Home  /  Back to disciplines  /  Request exam/desk copy  /  Purchase  /  View cart  /  Checkout

Public Administration

Partnerships in Public Service, Fourth Edition

William C. Johnson

This dynamic exploration of public administration illuminates the complexity of governing in the twenty-first century. As a starting point, Johnson discusses the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina and what that effort reveals about the role of government in society, how government should best be organized, the extent of public-private cooperation necessary to respond to natural disasters, and the assessment and management of risk. The author notes that although the events of August 2005 provide plenty of examples of government failure, they also demonstrate how administrators can learn to be better decision makers and collaborators.
Public Administration surveys the key concepts and underpinnings of American governance, drawing on classic works as well as current issues and events. Working from the premise that no significant government enterprise takes place within the boundaries of any one organization, the text illustrates the collaborative process through which public policy is shaped by networks of organizations with diverse missions and certain common purposes. Throughout, Johnson emphasizes the role of public administrators in forming and maintaining the partnerships that advance the goals of government.

Each chapter has been thoroughly updated, while boxed features throughout the text provide fresh examples of public administration in practice. From metropolitan area transit planning, to the Border Patrol’s contracts with private technology firms, to computerized neighborhood environment tracking, to state government attempts to address the global warming issue, Johnson provides numerous topical examples of the myriad forms of collaboration between administrators, the private sector, and the general public.

$41.95 list, 390 pages

10-digit ISBN: 1-57766-550-3

13-digit ISBN: 978-1-57766-550-2

© 2009

1. Public Administration: The People's Business

Theme: Learning from Disasters / The Language of Public Administration / What Government Is to Do: The Public Purposes / Growth and Complexity of Government / Public Policies and Their Implementation / The Globalization of American Public Administration / The Challenges of Public Service / Overview of This Book

2. The Mosaic of American Governments

Theme: Organizing for National Emergencies / The Structures of Administration / The Constitutional Bases of Government Organization / The Federal Executive Branch / State Government Organization / Local and Regional Government / The Judiciary as Administrator / The Politics of Government Reorganization

3. Administration in the Federal Network

Theme: No Child Left Behind / The Concept and Practice of Federalism / How the American Federal System Evolved / Fiscal Federalism / Federal Government Mandates / State and Local Intergovernmental Networks / The Politics of Federalism

4. Private Partners in Public Administration

Theme: Collaborating for Affordable Homes / The Collaborative Heritage in Public Service / Rationales for Public-Private Collaboration / Forms of Public-Private Relationships / Citizen Engagement in Administration / Faith-Based Organizations in Public Collaboration / Evaluation of Public-Privative Collaboration

5. The Dynamics of Bureaucracy

Theme: Government in Cyberspace / Fitting Structure to Purpose / American Concepts of Government Organization / Government Organizations in Their Environments / Internal Dynamics of Government Organizations / Organizational Communication / Toward Reinvention of Bureaucracy

6. From Public Purposes to Public Policies

Theme: Toward a National Transportation Policy / Formats of Public Policies / The Policy Cycle / Power Relationships in Policy Making

7. Public Executives: Leading and Managing

Theme: Dr. Gerberding Takes the Lead / Executives in Government / Leadership and Management in Government / What Government Executives Must Do / The President and Other Federal Executives / State and Local Executives / Politics of Public Leadership and Management

8. Administrative Decision Making

Theme: How Government Prepares for Natural Disasters / Administrative Decision Making / The Search for Intelligence / Anticipating and Planning the Future / Approaches to Decision Making / Analytical Methods of Decision Making / The Politics of Administrative Choices

9. Public Money

Theme: What Is It Worth to Be Healthy? / Government Spending and Revenue / Public Money and the Public Purposes / Budgets as Policy and Administrative Documents / The Politics of Budget Making / Creating the Federal Budget / State and Local Budgeting / Government Revenue / Managing and Reviewing Government Spending / Government Debt / Fiscal Choices in Turbulent Times

10. Human Resources in Government

Theme: Exemplary Public Servants / Public Servants for the Public Purposes / A Census and Profile of Public Servants / Human Resources Management / The Employment Process / Public Employee Organizations and Bargaining / Public Employee Rights / The Public Service of the Future

11. Government and Business

Theme: Toward a New Energy Economy / Public Purposes and the Economic System / Government Promotion of Business Enterprise / Regulation of Business Activity / Government Organization for Regulation / Rule Making, Enforcement, and Adjudication / The Politics of Business Promotion and Regulation

12. Government and Its Publics

Theme: Immigrants in the Administrative Net / The Publics of Government / Government's Roles toward Its Publics / Civil Rights and Liberties in Public Administration / Government Communication with Its Publics / E-Government as a Public Service / American Governments and International Publics / Rationing and Bias in Government Services

13. Implementation and Evaluation

Theme: Creating Opportunities through Work / Government's Bottom Line / Requirements for Effective Implementation / Evaluating Policy Outcomes and Impacts / Criteria for Evaluation / Performance Measurement / Challenges to Implementation and Evaluation

14. Public Accountability and Ethical Conduct

Theme: Wrongdoing in Government: How to Respond? / The Accountability Dilemma / Formal Accountability within the Executive Branch / Formal Accountability to External Authorities / Informal Means of Maintaining External Accountability / Informal Accountability within the Executive Branch / Conflicts of Interest / Freedom of Information and Open Government / Ethical Behavior in the Network of Accountability

Glossary