PORCIUNCULA, JEHVOEREY D.

4POL1

Public Administration Paper: A Summary-Reflection of Joanna Lucios Customers, Citizens,

and Residents: The Semantics of Public Service Recipients
Summary
The article talks about how the exclusivity of citizen and customer can be realized in
todays context of governance in the verge of changes of trends that affects and alters the current
paradigm on how public administration defines citizenship. Dissecting the title given by Joanna
Lucio, the author refers to the Semantics of Public Service recipients. Semantics as defined by
Jackendoff (1983) is the bridge between theory of language and theories of other cognitive
capacities such as visual perception and motor skills. In here, the author aims to sort out what
does it mean and what must be appropriately called to a recipient of Public Service in the modern
context.
Several factors like the current globalization have impacted the world in almost every
aspect of society. An argument was even raised in the article that broader-based citizenship can
be possible due to this phenomenon. Broadly, globalization is credited for transformations
occurring in urban regions (Urry, 2000). Which is entirely true, globalization and infusion of
cultures makes global urban cities become more exclusive for almost everyone. This is where
public administration should come in because in this rising changes relationship between
governments and their constituents drastically varies over time. Reconceptualizing citizenship is
deeply needed for the current management trend that is popular among public administrator is
using the market model and treat citizens like that of customers to ensure fast delivery of public
services. It is reiterated that this method on running public offices maybe situationally good but

is not most of the time. It does not only drain citizenship participation in the long run but also is
detrimental in substantially carrying out of functions and purposes in the government. There was
also discussion in the article about Public Customers and on how business methods have been
always present in public administration, but as the changes go deeper even business values are
infused into public administrations core (deLeon & Denhardt, 2000; Denhardt & Denhardt,
2003; Hart, 1984). Privatizations and partnerships became so prominent that it became a primary
strategy for the government in executing their functions. It was even called New Public
Administration due to the fact that its popularity is beyond noticeable. It is then followed by
excluded customers wherein poor residents and documented immigrants are considered
excluded. Poor residents unable to pay their taxes is incompatible in the customer-model as
stated in the article for they do not have the capacity to buy any of the services and yet they are a
customer, a non-paying customer. In the case of documented immigrants, it is plain confusing
due to the fact that considering them as a constituent and them belonging to the public just does
not feel right. Citizen-based governance is proposed by the author to remedy such
inconsistencies and to emphasize that tight collaboration between citizens and administrators is
needed to execute a manageable decent service delivery.
Invoking collaborative participation must be reinforced in the public administration like
Denhardt and Denhardt (2003) envisioned that relationship where administrators serve citizens,
rather than steer them, and outline strategies for encouraging authentic participation. It was
indicated in the article the attitude and influence of administrators matter for their beliefs can
lead to inclusion and exclusion of different groups within and outside the organization (Lucio,
2009). It was also implied that NPMs principles that pursues responsiveness amidst demands of

the customers can be contracting to collaborative governance that encourages citizen

participation not as customers, but residents who have rights in their own domain.
On the deeper portion of the paper, the article discussed the semantics of the public
administrations recipients. It tackled that the term citizen in public administrations governance
is exclusionary in the sense that citizens is state-defined in which it entails specific qualities that
limits the term. It is suggested that residence can be a substitute or replacement in referring to
governments service recipients. It is said that resident is more inclusive concept appropriate for
service recipients since it is more likely to describe a community-based approach to governance
rather than using citizen which its meaning is bounded by the constitution. Democratization of
the local governance might indeed depend on not just citizen involvement but resident
involvement.
Analysis
It was stated by Erckel that Globalization can even lead to end of public administration.
This might be true because in Lucios article the evolving major concepts are already taking in
place. This may create a rift in the old traditional definition of public administration and may
finally lead to something else. This something else may transform public administrations
objective and later on mutate depending on its political environment. It is why semantics can be
a great way to deal with concept crisis for it reiterates what must be and what must it do.
Collaborative participation is the most practical choice a government can have to obtain a
harmonious relationship between active citizen participation and public administrators and their
functions. However the current reality is, Paradoxically, globalization has produced a massive
concentration of corporate power which has centralized its organizational structure while at the

same time governmental decentralization has been promoted across the world (Erckel, 2009). It
is also added that Privatization may not only cause the loss of influence over key industries but
also increases the possibilities of corruption.
Going back to Lucios article there are two contending trends that currently exist in
Public Administration. One is the market method model where citizens are treated as customers
and basically run government functions like that of a business, and on the other hand,
collaborative participation tells a different approach wherein citizens which is prescribed to be
called residents directly participate on how the government will execute their functions to
promote transparency and efficiency as public administrations recipient.
It is critical to trace back the primary function of what public administration must be, for
it faces factors like globalization, continuous amendment of state policies, and changes in
political climate. The two contending definition of the notions of a customer and a citizen must
be sorted out and later on manage itself to become residents which can be made possible by local
public administrators. By grounding citizenship in place with legal territory the contributions
made by the residents can be acknowledged, encouraged, and used as a basis for transforming
the relationship between the resident and the administrator to finally build trusting relationships.
Philippine Context
The infusion of business methods in the countrys public administration are situational
due to the fact that government agencies in the country are too many handle. It is indeed normal
to have multiple agencies in running a state, but in the case of the Philippines, we have too much.
Some institutions have overlapping functions in which splitting a capital for its customers is not
even considered feasible. Some of the administrators are underrated because of the several ones

who have bad reputation which affects the majority. Serving the Filipino citizens as customers
cannot work as well, for Filipinos significantly favors democracy so much that they would like to
participate in every negative issue the administration have committed. In other words, Filipino as
customers would be an ignorant customer that is locked up in a cycle of condemning politicians
not knowing in their mind that administrators are different from legislators. Last fact that the
Philippine public administration will not work is that most of the Filipinos belongs to the lower
class which is categorized as non-paying customers, and one shameful fact is that even the elites
in the upper class runs away from paying their taxes.
Philippine is known to be a lover of democracy, the idea of democracy that is. The country is
so overwhelmed from the obtained democracy from 1987 that we have neglected what democracys
purpose is. The Filipino citizens and public servants overkilled democracy by over appreciating the
concept. This is why collaborative participation is what fits best in the countrys public
administration. Reformation of local public administrators and officials is feasible in todays context.
The Philippines aims to achieve decentralization which can easily aid in turning public
administrations recipients from citizens to residents. The system currently exists, and just need
revamping and fortification. Decentralized power of the government helps divide the opportunity for
public administrators and gives an easier access to their constituents to participate in their own
domains. An archipelago like the Philippines is difficult to manage, so collaborative participation
must be used to bind the separate functional local entities and unite them as productive parts of
society and nation. Proximity can be a detrimental factor in running a state like the Philippines, but
we need to adapt and adjust to the natural conflicts that we encounter. Public Administration is the
engine that runs the country, so coordinating such body should be well-planned, sustained, and
established for the better of the whole nation and its performance outside.

Bibliography
deLeon, L., & Denhardt, R. (2000). The political theory of reinvention. Public
Administration Review.
Denhardt, R., & Denhardt, J. (2003). The New Public Service. N.Y: Sharpe.
Erckel, S. (2009). Public Administration in the Age of Globalization. GRIN Verlag.
Jackendoff, R. S. (1983). Semantics and Cognition. Masachussetts: The
Massachussetts Insitute of Technology.
Lucio, J. (2009). Customers, Citizens, and Residents : The Semantics of Public
Service Recipients. Arizona: SAGE Publications.