Culture, Development, and Public Administration in Africa - Softcover

Umeh, Ogwo Jombo; Andranovich, Greg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565492013 ISBN 13: 9781565492011

Publisher: Kumarian Press, 2005

Synopsis

* The first text that integrates a cultural context into the study of public administration programs
* Covers the whole of southern Africa: South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
* Written jointly by an African professor of public administration and an American political scientist

Despite extensive theoretical consideration over the past several decades, the discipline of public administration still suffers from an inability to meet on-the-ground administrative challenges in developing countries. In the past, public administrators have relied upon Western organizational models considered rational and efficient. But in neglecting various social and cultural aspects of any non-Western country, development proceeds in fits and starts.

Using southern African nations as an example, the authors argue that emerging societies are poor today thanks to the overreliance on non-local models. Practitioners must consider local cultures--languages, symbols, customs, and rituals--in developing effective administrative practices. They must absorb the experiences of people who know first-hand the dynamics and conditions in these countries. Otherwise, neither citizens nor leaders will manage their affairs and development processes effectively.

Written particularly for undergraduate and graduate students in public administration, political science, and comparative and development public administration, but also for policymakers, managers, administrators, and individuals who seek to understand the challenges of organizing and managing development, this book helps foster a culturally sensitive understanding of public administration in a global context.

About this title

About the Author:

Greg Andranovich is Professor of Political Science at California State University, Los Angeles, where he teaches in the public administration program. His research is in urban and regional policy making, and comparative public administration; his publications focus on issues of economic growth and development and collaborative processes.

Review:

"Offers the reader an overview of the continent, with a particular focus on the countries of the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference. Succinctly, they provide us with a list of the critical issues confronting the administration of those countries, with a particular focus on the range of skills required for the major tasks at hand, constraints, and opportunities. The stress on methodology is particularly well placed in a critical study of culture and a book that wants to avoid dependence on Western models."

"Essential reading for students wishing to get a handle on comparative and development administration. Provides readers with a comprehensive, analytically informed, and conceptually sound view of public administration that should open an important window to the reality of developing society."

About this edition

• Publisher: Kumarian Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1565492013
• ISBN 13: 9781565492011
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208