Public Administration: Balancing Power and Accountability - Softcover

Howard, Lawrence C.; McKinney, Jerome B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0275955656 ISBN 13: 9780275955656

Publisher: Praeger, 1998

Synopsis

This is a complete and up-to-date revision of the classic text for public administration, implementing the rule of law as a fundamental issue in American democracy in pursuit of the common interest. It presents public administration as a tension between the necessary exercise of power and the search for responsiveness to achieve maximum accountability from public servants. The authors have initiated a new approach to the study of public administration by focusing on middle- and lower-level managers. These are positions that most public servants will occupy for the bulk of their professional careers. The book recognizes that most of the administration is in field offices, in state and local government, and in cooperation with the private and nonprofit sectors. It then focuses on power and its potential for influencing the behavior of the bureaucracy to perform its goal-oriented and balancing functions in a pluralistic open system. This leads to the relationship between theories about administration and the actual practice and how best results (imperative of accountability) are achieved in the increasingly globalized environment.

About this title

About the Author

LAWRENCE HOWARD is a psychologist who is currently a Research Associate in Global Peace and Conflict Studies at the School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine. Dr. Howard has co-authored articles in Developmental Psychology and Psychophysiology, and is presently developing a work on violence in Buddhist societies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Praeger
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0275955656
• ISBN 13: 9780275955656
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 520