Are public and private organizations fundamentally different? This question has been among the most enduring inquiries in public administration. Our study explores the impact of organizational ownership on two complementary aspects of performance: service quality and access to services for impoverished clients. Derived from public management…

The stated purpose of this article is to relate the black struggle for liberation to the oppressive administrative context of Blacks in America; attention is directed first to the mounting crisis in both the theory and practice of public administration, and then to the paradigm of "praxis" as an alternative to that of administration. (Author/JM)

Examines some issues of the public administration training in the universities of Western industrialized countries offered to the potential bureaucratic elites of the transitional societies. (Author/ND)

This study explores the utility of employing knowledge management as a framework for understanding how public managers perform ecosystem management. It applies the grounded theory method to build a model. The model is generated by applying the concept of knowledge process to an investigation of how the urban ecosystem is publicly managed by civil…

Oriented toward a consideration of administration from the standpoint of departmental problems, this textbook deals with administrative techniques and practices pertaining to public administration of recreational services. It covers organization, operation, planning, development, and managerial procedures, and also describes the basic elements of…

The American Founders were concerned that governors and the governed have virtues appropriate to a democratic republic; they relied on the interaction among constitutional correctives, honor, and education to promote virtue. The present authors describe the Founders' thought with regard to public virtue and its applicability to public…

Reviews the research literature appearing in Public Administration Review between the years 1940 and 1984. Analyzes trends in (1) research approach, (2) research design, (3) substantive topic, (4) level of government emphasized, and (5) researcher characteristics. (CH)

Argues that Lindblom's original article on "muddling through" is an important source of faith and hope: it teaches public administrators to be realistic about their decision making, enhances their understanding of how they make decisions, and suggests many practical areas in which they might work to improve decision making. (Author/IRT)

The American Society for Public Administration's Section on International and Comparative Administration is considering redirection of its activities. Implicit in the mission is the task of integrating the study and practice of comparative and international administration. Closer collaboration between specialists in these two groups must be…

In a sample of 314 city managers, those in early career stages or smaller cities preferred the science of administration; those in later career stages or larger jurisdictions saw the art of administration as the dominant skill. Both administrative science and conventional wisdom were considered important components for the master of public…

Explores the generative approach to public sector general management and its use of public deliberation as an alternative way to establish public policy and set bureau directives. Concludes with implications for public management theory and practice. (JOW)

Examines the relationship between citizens and government and proposes a value-centered model that focuses on the worth of government to its citizens. Compares customer and owner models, finding that citizens are unaccustomed to thinking of the value of government. (JOW)

Elaborates conflicting concepts of citizenship (normative right, instrumental outcome) and advances Aristotle's conception of civic republicanism as political morality. Argues that reinforcing the normative aspect would lay the foundation for reducing inequalities produced by the instrumental approach. (Contains 50 references.) (JOW)

Federalism is sometimes a metaphor for states' sovereignty, rather than appreciated as part of the political structure and process created by the Constitution of the United States. The author argues that "federalism" was redefined during the founding period to disassociate it from the discredited idea of states' sovereignty. (Author/JOW)

Predictions of 60 public administrators about citizen views were compared with interviews of 2257 citizens. Findings show that administrators tend to be pessimistic about citizen evaluations and that administrator predictions are worth considering as an additional component to citizen surveys. (Author/JOW)