Problem
Limited accountability of public services
Other Names:
Obscure accountability for public servicesInhibited official accountability
Inadequate accountability of public sector management
Non-accountability of state-controlled enterprises
Incidence:
A UK computer journalist has reported on the way Government and corporate bureaucrats repeatedly waste taxpayers' money by repeating the same basic mistakes with computer systems, and how there is then no proper auditing system to ensure that lessons are learned and mistakes not repeated. He analyses examples such as the UK National Health Service, which spent £500 million on computers to reduce staff costs, coinciding with a 40% increase in the number of administrators. In every case examined, the same pattern emerges: the hiring of expensive consultants to design a complex, over-ambitious, one-off system, which fails to allow for the requirements and capacities of its users; overtight schedules; an almost psychotic reluctance to admit that things have gone wrong. Then finally, when the system crashes, no one is found to be accountable, and no one is concerned to learn why it went wrong.
Broader Problems:
Social unaccountabilityInaccessible administrative agencies Narrower Problems:
Bureaucratic errorsUnaccountable management of public informationAbuse of monopoly power of state-owned or state-controlled enterprises Related Problems:
Public non-accountability in control of production processes Aggravates:
MismanagementLack of informationInadequate maintenanceInsufficient street lighting Inadequate weed controlLack of social conscienceInadequate waste treatmentDysfunctional public utilitiesInadequate illegal drug seizuresDecline in government expenditureUnethical practices of governmentInadequate domestic refuse disposalUnethical practices in the public sectorInadequate maintenance of infrastructureUnderdeveloped provision of household servicesInadequate system of political checks and balancesUnaccountability of international financial institutionsIncomplete understanding of new societal service systems Reduced By:
Privatization of public servicesStrategies:
Holding government accountableLimiting accountability of public servicesIncreasing accountability of public servicesReforming institutions Subject(s):
Commerce → Business enterprisesGovernment → Government
Government → Nation state
Government → Officials
Government → Public
Management → Management
Societal Problems → Inadequacy
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
16.10.2020 – 18:40 CEST