Public administration theory
Encyclopedia
Public administration
theory is the amalgamation of history, organizational theory, social theory, political theory and related studies focused on the meanings, structures and functions of public service in all its forms.
A standard course of study in PhD programs dedicated to public administration, public administration theory often recounts major historical foundations for the study of bureaucracy
as well as epistemological issues associated with public service as a profession and as an academic field.
Important figures of study include: Max Weber
, Frederick Taylor, Luther Gulick
, Mary Parker Follett
, Chester Barnard
, Herbert Simon
, and Dwight Waldo
. In more recent times, the field has had three main branches: new public management
, classic public administration
and postmodern public administration theory. The last grouping is often viewed as manifest in the Public Administration Theory Network (PAT-NET) and its publication, Administrative Theory & Praxis.
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
theory is the amalgamation of history, organizational theory, social theory, political theory and related studies focused on the meanings, structures and functions of public service in all its forms.
A standard course of study in PhD programs dedicated to public administration, public administration theory often recounts major historical foundations for the study of bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
as well as epistemological issues associated with public service as a profession and as an academic field.
Important figures of study include: Max Weber
Max Weber
Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
, Frederick Taylor, Luther Gulick
Luther Gulick (social scientist)
-Life:Luther Halsey Gulick was born January 17, 1892 in Osaka, Japan.His father was congregationalist missionary Sidney Lewis Gulick and his mother was Clara May Gulick. He shared his name with his grandfather, missionary Luther Halsey Gulick Sr. , and uncle physician Luther Halsey Gulick Jr....
, Mary Parker Follett
Mary Parker Follett
Mary Parker Follett was an American social worker, management consultant and pioneer in the fields of organizational theory and organizational behavior. She also authored a number of books and numerous essays, articles and speeches on democracy, human relations, political philosophy, psychology,...
, Chester Barnard
Chester Barnard
Chester Irving Barnard was an American business executive, public administrator, and the author of pioneering work in management theory and organizational studies. His landmark 1938 book, Functions of the Executive, sets out a theory of organization and of the functions of executives in...
, Herbert Simon
Herbert Simon
Herbert Alexander Simon was an American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist, and professor—most notably at Carnegie Mellon University—whose research ranged across the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, public administration, economics,...
, and Dwight Waldo
Dwight Waldo
Dwight Waldo was an American political scientist and is perhaps the defining figure in modern public administration. Waldo's career was often directed against a scientific/technical portrayal of bureaucracy and government that now suggests the term public management as opposed to public...
. In more recent times, the field has had three main branches: new public management
Public management
Public management is a term that considers that government and non-profit administration resembles private-sector management in some important ways. As such, there are management tools appropriate in public and in private domains, tools that maximize efficiency and effectiveness...
, classic public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
and postmodern public administration theory. The last grouping is often viewed as manifest in the Public Administration Theory Network (PAT-NET) and its publication, Administrative Theory & Praxis.
Important Works in the History of Public Administration Theory
- The Northcote-Trevelyan ReportNorthcote-Trevelyan ReportThe Northcote-Trevelyan Report was a document prepared by Stafford H. Northcote and C.E. Trevelyan in 1853 that catalyzed the development of Her Majesty's Civil Service in the United Kingdom due to the influence of the ancient Chinese Imperial Examination....
def
- Pendleton Act of 1883
- The Study of Administration, Woodrow WilsonWoodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, 1887 - Politics as a VocationPolitics as a VocationPolitics as a Vocation is an essay by German economist and sociologist Max Weber. It originated in a lecture he gave to the Free Students Union of Munich University, in January 1919, during the German Revolution....
, 1918, BureaucracyBureaucracyA bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
, 1922, Max WeberMax WeberKarl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself... - Functions of the Executive, Chester BarnardChester BarnardChester Irving Barnard was an American business executive, public administrator, and the author of pioneering work in management theory and organizational studies. His landmark 1938 book, Functions of the Executive, sets out a theory of organization and of the functions of executives in...
- The Brownlow Commission Report
- The Lack of a Budgetary Theory, V.O. Key, Jr., 1940
- Bureaucracy, Ludwig von MisesLudwig von MisesLudwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian economist, philosopher, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the modern Libertarian movement and the "Austrian School" of economic thought.-Biography:-Early life:...
, 1944 - The Administrative StateThe Administrative StateThe Administrative State is Dwight Waldo's classic public administration text based on a dissertation written at Yale in which Waldo argues that democratic states are underpinned by professional and political bureaucracies and that scientific management and efficiency is not the core idea of...
, Dwight WaldoDwight WaldoDwight Waldo was an American political scientist and is perhaps the defining figure in modern public administration. Waldo's career was often directed against a scientific/technical portrayal of bureaucracy and government that now suggests the term public management as opposed to public...
, 1948 - Administrative Behavior, Herbert A. Simon, 1953
- TVA and the Grass Roots, Philip Selznick, 1953
- The Science of Muddling Through, Charles E. LindblomCharles E. LindblomCharles Edward Lindblom is a Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Economics at Yale University. He is a former president of the American Political Science Association and the Association for Comparative Economic Studies and also a former director of Yale's Institution for Social...
, 1959 - The Forest Ranger, Herbert KaufmanHerbert KaufmanHerbert Kaufman was an American writer and newspaperman whose editorials were widely syndicated in both the United States and Canada...
, 1960. - Democracy and the Public Service, Frederick C. MosherFrederick C. MosherFrederick Camp "Fritz" Mosher was a professor of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia who strongly influenced a generation of scholars in public administration with his many writings, and government administrator...
, 1968 - Servant LeadershipServant leadershipServant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership, coined and defined by Robert K. Greenleaf and supported by many leadership and management writers such as James Autry, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, Max DePree, Scott Greenberg, Larry Spears, Margaret...
, Robert K. GreenleafRobert K. GreenleafRobert K. Greenleaf was the founder of the modern Servant leadership movement.Greenleaf was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1904. After graduating from Carleton College in Minnesota, he went to work for AT&T. For the next forty years he researched management, development, and education... - Organisation theory : Revisiting The Elephant", Public Administration Review, Dwight WaldoDwight WaldoDwight Waldo was an American political scientist and is perhaps the defining figure in modern public administration. Waldo's career was often directed against a scientific/technical portrayal of bureaucracy and government that now suggests the term public management as opposed to public...
,1978 - Public and Private Management: Are They Alike in All the Unimportant Respects?, Graham T. AllisonGraham T. AllisonGraham Tillett Allison, Jr. is an American political scientist and professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He is renowned for his contribution in the late 1960s and early 1970s to the bureaucratic analysis of decision making, especially during times of crisis...
, 1980 - The New Economics of Organization, American Journal of Political ScienceAmerican Journal of Political ScienceThe American Journal of Political Science is published by the Midwest Political Science Association. It was formerly known as the Midwest Journal of Political Science. According to the 2008 edition of the Journal Citation Reports, its impact factor is 2.397...
, Terry M. MoeTerry M. MoeTerry M. Moe is the professor of political science at Stanford University, a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and a member of the Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force on K-12 Education. Moe is a respected political scientist, an education scholar, and a bestselling...
, 1984 - Organizational Design as Policy Analysis, Policy Studies Journal, Karen M. Hult and Charles Walcott 1989
- Refounding Public AdministrationRefounding Public AdministrationRefounding Public Administration is a noted text in the public administration field that formulated a multi-faceted argument that government is properly an agential and active servant of the public good. It is among a very few books that have been pivotal in defining public administration as a...
, Gary WamsleyGary WamsleyGary Wamsley is public administration specialist and professor emeritus at Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy. He is perhaps best known as the coordinating editor of Refounding Public Administration, a work that followed from a well-known public administration paper called...
ed., 1990 - Street Level Bureaucracy, Michael LipskyMichael LipskyMichael Lipsky is currently a Research Professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. He was a program officer at the Ford Foundation after serving as a professor of political science at MIT....
- The Public Administration Theory Primer, H. George FredericksonH. George FredericksonH. George Frederickson is a generalist in the field of public administration with particular interests in public administration ethics, theories of public administration, systems of multi-level governance, and American local government. He currently serves as the at the University of Kansas. He is...
and Kevin B. Smith, 2003 - The Case for Bureaucracy, Charles GoodsellCharles GoodsellCharles T. Goodsell is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy. He is perhaps best known for his volume The Case for Bureaucracy, now in its 4th edition....