Comparative public administration can be defined as a process of studying administrative systems on policies of other nations. The study and comparison of different public administration setups offer a window through which an organization or country can understand how to handle the citizens of a given country. Civil service is the classification of individuals in a given state who are obligated to do all the administrative functions and to maintain the policy of a government in all their undertakings. A civil service of a county doesn’t involve the military, judicial branches and all elected political figures in a given state. Different countries apply different opinions on what the roles of civil servants are in their economy. The following essay will compare the civil service in USA and France. Through analysis of significant components of the different systems, a better understanding on the comparison of public administration in the two countries will resurface.
Civil servants are the face of a country concerning serving people is concerned. Recruitment of the civil servants normally is done differently in most states since each country assigns them different roles. Their salaries and benefits are catered for by the citizens of that nation through taxes that are collected by the state. Understanding of the recruitment of the civil service cannot be understood without factoring in the administrative arrangements of the two countries. In addition to that a government is formed as a result of political alignments; therefore it is also fair enough to compare the administration and politics in the two countries; France and United States of America.
Through the comparison of the difference in administration and politics of the two countries, the recruitment and roles of the civil service will be understood. In France, there is a mixture of a Parliamentary and Republican form of government which also dictates how public servants should behave and act when executing their duties in serving the country. The president is the Chief executive, and he has all the privileges both in parliament as well as in the legislature. The president is elected by the voters who are the citizens; the president has the mandate of appointing the Prime Minister of his own choice from parliament. To be respected and maintain his or her status, the prime minister must be accepted by both Congress and the president. The roles of the executive are distinct from those of parliament, and there is little interference from the president on the functions of the legislature.
Civil services in France are mandated to carry out the functions of the government to the public and to promote the values of the administration. They are two types of civil servants; external and internal recruitment. External recruitment is conducted through a competitive exam that is open to all citizens who are below 27 years of age while the internal recruitment is for people who are still serving the public but who are in lower ranks in various departments. They should not be more than 36 years of age. Recruitment is accompanied with training to perfect their skills are ensure that they have the right knowledge of how to serve people.
In the United States of America, civil service recruitment is also done, but it doesn’t have much different conditions and procedures. In the US, the administration arrangements also determine how the public service will conduct them and be recruited. The USA government is under a federal republican. The President is the head of the executive as well as the national leader. The United States of America government can be divided into three levels of government namely the federal, state and local authority. The three, however, have different roles but they must act in unison and following the constitution that brings them together and makes them answerable when they go astray. Each arm of the government- legislature, executive and judiciary play different roles, and it is an essential aspect in the United States of America. The legislature is made up of the upper house (Senate) and the lower house (House of Representatives). There are a total of 13 departments that are controlled directly by the president even though the president doesn’t have the power to alter the composition of the cabinet since those strengths lie with the Congress. Civil services in the USA administration are done on merit and through the passing of competitive exams. Moreover, other public servants are appointed during new political appointees who are chosen by the president.
The guideline of the civil servants in undertaking their roles is the code of conduct that they must observe throughout their jobs. The code of conduct across all states must be based on the values and written according to the constitution of that state. All civil servants are at all times supposed to observe integrity, honesty, objectivity, and impartiality when performing their duties. These values must not at any time be bypassed since in most states the civil servants work closely for officials who are accountable to parliament and the president. It should be a thumb rule for the public servants to work with dedication and a sign of commitment to the public service because they are also hired and appointed on merit. Civil servants are supposed to work and serve the country with political impartiality. Political persuasion should not stop an individual from acting with integrity, but rather honesty should lead the civil servants. Integrity encompasses a broad standard of behaviors that include: fulfilling duties and obligation as required; always acting professionally and complying with the law and promoting justice at their place of work.
In conclusion, civil servants are the preservers of the public image of the government. The comparative public administration is not complete without illustrating the process of recruiting and their functions. It is clear from the above analysis of the political administration of both the US and France that civil service is a call to duty to serve the citizens of a country. Recruitment and hiring of the public service should be open to all and be awarded to those citizens who have the interests of the nation at heart. All civil servants should avoid corruption, aligning themselves with a specific political party and serve all individuals according to the public service code of conduct. The civil servants must exhibit Integrity, political impartiality, objectivity and honesty among other positive values. Civil servants must work closely with the ministers and all the appointed officials in the various ministries to serve the citizen as required by the law. Anyone found going against the codes of conduct should be punished since the public image of the state will be tarnished.
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