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Analyzing emerging practices of collaboration in planning and public policy to overcome the challenges complexity, fragmentation and uncertainty, the authors present a new theory of collaborative rationality, to help make sense of the new practices. They enquire in detail into how collaborative rationality works, the theories that inform it, and the potential and pitfalls for democracy in the twenty-first century. Representing the authors’ collective experience based upon over thirty years of research and practice, this is insightful reading for students, educators, scholars, and reflective practitioners in the fields of urban planning, public policy, political science and public administration.

Customer Reviews (1)

This is an excellent research-based book on collaboration
Judith Innes and David Booher's book on planning with complexity is an extremely important contribution to the literature on how to advance the common good in collaborative, shared-power, no-one-fully-in-charge settings. Based on a number of very detailed case studies and a good understanding of the relevant literatures (to which they themselves have contributed), the book carefully explores what can be done, how, and why when organizations must cooperate if they are to achieve good results beyond what they can achieve separately. John M. Bryson, McKnight Presidential Professor of Planning and Public Affairs, University of Minnesota ... Read more

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Understanding and Managing Public Organizations provides a comprehensive analysis of research and practice on public organizations and management. In this fourth edition of his award-winning best seller, Hal Rainey reviews topics including organizational goals and performance, decision making and strategy, leadership, motivation, organizational structure and design, organizational change, and others. He analyzes effective and ineffective practices, with suggestions for managing contemporary and classic challenges in public organizations, and with illustrative vignettes and examples. Carefully revised and updated, this edition of Understanding and Managing Public Organizations extends previous editions with deeper coverage of collaboration and networks, public values, public service motivation, managerial strategy, performance assessment, innovation and organizational change, and recent trends in public sector management.

Praise for the Previous Editions
"The third edition of the classic text provides a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of research on public organizations and management. Drawing on a review of the most current research about government organizations and managers, this important source offers specific suggestions for managing these challenges in today's public organizations."
? Abstracts of Public Administration

"A masterful textbook, as well as an important and original contribution to the public organization theory literature ? both comprehensive in its treatment of organization theory and decidedly 'public' in its perspective."
?Public Administration Review

"A tremendous contribution to the field. Rainey's ability to synthesize research streams from a variety of fields?such as political science, public administration, public policy, business administration, psychology, sociology, and others?is outstanding."
?Jeffrey L. Brudney, Albert A. Levin Chair of Urban Studies and Public Service, Cleveland State University ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Rainey confeses he is gay!
In chapter 8 of this this boring textbook Rainey tell of how he came out of the closet! A must read.

chiller
book was in great condition just as represented on site.Promptly delivered.Very satisfied.

Cal State Hayward Student
Used as a textbook for MPA program.Good overview of PA theories and preconceptions.Does not address the need to deconstruct social norms to focus on desired outcomes.Theory and studies are reviewed in this textbook.The chapters are short and sufficient).However, it is not completely thorough and detailed.
Will I keep it as a resource - probably.
Will I use it in the future (in daily practice) - probably not.

Understanding and Managing Public Organizations
This textbook was required for my Masters of Public Administration class in Organizational Management and Change. The author did extensive research into the concepts and provides a wealth of information. He does have a tendency to preview chapters from within other chapters; this is somewhat distracting because you're never sure when you will get all the information.

Attention All Public Administrators
As a PA student, I realized that this text was essential to the basic understanding of Public Administration. It gives basic theoretical knowledge and analytical skills to practice contemporary public management.Each chapter builds from the next. I used this text book as one of my FIRSTresources when I began the Public Administration curriculum and I found itvery helpful. It helped me comprehend how to improve the overalleffectiveness of governmental operations with concepts such as "valuedriven management". It's a winner! ... Read more

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A detailed and historical account of both theory and practice, this book attempts to make sense of the loose and little understood field of development administration. The book focuses on development administration over 40 years and identifies key attributes of public bureaucracy which are associated with bureaucratic performance. The associations between bureaucracy's attributes and performance are employed in explaining development differences between Jamaica, Trinidad, and Tobago over the period 1960-1995. Associations are explored at the macro level through aggregate data and at the micro level through fascinating case studies of the Industrial Development Corporations.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Essential reading for practitioner and theorist alike
In a thoughtful postmodern personal narrative on the vocation of public administration and its place in a postmodern society, O.C. McSwite takes the reader on a journey that quickly gives insight into this individual's professional experience while resounding with the academician and public servant.Highly recommended! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Needs work with html
When a definition references a comparison to/with another definition, there's no html to jump to the new definition.

What does liar mean in tom's dictionary
Please do not waste your money, the author does not back up his obviously republican views in this book. ... Read more

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Ethical concerns are among the most common problems public administrators face, yet the issues are often complex, and the correct choices are not always clear. Living up to the public trust is much more than just an act of compliance. It also involves perceiving, preventing, avoiding, and resolving accusations of illegal or unethical behavior, including appearances of inappropriate behavior. Ethics Moments in Government: Cases and Controversies examines how to identify, assess, and resolve the ethical issues and dilemmas that often confront those who govern the cities, counties, states, and federal agencies throughout America.

Real Situations, Real Advice

Providing a one-stop resource for all those who must contend with thorny ethical issues, this volume presents case studies that vary in complexity and context and are based on real situations. Each case scenario is followed by discussion questions and case assessments by expert practitioners who describe how they would handle the situation. Using a "total immersion" technique, the book encourages readers to be reflexive and analytical in addressing the problems presented and arriving at appropriate solutions. A supplemental CD is included which contains PowerPoint^® slide presentations, articles, workshop programs, tests, and links to organizations.

For many of the scenarios presented in this volume, there are no easy answers. Practical guidance on reasoning through difficult decision-making situations enables public administrators to acquire the ethical knowledge, skills, abilities, and instincts that will ultimately help them gain the trust of their citizens and advance in their careers.

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The Case for Bureaucracy persuasively argues thatAmerican public servants and administrative institutionsare among the best in the world. Contrary to popularstereotypes, they are neither sources of great waste nor athreat to liberty, but social assets of critical value to afunctioning democracy. In presenting his case, Goodselltouches on core aspects of public administration while drawing on important, recent events to bring case material and empirical evidence fully up to date.

This new edition incorporates the events of 9/11 to explore their impact on future bureaucratic performance, speaking specifically to the massive reorganization under thenew Department of Homeland Security. As well, Goodsell offers a complete assessment of the reinventing government movement and related reforms to show how far bureaucracieshave come, while pointing to the challenges they continue to face.

Updating worth highlighting:

• New data on public perceptions of bureaucracy.
• New section on the delegation of policy implementation to contractors and nonprofits.
• New statistics regarding quality-of-life improvements in American society since the 1980s.
• New profiles of real bureaucrats--and citizen interaction with them--giving bureaucracy a human face.
• New material on bureaucratic contributions to the political system that go beyond implementing policy.
• New coverage of the administrative consolidation following 9/11 and competitive outsourcing by the Bush Administration.
• New analysis of current reform proposals focused on market competition and business management practices.
• New proposals for ways to improve bureaucracy.

Customer Reviews (3)

Good information but...
This is required reading my graduate-level public administration course.The books contains some good information, but the deceptively personable style at the beginning degenerates into a morass of facts, figures, and study summaries.The thoughts and ideas were good but the approach and voice seem inconsistent.

�I Hate Bureaucracy, I Love Bureaucrats� Syndrome
So far, much has been written about the evils of bureaucracy, but less has been written about the accomplishments of bureaucracy. Generally, the message given by popular literature regarding government bureaucracy was one-sided and too far from completeness. In this book, the author tries to draw a complete picture of government bureaucracy. In contrast to popular bureaucracy-bashing writing, Goodsell reaches surprisingly interesting conclusions that contradict long-held beliefs toward public bureaucracy.

The overall characterization of government bureaucracy within popular culture reflects that government bureaucracy is overstaffed, inflexible, unresponsive and power hungry. In forming such an image, media and academia have played a crucial role, according to the author. The economists are hostile to government bureaucracy on the basis that competitive markets and profit incentives are feasible means to obtain efficiency; sociologists are concerned with pathologies of bureaucracy; and so on. However, generally, criticism of bureaucracy is not well supported by empirical data. As being different from those who attack bureaucracy based on unfounded assumptions most of the time, Goodsell supports his arguments with empirical data that have been obtained from citizen surveys. In my opinion, the reason for the case is very well presented and worthy of careful reading.

One of the arguments of the author is that critiques of government bureaucracy fall prey to the mistake of seeing bureaucracy as a whole (a form of abstraction), and ignoring the differences between different public agencies. Goodsell aptly illustrates how public agencies greatly differ from each other in terms of performance, conduct and so on. Also, citizen surveys support the fact that ordinary citizens are glad from their relationships with government bureaucracy in their local neighborhoods. However, as a general concept, bureaucracy is an oxymoron (this paradox, in literature, is called "the paradox of distance", that is, ordinary citizens are happy with their business with bureaucracy and bureaucrats, but they have negative attitudes toward `bureaucracy'-the more distant the bureaucracy the more the negative attitude is).

Not only Goodsell examines accomplishments of government bureaucracy, but also he convincingly demonstrates the facts that impede the expected success of the government bureaucracy, including vague goals given to bureaucracy, the problems of coordination created by excessive outsourcing (administration by proxy), the complexity of social problems that government bureaucracy deals with, efficiency and equity conflict, and the like. In handling the subject, this book is very comprehensive, and the author files an excellent and convincing case. Not easy to summarize all the points, however all popular myths regarding government bureaucracy I (probably you) have heard are answered in the book with tremendous clearness.

Overall, I highly recommend this classic to anybody who is interested in government bureaucracy. I also recommend "The Spirit of Public Administration" by George Frederickson, and "Bureaucracy" by James Wilson. The case for bureaucracy is a case for bureaucracy, and you are the members of the Jury. The final decision is up to you.

Critique of The Case for Bureaucracy
I never thought that I would find myself reading a book that was in favor of bureaucracy.Being a skeptic, I thought that every second spent reading this book would be a waste of time. However, I was surprised at how CharlesT. Goodsell makes you want to jump on the bureaucracy bandwagon.CharlesGoodsell has done a fair job on his book "A Case for Bureaucracy: APublic Administration Polemic."Goodsell looks at several of thepreconceived notions that are held by the general population about thesize, structure, hierarchy, and organization of the bureaucracy regardlesswhether it is in federal, state, or local governments.Goodsell beginseach chapter with a great deal of enthusiasm but runs out of steam when itcomes to making a solid argument for bureaucracy in some of the areasdiscussed.The author obviously has an affinity for statistics, which heuses throughout ninety percent of his book.Goodsell tries to rely on datathat was collected some twenty to thirty years ago.The public sector hasundergone numerous changes since some of these surveys were conducted. Some of the studies that he uses such as comparisons between Detroit andDelhi, I found somewhat irrelevant.Charles T. Goodsell makes a strongcase for the bureaucracy in the United States.His unique approach willconvince many that the bureaucracy is open, flexible, and even willing tochange.However, I feel that because of his outdated and irrelevantsurveys and studies, which he uses throughout his book, which these detractfrom rather than make the case in favor of bureaucracy.The book is anoble attempt to win citizens over to the idea that the bureaucracy is apolite, customer service oriented, friendly, and helpful group of 20million individuals that are there to serve them.I am not sure that eventhe most well written defense of the bureaucracy will alleviate the notionsthat are held by most citizens. ... Read more

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The history of public personnel administration is as old as human civilization itself: Persia, China, Assyria, Egypt, and Rome all practiced strategic personnel management, some systematically and others unsystematically. But despite the longstanding practice of strategic public personnel administration, the systematic study of this field is a fairly new development in the modern world. Today, the need for strategic thinking in public personnel administration and human capital development is more urgent than ever before. Managing and coping with the challenges of transworld migrations of capital and labor, cyber-employment and virtual workplaces, and relentless global pressures for results-oriented performance all require the development of human capital as a key asset of modern governments and private organizations. Governments and public administration organizations must confront these challenges if they are to survive and thrive in the 21st century, and Strategic Public Personnel Administration provides a comprehensive analysis of the past development and current function of the field so as to give a clearly balanced picture of public personnel administration in both theory and practice.

Today, strategic public personnel management is a central component of strategic governance and administration in public and nonprofit organizations. Strategic personnel administration aims to lead organizations along the right paths with the necessary people on hand to achieve strategic goals and objectives in modern governance and public administration. This two-volume set fills a major gap in the current literature, and it will serve as a key work that addresses the history, knowledge, policy, management, process, and culture of public personnel administration with a strategic perspective.

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A fresh alternative to the typical public administration text, Garvey’s is the first text to combine a solid analytical framework with in-depth cases portraying the vital, human side of public administration. Garvey’s cases turn abstract concepts into human narratives, guiding students through the kind of ongoing, multi-level problems real public administrators face. ... Read more

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Public administration-the implementation side of government-is becoming an increasingly international discipline. Public policy-the decisionmaking side of modern government-has often been segregated from the administration of policy decisions. This four-volume encyclopedia is the first major international and comprehensive reference to combine public administration and policy in a single work. ... Read more

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Comparative Public Administration and Policy is an examination and analysis of the subject from the classic period of the 1960s to the present. This comparative scholarship has been an exemplar of the most fascinating era of social science development and remains the most promising aspect of the political and administrative studies. The global context, the information revolution, and democratization trends in many parts of the world are reshaping public organizations as tools of governance in modern society. This book is a unique contribution, not only for dealing with an important topic, but also for providing students and scholars a comprehensive view, instead of the usual fragmented discussions. It is an analytical, evaluative, exhaustive, and balanced approach to critical dimensions of modern governance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Short Synthesis
This is an attempt to synthesize the literature as briefly as possible, and the author is somewhat successful at that.For some, it will seem too condensed, but for others, it will be a welcome relief.The author pays homage to luminaries who went before well enough, and interjects their own insights where appropriate.It's amazing how comprehensive it is for only being about 160 pages. ... Read more

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For more than two centuries, argues Brian J. Cook in Bureaucracy and Self-Government, two conceptions of public administration have coexisted in American politics: the "instrumental" (bureaucracy's job is to carry out the orders of elected officials) and the "constitutive" (bureaucracy shapes public policy and thus the character of the political community). Through an examination of key conflicts in American political development -- from the debates of 1789 through the Jacksonian era controversies and the confrontations of the New Deal -- Cook shows how these two views of public administration have been in constant tension, with the instrumental view eventually dominating public discourse.

Customer Reviews (1)

An Excellent Read
Cook argues that viewing public administration as an instrumental extension of the American political system is not only harmful for shaping policy, but disrupts the relationship between the public and regime.Interpreting and categorizing public agencies as an instrument, or a means to an end, has been the prevailing theme across the course of American political development. As a result of this understanding, and the lack of citizen control over public agencies, the public has developed ambivalent views about their relationship with this extension of government (xiv).This defies the philosophical foundation on which American government, in the liberal tradition of self-government, rests.It is because public administration has constitutive qualities, Cook asserts, that the instrumental view of public agencies can be harmful.If public agencies are an extension of self-government, then the myopic instrumental rational is amiss when considering how policies influence public perceptions about its role in governance, as well as its affect on the principles of society as a whole.Thus when this relationship between government agents and the public are considered, it is important to not only focus upon executing policy, but to try to make sense of the values under girding policy -or as Cook defines it - its constitutive rational (5).In this view, Cook calls for a reconsideration of the role of public administration.
In this book, Cook makes an excellent case for using different methods to explaining the development of Public Administration in American Politics. The critical eras Cook evaluates are the founding, Jacksonian, progressive, new deal, and post new-deal politics. This approach raises the bar in the study of Public Administration. ... Read more

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A volume in Ethics in PracticeSeries Editors Robert A. Giacalone, Temple Universityand Carole L. Jurkiewicz, Louisiana State UniversityThe purpose of this book is to develop ethical traditions based on Kant, Horkheimer, and others, toextend beyond the level of individual behavior to address the social system level in business andpublic administration. It is not enough to try to be good or ethical as individuals when it is systemicprocesses which are fostering unethical behavior. Horkheimer's books Eclipse of Reason and Critiqueof Instrumental Reason, and his early and now classic essay Materialism and Morality, askfor a reformation of Kantian ethics. The reform is sought because the categorical imperative,within the context of an individualism capitalism, serves to worsen the difference between businessethics and moral philosophy. Therefore, Horkheimer asks that the maxims that would be made universalwould be done at the level of people organizing with others. This is the level addressed inthis volume, as we seek to change the system that is producing and reproducing unethical behaviors. ... Read more

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Is the public getting a good deal when the government contracts out the delivery of goods and services? Phillip Cooper attempts to get at the heart of this question by exploring what happens when public sector organizations--at the federal, state and local levels--form working relationships with other agencies, communities, non-profit organizations and private firms through contracts. Rather than focus on the ongoing debate over privatization, the book emphasizes the tools managers need to form, operate, terminate or transform these contracts amidst a complex web of intergovernmental relations.

Cooper frames the issues of public contract management by showing how managers are caught in between governance by authority and government by contract. By looking at cases ranging from the management of Baltimore schools to the contracting of senior citizen programs in Kansas, he offers practical information to students and practitioners and a theoretical context for their work.

At every turn, the author avoids bogging readers down in technical jargon. Instead the book sheds light on a crucial part of any public manager's job with lively case material and no-nonsense guidance for making the most of taxpayer dollars. ... Read more

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Study of Thomas Jefferson's legacy in public administration. ... Read more

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Make the leap from theoretical material in the classroom to actual practice on the front lines of government. By providing concise and straightforward steps for addressing management, resource, and operational needs, The Companion emphasizes application, with abundant case material and exercises that help students develop and hone crucial skills.

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This book presents the basic analytical tools utilized by today's public managers and policy analysts. Tailored specifically to the needs of students in public administration and public policy programs, Essential Statistics introduces and reinforces important statistical skills that will be immediately relevant to them.

Essential Statistics includes: * clear and concise discussions of statistical concepts and applications, from basic descriptive techniques to more advanced analytical tools * learning objectives and key term lists that frame each chapter for quick and easy reference * multiple tables, figures, and boxes to reinforce important concepts and enhance skill acquisition

Exercising Essential Statistics includes: * critical thinking questions, data-based and research in practice exercises, helpful tips on data presentation, and suggested reading lists that correspond with coverage of each textbook chapter * two software guides -- "How to Use SPSS" and "Guide to Using Spreadsheets" -- that capitalize on the increased value of computers in methods courses. Freeing students from time-consuming calculations, these real-world applications allow for quick results interpretation and data validation * perforated and spiral-bound pages for maximum flexibility ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Book in great condition but poor shipping method
The book was in good condition for a used book, no complaints on that end! But the shipping method was very poor! First, using USPS is not the way to go,the book took way longer than expected. I ordered the book on a friday and didnt get it till thurdays the next week. I orderd two other books from different sellers on that same friday and they used fedex ground shipping and I recieved the books on that monday. I was really not happy at all with the method of shipping, plus the USPS website for tracking is not informative at all. The updates on the package are really vague and not up to date.

great condition
Book was in perfect condition. crisp and new (at least itlooked it). Arrived in time too.

A decent statistic book
The book was one of the inexpensive statistic book which also related to policy analysis. The book gave you decent knowledge about how to apply statistic on policy analysis, but if you are type of person who is looking for lots of examples, I will not suggest this book. Also, if you have never take the statistic class or took the class long time ago, I will suggest you pick up a statistic textbook along with this book so you have a better understanding. The book does not tell you how to run a statistic software, so if you are looking for more statistic software information, buy a statistic software books (Envivo, SPSS and so on.) ... Read more