IN OUR column today, we are bringing down to the practical level the basic concepts of public management, specifically in terms of the practical aspects of management style as it relates to the day-to-day realities of the applications of public management theories.
It is our hope in discussing this topic that our various insights may be useful to some newly-elected local or national officials, especially those who may be entering the field of public service for the first time as they prepare to perform their crucial duties for the citizenry.
For the academically oriented, our discussion in our column today on management style is an integral aspect of public management and although it is distinct from the broad field of public management, the subject of management style is nevertheless inseparable from and in fact closely connected with the application of public management principles.
As we look back to the history of public management in various countries of the world, the subject of management style is a unique aspect of public management which needs to be understood and in fact practiced accordingly because like its related topics of values and culture in management, management style cannot be ignored by practitioners throughout the world.
On the question why this is so, the simple answer is that management style is basically an integral part of the overall behavior of individuals or groups of people and on the basis of which their political behavior or actions are influenced in positive or negative ways. Likewise, management style is also a description of the way public management practitioners manage or handle the multifarious activities
of their management profession. Some writers describe this as micro-management.
These aspects of public management and management style have in fact been widely written about and in some cases very interestingly or colorfully described on historical events with the actual cases of some past rulers or high public officials in different countries of the world.
The following different examples from history give us an idea in answer to the question in our title on how management style has affected the performance of public management officials. To cite some cases, we have Winston Churchill, the British leader and Franklin Roosevelt, the American president whose leadership and unique management styles helped save the world from tyranny.
In our coming column, we will describe more interesting cases and aspects of the historic relevance of management style as influenced by the historic factors of values and culture and which have enabled different countries to overcome oppression from various tyrants.