Christian Model for Public Service Reform

Reply to Jeff and Catrina- American Public Service

Jeff

You make a good point about public service being held to a higher standard, as Nigro and Kellough point out. The ethical and legal landscape that guides HR practices in the public sector is much more stringent than in the private sector. In addition, the workforce in the public sector is much more diverse, with employees coming from different socioeconomic backgrounds and holding a wide range of qualifications. As a result, HR policies in the public sector must be designed to accommodate this diversity and ensure that all employees are treated fairly. Plus, the public sector is subject to greater scrutiny from both the media and the general public. This means that any HR lapse could have major implications for both the organization and the individuals involved.

However, I feel that public service can benefit from adopting the private sector model. While it is often assumed that the private sector is more efficient than the public sector, I would contend this is not always the case. In fact, there are many ways in which the private sector can teach the public sector. One area where the private sector excels is in customer service (Chowdhury & Shil, 2021). Employees in the private sector are typically more responsive to customer needs and more effective at problem solving than can be found in the public sector. In addition, the private sector is often better at managing large-scale projects (Chen et al., 2020). This is due to the fact that the private sector has more experience with coordination and resource allocation.

Ultimately, it is the Bible that teaches, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). So in the end the model that is really needed is Christ—then public service will be the best it can be.

References

Chen, J., Walker, R. M., & Sawhney, M. (2020). Public service innovation: a

typology. Public Management Review, 22(11), 1674-1695.

Chowdhury, A., & Shil, N. C. (2021). Private Sector Management Tools In The Public

Sector: Illustrative Evidence Of Literature From Australian Public Sector.

Catrina

I agree that reform can be a great and often needed thing—but I do not feel that reform just for the sake of reform is ever warranted. In fact, in my view, a lot of bad can happen from unnecessary and unneeded reform. Therefore, before recommending reform of the public service under the private sector model, I would first recommend making the case that reform is warranted (Waller, 2020).

This should not be hard to do. There is a common belief that the private sector is more efficient than the public sector. This belief is based on the idea that businesses are driven by the profit motive, while public institutions are not. As a result, it is often assumed that the private sector model is superior to the public sector model.

However, this view fails to take into account the fact that public institutions have different goals and incentives than businesses. While businesses are primarily concerned with making money, public institutions are charged with serving the public good. This difference in goals has a significant impact on the way that these two sectors operate (Murray, 2021). As a result, adopting the private sector model in the public sector is not likely to be as successful as proponents of this idea suggest.

What really needs to be adopted in public service is a Christian model. Think about it: Christ gives us Himself as the model of all human service, and public service is really human service—so Christ’s teachings and principles should apply. It is unfortunate that the country has taken the separation of church and state as far as it has because it really makes it difficult to apply Christian principles to public service, but that is what is needed most. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). In my opinion, Mark says it best.