Administrative Traditions: Concepts and Variables

Contemporary administrative systems are shaped in part by their past and by the conceptions of good administration that are embedded in administrative culture. Administrative traditions shape contemporary administration in Europe and have been heavily influenced by European models. Administrative tradition means an historically based set of values, structures, and relationships with other institutions that define the nature of appropriate public administration. Seven dimensions can be used to both define these traditions and categorize public administration into four groups of nations. This explanation is similar to cultural explanations, but it includes the influence of structures as well as ideas. While the model of traditions developed is based largely on European and North American experiences, it can also be applied to a much broader range of administrative systems.

General practitioner and nurse practitioner attitudes towards electronic reminders in primary care: a qualitative analysis

ObjectivesReminders in primary care administrative systems aim to help clinicians provide evidence-based care, prescribe safely and save money. However, increased use of reminders can lead to alert fatigue. Our study aimed to assess general practitioners’ (GPs) and nurse practitioners’ (NPs) views on electronic reminders in primary care.DesignA qualitative analysis using semistructured interviews.Setting and participantsFifteen GPs and NP based in general practices located in North-West London and Yorkshire, England.MethodsWe collected data on participants’ views on: (1) perceptions of the value of information provided; (2) reminder-related behaviours and (3) how to improve reminders. We carried out a thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants were familiar with reminders in their clinical systems and felt many were important to support their clinical work. However, participants reported, on average, 70% of reminders were ignored. Four major themes emerged: (1) reaction to a reminder, which was mixed and varied by situation. (2) Factors influencing the decision to act on reminders, often related to experience, consultation styles and interests of participants. Time constraints, alert design, inappropriate presentation and litigation were also factors. (3) Negative consequences of using reminders were increased workload or costs and compromising GP and NPs behaviour. (4) Factors relating to improving users’ engagement with reminders were prevention of unnecessary reminders through data linkage across healthcare administrative systems or the development of more intelligent algorithms. Participants felt training was vital to effectively manage reminders.ConclusionsGPs and NPs believe reminders are useful in supporting the provision of good quality patient care. Improving GPs and NPs’ engagement with reminders centres on further developing their relevance to their clinical practice, which is personalised, considers cognitive workflow and suppresses inappropriate presentation.

The past and present of pandemic management: health diplomacy, international epidemiological surveillance, and COVID-19

The establishment of international sanitary institutions, which took place in the context of rivalry among the great European powers and their colonial expansion in Asia, allowed for the development of administrative systems of international epidemiological surveillance as a response to the cholera epidemics at the end of the nineteenth century. In this note, I reflect on how a historical analysis of the inception of international epidemiological surveillance and pandemic management helps us to understand what is happening in the COVID-19 pandemic today.

Bouncing around in a turbulent teaching environment: Teaching and researching resilience for public administration

The COVID-19 pandemic forced surprised governments worldwide to act fast and decisively, often revealing lack of preparation for this kind of situation. However, such crises are expected to occur far more frequently than ever before. To keep societies prospering, governments, administrations, and civil servants will have to adapt quickly and effectively—and hence need to develop the required capabilities (e.g., appropriate policies, strategies, knowledge, skills). To deepen our understanding of appropriate action in face of crises, resulting consequences for stability and required, demanded or enforced behavior of people, we propose the concept of resilience. Resilience, we argue by way of five propositions, helps articulating the underlying dynamics in society and its administrative systems in order to allow for a sustainable incorporation of the long-term perspective in the short-term strategy, particularly in times of disturbances and temporary perturbations.

Persistence and Change in Public Administration

By focusing on administrative traditions this book has emphasized the persistence of administrative patterns. But despite persistence, bureaucracies also change. They change because their tasks change, because the political and social environment changes, and perhaps most importantly because ideas about public administration change. These patterns of change lead into a discussion of convergence, and the question of whether all administrative systems are becoming alike. This chapter summarizes the findings in the book and evaluates models of change and reform when compared to models of persistence. The conclusion is that despite some changes in similar directions, administrative traditions are retaining much of their distinctiveness and they can still be used as a foundation for comparison.

The Scandinavian Tradition

The Scandinavian countries have a distinctive administrative tradition, although there is a good deal of variance among the four countries on some aspects of public administration. Although all democratic countries have some separation between administration and politics, this tends to be more pronounced in the Scandinavian countries, especially Sweden. Second, the administrative systems are closely linked with social actors through corporatist or corporate pluralist systems. This representation of the social interests is one component of an emphasis on participation in the public sector. And finally, public administration in these countries is responsible for delivering a large array of services associated with the welfare state. Despite the emphasis on the welfare state, public administration in these countries has been more open to New Public Management than the administrative systems in continental countries.

THREATS TO INFORMATION SOCIETY AS FACTOR OF POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INTERACTION BETWEEN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA IN UKRAINE

The article explores the content of the ‘information society’ concept. The concept of a political and administrative management system has been studied. The structure and features of the political and administrative system have been determined. The main threats to managing modern political and administrative systems have been identified. The essence of the interaction between public administration and communications media in the conditions of requirement to ensiring national information security has been defined. The problems of public administration in the information field of Ukraine have been highlighted.