Introduction
The world of political affairs is full of different processes which are concerned with peoples’ urges for money and power. Such evaluation of the contemporary situation over this field of activities is not surprising. Many ordinary people constantly run across the situations considered with bureaucracy and corruption in the upper echelons of state power. This feature of every country in the world seems to be apparent and taken for granted. On the one hand, it is outrageous, because actually, it leads toward the amoral and abnormal execution of warrants. The humane approach to the correct provision of reforms points out the statements of the Constitution and other official law documents, as the primary sources and framework for the law and order manifestation in a country. On the other hand, corruption is considered by many individuals as a natural strive for power and money is the most important in the material world. In other words, peoples’ mentality matters in this respect.
The United States of America is also outlined with points on corruption and intrigues which appear from time to time in the higher layer of the society. Politicians and various officials are involved (intentionally or not) in the process of sharing fields of influence in the vital spheres of the state within governmental agencies. Hence, the research is intended to work out the reasons for corruption in the US government, its development in modern society along with main features, and, strange as it may seem, the ways of proper suppression. Points on privatization of public services, emergency management services and their improvement are also discussed with applicable suggestions as to the ways to stop such negative phenomena of contemporary America.
Literature Review
The significance of the problem props up against hot debates widely promoted in society. Bales (2008) sees the straightforward relation between corruption and poverty in countries worldwide. In fact, places, where the law is in decline or in its solely formal administration for all layers of the society, provoke the fall of morale and, as a result, economic stability throughout the country. This point is considered by the author as the main effect of the further ignorant attitude of people toward the point of corruption in the governmental agencies. Bales (2008) also admits that slavery is the result of corruption, in turn, people become helpless in their hope for state support on each level, from the local to the governmental ones. This controversy which is not seen so much in the United States can be understood in the examples of less developed countries, for instance, in Central Africa.
Pynes (2004) promotes the idea that the most appropriate way for making corruption in the action more blurred is to provide privatization programs for public services. The thing is that governmental agencies can contract out services. Such policy does not contradict the law and is executed accordingly. The author researches these social and political tricks made the officials. The government remains the main player in terms of the promotion of privatization because actually it touches upon its hidden interests. Beermann (2001) was one of the first who underlined the wise and criminal actions of the officials in government when he notes that government keeps a strict eye on its accountability and tries to be accountable in each sphere. Notwithstanding high standards of the verification provided in the US politicians are still versatile in methods for gaining as many personal benefits as possible. Heineman & Heimann (2007) outline within the major functions of the government the exercising of taxpayers’ money deciding in which branches this money is better to be invested. Thus, the authors of the article argue about the main values for the Public Administration. It is so because the analysis of the current situation in the publicity is many-faceted in its social coloring. Nonetheless, the concept of the state becomes most important in the Public Administration. Logically thinking, the state comprises the wholeness of law and its nuances for all citizens. Thus, the problem of corruption in governmental agencies is perceived as a real consequence while being involved in this process. On the other side, in a society where the law is the basis for peaceful regulations corruption is seen as a paradox. In this respect, Heineman & Heimann (2007) fairly admit that privatization is a great seduction for official figures in the government. As a result, where there is seduction or urge for something worth, then a competition appears.
Miranda & Lerner (1995) rather earlier noticed the tendency in the United States for the bureaucratic trend of development, because in the governmental agencies there is a lack of competition. Furthermore, the authors provided a fair prediction that this flow within the governmental elaboration will be continued in further times: “Competition in bureaus, however, continues to develop, contrary to the canon of public administration, and only interrupted by periodic structural reforms” (Cited in Miranda & Lerner, 1995, p. 196). Thus, the authors are apt to demonstrate that contemporary civilized and well-developed society is far from conditions of no bureaucracy and triumph of the law in the upper echelons of power.
The reliance of the emergency management services, as being influenced by the governmental programs, is discussed by Haddow et al (2007). Here the conceptual awareness of government’s direct requirements is considered with various organizations within which the most influential and grave is Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). Haddow et al (2007) insist on the assertion that the accreditation of government emergency management programs can be helpful for the delivery of emergency management services to the public. This research straightforwardly touches upon the theme of corruption in Public Administration and its spread on the execution of services at large. The authors are intended to point out that any attempt of the government to come closer to the pathway of reforms is concerned somehow with the idea of hidden corruption and share in this or that service due to the concepts being included initially in the program.
Atherton (2004) proposes a reliable plan for the improvement of emergency management. In their article, there is research concerned with whether the correctional plan for emergency management will be successful for society and for a decrease of the extent of corruption within the governmental agencies. Thus, the authors are highly motivated to admit that such a plan “is always a complex network of systems working together, and the procedure of implementation, evaluation and improvement is a continuous process that is never intended to come to an end” (Atherton, 2004, p. 64).
Case Analysis
The main feature and mandatory requirement in the Public Administration is to maintain and control the process of relations between the government and the society. This process is patterned usually with diverse directions of the work as of the strategic spheres in state power. The reality of contemporary communities designates the negative impacts from the side of governmental intrigues and scandals which appear from time to time. Of course, it stops the process of adjustment to new changes in the society required by the time frame. Nevertheless, the idea of corruption in governmental agencies is not new for today’s Americans.
When there is a need for money and additional financial resources for the country, then the concept of a privatization program arises. Thereupon, the officials have direct access to such huge sums of money which should be correlated for the use of the society. Such torrents of finances can be seen each time when the state power is ready to provide any privatization program. Thus, there is an apparent possibility for the officials to have their little share (but in global scope) in such deals. For the businessmen, this estimation of the current conditions is directly related to the bribery for making more success in purchasing. The above-mentioned logical explanation of how corruption can be provided in American society is a mere little assumption. In fact, the picture of real corruption is rather high.
Society can be disappointed with the actions of the officials when they just see contradictions or differences between what candidates tried to persuade them before and the consequences since the start of being in power. Heineman & Heimann (2007) prove the idea of such obstacle in relationships between the government and the society: “When the government is divided up among so many for-profit subsidiaries–with virtually no oversight–that essential pact is violated” (18). This is why there are many disagreements between the previously mentioned two subjects of social relationships. Everything considered with money and power is valued by individuals as one more prerequisite for the worse development of the country. Spending of taxpayers’ money on not so important issues delays the higher development in more vital spheres, such as healthcare, education, etc.
Cases of corruption in the United States are not so frequent and grave in comparison with other developed countries. In fact, straightforwardly in the US, the highest rates of corruption were fixed in the late nineteenth century when the country highly developed the main spheres of its economy (Bales, 2008). In the present time corruption still exists within the governmental agencies, serving as a guarantee for the provision of appropriate services for the population. Thus, the emergency management services point out a direct significance for society. Still, not everything is good in this sphere. State, territorial, and local programs as of the emergency services in many cases confront with some negative factors appearing in the government (Haddow et al, 2007). The improvements in this sphere of governmental activities can be reached by means of the organized design for the work of this department along with the corrections provided periodically by the governmental revision structures (Atherton, 2004). This flow of reforms can distinctively outline new priorities for the officials so that they could be obliged to follow the requirements of new approaches and systematic nuances in this niche of interaction between the society and the government.
Corruption is a dynamic process when talking about its presence in government agencies. Its trend is outlined with a bureaucratic machine which is obvious everywhere. Bureaucracy is the opportunity for the officials to provide their hidden plans for making more personal benefits under the “mask” of higher concernment about societal problems. Goods and services are the main sources of the state’s revenues. This is why cases of gerrymander and fraud take place in terms of the bureaucratic process of development. Again Heineman & Heimann (2007) prove this idea with more points on the entrenchment of bureaucracies:
And corruption isn’t always so overt. Public bureaucracies are often ridiculed for being so entrenched: They go on and on, even after they’ve outlived their usefulness. But you can bet that contractors–often dependent on government business as a primary source of revenue, if not a sole source–become entrenched as well (18).
A constant debatable approach of the society and officials toward the struggle with cases of corruption seem to be ineffective, from the one side. Actually, one of the suggestions is presupposed with the conditions in which government workers are placed along with their actions underlined rather strictly in contrast with workers in the private sector. Beermann (2001) provides an idea that in governmental agencies corruption can be stopped due to the reformation of the bureaucratic system, first of. This step would definitely facilitate any search for the corruption decrease maintained throughout the country. Agencies in the government should be controlled. Such an approach will make gradual reformation possible. Pynes (2004) is convinced that with more attention of the highest political structures on the privatization in the public sector and contracting out services the situation can be stabilized.
Conclusion
The idea of the research paper seeks a theoretical and practical explanation of corruption within government agencies. In this respect, the points on supposed reasons, facts, and suggestions as to the decrease of such negative phenomena were discussed in a critical key with the implementation of authoritative studies in this field of social, political, and economic dimensions. The research showed that the apparent nature of corruption, notwithstanding the provided measures for its restraint, seems to be everywhere. This fact cannot be taken for granted, because as a prosperous country the USA should follow the way of positive development. As Bales (2008) points out, corruption provokes slavery and poverty in society. Such assertion once more depicted the seriousness of the theme under discussion. The bureaucracy is also considered as an attribute of corruption in practice. Thus, society should be aware of applicable ways in order to work out the problem.
Thereupon, many researchers prop up against some logical assumptions which can be applied to the American society with its peculiarities in political structure and current economic research. Moreover, the importance of better control throughout all branches of power is concerned to be successful; if there will be a program for reliable and efficient reformation of the American bureaucratic system up to its total destruction. All in all, the idea seems to be very convincing in terms of today’s economic difficulties in the world. Internal ways of effective and efficient administration can make an impact on the improvements of public affairs. In this respect goods and services yield will make more benefits for the US on the whole.
Reference
Atherton, G. (2004). ‘Correctional Emergency Management: The Next Level. Corrections Today’, 66, 60-67.
Bales, K. (2008). Ending Slavery: How We Free Today’s Slaves. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Beermann, J. M. (2001). ‘Privatization and Political Accountability’. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 28(5), 1507-1513.
Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A. & Coppola, D. P. (2007). Introduction to Emergency Management (3rd ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Miranda, R., & Lerner, A. (1995). ‘Bureaucracy, Organizational Redundancy and the Privatization of Public Services’. Public Administration Review, 55(2), 193-200.
Pynes, J. (2004). Human resources management for public and nonprofit organizations (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Shenk, J. W. (1995). ‘The Perils of Privatization’. Washington Monthly, 27, 16-20.