Organizational Accountability Review of Taiwan's Disaster Management Activities In Response To Typhoon Morakot
Taiwanese System of Government 174
Responsibility of Emergency Management in Taiwan 175
Disasters in Taiwan 175
Citizen Participation 189
Shafritz defines citizen participation as follows: 192
Public Managers, Citizen Participation, and Decision Making 192
The Importance of Citizen Participation 197
Models of Citizen Participation 199
Citizen Participation Dilemmas 205
Accountability 207
Definitions of Accountability 207
The Meaning of Accountability 208
The Functions of Accountability 213
Citizen Participation and Accountability 216
Accountability Overloads and Deficits 219
Assessing Accountability from Democratic, 224
Constitutional and Learning Perspectives 224
Emergency Management 229
Collaborative Management in Emergency Management 229
Stages of Emergency Management Policy and Citizen Participation Purposes 232
International Collaboration 235
Network in Emergency Management 236
Agranoff (2007) defines public networks as follows: 236
Trust in Emergency Management 237
Summary 238
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 239
Citizen Participation and Accountability 241
Citizen Participation 241
Citizen Participation and Accountability 244
Accountability for Finances 245
Accountability for Fairness 247
Accountability for Performance 248
Benchmarking in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors 250
The Theory of Benchmarking 250
Benchmarking for Improving Accountability 253
Summary 255
CHAPTER IV-METHODOLOGY 256
Introduction 257
Research Design 257
Population and Sample 262
Instrumentation 263
Construct Validity 264
Internal Validity 264
External Validity 265
Reliability 268
Data Collection Procedures 268
Statistical Analysis 269
Limitations of the Study 270
Summary 270
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 271
Introduction 271
Reliability of the Survey Questionnaire 271
Characteristics of the Survey Respondents 279
Descriptive Analysis of the Survey Responses 283
Citizen Participation 283
Organizational Accountability 285
Correlation Among the Research Variables 291
Inferential Analysis of the Survey Responses 291
The Relationship between Demographics and Level of Citizen Participation 293
The Relationship between Demographics and Citizens' Perception of Governments' Accountability 299
The Relationship between Demographics and Citizens' Perception of Governments' Response 305
The Relationship between Level of Citizen Participation and Citizens' Perception of Governments' Accountability 310
The Relationship between Level of Citizen Participation and Citizens' Perception of Governments' Response 312
A Comparison between Citizens' Perception of the Taiwanese Central and Local Governments 313
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 318
Summary of the Findings 319
Research Question 1 320
Research Question 2 322
Research Question 3 323
Limitations of the Study 326
Implications of the Study 326
Recommendations for the Taiwanese Governments 328
Recommendations for Future Research 331
Contribution to Public Administration 331
Conclusions 334
References 335
Endnotes 359
Introduction
Shafritz defines emergency management as: [1: Shafritz, J.M. (2004). The dictionary of public policy and administration. Cambridge, MA: Westview Press.]
Actions taken to prepare for, prevent, or lesson the effects of natural (such as floods and tornadoes) and human (terrorism) disasters. Since 2001, emergency management has taken on a new sense of urgency and has been given significant new resources with advent of the war and terrorism. (p. 101)
Haddow, Bullock, and Coppola indicate, "Emergency management is an essential role of government" (p. 2). Emergency management is a task that the whole world has to face. Natural disasters visit us unannounced from time to time, like the earthquake in Japan, Haiti, and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Human disasters like 911 emerge now and then as well. How governments and public administrators deal with emergencies poses a challenge, and it takes coordination and collaboration from all sides concerned to make a peaceful transition from a chaotic situation back to normal life. [2: Haddow, G., Bullock, J., & Coppola, D. (2008). Introduction to emergency management (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Elsevier.]
Like the rest of the world, the country of Taiwan finds itself regularly facing natural disaster and the aftermath of these events. Chen, Wu, and Lai indicate, "In the past 60 years, natural disasters have killed more than 9,000 people and destroyed more than 541,000 buildings in Taiwan" (p. 633). These disasters also caused enormous economic losses. Therefore, emergency management is not only important to the Taiwanese government but also significant to the Taiwanese citizens. [3: Chen, L., Wu, J., & Lai, M. (2006). The evolution of the natural disaster management system in Taiwan. Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, 29(4), 633-638.]
When disasters occur, local and central governments often evade their accountability. Keehley and Abercrombie define accountability as "the principle that individuals and organizations are responsible for their actions. When actions and decision appear questionable, the public...
162).Governments is expected to become more accountable to citizens (Barata, Cain, Routledge, & Wamukoya, 2002). McDavid and Hawthorn (2006) indicate, "Canadian and American governments at the federal, provincial (or state), and local levels are increasingly emphasizing the importance of accountability for program outcomes" (pp. 5-6). The degree to which citizens trust the public and nonprofit sectors carries significant consequences. More generally, a loss in governmental accountability often results in the replacements of elected officials and decreased public support for governmental projects. Likewise, a loss in accountability in the nonprofit sector results in development projects, which are more difficult to accomplish. Accountability and transparency are directly linked to perceptions of trust (Keehley & Abercrombie, 2008). Hrebiniak argues, "Without clear responsibility and accountability, execution programs will go nowhere. Knowing how to achieve this clarity is central to execution success" (p. 25).Keehley and Abercrombie state, "The general public has proven repeatedly that they are willing to support the public and nonprofit sectors with their money -- if they can count on those organizations to be accountable. Unfortunately, too often the public trust is damaged" (p. 161). [4: Keehley, P., & Abercrombie, N. (2008). Benchmarking in the public and nonprofit sectors: Best practices for achieving performance breakthroughs (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.] [5: Hrebiniak, L.G. (2005). Making strategy work.Upper Saddle River: NJ: Wharton School.] [6: Keehley, P., & Abercrombie, N. (2008). Benchmarking in the public and nonprofit sectors: Best practices for achieving performance breakthroughs (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.]
Consequently, the lack of accountability can be one of the reasons for a subsequent drop in public support for governments. If governments lose public support, it becomes increasingly difficult to implement governments' policies. Therefore, accountability is the primary focus of this study.
Citizens who have previously participated may also accept policies with which they disagree, because, according to Gamson, participation may create higher levels of trust. While research on participation as it correlates to levels of trust has been conflicting (Kweit & Kweit, 1981), recent research has connected a decline in citizen trust to a number of different policies that decrease the ability of citizens to participate in the public life of their communities (King & Stivers, 1998). Additionally, Putnam connects trust with public involvement. Focused specifically on disaster recovery, Berke, Kartez, and Wenger proposed a model of recovery based on the extent of a community's vertical integration -- which are the links between the community and other political, social, and economic factions outside the community -- and the extent of a community's horizontal integration -- the quality of relationships between social organizations within a community. The authors argue that while vertical integration alone can assist a community in expanding its capabilities by enabling it access to more resources, the community can use these resources to the fullest extent only if there is a sufficient amount of horizontal integration. Further, horizontal integration lends itself well to mobilizing citizens to participate in recovery efforts and decisions. [7: Gamson, W. (1968). Power and discontent. Homewood, IL: Dorsey.] [8: Putnam, R.D. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.] [9: Berke, P.R., Kartez, J., & Wenger, D. (1993). Recovery after disaster: Achieving sustainable development, mitigation and equity. Disasters,17(2), 93-109.]
A perceived lack of accountability may cause a precipitous drop in public support for government. Without citizens' support, governments will find it very difficult to carry out emergency policies. Hence, citizen participation plays an important role between organizational accountability and emergency management.
The intent of this study was to investigate and explain the relationship between citizen participation and organizational accountability in Taiwanese central and local governments.
Background
Taiwanese System of Government
Taiwan is a multiparty democracy founded on the Taiwanese Constitution. Unlike the United States, citizens are subject to two levels of government: central and local government in Taiwan. The Taiwanese central government consists of the Office of the President and five Yuan: the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, the Judicial Yuan, the Examination Yuan, and the Control Yuan. The Taiwanese local government includes three levels of autonomous types: (a) special municipalities, (b) counties and provincial municipalities, and (c) county municipalities and townships.
Responsibility of Emergency Management in Taiwan
The Disaster Prevention and Protection Act were legislated in 2000 since the Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999. The Disaster Prevention and Protection Act consist of eight chapters and 52 articles. Although the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act has some rules for governments' disaster prevention, response, and recovery, there is no clear and definite responsibility for the Taiwanese central and local governments.
Disasters in Taiwan
Taiwan is a region rich in typhoons. During one regular summer, more than 12 typhoons can occur; and they can often cause disastrous effects. Ironically enough, the word "typhoon" means the deadly storm of Taiwan. The most recent typhoon in Taiwan, Morakot, is historically the most damaging.
The impacts of the typhoon are incommensurable in the short-term. In the Morakot Monsoon, there was a loss of over 600 lives and the loss of homes and of entire villages buried in the land or mudslides. Aside from the social aspect of the tragedy, the country faces the long-term economic impacts. The tourist industry, for example, is one…
Cooper, Bryer, and Meek reviewed the literature on citizen participation by synthesizing historical research to recent research and confirm the definition of citizen participation, defined by Macedo et al. As "any activity, individual or collective, devoted to influencing the collective life of the policy"(p. 76). Cooper et al. also affirm Cooper's (2005) argument of citizen participation:"People participating together for deliberation and collective action within an array of interests, institutions and networks, developing civic identity, and involving people in governance processes"(Cooper, 2005, as cited in Cooper et al., 2006, p. 76). Following a historical review of citizen participation in the United States, these authors offer a conceptual model of five approaches to civic engagement, with citizen-centered collaborative public management at the center. In order to accomplish a well-functioning citizen-centered collaborative public management, the authors suggest six variables need to be maximized: (a) government trust in citizens, (b) citizen efficacy, (c) citizen trust in government, (d) citizen competence, (e) government responsiveness, and (f) government legitimacy. Citizen-centered collaborative public management is enhanced through the following five approaches even though some barriers and five dimensions may influence the degree of success of each approach: the size, scope, purpose, location, and process employed to engage citizens. Cooper et al.(2006) call for "further empirical research on collaborative public management that is grounded in citizenship action"(p. 76). [35: Cooper, T., Bryer, T., & Meek, J. (2006). Citizen-centered collaborative public management. Public Administration Review, 66(s1), 76-88.] [36: Macedo, S., Alex-Assensoh, Y., Berry, J.M., Brintnall, M., Campbell, D.E., Fraga, L.R., . . . Walsh, K.C. (2005). Democracy at risk: How political choices undermine citizen participation and what we can do about it. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.]
Rosener simply makes the case that it is uncertain that citizen participation is "effective" because most research on the question takes the form of case studies. These case studies generally list definitions and techniques and schemes for implementing participation programs that failed to provide accurate, scientific data on how "effective" citizen participation was to the "goal"(p. 457). Rosener contends that evaluation research methodology can frame instances of citizen participation into something that will generate scientific evidence and allow researchers to understand the effects of citizen participation. [37: Rosener, J.B. (1975). A cafeteria of techniques and critiques. Public Management,57(12), 16-19.]
Rosener further explains how evaluation research can illuminate the effectiveness of citizen participation. Evaluation research is "nothing more than the application of certain kinds of research methods to the evaluation of social programs"(p. 459). It compares the effects of a program to its goals in order to assist further decision making about the program in question. Research in citizen participation requires that first who, where, what, how, and when be answered. Additionally, the cause and effect relationship between participation and the achievement of its goals must be studied. [38: Rosener, J.B. (1975). A cafeteria of techniques and critiques.
Function #1: Mitigation At this stage, gradual and long-term steps are taken to ensure that disasters do not occur, or that, when they do, they cause minimal damage. Actions at this stage include the identification of hazards, the research of the causes which generate the disaster, the creation of means in which to modify the causes of the disasters, the development of means which reduce the community's vulnerability to the disaster,