John Doe Interview Analysis

Interview conducted on October 3rd, 2017 at 3 PM, with Manager John Doe. Mr. Doe is the manager of a local government in Maryland, employing roughly 250 individuals. Interview conducted for the purpose of analyzing how Mr. Doe handles the political/cultural environment found in public administration, how Mr. Doe has handled government reinvention, and finally an overall analysis of Mr. Doe’s management style/skill. The interview centered on Mr. Doe as a city Manager of a local municipality, how he performs/manages and finally how he sees/rates himself as a leader.

Method

Interview was conducted at Mr. Doe’s office without recording. Mr. Doe declined to allow recording given political ramifications of speaking freely on the record. The

Doe describes the constant need to reinvent the government, either locally or nationally, as “necessary”. Reinvention, according to Shafritz, became fashionable again in the 1990’s. (2017) In this community, it seems reinvention is still popular, according to Mr. Doe. Personally, Mr. Doe believes in the need to support reinvention. Generally speaking he notes that the reinvention comes from newly elected leaders, it is his job to support and help develop those incoming ideas. Privatization, Mr Doe mentions as the largest driver of reinvention. “Services provided years ago, are no longer sustainable by local governments, rather a private company can now provide the service for several jurisdictions at a cheaper cost to the

Doe maintains as his management philosophy. According to him, holding himself accountable for not only his own work, but also those below him, is the best way to describe his management style. Mr. Doe says he allows employees to develop their own plans, encourages free thought, but when the results come in, a leader must hold everyone accountable. He says asking “how could I have made a difference” or “ How could my employee have done better” and “ what were the missed opportunities”. Those are three questions he asked in ever outcome, good or bad. This method is within the frame of “Performance management” (Shafritz p. 333, 2017) Doe measures the outcomes of all situations, good or bad. This attributed to “new public Management, which Shafritz describes as being of the private business or market- like mechanism. (2017). Doe, would most likely not support the ideas of the Denhardts, who conclude government shouldn’t be run like a business.