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Public Management & Administration
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Public sector organizations operate in much different environments than their counterparts in the private sector. There are no
clear signals such as prices to base decisions on, or a clear bottom-line such as profitability. The time frame for decisions is longer
than that for corporations; decisions are seldom taken in a boardroom overnight. Because government represents and serves every one
of us, it must be accountable to more than its immediate decision makers. Stakeholders--citizens, citizen groups, corporations, NGOs,
interest groups, political parties, other public agencies, and other branches of government--all hold public agencies accountable.
Multiple actors evaluate performance on multiple criteria. Political and legal oversight might at anytime negate a decision that
required months or even years of consensual maneuvers to achieve.
Public sector organizations are in a world where costs may be imprecise, and benefits are distant and uncertain. To complicate matters,
their operations often have built-in rigidities. Public sector employees typically cannot be fired at will, or hired because of personal
relationships. Values and laws complicate decisions that otherwise might be taken on one or two manageable criteria. Public agencies
effectively tackle and curb problems that are not well understood; do so in an efficient manner even though there is no profit to be
made; operate in an equitable manner that also appears to be equitable to all groups; respect due process; and deal with media that
overstates perceived government failures and frequently fails to celebrate genuine successes.
This chapter contains a wide array of topics. First, the origins of public administration as a discipline will be covered. The evolution
of public administration theories is presented, moving from the old concept separation (or dichotomy) of politics and administration to
a contemporary, more complex model. Many diagrams illustrate the decision-making frameworks and processes of public sector
organizations. The central idea in this chapter is “complexity.”
Marc Holzer - Personal Name
1st Edition
0-942942-07-8
NONE
Public Management & Administration
Management
English
2008
USA
1-135
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