Most Important Attribute of Public Managers

Public managers carry out various managerial activities and operations of public
entities, such as improving the efficiency and quality of services that public organizations
provide. In performing these roles, one of the most important attributes that a public manager
should have is strategic thinking. While it is important to ensure that the day-to-day
operations of the public organization are carried in an efficient and correct manner, it is also
important to develop and implement long-term plans for the organization. Having a vision of
where the organization desires to be gives employees a sense of purpose and increases their
commitment to the organization.
A real-world example that illustrates this attribute is the former mayor of Chicago,
Richard Daley. He was the city’s mayor from 1989 to 2011, thus making him one of the
longest-serving mayors in the nation’s history (Spirou & Judd, 2016). From the beginning of
his first term as mayor he understood that Chicago could not for long manage to provide high
quality services and fund public projects without adequate revenues (Spirou & Judd, 2016).
Without keeping and expanding the city’s middle class, the city’s revenues would fall
significantly and, therefore, negatively affect the city’s ability to fund quality public services.
With this strategic thinking in mind, the mayor focused on keeping the city’s middle
class from leaving the city by improving the quality of the city’s quality of life through
provision of better and cost-effective basic services, such ensuring that the city was always
clean (Spirou & Judd, 2016). He also sought to expand the city’s middle class through
attracting major businesses into the city. For instance, he managed to convince Boeing to set
its headquarters in the city. He also attracted numerous other businesses in the finance,
banking, and legal services to the city thus expanding its middle class and its tax revenues
(Spirou & Judd, 2016).

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The example of Mayor Richard Daley shows that strategic thinking is an important
attribute of public managers. The quality helps to ensure that the public organization
continues to provide quality public services for a long time through anticipating and
addressing any factors that may inhibit its ability to perform its roles.

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References

Spirou, C., & Judd, D. R. (2016). Building the city of spectacle: Mayor Richard M. Daley and
the remaking of Chicago. Cornell University Press.