Social responsibility as a performance indicator of public authorities

Abstract

Further development of consolidated democracy in the modern world involves the implementation of the concept of responsible, socially significant and law-compliant behaviour of public servants. This urges the issue of defining social responsibility as a qualitatively new performance indicator of public authorities in public discourse. The research aims at analysing the relevance of the use of social responsibility as a criterion for evaluating the work of public authorities. The relationship of the social responsibility and professionalism development processes is analysed from the angle of public administration, and their impact on ensuring the effective implementation of competencies by public authorities is determined. The article analyses professionalism styles, substantiates the reasonability of wider application of professionalism as a factor capable of ensuring the introduction of social responsibility by public authorities for the effective implementation of their competencies. The theoretical approaches of New Public Management and Good Governance for the development of a socially responsible approach in the work of public authorities are analysed. Emphasis is placed on the practical significance of Good Governance in ensuring the sustainable development of public sector organizations and their transparency as an important factor and consequence of the realization of social responsibility principles. It is concluded that the ongoing implementation of social responsibility approaches in the work of public authorities in the 10’s of the 21st century has been re-actualized. It is generalized that social responsibility is a means of maintaining the integrity of society, ensuring social justice, social relations development. It is determined that the social responsibility level of the state is a performance indicator of public administration. It is concluded that effective corporate social responsibility requires the development of a regulatory mechanism of public administration and public-private partnership.