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Leading Without Authority Here are readers’ ideas for coping with this month’s Manager’s Choice dilemma. To post your own ideas, see the instructions at the bottom of this page.
HCV may be a serious problem but should it be emphasized at the expense of more serious killers such as heart disease or cancer? Unfortunately this is frequently the way public policy is developed. Often laws are passed in the wake of a particular, tragic incident seized upon by policy makers looking for a quick governmental panacea without rational evaluation.
The press and public are taken up in the emotional side of the cause but don't get involved in details of implementation. Those who raise rational arguments against "knee jerk" reactions are characterized as cruel and heartless nay sayers. This leads to bad public policy. One only
needs to point to the plethora of frivolous lawsuits spawned by the ADA to show how emotion crowds out reason in government.
Roger D. Cross
Yes, I understand it is actually the speaker’s cause, and that does bring its own problem. However, the legislature is the body designed to take the recommendation from the board and address the political issues and any money matters appropriate to meet the needs of the decision.
Harry Green
You and your committee don't need to develop an immediate statewide treatment plan, but you do need to create public awareness, the first step in combating any infectious disease. The council created by the governor has tremendous resources at its disposal to do this. Your job is to lead and coordinate. You aready have a good public health network in place; use it to do data collection and broadcast news about Hep C.
And you need to get your facts straight. Sure, Corrections may have to treat inmates, and it will be an unbudgeted cost. But you need to get better information. Not all Hep C cases are candidates for therapy; actually fewer than one in five respond. What is best practice? What are other states doing?
If you want to build legislative support, have legislators meet with Hep C patients in their constituency. Not only will they put a face on the disease, but they will become educated enough on the issue to carry the flag in the legislature.
Your strategy may work, but I doubt that it will be a career-builder if you don't have the support of your commissioner and governor. Make sure that the executive branch is on board and has a position statement and a financial note ready for the inevitable press inquiries.
Christina K. Kales
My second thought: This is not a legislative issue. The politicians exempt themselves from discriminatory lawsuits and arrests during session, and they give themselves raises. Now, all of a sudden, one politician dies of Hepatitis C and the response is to appoint committee with pressing deadlines and no charter, mission-defined goal or method to measure outcomes. Out of the clear blue sky, in a passion of emotional fury, the governor and legislators appointed a statewide committee when they should have received some type of training on Hepatitis C prevention or advice on living with hepatitis, vaccines, and precautions, then ask their aides to get information on what other states are doing as well as what is going on in their own state.
Jeffrey E. Carson
A more cost-effective strategy would be to utilize integrated e-marketing techniques to generate public awareness and inspire interest group activism. A simple example would be to create a free or inexpensively hosted Web site for information exchange, group discussion and developing a stakeholder database. For a free deployment with all the essential capabilities, you could combine a www.geocities.com Web site with a Yahoo Groups site. Drive participation by issuing press releases, writing letters to the editor and designing collateral (handouts) that feature the HVC Web site URL. Be certain you encourage site visitors to register their contact information and provide a highly visible privacy policy. Of course, testimonials and any press coverage of HVC victims would feature prominently.
Leverage the promotional activities of “sympathetic” interest group organizations, such as the American Cancer Society, United Way, etc. By staging an HVC presence with visually attractive public awareness events, such as a walkathon, dance contest, etc., you may be able to generate human interest network or cable television coverage. Invite elected officials to attend and allow them to bask in the media coverage. Once again, the principle aim is to drive traffic to the Web site.
Once a “respectable” database of contacts and Web site traffic metrics are accumulated, lobbying efforts directed at elected officials can commence. Direct mail, email, fax and telephone solicitations can be coordinated to produce the impression of a substantial constituent presence.
If the Web site is set up and managed by HVC grassroots sympathizers, it can also be used effectively to promote the “good guys” and trash the “bad guys.” The agency itself might only be a “covert advisor,” which would synergize agency efforts with interest group activism.
William F. Mead
Agree or disagree? If you think you have a better way to deal with this month's Manager's Choice dilemma or would like to expand on the approaches presented here, share your thoughts with other readers. Send your solution to mailbox@governing.com. Please include your name, location, government or business title or job description, and a daytime phone number (for verification purposes). |
