Public Interest

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how decision-making is an important process, which needs to consider many different viewpoints and interests and how in every sphere of private and public administration it is critical to take into account the interests of those who would be affected by a decision in order to be able to make the right decision. It evaluates how public administrators are more likely to encounter severe criticism if a decision goes wrong or is considered ineffective or self-serving than a private corporation and how a public administrator is therefore required to create awareness regarding the long-term effects of an action before it is claimed to be in public's best interest. In other words, while actions taken under normative theoretical approach are easier to understand, those undertaken through other models may lead to confusion and conflict. It shows how effective communication and access to correct information can minimize the risks of such conflicts.

From the Paper:

"This is because while private firms are answerable to the community and its own employers to a certain limited extent, the pubic organizations are accountable for every action as they claim to be making decisions in the public interest. However the concept of public interest is highly ambiguous and controversial in nature as public administrators are unable to define the term effectively. The inability to define public interest leads to many governance problems not to mention major and minor conflicts over the possible short and long-term effects of a certain decision."

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