Transparency and accountability are two of the most important pillars of modern public management. They are essential to ensure that public resources are used efficiently and effectively and that public managers are accountable for their actions.
Transparency in Public Management
Transparency is openness and clarity in public management. It involves disclosing information about government activities, including decisions, policies, procedures, expenditures and results. Transparency allows citizens, businesses and other stakeholders to see how the government is operating and how it is making decisions.
Transparency is essential to effective public management for several reasons. First, it helps prevent corruption and misuse of public resources by making it more difficult for public officials to act inappropriately without being detected. Second, it allows citizens to participate more effectively in the government's decision-making process, as they have access to information about what the government is doing. Third, it increases public confidence in the government, as people can see that the government is acting openly and fairly.
Accountability in Public Management
Accountability is the obligation of public managers to account for their actions and decisions to the public, their superiors or other competent authorities. This includes responsibility for achieving expected results, making effective use of public resources, and adhering to norms and standards of ethical behavior.
Accountability is fundamental to effective public management because it helps to ensure that public managers are accountable for their actions. This helps to prevent corruption and the misuse of public resources, as public managers know that they will be held accountable if they act inappropriately. In addition, accountability helps to improve public management performance, as it encourages public managers to work more efficiently and effectively to achieve the desired results.
Conclusion
In summary, transparency and accountability are fundamental to effective public management. They help ensure that public resources are used efficiently and effectively, that public officials are accountable for their actions, and that the public has confidence in government. It is therefore essential that governments strive to increase transparency and accountability in their operations.
