Answer to Question #211759 in Marketing for MG214

Question

Discuss the challenges and limitations of performance management when it comes to public sector management and wicked problems. A full answer will include: 1) what are these challenges and limitations and 2) how is this the case in relation to public sector management and wicked problems. 

Answer 1

When it comes to public sector management and wicked problems, there are a variety of obstacles that can obstruct efficient performance management. Obstacles can include, but are not limited to, developing a poorly organized plan, failing to explain the strategy to stakeholders/staff, failing to gain strategy buy-in, and failing to measure progress. Besides, members are unable to hold at least quarterly plan review sessions, take the time to define success and celebrate it along the way, not adjust to changing conditions, and provide your team with the authority or resources they require to complete their tasks.

Perhaps the public sector hasn't so much evolved as morphed over time. Bits have been tacked on and adjustments to certain areas have been made over time with little or no thought given to how this would affect the entire social sector ecosystem. Walls and silos have been constructed. This form of mutation sets off a chain reaction that leads to the emergence of 'wicked' problems that are difficult, if not impossible, to address. Because of their complexity, many of our most difficult societal challenges might be considered wicked problems, which means that finding solutions is often difficult in a society were organizations and even internal departments function in isolation. Problems like an aging population are complex, and by their very nature, they typically necessitate a variety of solutions to address a variety of contributing causes, rather than a single one-size-fits-all answer to a single aspect of the issue. We can begin to break down wicked problems and nurture the evolution of our public sector by working in partnership throughout the entire social sector, coming up with entirely new ways of viewing challenges rather than trying to interpret them inside the mechanisms we already have. Perhaps design will not save the world, but the creation of social change networks just might.