Bureaucracy - Hardcover

Wilson, James Q.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465007848 ISBN 13: 9780465007844

Publisher: Basic Books, 1989

Synopsis

Bureaucracy is the classic study of the way American government agencies work and how they can be made to work better. Examining a wide range of bureaucracies, including the Army, the FBI, the FCC, and the Social Security Administration, James Q. Wilson provides the first comprehensive, in-depth analysis of what government agencies do, why they function as they do, and how they might become more responsible and effective. With a new introduction by the author.

About this title

About the Author:

James Q. Wilson is James Collins professor of management and public policy at UCLA. Winner of the 1990, James Madison Award of the American Political Science Association, he is also the author of Moral Sense and Moral Judgement.

From Library Journal:

Wilson (management, UCLA) attempts to explain bureaucratic behavior, beginning with a contrast of similar institutions (armies, prisons, and schools) that have succeeded and failed. He finds that neither the liberal view (more money, new programs) or the conservative ideology (smaller government) provides the single answer. Wilson's key contribution here is his emphasis on the "bottom" of the bureaucracy--those who do the work. Policy, he says, is developed by those with no understanding of its implementation. In addition, Wilson suggests that bureaucracy can be made "efficient" by giving bureaucrats more incentives and flexibility, a strategy, he concludes, that conflicts with our political culture. For academic libraries.
- Jeffrey Kraus, Wagner Coll., Staten Island, New York
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0465007848
• ISBN 13: 9780465007844
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 433