Employee Assistance Program supports employee/families needs’ via
confidential and professional intervention.
Through an ambitious administrative policy and procedures, employees
are offered flexible work schedules and telecommuting options. While
welcomed, they are not yet utilized.
Value/Cultural
Consortium of Human Services Program, which is a joint effort between
City and County governments via social service agencies equally distributing,
limited funding.
Family Medical Leave Act allows employees to care for extended family
via leave time options mandated by the Federal government.
Cultural Diffusion
We have formed international partnerships that foster the exchange
of economic ideas (San Martin, Iceland, Russia, Iceland).
The Administrate Disability Act to accommodate physically challenged
citizens (parking, hiring, training, community outreach)
Social Innovation
Economic – Invited British cyclists to train for the 1996 Olympics
thereby bridging global communities
Political – Employ a legislative lobbyist to serve as a liaison for
intergovernmental affairs.
Education – The city supports continuing educations through the Summer
Youth Program, Tuition Reimbursement Program, and Learn It Now.com.
Leadership –
Style: The City Manager invites employees to a Brown Bag Lunch to interact,
share concerns and vision.
Change Agent: We used Deming’s TQM to design the city’s hybrid quality
service program.
Activists: Mayor Scott Maddox for modifying the City’s Charter to a
strong-Mayor form of government.
Revolutionary: none
Social movements: Welfare to work and embraced an anti-smoking policy
that is conducive to a healthier working environment based on general good
house keeping standards.
Make the Familiar Strange and the Strange Familiar.
Design is rooted in the familiar. If we can design things for
the unfamiliar, we can redesign it for the familiar and it will be different
than it could be if we had designed it within the boundaries of our normal
thinking, paradigm.
One way to shift your paradigm is to think of those things that are
not possible now but that if were possible would change the way you do
business today. To ask this question at every level in your organization.
Please submit your CPM outside requirement work on "work process improvement"
to the Davis Award
Panel. You can find a nomination form on the web page: http://www.floridataxwatch.org/
Don't Forget to visit the CPM Web Page for our schedule: http://www.fsu.edu/~cpm/
Visit Sterling's web page to see how other organizations improve: http://www.floridasterling.com/
If you need any help or suggestions on completing the outside requirements for the CSM then please send me an E-mail. , you need to be finished with all the outside requirements around the end of March 2000 so that you can graduate in May of 2000 at the combined annual AACPM meeting/FCPM Graduation in St Petersburg Florida at the Tradewinds. You can make this target date. If you think you will have a problem meeting this date, call or e-mail me and I will get you on the right track to meet it.