CC BY
3SOCIAL SCIENCES
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNMENT ACCONTABILITY
Asagade Shola O.
MA
Master of Arts in Public Administration. Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7479784
ABSTRACT
Governance encompasses the system by which an organisation is controlled and operates, and the mechanisms by which it, and its people, are held to account. Ethics, risk management, compliance and administration are all elements of governance. Most individuals though disinterested in the dealings of public affairs are faced with the reality to require accountability as regards public activities which in a larger sense has a lot to do with government taking accountability for conducts both as individuals and as a collective within the public spheres. In the purview of this pretext, the paper adopt various methodology intends to investigate in the basis, determinant and impact of public administration and government accountability. Data collected for research paper were from secondary sources, library, scholarly articles and journals and direct observations from informal interview, questionnaires and document analysis.
The result of this research shows a correlation between accountability in government and it impacts on the improvement of public administration.
Keywords: Public Administration, Governance, Accountability, Responsibility, Government.
Introduction
As civilizations evolve into new civilizations, the role of government within the society has become more sophisticated. Accountability in government is becoming a hot subject since it is viewed as a key challenge in the most complex government. Accountability as a measure of good governance inadvertently strengthens a government's trustworthiness and legitimacy.
The term "government accountability" is frequently used in a somewhat broad sense; for instance, it is sometimes used interchangeably with the idea of "assessment," but it true meaning may be summed up in terms of "responsiveness," "responsibility," and "effectiveness." Examining government accountability in the context of public administration is always fascinating since accountability-related concerns are at the core of government administration practice. The meaning of the word "accountability" has evolved over time based on many contextual and cultural elements. Dubnick Melvin [7] opined that the term has an Anglo-Norman origin that is largely related to the idea of accounting. Its antecedents can be traced all of the way to King William's reign, which began with the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
The aim of this thesis is to review and study the impact of accountability in government and how it influences public administrations. To achieve this aim, the following task would be required.
- assessing the impact of government transparency on the structure and dynamics of public administration;
- proffer understanding of government activities and how government manages public resources; and
- improving general awareness by sparking public interest on the need for transparency in government activities through critical thinking, analytical skills and individual participation.
The scope of the discuss centres on government accountability as it correlates with improving the quality of public administration through efficient and accountable management of public resources. In order to achieve the aims of this paper, it is important to illuminate the context of government accountability, plausible dimensions and forms in relation to public administration.
Methods of Analysis
The methodology of the study is explained in this section, along with information on the participants, sample, study instrument, tests, and statistical techniques that were used to analyse the data and test hypotheses.
Secondary data from publications such books, journals, master's theses, and conferences was used in this study.
The study's primary instrument was a questionnaire that asked about the sex, age, academic rank, and other demographic factors of faculty members at public and private universities in the field of public administration. The survey was divided into two sections: the first dealt with the contribution of good governance to raising the standard of public service and comprised 10 questions; the second dealt with the impact of government transparency on the structure and dynamics of public administration and included 5 items. The Likert Scale - a rating scale with five levels to enable respondents to specify their level of agreement with each item - was used, with respondents selecting (5) strongly agree, (4) agree, (3) moderately agree, (2) disagree, or (1) strongly disagree.
The data from the questionnaire were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) tool, and the study's goals were achieved by testing its hypotheses. A reliability test using Cronbach's Alpha [8] was used to assess the internal consistency of the responses relative to the items of the study instrument.
The most significant techniques involved were as follows: Using descriptive statistical methods, general indicators about the demographic characteristics of the study sample were obtained, including the use of frequency distribution and percentages of the frequencies associated with the sample characteristics related to sex, age, scientific experience, and scientific rank; and a one-sample t-test, which was used to compare the mean of the questionnaire items to the test value (M = 3).
Results
The analysis of the demographic data is presented in this section. It also shows the outcomes of the investigation of the responses to the survey on the impact of government transparency on the structure and dynamics of public administration, and the contribution of good governance to raising the standard of public service.
The coherence coefficient (Cronbach's Alpha), which was calculated to ensure the consistency of the
From table 1, it shows that all the questionnaire items that tested the first hypothesis obtained an arithmetic mean higher than the test value (M = 3), and a statistically significant difference (a < 0.05). This is an indicator of the contribution of good governance to raising the standard of public service. These results show that the item "Creating structure & strategies of administrative mix would permit public organizations and officials to act in the most efficient way." attained the highest mean value (4.25).
The results of the study also show that the item "Policy formulation by government officials helps in addressing issues of accountability in public admin-
study instrument. Statistics consider scores above 0.60 to be acceptable, and this measurement also shows how consistently the study sample responded to the study instrument's items [8]. For all questionnaire items, the coefficient of internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha) was estimated to be 0.752, which is an adequate value and shows the consistency of the questionnaire replies. With scores ranging from 0.79 for transparency questions to 0.71 for accountability items.
There are two hypotheses adopted for analysis and discussion in relation to the objective of the study. These hypotheses are as follows;
H0: There is no significant contribution of good governance to raising the standard of public service.
H1: There is no significant impact of government transparency on the structure and dynamics of public administration.
The first hypothesis result is represented in table 1.
Table 1
istration", scored a mean of 4.13. This is due to the importance of policy formulation in clearly defining the consequences of decisions by public administrators and in setting guideline that ensure transparency, proper judgments in public affairs [4].
The results of this study also show that the item "Ethical shortcomings in the governance have much to do with weak or non-existing systems, weak values, as well as weak consequences in public sector." comes in last place, with a mean value of 3.55.
In order to validate the first hypothesis, a one-sample t-test was used. The one-sample t-test result for the first hypothesis is illustrated in table 2.
The Contribution of Good Governance to Raising the Standard of Public Service
Ranking Items Mean Standard Deviation t-test Sig
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Government monitors the interplay of networks to assure that principles of accountability are upheld by public officials. 4.11 0.82 11.69 0.00
2 Accountability helps to monitor and control government conduct in order to enhance the effectiveness of public administration through the prevention of misuse of power. 3.97 0.93 8.72 0.00
3 Policy formulation by government officials helps in addressing issues of accountability in public administration. 4.13 0.86 11.23 0.00
4 Ethical shortcomings in the governance have much to do with weak or non-existing systems, weak values, as well as weak consequences in public sector. 3.55 0.97 4.79 0.00
5 Creating structure & strategies of administrative mix would permit public organizations and officials to act in the most efficient way. 4.25 0.93 10.51 0.00
6 The contribution of good governance to raising the standard of public service. 4.01 0.22 36.77 0
Source: Developed by author based on Questionnaire data
Table 2
One-sample t-test for Items Related to the Impact of Government Transparency on the Structure and Dynamics of Public Administration
The Second Hypothesis Mean Standard Deviation t-test Sig
The impact of government transparency on the structure and dynamics of public administration 4.05 0.31 27.75 0.00
Source: Developed by author based on Questionnaire data
From table 2, the result showing the one-sample t-test of the second hypothesis with a mean value of 4.05 and a significance level 0.00 which implies is lower than the statistical significance level (a < 0.05). Hence, indicating that there is significant impact of government transparency on the structure and dynamics of public administration. This further proves the rejection of the null hypothesis and the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis. Thus, we can state that: "Govem-ment Transparency plays a significant role in impacting on the Structure and Dynamics of Public Administration".
Conclusion
Accountability being the core central of good governance as explores in this research work becomes the arbiter for transparency and accountability in the dealings of public administrative functions for both an ethical and legal perspective. The idea encompasses the moral framework for decision-making, the dynamics of social interaction, and the particular effects of various government operations. It consists of three parts that elaborate on its purpose and regulation in the context of public administration.
A review was done on one of the most insightful accountability evaluation techniques. The NPM method promotes the superiority of market ideas and practices over traditional public administration while emphasizing the necessity to offer public services effectively and efficiently. Accountability guarantees that the activities and choices made by public officials are subject to monitoring in order to ensure that government initiatives accomplish their stated objectives and address the needs of the people they are intended to be helping, contributing to better governance and poverty reduction.
It is crucial to include the general public in the formulation of policy decisions and to inform officials of the performance evaluation standards and the consequences of deviating from established rules and regulations.
References
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