Response To Pahlka's Speech Codding A Better Government

563 Words3 Pages

For instance, in my professional practice, I closely cooperate with the Department of Family and Children Services in Santa Clara County. Occasionally they have openings on the key leadership positions that are very difficult to fill. The hiring process in the public sector is rather bureaucratic, with a large number of steps, and a long list of requirements. It includes screening, interviews, and exams. HR managers also review the lists of reemployment, transfer, promotional list, etc. There is a defined time frame for the advertisement and often strict timelines for the following steps. Thus it takes a long time to fill a position in public sector (HR Reference). Salary and job details is a subject of public records. Hence, from one hand the system does not look efficient enough and is rather rigid compared to private sector, but at the same time, these procedures help to ensure equal treatment of all candidates, reduce personal discretion and unfair hiring. Given, that public is actually …show more content…

As a solution, she sees a better engagement of citizens in the public service. Pahlka (2012) encourages people to have active position and administrators to use all available resources to build the bridges with citizens, and integrate them in their communities. She suggests using informational technology not just to hear people’s voices but also to use their hands. An example of such technology can be an application created in the city of Boston called “adopt a hydrant.” The application allows citizens to adopt a fire hydrant and clean it from the snow in winter time. There is an interactive map with the funny names for hydrants which allow people to sign up and take care of the available hydrants. The application adds a game element to the citizens’ engagement and helps to build a connection between the government and