Good Governance Warrants Stability and Prosperity

Good governance is a term to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources to guarantee the realization of human rights. Furthermore, Governance describes the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented or not implemented. Good governance can also be termed as the effective use of power, legislation of policies, transparent accountability, and development of human resources, and supremacy of the constitution with the absolute rule of law.

The responsible conduct of public affairs and management of public resources is encapsulated in the Council of Europe in 2008. Twelve principles are enshrined which cover issues such as ethical conduct, rule of law, efficiency and effectiveness, transparency, sound financial management, and accountability. Different toolkits have been developed to assist local authorities and in some cases central authorities, in living up to these principles and thus delivering better services to citizens. Following the model to achieve a high overall level of good governance certain strategies can be adopted in the current scenario.

The world has become a vast network in which immediately accessible and shareable information rewrite the future at the same pace in which it can be understood. Driven by tireless technological innovation, this accelerating connectivity has led to ever faster change, making it increasingly difficult to predict the future. Yet most companies rely on a way of working that was designed over 100 years ago to meet the challenges and opportunities of the industrial age. Responsive organizations are designed to learn and react quickly through the open flow of information, to promote experimentation and learning in rapid cycles, and to organize themselves as a network of employees, customers, and partners motivated by common goals.

Transparency symbolizes a mechanism for promoting good governance and public confidence in a modern and democratic public administration (Jashari and Pepaj, 2018). The theory of open public administration gives the individual a greater role in the adoption of the executive regulations and greater transparency in the operations of the public administration (Bugaric, 2004). A fully transparent administration, either at the central level or at the local level, involves informing and participating citizens in the decision-making process, becoming an indispensable principle of the rule of law. Ethical behaviors in the workplace include; obeying the company’s rules, effective communication, taking responsibility, accountability, professionalism, trust, and mutual respect for your colleagues at work. These examples of ethical behaviors ensure maximum productivity output at work.

To make sound financial management is one of the chief cornerstones of the business practice to properly manage whatever resources are there in conjunction with the realization of their corporate objectives. For instance, a company must have a clearly stated operational budget that will serve as a guide for the entire fiscal year. Such a company must keep careful records of the inflow and outflow of cash to put a tight rein on any avenues for leakages that could push the corporate expenditure over the desired budget. Companies may need to borrow money from banks and other financial institutions at some point to execute large or financial-intensive projects. Good financial management practices demand that such companies must also have a clear plan for the use of the money as well as for the repayment of any loans to avoid any defaults.

Peter Drucker said, “Your organization is either forming or deforming people.” You cannot expect immediate change. No one sees an immediate change in your behavior so they are wary to change because you simply order it. You have to reward what you want. Change your strategy about what you want, and it will change your performance. If you want better performance, ask people to do the tasks and obligations that result in performance. Don’t expect real change from the mere motions people go through. People learn more from what you do than what you say. You can’t make people change when you don’t model the changes in your visible routine. For instance, a company had an inattentive boss who decreed that everyone should start behaving differently and be diligent about morale. But the long-term employees told the new hires not to expect those changes to last. They had seen initiative after initiative fell flat in a matter of days or weeks. By the way, he never showed up to supervise the changes he ordered.

John E. Jones said, “What gets measured gets done, what gets measured and fed back gets done well, what gets rewarded gets repeated.” So the tasks you decide you want people to do should result from the actions or attitudes you put into them in the first place. Don’t expect productivity without defining what inspires productivity to your people. Don’t force morale at the expense of mere performance behaviors.

The biases that perpetuate workplace inequality are largely unconscious and automatic, shifting an organization’s talent management paradigm from ‘cultural fit’ to ‘diversity and inclusion’ takes more than well-intentioned policies and programs. Without clear and robust measures to track diversity and inclusion efforts and outcomes, a tendency to revert to habitual and ingrained thinking and behavioral patterns limits the returns from an organization’s investment.

Good governance is a continuous process that determines the fate of any nation. It is a fundamental factor that is inevitable in taking the nation to the zenith of glory in the International community.