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 The Pursuit of Significance Strategies for Managerial Success in Public Organizations
Robert B. Denhardt
Highly progressive public managers around the world are now departing from traditional management practices and making dramatic improvements in the quality and productivity of their organizations. The author examines the approaches and philosophies that have guided the work of these “revolutionary” public managers. This book provides the tools with which to transform hierarchical, rule-bound public bureaucracies into organizations driven by a commitment to common purpose, a concern for high-quality public services, empowerment and shared leadership, a strategy of pragmatic incrementalism, and a dedication to public service. These five approaches provide a model by which public managers might more effectively carry out their own commitment to active and responsive public service. Moreover, public managers will find their own work assuming even greater meaning and significance.
$28.95 list, 300 pages 10-digit ISBN: 1-57766-114-1 13-digit ISBN: 978-1-57766-114-6 © 1993
“. . . a genuine breakthrough that demonstrates public agencies have alternatives to the profit motive to motivate high levels of excellence.” — Jay Hakes, Administrator, U. S. Energy Information Administration
“Denhardt accomplishes what has eluded virtually all other leading authors in this field—putting a dynamic face on public management. This book is no less than a bible for public managers, and one they should keep open on their desks throughout their careers.” — Marc Holzer, President-Elect, American Society for Public Administration
“Seldom does a work so articulately blend academic integrity, practitioner utility, and an understanding of the human spirit in organizations. I not only read The Pursuit of Significance with delight and appreciation—I use it!” — Richard Bowers, City Manager, Scottsdale, Arizona
“Public service careers offer meaningful work and significant impact. These qualities attract newcomers to the field, and this book sets the stage perfectly. I commend it to all who are entering the field or who are contemplating a career change.” — Mary Ellen Guy, Florida State University
“Wondering if the public sector has anything unique or vital to contribute to the commitment to service excellence? Read this book!” — Tom Eichler, Cabinet Secretary, Department of Services to Children, Youth, and their Families, State of Delaware
“It is not insignificant that a book that addresses how governments can improve their quality and productivity—how governments can recapture their significance—is written by one of the most significant contemporary theorists in public administration and public management. The stories of exemplary public managers in three countries are woven in with organizational and administrative theory and results in a text that expertly bridges the supposed ‘theory-practice’ gap.” — Cheryl Simrell King, University of Akron
Table of Contents
1. A Revolution in Public Management |