Spotlighting municipal goverments in Texas Research Paper

Spotlighting municipal goverments in Texas - Research Paper Example The paper will also consider the policies put in place by the city’s government to promote economic growth in the city. Houston is the largest city in Texas. It is also the fourth largest city in the whole of the United States of America. The form of government in the city of Houston is a strong and stable mayoral form of municipal government. There is devolution of power from the central Texas government to the city, in which the municipal government sets up rules that are relevant to the city. The city council in Houston consists of three major categories of officials, that is, the mayor, the city controller and 16 members of the city council. The city mayor holds several functions that include but not limited to The city’s chief administrator An executive officer to the city council An official representative of the city in the central government The general manager of the city Ensuring that law and order are enforced within the city The city controller, on the other hand, performs mainly the function of certifying the funds available to the city council before these funds are used and/or disbursements are processed. The 16 members of the city council operate in conjunction with the city’s mayor. ... The elections of the city officials are culturally non-partisan, in which the party affiliation of a particular candidate, plays an inferior role in his/her election. Elections are carried out after every two years for all the city officials (mayor, city controller or council members), and they can serve to a maximum of three terms in office. The city controller’s election is customarily independent of the election of the mayor and the city council members. For the 16 council members, elections from districts contribute eleven members while the remaining five are at large, elected by all voters of the city (Feld and Donald 896) The fact that the districts, as well as the city at large, participate in the elections of the city council officials, it implies that these are very strong positions. The eleven council members from the districts represent the districts at large, indicating that the views of the citizens in these districts have a representation at any council meeting. The mayor’s position is a very strong seat given the powers bestowed upon him/her from the Houston’s 1991 referendum (the roles listed above). The mayor’s role as the chief executive officer, as well as the city’s chief administrator, makes him/her an important official in ensuring a progressive development in the city. The city’s ratio of revenue spending to available resources balance is a crucial role the mayor must give a consideration (Feld and Donald 912). The issuance of social services like schools, health facilities, recreation, and security has at times been a challenge to many cities. Financial issues like health insurance, pensions, and employee pay also add up to the many challenges that

360 Degree Feedback Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

360 Degree Feedback - Case Study Example This is so because unlike traditional review process, 360 degree feedback involves the ratings and comments of not only immediate supervisors and bosses, but also peers, colleagues, subordinates and even some outsiders. Thus, the person getting rated might feel uncomfortable or not ready to accept feedback from so many people or employees falling below him in the hierarchy level. Thus, 360 degree feedback first needs to be aligned with that of the corporate strategy and specific objective needs to be specified for its implementation. Whatever has been specified above is missing from Landon’s initiative of 360 degree feedback. Sam Glass, who is one of the supervisors and person responsible for looking after 360 degree feedback process is himself unsure of the fact that whether it is used as a performance appraisal tool or for chalking out future compensation plan. Following it, it cannot be denied that even more unawareness will be spread amongst the employees of Landon regardi ng the purpose and benefits of 360 degree feedback process. As already mentioned by Alex in the opening paragraphs, this tool was suggested by the Vice-President of Avant-Garde’s Consumer Products Division. Thus, no evidence of this tool being aligned to corporate strategy or specific objectives charted out is visible. ... Numerous modifications and changes are required in the way Landon is proceeding with its 360 degree feedback process. First and foremost, it needs to state in clear terms what actually it wants to achieve with this tool- just evaluating the performance of its employees or devising compensation, training and development plans based on feedbacks received. One thing important to note here is this tool cannot be used for a single problem employee. Also, it should not be used at times when the organization or one of its departments are going a change or revamping in any way. This might be one of the reasons why Alex is uncomfortable with this system of feedback because he was made responsible to restructure the marketing of two product lines. Definitely he might have used some measures or actions which brought out his tough, uncaring and ambitious personality traits which get accounted for in the feedback and can face repercussion for those temporary actions and behavior. Secondly, organi zation wide communication has to be undertaken by Landon to ensure that each and every member of the organization knows and understand well the concept. Employees cannot connect with this form of rating unless and until they perceive security and benefits for them. Raters should be chosen keeping in mind the surrounding network of the person being rated. Regular query handling session should also be incorporated by Landon to make sure that employees are positive towards this concept and do not feel that organization is using this tool as a means to kick them off their jobs. Question 2 360 degree feedback is a tool to modify behaviors of employees and align them with that of the corporate mission and strategy. The 360 degree feedback tool comprises of data and comments from