Oversight in the Rulemaking Process

Note: In Week 5, the Application Assignment is to be completed before the Discussion question.

Transparency and accountability are big issues in government today. People want to know what the government is doing, how they are doing it, and whether or not it is effective. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is charged with auditing and evaluating government programs and activities. You may or may not have seen news reports about the results of GAO audits or evaluations on issues related to public policies. In some cases, the audits or evaluations provide information about ineffective rules or gaps in procedures employed by administrative agencies. The audits and evaluations of the GAO, as well as the oversight performed by the executive, legislative, and executive branches of government, impact how administrative agencies function, how agency heads and employees behave, and how the rulemaking process is executed.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review Chapter 6 in the course text, Rulemaking: How Government Agencies Write Law and Make Policy and your Application Assignment this week. Think about the importance of oversight in the rulemaking process.
• Review the article, “Agency Responsiveness to the Legislative Oversight of Administrative Rulemaking: A Case Study of Rules Review in the Illinois General Assembly.” Reflect on how oversight is used and its impact on administrative agencies.
• Review the online article, “The Impact of Executive Order 13,422 on Presidential Oversight of Agency Administration.” Reflect on the evolution of presidential oversight of agency administration. Then consider the impact of presidential oversight on the balance between agency heads and the president and agency independence and flexibility.
• Review the article, “Enforcement and Oversight: Using Congressional Oversight to Shape OSHA Bureaucratic Behavior.” Consider the impact of oversight on the behaviors of agency heads and agency employees.
• Review the course media, “Administrative Agencies–Oversight and Accountability,” focusing on oversight and the impact on administrative agencies, agency heads, and/or the rulemaking process.
• Consider the importance of oversight in the rulemaking process.
• Think about the impact of oversight on administrative agencies, agency heads, and/or the rulemaking process.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 5 an explanation of the importance of oversight in the rulemaking process. Then explain how oversight might impact administrative agencies, agency heads, and/or the rulemaking process. Be specific and use examples to illustrate your explanations.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond by Day 7 to at least one of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question.
• Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
• Offer and support an opinion.
• Validate an idea with your own experience.
• Make a suggestion.
• Expand on your colleague’s posting.

A unversity advertises its accredited master’s degree programs that take only 14 months to compete and cost between $11000 and $34000. This is an example of McDonalization, namely the principle of: a. deficiency b. quantification and calculation c. predictability d. control we think the answer is b…what do you think?

Capital Structure”Please respond to the following:

• Create a brief scenario that explains the effects of debt financing on a health care organization’s risk and returns.
• Discuss the pros and cons associated with debt financing when compared to equity financing. Use examples specific to the health care industry to support your response.
• Cost of Capital”Please respond to the following:
  • From the e-Activity, estimate the component costs as well as the overall (corporate) cost of capital for the health care organization you researched. Provide specific figures from the financial statements to support your response.
  • Discuss how health care organizations interpret the corporate cost of capital and how that interpretation would be applied to capital investment decisions. Explain your rationale

Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research a company for which you would like to work (or your current company if you are already employed). 
Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1. Examine traditional, contemporary, and emerging leadership theories and interpersonal forms of power. Create a profile of the ideal leader for the company you researched in which you describe the most appropriate leadership characteristics in terms of leadership style and interpersonal forms of power; and how these characteristics impact organizational performance.
2. Based on your research, analyze the organizational stressors (e.g., task demands, role demands, physical demands, and interpersonal demands) to determine their likely impact on organizational performance as well as how those stressors could be addressed.
3. Analyze critical elements for effective group and work team performance to determine the steps you would take to develop an effective team or work group within the company you researched.
4. Identify potential sources of conflict within the group or work team. Evaluate the five (5) conflict management styles (e.g., competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating) and explain which style of conflict management is most appropriate for the potential sources of conflict described above.
5. Determine potential barriers to communication, how these barriers may impact group and work team performance, and two (2) recommendations for addressing them.
6. Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.