Putting things right

When mistakes happen, public bodies should acknowledge them, apologise, explain what went wrong and put things right quickly and effectively.

Putting things right may include reviewing any decisions found to be incorrect; and reviewing and amending any policies and procedures found to be ineffective, unworkable or unfair, giving adequate notice before changing the rules.

The actions of a well-run public body can sometimes bear more heavily on an individual because of their particular circumstances, even though statutory duties, service standards or both have been met. Public bodies should be alert to this and respond flexibly to avoid or, where appropriate, put right any such undue effect.

Public bodies should provide clear and timely information about methods by which people can appeal or complain. They should provide information about appropriate organisational or independent ways of resolving complaints. They should also consider providing information about possible sources of help for the customer, particularly for people who may find the complaints process daunting.

Public bodies should operate effective complaints procedures which investigate complaints thoroughly, quickly and impartially; and which can provide an appropriate range of remedies to the complainant and any others similarly affected when a complaint is upheld. As a minimum, an appropriate range of remedies should include an explanation and apology from the public body to the complainant, remedial action by the public body, financial compensation for the complainant or a combination of these. The remedy offered should seek to put the complainant back in the position they would have been in if nothing had gone wrong. Where this is not possible - as will often be the case - the remedy offered should fairly reflect the harm the complainant has suffered.

Seeking continuous improvement

Public bodies should review their policies and procedures regularly to ensure they are effective; actively seek and welcome all feedback, both compliments and complaints; use feedback to improve their public service delivery and performance; and capture and review lessons learned from complaints so that they contribute to developing services.

PART 2

REVISION

Read the text on cultural norms, values, behaviour and attitudes and think whether these phenomena are reflected in English administration and the way it is regulated by the judiciary.

" Culture [is] those deep, common, unstated experiences which members of a given culture share, which they communicate without knowing, and which form the backdrop against which all other events are judged."

Edward T. Hall (1966)

What Is Culture?

Culture is defined as the total way of life of a people, composed of their learned and shared behavior patterns, values, norms, and material objects. Culture is a very general concept. Nevertheless, culture has very powerful effects on individual behavior, including communication behavior.

IBM Corporation had a distinctive organizational culture in which male employees were expected to wear dark blue suits, white button-down shirts, and conservative neckties. The gay community in the United States has a somewhat distinct culture. So do certain professions.

Each different group or population creates its own way of life, with the values, norms, behaviors, and material objects that they feel best fit their situation. The material objects produced by a culture, together with its musical and artistic productions, are referred to as cultural artifacts. The elements of a culture, like its values, are so completely accepted by individuals sharing that culture that these elements are seldom questioned or defended. As the anthropologist Ralph Linton stated: " The last person in the world to understand water is someone living at the bottom of the sea."