Classmate 1
Public interest is when the concerns and needs of others (majority) are taken into consideration and the outcome is usually appealing to all but not always. In organizations there are several ways to integrate understanding public interest, one would be a staff meeting where all parties in organization has a chance to voice opinions/needs/concerns but it would also be a time to understand how has the same opinions/needs/concerns at that time. One example would be that several employees have discussed how they really enjoy coffee in the morning, but the organization is not near a coffee house. This issue could be solved different ways. A simple coffee machine and coffee could be purchased or the employees could all pitch in and purchase the coffee machine and coffee. Another example would be that there are employees that are complaining about their current pay rate. This issue is a bit more complex than the coffee situation, but it can be resolved by explaining the pay rate and explaining the budget for the next fiscal year. Just giving everyone a raise would be a great idea, but it will not always be the realistic answer.
There certain organizations that may feel that public interest does not fit there business style and that the public interest may give employees a sense of power. Below are a couple of remarks that critics will assail "democratic public administration" and my opinion.
"You can't let employees vote on everything." - In my experience when employees feel more involved they become more productive and also feel more apart of the organization. They also feel like their opinions actually matter.
"If you let employees have too much say, they'll just cut back their work hours or productivity!"- It is actually the opposite, when employees feel included and feel that they have a voice, working is second nature. Of course there will be the employees that try to take advantage, but for majority of the employees the hours and productivity may even increase.
"I can't let employees have this much say because they just don't know enough of the rationale behind our decisions!" - When organizations integrate public interest, it is not about giving employees power. It is more about organizations hearing and understanding the concerns that the employees have and gives the organization an opportunity to create a win-win situation.
In conclusion, public interest in organizations not only gives the opportunity employees to voice their opinions/ concerns but it also gives the employees a chance to feel apart of the organization. By feeling apart of the organization, meaning that the know the organization cares about their concerns and is willing to hear them and address them.
Classmate 2
The desire to have a degree of input in decision making almost invariably arises when ownership of a company is broadly shared with employees. The expectation of a right to participate in decisions is deeply rooted in Western beliefs about ownership, and, by extension, employee-ownership. Community participation is regarded as an important tool for successful planning. Western scholars generally agree that active community participation in the decision making process will benefit local communities. However, in rural countries, such participation is difficult to put into practice because of shortcomings in structural and operational limitations in the development process. How can this limitation be bridged?