Public Administration Power and Politics in the Fourth Branch of Government

by Smith, Kevin B.; Licari, Michael J.

• ISBN13: 9780195330694
• ISBN10: 0195330692
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Public Administration: Power and Politics in the Fourth Branch of Government presents public administration through the lens of politics and the policy-making power of the bureaucracy. By showing how the bureaucracy influences daily life, Smith and Licari bring the field of public administration alive for students. This text dispels the myth that the study of public administration is boring or irrelevant to students' lives by demonstrating just how deeply it pervades our lives. The authors focus on the bureaucracy--"the fourth branch of government"--as a key ingredient in politics and policy-making. This approach is novel, but it accurately reflects the true nature of public administration in America. This book examines our bureaucracy's considerable political power, where it comes from, how it is used, and how it can be controlled. Major Features: * Unique focus on political and policy-making power. This is the first public administration textbook to focus on the political and policy-making power of the bureaucracy. Without abandoning coverage of more traditional topics, this approach is more compelling to students because it demonstrates just how much influence the bureaucracy wields in our daily lives. * Highlights the tension between democracy and bureaucracy. A central paradox at the heart of the political system is democracy's reliance on the very undemocratic bureaucratic institutions that characterize the administrative branch of government. This text seeks to explain why and lay out the implications of that dependency. * Details the role and legitimacy of public administration in a democracy. There is an uneasy and fascinating relationship between the democratically elected leadership in government and the bureaucracies needed to carry out their decisions. This tension forms a running theme throughout the book. * Solid multidisciplinary foundation. This book draws on literature by the most important academics in the fields of both public administration and political science. * Readability. Smith and Licari write in an engaging, informal style that is rich in lively examples and free of academic jargon. Key terms are included in a glossary.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Government You Didn't Know You Had, or

Why You Should Be Interested in Public Administration

Why Study Public Administration?

What Is Public Administration?

How to Study Public Administration

The Politics of Public Administration

The Administrative State: Or, Where Did All This Bureaucracy Come From?

The Need for Public Administration

Understanding the Rise of the Administrative State

Bureaucracy's Role in the Policy Process

Recap: Why We Need (and Want!) Bureaucracy

The Structure of the Administrative State

Why is Public Administration "Public"?

A Difficult Mission: Trying to Please All the People All the Time

The Basic Goal of Public Agencies

Finding Goals

Government Is No Way to Run a Business

Having Business Run the Government

Bureaucratic Power in a Democratic State: Or, Why Government Is More Than It's

Cracked Up to Be

The Traditional View of Public Administration

Bureaucracy as a Political Actor

Sources of Bureaucratic Power

The Nature of Bureaucratic Power

Rulemaking and Adjudication

Ethics and Accountability

A Question of Accountability

Accountable to Whom?

Mechanisms of Accountability

Inside the Bureaucracy

Deciding and Doing: The Central Challenges of Public Administration

Deciders and Doers

Decisions, Decisions

Putting Decisions Into Action

Public-Sector Performance

Organizational Goals and Evaluating Performance

Contextual Goals

Public Expectations of Bureaucracy

Multiple "Layers" of Implementation

Evaluating Public-Sector Performance

Public Management: The Core Functions of Public Administration

Public Budgeting

The Nature of Public Revenue and Spending

What Do Public Budgets Do?

Political Priorities in Public Budgeting

The Federal Budget Process

Budgeting in State and Local Governments

Analysis in Public Budgeting

Managing PeoplePublic Versus Private Personnel Systems

Public Personnel Systems

Recruiting, Selecting, and Hiring

Compensation, Evaluation, and Promotion

Unions and the Return of the Spoils System

Implementation

Requirements of Effective Policy Implementation

The Reality of Policy Implementation

New Directions in Public Administration

The Future of Public Administration

The ATM Bureaucracy

The Great Governance Debate

Political and Policy Change: The Rise of the Disarticulated State Homeland Security

Personnel

The Study of Public Administration

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