In a democracy, efficient public administration is after a delicate balance: the bureaucracy must be powerful enough to be effective, yet accountable to elected officials and the people. Kettl and Fesler understand that the push and pull of political forces make the functions of bureaucracy ever more contentious, but no less crucial to governance.
Based on reviewer feedback, and given advances in scholarship and in practice, the authors introduce the crucial topics of ethics, accountability, and leadership early on, utilizing these central ideas as touchstones throughout the book. While this text continues to focus on the core components of public administration—such as budgeting, personnel, and implementation—it’s been thoroughly updated to cover recent developments, including administrative issues spotlighted during the 2008 presidential campaigns, the use of technology in government management, and the changing face of the federal workforce. Fully updated tables and figures feature a wealth of current data, and photos add visual context to the book’s core concepts.
What was an appendix showcasing fourteen case studies in the previous edition is now a set of fully-integrated case studies—one in each chapter—that challenges students to apply ideas and analysis as they go. Each case emphasizes the people on the front lines at the local, state, and federal levels with topics ranging from Taser use in law enforcement to the recent economic bailout. Useful discussion questions at the end of each case help shape student responses and in-class conversation.
Table of Contents
1. Politics and Administration Historical Roots
The Progressives and Public Power
The Search for Responsible Government
Theoretical Approaches
Accountability Systems
Governmental Power and Administrative Ethics
The Public Service
Case 1. From the Front Lines of Government Power: Waterboarding, the CIA, and Government Contractors
PART I: The Nature of Government
2. Administrative Responsibility
An Administrative State?
The Meaning of Public Administration
The Study of Public Administration
Case 2. From the Front Lines of the Administrative State: Enforcement of Speeding Laws and Police Discretion
3. What Government Does--And How It Does It The Functions of Government
The Tools of Government
Implications for Public Administration
Conclusion
Case 3. From the Front Lines of What Government Does: Getting the Flu Shot
PART II: Organizational Theory and the Role of Government’s Structure
4. Foundations of Organizational Theory The Structural Approach to Large Organizations
Systems Theory
Challenges to the Dominant Theories
The Humanist Challenge
The Pluralist Challenge
The Challenge of Government by Proxy
Formal Models of Bureaucracy
Conclusion
Case 4. From the Front Lines of Organizational Theory: Is the FBI from Mars and the CIA from Venus?
5. Strategies and Tactics for Administrative Reform Reform in America
Conflicting Theories
All the World’s a Stage
Conclusion
Case 5. From the Front Lines of Administrative Reform: Economic Bailout
6. The Executive Branch Executive Branch Components
Direction of the Executive Branch
E-government
Conclusion
Case 6. From the Front Lines of the Executive Branch: Regulating the Airline Industry
7. Organization Problems The Search for Effective Organization
Reorganization
Conclusion
Case 7. From the Front Lines of Organization Problems: Sunset, the Golden Retriever
PART III: People in Government Organizations
8. The Civil Service Public Employment
Fundamental Elements of the Civil Service System
Employee Rights and Obligations
Conclusion
Case 8. From the Front Lines of Civil Service: Who Is More Efficient--Government Workers or Private Contractors?
9. Managing Human Capital The Human Capital Challenge
New Flexibility for the Personnel System
Leadership in the Public Service
Political Leadership
Career Leadership
The Problem of Top-Level Leadership
Conclusion
Case 9. From the Front Lines of Human Capital: A New Take on Old Principles
PART IV: Making and Implementing Government Decisions
10. Decision Making Basic Problems
Rational Decision Making
Bargaining
Participative Decision Making
Public Choice
Limits on Decision Making
Conclusion
Case 10. From the Front Lines of Decision Making: Steering the Economy
11. Budgeting The Budget’s Twin Roles
Budget Making
Budget Appropriation
Budget Execution
Budgeting for State and Local Governments
Conclusion Case 11. From the Front Lines of Budgeting: Funding SEPTA
12. Implementation: Making Programs Work Judging Program Success and Failure
Problems of Performance
Intergovernmental Relations
Contracting
The Government’s Dilemma
The Importance of Feedback
Conclusion
Case 12. From the Front Lines of Implementation: To Tase or Not to Tase?
Part V: Administration in a Democracy
13. Regulation and the Courts Regulation as a Foundation for Government’s Work
The Regulatory Job
Regulatory Procedure
Courts’ Regulation of the Regulators
Presidential Regulation of the Regulators
Conclusion
Case 13. From the Front Lines of Regulation: Who Should Set Environmental Policy--California or the Federal Government?
14. Executive Power and Political Accountability The Separation of Powers
Committee Oversight of Administration
The Government Accountability Office
Performance-Based Information
An Assessment of Legislative Control
How Does Accountability Work?
Conclusion: Ethics and the Public Service Case 14. From the Front Lines of Government Responsibility: How Should Government Communicate with Citizens?
Testimonials
“
The Politics of the Administrative Process is clear, compelling and informative. It’s a rare book that connects with students pursuing careers in public service and academia. I also found the supplemental instructor materials useful in putting together lectures, case study exercises, and exams. I strongly recommend this text.”
- Mark Cassell, Kent State University“Kudos to Kettl and Fesler for their timeless work that offers something for everyone.
The Politics of the Administrative Process is comprehensive and readable, offering up-to-date graphs and real life cases sure to engage all students. Two seasoned, learned authors, well-known throughout public administration literature, capture the administrative essence in this volume that includes real-life cases and chapter questions designed to promote critical thinking about administration. This book brings the topic of administration to life.”
- Barbara L. Neuby, Kennesaw State University“Kettl and Fesler have taken great care to make this comprehensive text one that is both stimulating and intelligent. They achieve an admirable balance between the discussion of politics and administration, which is fundamental to our study of PA.”
- Anita Chadha, University of Houston-Downtown
Bio(s)
Donald F. Kettl, University of Pennsylvania
Donald F. Kettl is the Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor and Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. Kettl is the author of numerous books, including The Next Government of the United States: Why Our Institutions Fail Us and How to Fix Them, The Global Public Management Revolution, and Leadership at the Fed. Kettl has twice won the Louis Brownlow Award for the best book in public administration, for The Transformation of Governance: Public Administration for Twenty-first Century America in 2003 and System under Stress: Homeland Security and American Politics in 2005. In 2008, he was awarded the John Gaus Award of the American Political Science Association for lifetime contributions to the scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration. Kettl has consulted broadly for government organizations and is a regular columnist for Governing magazine.
James W. Fesler, Yale University
James W. Fesler, who died in 2005, was the Alfred Cowles Professor Emeritus of Government at Yale University. He received the Dwight Waldo Award of the American Society for Public Administration “for distinguished contributions to the professional literature of public administration” and the John Gaus Award in 1988. His books include Area and Administration, The Independence of State Regulatory Agencies, and a special new edition of Area and Administration, which appeared posthumously in 2008.
Ancillaries
COLLEGE.CQPRESS.COM/ADMINPROCESS
A companion website features chapter summaries, quizzes, flashcards, annotated Web links, and case updates.
INSTRUCTOR’S RESOURCES ONLINE
Available free to adopters, a handy website includes an Instructor’s manual, a test bank with 350 questions (available with Respondus software), and PowerPoint slides.
Click Here for more information.
