Argues that incrementalism's weakness is that it is another rational approach to problem solving when what is needed is a nonrational approach--creativity. Offers guidelines for improving creativity in oneself and in the work environment. (IRT)

Data were collected from 12 states with Certified Public Manager training programs to establish benchmarks. The 38 benchmarks were in the following areas: program leadership, stability of administrative/financial support, consistent management philosophy, administrative control, participant selection/support, accessibility, application of…

A survey of 462 alumni of schools that require public administration students to complete an ethics course indicates that ethics education is having a positive influence on graduates but that other factors are also influential. The ethical environment of the program must also be taken into account. (JOW)

Discusses Harmon's Accountability Paradox in relation to the accountability of public officials. Promotes the use of dialogue because its advantage outweighs its cost as a mechanism of accountability when officials confront problems that defy definition and solution and when traditional solution methods have failed. (Contains 54 references.) (JOW)

Presents a rationale for conducting training needs assessment and discusses types of analyses: organizational, task, and individual. Compares advantages and disadvantages of the following assessment methods: surveys, interviews, performance appraisals, observations, tests, assessment centers, focus groups, document reviews, and advisory…

The field of public administration is being assailed by the theory of rational voluntary action, ineffectual counterattacks to the theory, ongoing recalibration of politics and administration, and conflation and confusion of types of theories. Among 12 action items to advance the field are conceptual and operational definitions, goal-based…

U.S. cultural preoccupation with modernity has made public administration a field that emphasizes technical rationality, professionalism, and scientific rigor with little capacity to address critical societal questions. Greater attention to history would produce genuinely open inquiry. (SK)

Compares dissertation research from 1992 in public administration, criminology, management, planning, social work, and women's studies. Concludes that what should be done to improve the contribution of doctoral research to the field is to improve the quality of all types of dissertation research. (Author/JOW)

A survey analyzing networking and contact with colleagues received 159 of 307 responses, 73% from criminal justice practitioners and 27% from criminal justice faculty. Apparent differences in communication practices disappear when educational level and research involvement are considered. (SK)

Uses a study of community-based development organizations (CBDOs) to describe how directors of CBDOs perceive their work. Postulates that many administrators misunderstand the mission of CBDOs to not only provide services but to foster broader change. Encourages those in the public sector to understand better and support an alternative to the…

Describes four alternative kinds of knowledge that differ from the mainstream concept of scientific knowledge. Argues that science, engineering, and bureaucratic institutions, under a common model of reality, often ignore and suppress these insightful kinds of knowledge. (Author)

Focuses on the integrated use of economic, sociological, social-psychological, and other advanced conceptual models and heuristics in the study of public institutions and management, with the potential to strengthen the field's scholarship and the possibilities for theory-grounded practice. (Author/JOW)

Concept mapping and sorting in education stresses relationships between concepts, applications of mapping, processes, and grounding in learning theory. In business and public administration the emphasis is on decision making and planning. (SK)

A method for objective preemployment interviewing that saves time and money includes (1) identifying, defining, and quantifying relevant information about applicants; (2) interpreting applicants' verbal, vocal, and visual behaviors; and (3) using interviewing techniques that could elicit more accurate information. (SK)

Considers two dimensions of changes in former Soviet Union countries: (1) obstacles to transformations away from strong state domination; and (2) contrasting approaches in public administration education to facilitate democratic development in these countries. (JOW)