Assignment Code: BPAC-109/ASST /TMA / July 2022-January 2023

Course Code: BPAC-109

Assignment Name: Logistics Management

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Assignment A

Answer the following in about 500 words each. 2×20

1. Explain the concept of public systems management and also describe its characteristics.

Ans) Gore and Stubbe define a system as "a mix of resources cooperating to transform inputs into outputs." Every organisation consists of systems that convert inputs into the provision of goods and services in order to achieve specific goals. Personnel, finances, logistics, marketing systems, and so on are a few examples. Several different subsystems that operate in the public sphere make up public systems management, broadly speaking. Each of the sub-systems tries to utilise human, financial, and material resources to accomplish specific predetermined goals. Public systems management functions under a broad framework of guidelines, norms, and considerations for the general public's demands while utilising public funds.

The public domain or system functions inside a predetermined framework and has a number of distinguishing characteristics. Therefore, it is unable to fully accept the operating principles and practises of the private sector. As we have stated, during the past 20 years, globalisation has significantly impacted public systems. Neoliberal ideologies and the public choice viewpoint have reduced the role of government in many domains, resulting in quasi-markets, the separation of policymaking and implementation, professional management, etc. Public systems continue to work within the constraints of the State, the Law, and Politics while pursuing the common good. Reforms in public management are influenced by corporate management, where managers of corporations have autonomy in their decision-making.

However, it is important to understand the distinction between business administration and public administration, which results from the diversity of both commercial and public organisations. There are two main distinctions. First, a business organisation has identifiable owners and pursues profit, but a public organisation is owned by everyone and works to advance the common good. Second, although the State, particularly the democratic State, follows the logic of democratic politics, which is examined by political science and public law, the private enterprise is ruled or coordinated by the market, which is under the purview of economic theory.

It can be claimed that public systems management is concerned with the planning and running of public services as well as the operation of executive government. This type of state bureaucracy reform initiative aims to make government more "business like" by giving bureaucrats a prominent position as managers.

Features that likely to improve on the conventional methods of governing:

1. The provision of high-quality services that the public values.

2. Citizens are viewed as active customers, and sincere efforts are made to learn about their needs and expectations.

3. Permits the use of more knowledge and employee creativity and offers greater freedom in working conditions such as contractual appointments, workplace bargaining, etc.

4. Provides the framework for more effective and successful managerial leadership, flattens hierarchies, and streamlines organisational structures.

5. Develops accurate metrics for measuring an organization's and an individual's success.

6. Accepts competition and approaches the management of public organisations with an open mind.

7. Adopts a network-based, cooperative strategy to working with the public, corporate, and nonprofit sectors to provide public services and solve societal issues.

8. Promotes a participative management paradigm and the decentralisation of power.

9. Favours market systems above administrative ones.

New State institutions, administrative culture, and management tactics define public systems management. It does not diminish the significance of state administration. On the contrary, it gives it a crucial strategic function. The following traits define public systems:

1. High degrees of responsibility and openness rather than merely following procedures, norms, etc.

2. Extensive application of information technology across the board.

3. Contracting, outsourcing, and decentralisation of tasks with state authority over key sectors.

4. Civil employees are given additional responsibilities that require them to use their managerial, technical, and decision-making abilities.

2. Examine the role of legislature in governance.

Ans) Making laws is the legislature's primary responsibility. The role of the legislature is made up of several responsibilities. Here are several examples:

Leadership

With the help of the whips, house leaders, and presiding officers, the legislature exercises main leadership. When the Lok Sabha is in session, the Speaker preside over the body and determines what has to be debated, by whom, and when, according to which rule of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Parliament. According to the Constitution, the Speaker has specific duties that include making decisions in situations involving the interpretation of house rules or precedents. In order for the household's business to be handled without interruption and in a productive manner, s/he has a responsibility to uphold discipline. Second, the opposition is led by a member of the House or Council of States who is hostile to the ruling party.

Law-making

The creation of laws is the legislature's most significant role aside from other duties. The Concurrent List and the Union's subjects guide how the parliament makes laws. Except in situations where the states have received the President's prior consent, Union law governs the concurrent list of matters over which both the Union and the State Governments have jurisdiction.

Accountability/Oversight of the Administrative Executive

Legislative oversight refers to the examination or control of the activities and results of the executive branch. Evaluation of the implementation procedures is a component of oversight. It occurs during the execution of laws, toward the end of the policy-making process. The strength of the ruling party in the House of the People and the level of opposition participation determine how effective these strategies are. It is generally agreed that legislative control is more effective under a cabinet system of government, such as that found in England and India.

Informational

The legislature has a right to information on issues affecting the nation. The government is required to supply the legislature with information in the form of reports and papers or by depositing materials in the library of the Parliament. Discussions may be based on these reports and documents.

Reflection of Public Opinion

Members of Parliament (MPs) may bring up matters of public concern in Parliament and investigate how the administration has handled concerns posed by citizens by:

1. a discussion that includes a minister's response.

2. a proposal that requires a vote. The Business Advisory Committee of the House, which is made up of representatives from both the government and opposition parties, decides how much time is allotted for considering some of these debates or Bills.

Judicial

The legislature plays a very small but crucial judicial role in:

1. if the Indian Constitution is broken, the President will be impeached.

2. Vice President, Supreme Court, and High Court judges to be removed.

3. Members of the legislature should be reprimanded if they violate any privileges, such as when they participate in parliamentary proceedings before taking the oath.

Electoral

The legislature is tasked with organising and taking part in the presidential and vice presidential elections. In addition to being chosen by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are also chosen by them.

Financial

This is the legislature's most significant function since it follows a constitutionally prescribed process to adopt the appropriation bill for the budgetary allocations. It controls the government's purse-strings with absolute authority.

Assignment B

Answer the following questions in about 250 words each. 3×10

3. Discuss the role of regulatory state.

Ans) According to the idea of a regulatory state, the State's role is changing from proactive involvement to impartial regulation and adjudication. The state's role in economic activity can be broadly divided into four categories: producer; regulator; facilitator; and welfare state.

While there have been efforts to lessen the role of the state as a "producer," there have also been efforts to expand the role of the state as a regulator in some sectors while defragmenting others. The best illustrations of a regulatory State retreat are the elimination of industry licencing and trade liberalisation. But there has been growth in many other areas. For instance, national level regulatory authorities have been set up in the fields of telephony, ports, and energy under the proper statutes.

Other sectors are also considering taking similar actions. In order to guarantee assurances and protections to investors and consumers, whose interests frequently conflict in monopoly-like situations, the regulatory authorities are expected to exercise independence from ministries or any other public or private enterprise involved. This framework for entry and operating conditions, especially tariff, is provided by the regulatory authorities. Insuring competition and essential social protection is the responsibility of the government.

India made the decision to allow the private sector to supply and enhance the effectiveness of many services that had previously been provided by the public sector in the post-1990 era of global economic liberalisation. Regulatory bodies are established in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, finance, infrastructure, etc., to reduce the role of the government, depoliticize decision-making, and bring in technical competence. Some of these are the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the Telecom Regulatory Authority, and others.

4. Write a note on principles of total quality management.

Ans) TQM initiatives have increased in sectors including road maintenance, welfare, police protection, and emergency services as a result of the government's interest in TQM. TQM is a concept that local government finds appealing since it aids in identifying community requirements, as well as helping to control expenses and enhance services.

TQM could help local government by enhancing responsibilities, boosting revenue, and lowering public scepticism about the abilities of civil officials. Thus, the presence of quality procedures will be able to foster trust through open communication, accountability, and democratic dialogue in addition to raising customer satisfaction with public services.

Through its guiding management concepts, quality management is relevant. Many notable researchers and specialists in the field of quality have advocated these as factors, phases, or functions to attain total quality since they are necessary components to apply TQM. Gulick's work in 1937, which popularised the idea of POSDCORB, which stands for seven managerial tasks including planning, organising, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting, gave rise to these ideas. To attain excellence in the services provided by an organisation, it is suggested that all managerial employees execute these tasks.

Quality, according to Crosby, is "conformity to criteria or specifications." He contends that specifications are determined by client needs. For a zero-defect quality improvement plan to achieve performance improvement, Crosby listed 14 phases. Crosby's major ideas for achieving quality were defect prevention and requirement compliance. In addition, there must be no flaws in the good or service.

Juran thought that management, as opposed to employees, is primarily responsible for quality issues. He places a strong emphasis on teamwork and project work, which can encourage quality enhancement, enhance communication between management and employees, and foster employee coordination. He believed that quality management consisted of three fundamental processes, also referred to as The Juran Trilogy. The three parts of this trinity are quality planning, quality improvement, and quality control.

5.Analyse the different forms of accountability.

Ans) The traditional hierarchical accountability inside an organisation is referred to as organisational accountability and is outlined in the traditional Weberian bureaucratic style of government.

Legal accountability links public actions to the recognised legislative and judicial processes. Either a court action or a judicial review of the administrative action is used to accomplish this. If a public organisation or one of its representatives violates a law or a legal delegation, they are held liable.

Professional responsibility entails striking a balance between a larger goal of safeguarding the public interest and the code of professional conduct (of doctors, engineers, and the like). Governments rely more and more on the advice of experts nowadays, who define the public interest in their own unique ways as they discharge newly hired employees. The two — public interest and professional code — could collide at any time. However, in the end, the public interest should be what determines the professional's responsibility and accountability.

The viability of any public initiative and even the organisation engaged are issues of political accountability. Or, to put it another way, under a democracy, the administrators have a "responsibility to recognise the ability of political authority to regulate, define priorities, redistribute resources, and ensure compliance with orders." The moral responsibility is the last but not the least.

The foundation of public management is moral responsibility. It involves more than simply adhering to legal requirements and administrative guidelines. The person who "strives for a moral government" is a moral public official. The need for moral accountability in the administration of public affairs is being expressed more and more frequently in various forums, including the media, the legislature, and the judiciary, as examples of administrative and political corruption grow more and more pervasive.

Assignment C

Answer the following questions in about 100 words each. 5×6

6. Explain the concept and forms of network governance.

Ans) Concept: "Coordination marked by informal social systems rather than by bureaucratic institutions within enterprises and formal contractual agreements between them" is how network governance is characterised. It is being utilised more frequently to organise complicated public goods and services in challenging circumstances. The interactions and resource flow between separate units are the two most crucial elements of network governance.

Such agreements are made to be adaptable and flexible in light of changing international conditions. Centralization is rejected by this system. To complete specified responsibilities, it enlists the assistance of numerous for-profit and nonprofit organisations. The coordination between all the aforementioned agencies and organisations is the common element in many definitions.

Forms:

1. Meta-governance: The phrase "meta-governance" refers to a modern development that combines institutional architecture, network framing, process management, and direct engagement.

2. Policy networks: These are common in Britain and involve a number of actors who each pursue different objectives and techniques, but who ultimately rely on one another to get the intended outcomes in terms of public policy.

3. Inclusive policymaking: It is the result of cooperation between governmental and non-governmental parties who have the necessary competence in defining agendas, developing policies, implementing those policies, and conducting monitoring and evaluation.

7. What is garbage can model of decision making?

Ans) In 2003, John Kingdon introduced the Garbage Can Model and criticised the theory's conventionality in terms of decision-making. He claimed that there are significant differences in how the government and public sectors make decisions. Three streams can be distinguished in decision-making:

1. The problem stream: It explains "how and why" one group of issues, as opposed to another, captures officials' attention.

2. The political stream: Concerning elections, the provision of public services, etc., this stream addresses the issues and expectations of the general public.

3. Administration, technocrats, researchers, and political "staffers" create policy ideas in the policy stream.

At key moments, the three streams listed above combine. According to the Garbage Can Model, organisations are anarchies that occasionally engage in chaotic, disorderly, and irrational behaviour.

The three streams do not typically take place during the decision-making process in organisations. Thinking of decision-making options as being tossed into a garbage can and one being chosen from the mix depending on the considerations of speed and time was suggested by March and Olsen. They added the fourth stream, called "choice opportunity," which aids in decision-making and is chosen when the three streams stated above converge.

8. State the advantages and disadvantages of enterprise resource planning.

Ans) Enterprise resource planning is a prime example of MIS. ERP refers to a category of software that businesses employ to manage all of their operational operations by combining them into a single system.

As a result, many organisational functions, such as planning, human resources, finance, and services, etc., can be merged. Over time, ERP solutions have changed. ERP can be hosted in-house, in the cloud, or, if necessary, a combination of the two. They make it possible for modules to communicate with one another, eliminating data duplication and providing data integration that can be used most effectively.

Some advantages of ERP include:

1. A higher rate of productivity due to decreased operational and management expenditures.

2. Improved organisational information derived from reports' real-time information.

3. Enhanced data integrity reduces risk.

4. Reducing expenditures like those for inventory.

5. Improved customer service through prompt and efficient response.

6. By distributing data among functions and using standardised replies, business process standardisation has been modernised.

Additionally, there are certain disadvantages:

1. If the wrong option is chosen, ERP installation and maintenance costs could be significant.

2. The employees may not be able to handle complex data jobs.

3. Requires extensive and ongoing training.

9. Discuss the features of Right to Information.

Ans) A Broad Definition of Information: Rather than merely "records" or "documents," the Act grants the right to "information." Permitting the inspection of public works is among the information. Information "related to a private body which may be charged by a public authority under any legislation" is also covered.

Disclosure A wide range of information is required for proactive publication by public entities. Public authorities are required to publish the following information in addition to the standard clauses frequently found in access lists: the budget allotted to each agency, including plans, proposed expenditure, and disbursements; the method of implementation of subsidy programmes, including the amounts allotted and beneficiaries; recipients of concessions, permits, and licences; and pertinent facts when formulating policies.

The Act calls for the employment of public information officers (PIOs) in all administrative units and offices as may be required to respond to information requests. Assistant PIOs are also to be appointed at each level of sub-division.

Time Limit: The Act specifies a thirty-day limit for regular applications and a forty-day limit when a third-party submission is required. When the information sought "concerns the life and liberty of a person," these time constraints are reduced to just 48 hours in an innovative way.

10. Explain the concept of responsiveness.

Ans) The basis of effective and efficient public system response to citizens' actual needs is responsive public governance. The term "responsiveness" refers to the practise of making sure that clients are served by governmental organisations and representatives in a timely and responsible manner. When a citizen asks for assistance at a government facility, the service provider must pay attention to their needs and provide assistance. It calls for a method that takes into account the wants, goals, and expectations of the populace and consists of plans, policies, programmes, activities, and resources.

A public service agency is said to be responsive to the extent that it shows receptivity to the opinions, grievances, and suggestions of the service users by making and putting into practise changes to its own structure, culture, and service delivery patterns in order to deliver a more suitable product. "An honest and responsive government" was listed as an indication for a better world in the Global Survey for a Better World by the United Nations. The commercial sector and civil society organisations have been working together as partners with governments all over the world to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in addressing developmental concerns.