©
Lyudmila Kalinichenko, PhD. Russian State Social University,
Department
of State, Municipal Management and Social Engineering
©
Lubov Adamskaya, PhD candidate in Sociology,
Associate
Professor of Financial University, Moscow
2nd
Class State Advisor of the Russian Federation
Professional training
of public administration personnel:
Guidelines, educators
and needed results
Professional training of public administration
aims at improving the efficiency of set goals of the state and society.
The purpose of the government is to ensure the
awareness of society’s necessities, fulfil future needs and implement necessary
techniques for achieving best results. Target patterns of government
administration is opened by a modern social philosophy. Governance is graded by
society in respect to target patterns, according to the level of fulfilment of
citizens’ needs.
The constitutions of developed countries all
over the world (presidential as well as parliamentary republics) state that
people are the carriers of state’s sovereignty. The Constitution of the Russian
Federation (est.1993) also states that people create government which must only
serve its people. Therefore, the only source of power is people.
The constitution of developed countries and
other legal documents state that the government must accommodate its peoples’
needs. In practice, democratic governance is exercised by gradual expansion of
political, social and economic rights and freedoms of citizens and civil
organisations. The rights of citizens are backed by the government’s guarantees
and its resources. Management analysis of practical government operations can
be carried out objectively only if the level and quality of life of the
majority of population of the state is examined. Consequently, an objective
result of the activities of the state can be seen. Therefore, this is the only
way to determine whether the current goal of the government meet the demands of
society.
The Human Development Index, found by the United
Nations, most adequately represents the efficiency of government operations and
practical results of governance. According to the Human Development Index,
since 1990 the Russian Federation ranks in 50- 60 places on the quality of life
of citizens in the world.
In the past 25 years Russia has been noted to
have the following characteristics in respect to the quality of life:
- Life expectancy of Russians at the level of
less developed countries;
- “Poverty” describes a significant amount of
Russian population; these are “highly qualified, working poor” who make up half
of the “poor population” and most of them are public workers such as teachers,
doctors etc.
High quality of life and the guarantee of
constitutional rights of citizens are the goals that must become true
objectives of the government. It is by effective accomplishments of these goals
the results of public administration personnel must be evaluated.
Domestic needs of society and growing threats of
global economic, political and military crises necessitate modernisation of the
government. Real modernisation of the government means the need to radically
revise the objectives, principles and functions of public administration.
Government effectiveness is determined by the following factors: goals, which
are set by public, political representatives on behalf of their citizens,
rationality of organized practical activities of public servants and
professional training of the government personnel.
*******
Achieving the goals of modernisation and
effective governance in the 21st century is possible only if the
government personnel if well-trained. Much of relevant academic literature has
been developing on the basis of various schools of thoughts:
- Classical German School: M. Weber
- Anglo -American School: L. White , L. Urwick ,
W. Bennis , Woodrow Wilson , E. Barker , J. Cole, P. Checkland , R. Rose , E.
Berch , M. Oakeshott
- French School: M. Prel , Alain , J..Burde , J.
.Brabanta , J. Vedelya , M.Shevale , M. Gunele etc.
A remarkable Russian scientist A.A. Bogdanov
made the largest contribution to organisational science, the
basis of good governance. Bogdanov discovered the universal laws of social
organisation, the laws of living and non-living environment. He explained the
picture of the world and organisational management capabilities.
Successors in the field of public administration
research are contemporary researchers Russian government such as G.V.
Atamanchuk , A.I. Turchynov, B.V. Lytov , V.G. Ignatov , etc. Based on the
discoveries of classical and modern scholars about enhancement of professionalism
and effectiveness of personnel, the government needs to develop scientific
techniques of personnel selection and foster more qualified educators.
Modernisation of the government and society dictates new requirements for the
content and quality of personnel training and those educators who carry out
these trainings.
Modern professional education significantly
differs from its earlier schemes. Modern educators should not simply provide
information to students and trainees. Nowadays, the Internet is full of all
types of information and it is easy to find an imitation of
"knowledge" of all kinds. Modern educators cannot be "talking
mouths ", which just translate information from the Internet or a textbook
read the day before. When it comes to higher education, today teachers must
understand the differences between good quality knowledge and the knowledge
drawn from the Internet. Genuine knowledge – is the job for contemporary
teachers. Only if educators understand the theory they teach, and the role of
this theory in practical public administration and are able to help students
develop critical thinking, they can be called true, modern teachers. Such
educators are necessary and irreplaceable. They cannot be substituted for the
Internet or any other means of remote education. Therefore, the features of
modern and
well-qualified educators in the sphere of personnel trainings are
distinguishable.
Genuine
features of professionalism in personnel trainings in the area of state and
municipal governance include:
- First,
a robust understanding of the nature and elements of scientific subject of
discipline in the field of public administration;
- Second, the
target tasks of effective practice of public servants;
- Third,
continuous conduct of their own research;
- Fourth,
conduction of expertise and consultancy works in the field of state and
municipal government;
- Fifth,
possession of new approaches to/of intellectual work.
Those who
teach and learn in the 21st century must master new techniques of
intellectual activity.
A
good quality preparation of educators who train in the area of state and
municipal governance is based on their own research and the results of the
expert and advisory work in the field of public administration.
Specific
parameters of educators’ professionalism who teach in the field of state and
municipal government include the following features:
- Existence
of substantial academic work in the area of the teaching subject;
- Analytical
reports on participation in practice- research in the field of public
administration;
- Analytical
findings of the expert work in the field of public administration;
- The acts of
counselling in the field of state and municipal government, etc.
Research in
the field of state and municipal governance will allow educators to profoundly
understand the essence of scientific focus of this discipline and employ
task-oriented practice of the future state and municipal personnel.
*******
The
quality of training processes in public administration is marked by careful
selection of all elements of the system of professional education at all stages
of the learning process. There are several stages of this process of training
in public administration:
- The stage
of setting goals, objectives and setting expectations, documented in the
contract;
-
Pre-selection phase of individuals for a training such as organisers, teachers,
students, and determination of the organisational system of the training;
- The actual
stage of the training;
- Summarising
the preliminary results of the training one month after its completion;
- Summarising
the outcome of the training a year after its completion and creation of new
preparation tasks.
A
prerequisite for quality professional training in the field of public
administration is the universal law of mandatory organization compliance,
discovered by Bogdanov. The essence of the organisational law by Bogdanov – it
is not from any of the elements, you can create an effective organisation, but
only from carefully selected. According to the universal law of the
organisation, it is necessary to carry out a careful selection of all elements
of the organisation at all stages of the educational process.
To
select appropriate staff for trainings in public administration the following
parameters can be used:
-Motivation,
-
Natural ability,
-
Basic knowledge and self-study.
Thus,
the quality of the training process of public servants is determined by the
following factors:
-
Setting goals and monitoring their accomplishments;
-
Rational and creative organisation of the educational process;
-
Professionalism of educators.
*******
By
what criteria can the quality and outcomes of professional trainings in the
field of public administration be evaluated? What is the criteria for
evaluation of higher education institutions that prepare personnel for
government service? Imagine a situation in the field of higher education in the
1990s: the ideological orientation of the system of higher education standards
collapsed, the Soviet Union launched the Bologna process, discussions on
nostrification of higher education started, European partners initially offered
to exchange students without recognition of diplomas and/or further work
opportunities abroad. However, this option was not accepted by the former
Soviet republics. Indeed, why should student study abroad if they cannot apply
their knowledge and degrees in their future career? Going abroad just out of
curiosity?
What
does it mean to apply a university degree in a relevant to the field of studies
work? This is a contribution to society and the highest degree of realisation
of creativity. It is for these indicators rationally ordered societies reward
professional work - honours (awards, medals, certificates, etc.) , the prestige
of public opinion and material benefits (salary, bonus, etc.).
Based
on the explained position of the authors, the criteria assessment of higher
education institutions that prepares government personnel can be defined.
Original evaluation criteria can only be associated with the law of
self-preservation and development of society. This is the percentage of graduates
who have successfully passed competitive examination and effectively work in
public and municipal administration. Only in this case human capital is not
wasted but develops. The most important criteria by which administration
personnel training in the field of state and municipal governance is evaluated
is certainly the assessment of higher education institutions, improvement of
the quality of life of citizens according to the Human Development Index, and
consequently citizens' satisfaction with the activities of employees of state.
An increase in quality of life of the majority of Russians and citizens'
satisfaction with the activities of the Russian government and municipal
management shall be the final estimate of effective professional training of government
personnel.
The
List of References:
Adamskaya,
L.V./collection of scientific papers based on international
scientific-practical conference on April 1 2013 / / Science and education in
the XXI century M. RSSU, 2013
Kalinichenko,
L.A. Social organization of the civil service. - Moscow, 2001.
Kalinichenko L.A., Adamskaya L.V..LEGISLATION ON THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF PUBLIC SERVICE:
THE ANALYSIS OF PRACTICE OF USE AND PERSPECTIVES IN RUSSIA // Proceedings
of the 2nd International Academic Conference Applied and
Fundamental Studies.VOLUME 2 hosted by the Publishing House «Science and Innovation
Center», and the International Journal of Advanced Studies.March 8-10, 2013.St.
Louis, Missouri, USA.Applied and Fundamental Studies: Proceedings of the
2nd International. PP. 189-195.