Bayes’ Theorem as a Tool for Better Administration of Employee Discretion

This paper presents a new form of discretion that deals with subliminal (personal) preferences, which are present in discretionary decision-making (where the mental, cognitive functions of public servants, mixed with their character and “dressed” with sophistic, logically well-explained and legally allowed reasons are present). This paper presents employee discretion that could be a denominator of the public employees’ will to do or not to do something, to give lesser or greater weight to something. The power to choose is hence not only possible in legal frameworks but also outside of them. So far, informal power has been viewed in the law as the illegal one, although there are many informal, especially personal elements involved in the legal decision-making that are never brought to light. This paper offers a promising approach to how decisions can be similar in similar matters, despite their differences in personal backgrounds, cognitive capabilities or emotional variances. This can be done if Bayes’ theorem is used. Probability can here be established based on how much we believe something after we have seen the evidence; this depends not only on what the evidence shows but also on our pre-existing preferences (pre-investigation, prior probability or just a prior) or weights that affect our view on evidence or how much we believed in the evidence from the start. By assessing priors, decision-makers can become more comfortable with probability and uncertainty, and at the same time, the “echo chambers” of unfounded claims can be avoided. This way, subjective preferences could be known to others, while the principles of equality and equity could be raised to a higher level. Further development of employee discretion is based on the same grounds as this type of discretion – on our personal (in)actions

The Effects of Law Through Actions of Inspections

Regulated phenomena in changing environments are difficult to manage. Their complexity is many times higher that can usually be embraced in the conventional ways public administrations prepare draft statutes, adjudicate and control other people. The same or even more stands for inspections as public bodies that directly see “regulations in action”, how asymmetries between regulation and implementation arise. Inspection is in the context of executive tasks despite its age a relatively new and poorly understood element of regulatory policies. This paper claims that regulation and enforcement are two sides of the same coin: only “regulation-enforcement” (feed-in) and “enforcement-regulation” (feedback) are the “eyes and ears” of effective regulation. Without the latter, when rules are realistic and adequate for a given context, no amount of enforcement will make unrealistic rules work. At the same time, without the properly administrated enforcement steps, focused on the risk-analysis, risk-management (risk-based strategic planning), monitoring and sufficient resources, no amount of otherwise good regulation will provide expected results

Multiplication of Negative Scenarios: the Approach Public Administrations Could Use at Drafting General Rules

This paper addresses problems that emerge when draft laws are created without due regard for the calculus of probability. Although the latter should be sine qua non for future legislation, legislators usually do not use it despite the legislation’s pro future orientation. The paper, based on Hume’s old “is-ought” problem (the impossibility to move from descriptive statements to prescriptive ones) and with the awareness that probability will not be used soon, offers a solution for the future legislation in the multiplication of (negative) scenarios, applied to different life questions. Despite the more and more “popular use” of regulatory impact assessments, smart regulation, probability and risk, public administrations as the major drafters of general legal rules usually do not even use the (much simpler) negative approach to gain better insight into problems, although it is per se the natural way of our thinking. A new view on probability through signs that fit into (unwanted, but known in advance) scenarios can also provide new answers regarding causality. The latter is based on signs, which is what evidence per se really means

Understanding Differences between Equal Public Governance Models

Public administrations try to address changes in societies with various styles through various reforms based on different governance models, which are frequently transformed into domestic frames regardless of local specifics. The need for a tool with which the ideal types of governance models could be accommodated with national goals is, in times of increasing complexity, more and more relevant. As data as such are produced through numerous predispositions, the article proposes Ashby’s variety to capture the latter, through which it is possible to get closer to a successful administration of goals. On the other hand, Douglas’s grid and group model, Miles et al.’s organisational strategy, structure and process, and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are used for the identification of needs. Even though public bodies are aware of the impact that culture/values has/have on models of public administration, countries base their decisions on it/them only indirectly. This article emphasises that certain values should be directly included in the governance models in accordance with their cultural backgrounds. The latter are always present in decisions’ predispositions (from which decisions obtain their frames and weights), and a successful administrator should not disregard them.  &nbsp

Representative Public Administration as the Modelling Behaviour for the New Bureaucracy

There is a widespread belief that the states and markets are not the omnipotent institutions. Although public participation is gaining importance, this paper argues that in the present situation liberal and democratic elements can be fastest achieved by promotion of values in the public administration. The idea is built on a notion of active representative bureaucracy, while passive representation of the society should be still under the rule of law and/or merit system of hiring public servants. The proposed strategy in a time of austerity is somehow illogical, but it could be efficient: more public funds should be given in education, (re)training and practical experiments of the good practices from other states should become more relevant. Although in our time – when reductions of public funds and dismissals of employees are present – it will be difficult to achieve this goal, we should not forget that humanity has never depended on finances; the public trust, awareness, faith and other values are all the more needed in the time of crisis. We should start from ourselves as individuals to proceed towards the benefits of community

Heterarhični model dobrog upravljanja: stjecište prilagodljivosti, razlika, sličnosti, demokracije i odgovornosti

The paper presents the basic elements of a heterarchic model of good governance and foresees its trends in the future. This model is already present in the army and in some companies and it can – without denying the hierarchic forms – enhance the range of communications without reducing supervision and accountability. However, contrary to their enlargement, it introduces a path to more transparent and democratic public institutions. The model also relates to the classic, hierarchic, big, and legally oriented public administration, so changes will not come to the fore in a short period. Countries can enable public deliberation with the institutional transformations of their public institutions into the heterarchic ones. The heterarchic administration can bring public decisions closer to the people who can, as their (in)formal contributor, give more relevant information and more predictable outcomes.Rad analizira osnovne elemente heterarhičnog modela dobrog upravljanja i predviđa trendove razvoja u budućnosti. Ovaj je model već prisutan u vojsci i u nekim tvrtkama te može – bez nijekanja hijerarhičnih oblika – povećati opseg komunikacija a da ne smanjuje obujam nadzora i odgovornosti. Njihovu povećanju unatoč, ovaj model utire put transparentnijim i demokratskijim javnim institucijama. Model je podoban i za klasičnu, hijerarhijsku, veliku i pravno orijentiranu javnu upravu, no tamo promjene neće doći do izražaja u kratkome roku. Države mogu omogućiti javno odlučivanje uz pomoć institucionalne transformacije svojih javnih institucija u heterarhične organizacije. Heterarhična uprava donosi javne odluke bliže građanima koji, kao (ne)formalni akteri, mogu dati relevantnije podatke i osigurati predvidljivije rezultate

Public Reform Paradoxes and the Old Effectiveness–Efficiency Problem

Although effectiveness and efficiency are old comrades of public administrations, they still often cause unintended consequences. The relation between (absent) effectiveness and (overly emphasised) efficiency remains unresolved. The paper shows that effectiveness and efficiency are still used interchangeably, and despite the presence of negative effects, it comes as a surprise that important documents still address these terms without procedure or methodology to provide the content whereby they could be more clearly elaborated. Not only is the goal to achieve clearer meaning, but to accomplish results with the fewest possible negative effects. Alongside different management reforms, decision-makers must not lose sight of the whole; all reforms are only specific answers to inadequate previous ones, and it could be valuable to take a step back to see how/why different reforms emerge. The paper addresses the success/failure of reforms and the outcomes thereof. It claims the core problem of rational decision-making lies not in rationality per se, but in a lack of concept and/or insufficient attention to the behaviour of complex adaptive systems. With the help of complex adaptive systems, cybernetics, and combinations of effectiveness and efficiency, the paper presents the essential elements for adaptive (human) decision-making (such as diversity, variation, selection, adaptation, and integration) as the framework whereby unintended, reverse, and neutral effects can be reduced. New rules/decisions should be based on different levels of planning and adaptation, and on moving from the general to the more specific, in accordance with context specificity and unplanned, emergent things. It seems the hardest thing to address is the human character that does not (want to) recognise a situation as the situation in which some things must be spotted, evaluated, and changed if needed

Izbrani vidiki problematike organizacije vpisa v visokem šolstvu

Prispevek obravnava institucionalno organiziranost vpisa v visokošolske izobraževalne programe v Republiki Sloveniji in drugih državah ter opozarja na primerjalno neobičajno ureditev vpisa v naši državi. Z vidika postopkovne urejenosti kot tudi racionalne in pregledne rabe javnih financ je nerazumno, da država kot financer visokošolskega izobraževanja ne razpolaga s podatki o vpisanih študentih, pač pa je odvisna od vpisne službe Univerze v Ljubljani, ki centralno zbira podatke za celotno državo. Avtor ugotavlja, da bi bilo treba naloge vpisne službe na nacionalnem nivoju prenesti na ministrstvo, ki bi tako imelo pregled nad vpisom na celotnem visokošolskem prostoru

Missing Links Between Crowds and Law

As homo socius, the man lives in a community. Because the law deals with relationships between people, it is necessary to know the fundamental characteristics of these relationships, which are established in a community between people. Because all major social changes involve crowds, legislation and regulation must know how to address collectives, how they are influenced, how collective emotions are formed, and how they can effectively deal with external behavior in and between groups. This Article presents basic elements of crowds that should be included in legal decisions, especially in general ones. The Article shows potential applications of crowd elements in the law presented as a systemic arrangement of complex adaptive systems that can be reflected in the determination of public opinion through crowds. When a legal system in the right meaning of the word “system” determines public opinion and implements actions through crowds, it could be more effective and efficient and thus also more legitimate

Razkrivanje nepravilnosti v Evropski uniji in Republiki Sloveniji

Vse večji vpliv izvršilne oblasti in njeno poseganje na široka področja družbenega življenja za seboj potegne tudi dogodke, ki so lahko na meji zakonitosti oziroma so nevarni za javno zdravje ali življenje ljudi. Če se je motiti človeško, ta enostavni pregovor ni več enostaven, ko govorimo o nepravilnostih. Vprašanje je v razcepu med pojmovanjem lojalnosti in varovanjem zakonitosti. Za ceno odstopa Evropske komisije v letu 1999 je tudi EU uvedla nekaj postopkov za razkrivanje nepravilnosti, ki se zgledujejo po anglosaksonskem institutu whistleblowinga. Le-ta vse bolj prodira na evropska tla kot ukrep post festum po raznih nesrečah, aferah ali gospodarski nuji prilagajanja tujim podjetjem na svetovnem trgu. Javni sektor zaznamujeta vse višja izobrazbena struktura in strokovnost zaposlenih, kar zahteva tudi temu ustrezno upravljanje s človeškimi viri. Republika Slovenija na tem področju ni izjema, zato se bodo morali temu prilagoditi tudi vodstveni delavci v organih ter predpisi, ki bodo varovali zaposlene pred šikaniranjem. Pregled slovenske zakonodaje in podzakonskih predpisov pokaže, da bo treba razkrivanje nepravilnosti primerneje urediti ter poskrbeti tako za odpravo nepravilnosti kot za zaščito tistega, ki jih je razkril. Meja med delovanjem organa in njegovo zakonitostjo, primernostjo in smotrnostjo zahteva zelo občutljive ukrepe; morda se ravno zato z odpravljanjem nepravilnosti načeloma vsi strinjajo, medtem ko se v praksi zelo malo spremeni