Abstract
This chapter describes political engineering at an atomic level, that is, addressing what makes a competent elected official and using the office of president of the United States as an example. The authors published a series of books and associated papers that presented the overall construct in applying systems engineering and information technology to improving government systems and performance. Here is a demonstration in applying concepts to help citizen-voters strengthen their ability to analyze and evaluate the candidate and incumbent performance with a standard approach and criteria. Since political parties have a responsibility in vetting candidates bearing their brand, the authors encourage political leaders to focus on improving their process because citizens depend on them for candidate quality and integrity. Being a part of pluralistic democracy is a serious responsibility that requires continuous improvement.
TopChapter Objectives
Past actions and competence are the politician’s records that best predict how they might govern in the future. Uncovering these records are crucial to vet candidates and choose the best one. The purpose of this chapter is to:
- 1.
Demonstrate how to define what makes a Presidential candidate or incumbent a good one.
- 2.
Describe the necessity for political parties and other third-party organizations to help voters vet candidates.
- 3.
Discuss the nature of competence and character in evaluating prospective candidates and incumbents.
TopBackground
This paper addresses the meaning of a “good American President,” as an instance of word-sense disambiguation (WSD). What is the meaning of “good” in this use?
Key Terms in this Chapter
Group Knowledge Model: In this chapter, group knowledge model refers to the process of information about the subject to socialize the discussion and to enhance individual understanding.
Collaboration: Working together to create something that is better than going it alone. In a democratic republic, representatives from different political parties collaborate to attend to the needs of the nation, where getting things done in a bipartisan manner is more important than political ideology.
Optimize: To optimize in this chapter means making the highest yield and best use of government resources in the process of attending citizen needs. Optimizing requires trade-offs and deliberate consideration for risks and benefits toward producing required outcomes and associated metrics.
Concept of Operations (CONOPS): The concept of operations (CONOPS) of the American Political System begins with the US Constitution. Though there is also the notion of political parties and their role in offering ideological brands based on or relating to a system of ideas and ideals, especially concerning economic or political theory and policy. The extent to which party brands align with what the “Framers” had in mind is open for debate.
Public Sector: The part of an economy that is controlled by the government and funded by taxpaying citizens who control the government.
Job Model: A job model is a technique for defining the work performed from a specific position in an organization. The author learned the approach while being employed by AT&T and found it compatible with process modeling techniques such as the Integrated Definition Language (IDEF) employed extensively by the US Department of Defense and other departments and agencies. Work is defined as tasks and subtasks that are akin to activities and arrayed in a logical hierarchy.
Operating Environment: In computer technology terms, an operating environment or integrated applications environment is the environment in which users run application software. In this chapter, the operating environment encompasses all of the processes and systems as legislated and funded by Congress and managed by the Executive branch under oversight from Congress. The technical infrastructure is computer and communications technology.
Ecosystem Services: Conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems and the species that make them up sustain and fulfil the human life. Thus, provide such things like agricultural produce, timber, and aquatic organisms such as fishes and crabs (Daily, 1997 AU44: The in-text citation "Daily, 1997" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Optimized Sustainment Model (OSM): The authors proposed the Optimized Sustainment Model in the book Regenerating America with Sustainable Economics by James A. George and James A. Rodger © 2017 Archway Publishing. The idea is to develop business rules and regulations that support the application of triple-bottom-line accounting methods to measuring corporate performance. The idea is to balance rewards for economic, social, and environmental responsibility. It is a work in progress for which academics are encouraged to contribute. The model is suggested as an alternative to capitalism.