Sheet 89
GOOD INTERACTION WITH THE PUBLIC
Government officials, as public servants, depend greatly on the confidence and cooperation of the people. In addition to adequately fulfilling their assigned duties, they must be totally sincere in their dealings with the general public if they are to provide a high quality service and maintain public trust.
Government officials working behind service counters have the most opportunity to meet directly with the public. Although the general public are accustomed to using service counters frequently for different purposes, for various reasons many feel uncomfortable using this type of service. When their needs can be directly met, few problems ever arise. There is no guarantee, however, that people's requests will be met every time. Public administrative matters must be based on the law. To ensure accuracy, everything must be examined very carefully and often, this becomes a source of conflict as public expectations demand a prompt delivery of service.
Many people are dissatisfied with the service they receive and complaints abound. The type of bad experience like that described above is often the causes. To make matters worse, if the official's attitude is inappropriate, people will extend this bad impression to the entire administration, and their confidence will further erode.
The nature of public administration makes it difficult to address all the criticism that is directed against it. Through the efforts of individual public officials, however, it may be possible to change public opinion for the better.
By maintaining a good relationship with the public and improving service attitude, public administration may regain public trust. Government officials must always bear in mind that they are public servants, and must be motivated in their everyday work by a desire to provide better services to the people.
