Context of Public Administration, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The succession planning concept is not a new one. Nevertheless, organizations are knowledgeable enough to recognizethe need to cultivate and retain future talent. The companies in non-public and public sector realize the long termimplications of the global market. The Baby Boomers are contributing to the talent pool that is spreading to global locations. The corporations can no longer rely on local employment talent for future staffing needs. The Newport News Waste Management division needs to improve the succession planning procedure that recognizes and improves internalpersonnel for preparation for filling essential positions. Succession planning creates a professional atmosphere whereemployee believe that have advancement opportunities, rewards. Employees want to feel appreciated as a valuedemployee. In addition, employees want to know that their years of experience will be rewarded (Source Media, 2014, pg.2).
The Newport News Waste Management department’s needs to redesign the succession planning which will maximize theuse of seasoned and qualified professionals. The Waste Management positions are difficult to fill and replace within an organization because the training has to come from On Job Training (OJT). In the corporate world, a large percentage of businesses do not have a succession planning program. The process of forecasting and preparing for replacements is verycomplex (Source Media, 2014, pg.1). The employee can major in Public Administration, but the primary skills learned is from working in the field of waste management.

Statement of the issue

The Newport News Wastewater Division has problem retaining internal people long term because of the lack of specialized skill set. This has led to poor succession planning because there is a lack of replacement planning for keyleadership roles for the long-term. The Wastewater Division does not have a feeder of talent that enters the leadershippipeline. The current system is position driven replacement planning instead of proactive management planning. TheWastewater Division needs to develop a succession planning that will develop a clear path to advancement. Theemployees must be trained to be prepared to assume key positions as they become available. The narrow focus on keyleadership positions suggests that the Wastewater Division does not have success with forecasting future outcomes. Abusiness must have a clearly define a vision with succession planning initiatives. CornwallCPA located in Newport News, has stated that succession planning forecasts the company’s future success along with ensure the business survives from decade to decade (CornwallCPA, 2014, pg.1)

Significance

The problem is important because of the required succession planning necessary for Waterwaste Management staffing forfront line leaders and senior talent. The public administration company that does not develop a solid succession planningprogram will experience a very high employees turnover rates. The success planning must address protecting the currentexperience employees, and senior leadership that have years of experience. In the business market, other businesscompetitors will pursue your experience employees offering better hours, more benefits, and better compensation. Thepotential new employees understand the value of exchanging excellent benefits for years of experience in wastemanagement industry.
The waste management job positions do not have training classes at the high school or undergraduate levels. The studentcan obtain an undergraduate or graduate degree in Public Administration, but they will not be training on the specializedtraining of waste management.
The issues of retaining senior talent and staffing is a universal problem. The potential employee of the waste managementbusiness must obtain the experience from hands-on experiences internally or from another waste managementorganization.

Challenge

This primary challenge is making changes at the Public Administration Division level. These divisions follow theNewport News Administration Division policies and procedures on leadership, management, staffing and forecasting. In addition, they are responsible for providing the training needs of all operating divisions. The Public Administration andWastewater Management department have a primary goal to train new and experienced employees to become contributorsto the organizational goals while creating development tools and programs for them to grow (Newport News, 2013, pg.1). The succession planning process is responsible for developing each division’s key positions. The Administration Division has a responsibility to work with the administrators of each division to develop a long-term succession plan. However, theacceptance and application of some new best practices that should be a part of the future succession planning activities.

Opportunity

This will be an excellent opportunity for the public administration department to create some assessments concerning thecurrent length of employee, average turnover rate, level of experience at present, replacement strategies in place, length of employment of senior management and measurement of the level of qualified staff. The Public Administration Division needs to work closely with the Wastewater Management division to implement an effective succession planning. This is one the major phases of developing succession planning programs is allowing the employees, department or managementto be involved in the recruiting process by identifying the skills sets needed in the Wastewater Management division. Thechange management stages of an organization are very difficult because either management or employees are slow to make a change. However, the succession planning is a goal that promotes everyone in the company participating in succession planning activities.

Relevance of Topic  

There are diverse reasons the issue of succession planning is critical for the Waste Management division. The economy is in a down market which causes many Waste Management companies to seeking talent from competitors. The corporate giants are seeking cheaper labor in other countries such as India. India has taken over many of the customer service dutiesfrom companies because offshore is less expensive that hiring a full-time experienced staff in the United States. Theglobalization trend is creating a trend of companies rushing to the market to find cheap labor. President Obama has discussed his concerns with U. S companies flocking to India to avoid paying the U.S American people good wages.

The need for cross-training of employees has not been one of the priorities in the Waste Management internal trainingprograms. As a result, there are significant challenges to keeping experience and key employees. This is an opportune time to revamp the succession planning to integrate new polices along with the human resource best practices. Thechallenge is implementing change in the organizational culture concerning leadership, management, core values, andattitudes. This is relevant because the succession planning has to be updated to adapt to the changing global needs. Thetraditional succession planning utilizes college graduates to build a strong foundation of talent. However, the market has shift to global competition offshore. The Wastewater Management division needs to be proactive in responding to theeffects of future globalization paradigm shifts in the job market. The succession planning is not just for future employeesretiring but includes the current employee’s strategic growth and advancement (Stimpson, 2013, pg.1).

Exploiting Opportunities

This is a perfect time for the Public Administration Division to implement recommendations during the successionplanning stages. This is an opportunity for the division to indemnify the focus areas for the Wastewater Managementdivision. Some of the focuses can be planning to fill key positions that are crucial to business success to focus on buildinga ladder of advancement for top performers, focus on the talent for leadership positions, and identify key top managementleaders. The succession planning activities can be utilize to launch new management philosophies such as Total Quality Management, Lean Six Sigma, and Collaborate Style of Leadership Training.

Assessment of Efforts

The City of Newport News has stated in their meeting minutes for 2013 that the success planning needs to be a priorityfor all Public Administration divisions such as Asset Management, Solid Waste Division, and Waste Water Division. ThePublic Administration is introducing new strategies that coincide the best practices in the industry. The different divisionsunder the Public Administration need to streamline the efforts that would gather feedback from the leaders, staffing andkey top performers. The Public Administration Division must follow the best practices of the succession planninginitiatives because this philosophy indicates that senior management must be planned for the long-term. The acquisitionof the best talent at the top and in strategic management positions must be the constant mindset and culture of the Waste Management division. The utilization of employee turnover statistics supported by the current number of experienceseason veterans can help with presenting the problem.

References

CornwallCPA, (2014).Succession planning. Retrieved from http://www.cornwellcpa.com/succession.php

Newport News. (2013). Public Administration Public. Wastewater division. Retrieved from http://www.nngov.com/public-works/sw/front-page

Source Media. (2014). Pass on it: Succession planning. Retrieved from http://www.accountingtoday.com/taxprotoday/news/pass-it-on-succession-planning68307-1.html?taxpro

Stimpson, J. (2013).Pass it on: Succession planning. Retrieved from http://www.accountingtoday.com/taxprotoday/news/pass-it-on-succession-planning68307-1.html?taxpro