The Institute of Public Administration (IPA), in Saudi Arabia, is a well renowned training institution designated for training civil servants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This paper mainly discusses the uses of technologies in the administrative aspects of the IPA. The author also points out the obstacles faced and lessons learned from the…

Author discusses the changing role of administors of alternative schools and suggests more training specifically designed to aid alternative school administrators. (GB)

A questionnaire to elicit information on program structure, or admissions and exit standards, and on students and faculty of public administration doctoral programs was sent to 52 political science departments. Results showed that programs afforded reasonable flexibility, the opportunity for some degree of specialization, and an adequate number of…

Discusses various approaches to incremental analysis and distinguishes incremental analysis from incremental politics and incremental politics from partisan mutual adjustment. (IRT)

Smaller government and community service initiatives mean public administrators must increase citizen volunteer involvement. They should adopt successful techniques from volunteer administrators for recruiting, selecting, motivating, training, and developing volunteers. (SK)

Case studies of six high-level federal government administrators examined their political skills, management/leadership abilities, technical expertise, and personality. Among the ingredients of effective performance were good planning, organizational communication, goal orientation, good interpersonal skills, honesty, and high ethical standards.…

Public administration is at risk of losing its theoretical distinctiveness based on public law, leaving it vulnerable to advocates of the entrepreneurial management model. Administrative principles rooted in law can accommodate useful contemporary management concepts without compromising accountable public sector management. (SK)

Total quality management will not work well in government agencies because of stress on products, not services; on well-defined consumer groups; on inputs/processes, not results; and on preoccupation with quality. An effective revised version emphasizes client feedback, performance monitoring, continuous improvement, and worker participation. (SK)

A critique of an article series in "Public Administration Review" challenges assumptions about the nature of social science research and scientific writing style, criteria by which article authors judged public administration research. The critique concludes that public administration research does address core issues in the field. (SK)

Discusses a study of the necessity of leadership training for local elected officials (LEOs). Shows why local governments cannot exist without competent LEOs and suggests how public-administration educators can help prepare elected officials for municipal governance. (JOW)

An analysis of 168 public administration doctoral dissertations revealed substantial improvements over those analyzed in 1990. A substantially higher percentage conducted basic research and reported findings, and more students are using rigorous research designs that involve attention to causal relationships. (Contains 15 references.) (Author/JOW)

Interviews and focus-group discussions were used to determine how the processes of public participation in public administration can be improved. Results suggest that participation requires changes in citizen and administrator roles and relationships and in administrative processes. (JOW)

Presents advice for providing management training and technical assistance in developing areas: expect language barriers, even in English; don't expect to be appreciated; expect a lack of resources; seek ways to overcome trainee silence; acknowledge your outsider status; and form alliances with other institutions to secure resources. (SK)

Using contingency table analysis and logistic regression, a study explored how individuals' demographic characteristics and the importance of job qualities influence their preference for and employment in the public sector. Results show that desire for government jobs declined between 1989 and 1998. (Contains 34 references.) (JOW)

Identifies four questions related to public administration education: (1) do we seek to educate students with respect to theory or practice? (2) do we prepare students for first jobs or later jobs? (3) what are appropriate delivery systems? and (4) what personal commitments do we make as public administrators? (Contains 48 references.) (JOW)