Power and Politics in the Fourth Branch of Government : Public Administration

by Smith, Kevin B.

• ISBN13: 9781933220048
• ISBN10: 193322004X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-01
• Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Preface	xi
The Government You Didn't Know You Had: Or, Why You Should Be Interested in Studying Public Administration	1	(20)
Why Study Public Administration?	3	(4)
Jobs and Careers	3	(1)
Curiosity About Government and Society	4	(1)
Self-Interest	4	(3)
What Is Public Administration?	7	(9)
Public Administration as Process	8	(3)
Public Administration as Organization	11	(2)
Public Administration as Politics	13	(3)
How to Study Public Administration	16	(2)
Conclusion	18	(1)
Key Concepts	19	(2)
The Administrative State: Or, Where Did All This Bureaucracy Come From?	21	(26)
The Need for Public Administration	22	(1)
Understanding the Rise of the Administrative State	23	(2)
Where Did All of This Come From?	25	(9)
Bureaucracy's Role in the Policy Process	34	(5)
Information	35	(3)
Expertise	38	(1)
Organizational Resources	39	(1)
Recap: Why We Need (And Want!) Bureaucracy	39	(1)
The Structure of the Administrative State	40	(2)
The Merit System	42	(1)
Why Is Public Administration `Public'?	42	(2)
Conclusion	44	(1)
Key Concepts	45	(2)
A Difficult Mission: Trying to Please All the People All the Time	47	(28)
A Question of Goals	48	(2)
The Basic Goal of Public Agencies	50	(6)
Efficiency	52	(1)
Effectiveness	53	(2)
Productivity	55	(1)
Finding Goals	56	(6)
Rules	60	(1)
Situational Imperatives	60	(1)
Culture	60	(1)
Self-Interest	61	(1)
Professional or Personal Norms	61	(1)
Constituency or Public Interest	61	(1)
Government Is No Way to Run a Business	62	(5)
The Hoover Commission	63	(1)
The Grace Commission	63	(1)
The National Performance Review	63	(1)
The Bush Administration	63	(4)
Having Business Run the Government	67	(5)
Flexibility	68	(1)
Experience and Expertise	68	(1)
Reducing Costs	68	(1)
Political	69	(1)
Accountability	69	(1)
Complexity	70	(1)
Differences Between Theory and Practice	71	(1)
Questionable Efficiency Payoffs	72	(1)
Conclusion	72	(1)
Key Concepts	73	(2)
Bureaucratic Power in a Democratic State: Or, Why Government Is More Than It's Cracked Up to Be	75	(20)
The Traditional View of Public Administration	76	(1)
Bureaucracy as a Political Actor	77	(2)
Sources of Bureaucratic Power	79	(5)
Skills or `Internal' Sources of Power	79	(3)
Political Support, or `External' Sources of Power	82	(2)
The Nature of Bureaucratic Power in a Democracy	84	(4)
Over-Reliance on External Sources of Power	85	(3)
Rulemaking and Adjudication	88	(4)
Rulemaking	89	(3)
Adjudication	92	(1)
Conclusion	92	(1)
Key Concepts	93	(2)
Ethics and Accountability	95	(26)
Ethics	96	(4)
A Question of Accountability	100	(2)
Accountable to Whom?	102	(3)
Elected Officials	102	(1)
The People	103	(1)
Clientele	104	(1)
Mechanisms of Accountability	105	(10)
External Checks on Bureaucracy---The Accountability Tools of Public Officials	105	(4)
Internal Checks on Public Agencies	109	(6)
Conclusion	115	(4)
Key Concepts	119	(2)
Deciding and Doing: The Central Challenges of Public Administration	121	(26)
Deciders and Doers	123	(1)
Decisions, Decisions	124	(9)
Rational-Comprehensive	126	(2)
Incremental	128	(3)
Mixed Scanning	131	(2)
Putting Decisions Into Action, or Getting People to Do What You Want Them to Do	133	(10)
Giving Orders	134	(2)
Carrots and Sticks	136	(4)
Get a System	140	(3)
Conclusion	143	(1)
Key Concepts	144	(3)
Public-Sector Performance	147	(26)
Organizational Goals and Evaluating Public-Sector Performance	149	(3)
Vague Goals and Intractable Problems	150	(2)
Contextual Goals	152	(2)
Public Expectations of Bureaucracy	154	(4)
Bureaucratic Responsiveness	155	(3)
Bureaucratic Competence	158	(2)
Multiple `Layers' of Implementation	160	(1)
Evaluating Public-Sector Performance	161	(9)
Program Evaluation	161	(5)
Benchmarking	166	(1)
Organizational Report Cards	167	(3)
Conclusion	170	(1)
Key Concepts	171	(2)
Public Budgeting	173	(38)
The Nature of Public Revenue and Spending	175	(5)
The Federal Level	175	(2)
The State Level	177	(1)
The Local Level	178	(2)
What Do Public Budgets Do?	180	(3)
Public Budgets Allocate Resources	181	(1)
Public Budgets Set Policy Goals and Focus Policymaking	182	(1)
Public Budgets Ensure Accountability	182	(1)
Political Priorities in Public Budgeting	183	(3)
Conflict as a Result of Different Preferences	183	(1)
Conflict as a Result of Constituency Service	183	(1)
Conflict as a Result of Institutional Positions and Roles	184	(1)
Balancing the Budget	184	(2)
The Federal Budget Process	186	(9)
Agency Budget Requests	186	(1)
The President's Budget	187	(2)
Presenting the President's Budget to Congress	189	(1)
Congressional Decision Making	189	(4)
Budget Execution	193	(2)
Budgeting in State and Local Governments	195	(5)
State Budgeting	196	(2)
Local Budgeting	198	(2)
Analysis in Public Budgeting	200	(4)
Shortcuts in Public Budgeting	201	(1)
Introducing Analysis	201	(3)
Conclusion	204	(3)
Key Concepts	207	(4)
Managing People	211	(34)
Public Versus Private Personnel Systems	212	(2)
Legal Framework	213	(1)
Public Personnel Systems	214	(7)
Administration by Aristocracy	215	(1)
Patronage and the Spoils System	215	(3)
Merit Systems	218	(3)
Merit and Politics	221	(1)
Recruiting, Selecting, and Hiring	221	(9)
Recruiting Approaches	222	(3)
Selection and Hiring	225	(4)
Special Considerations in Hiring and Selection	229	(1)
Compensation, Evaluation, and Promotion	230	(8)
Position Classification and Pay Plans	230	(4)
Performance Evaluations	234	(2)
Promotion	236	(2)
Unions and the Return of the Spoils System: Personnel Reform	238	(2)
Conclusion	240	(1)
Key Concepts	241	(4)
Implementation	245	(26)
Requirements of Effective Policy Implementation	247	(10)
Valid Causal Theory	248	(4)
Appropriate Course of Action	252	(4)
Securing Adequate Resources	256	(1)
Effective Coordination of Personnel	256	(1)
The Reality of Policy Implementation	257	(11)
Target Population	259	(1)
Problems of Legislative Intent	260	(2)
Lack of Political Support	262	(2)
Organizational Problems	264	(3)
Bad Timing	267	(1)
Conclusion	268	(1)
Key Concepts	269	(2)
The Future of Public Administration	271	(20)
The ATM Bureaucracy	272	(3)
The Great Governance Debate	275	(2)
Political and Policy Change: The Rise of the Disarticulated State	277	(3)
Homeland Security	280	(5)
Coordination	280	(1)
Organization	281	(2)
Funding	283	(1)
Legalities	284	(1)
Personnel	285	(1)
The Study of Public Administration	286	(2)
Conclusion	288	(1)
Key Concepts	289	(2)
Notes	291	(16)
Photo Credits	307	(2)
Author Index	309	(2)
Subject Index	311