The Public Administration Profession: Policy, Management, and Ethics

While many introductory public administration textbooks contain a dedicated chapter on ethics, The Public Administration Profession is the first to utilize ethics as a lens for understanding the discipline. Analyses of the ASPA Code of Ethics are deftly woven into each chapter alongside complete coverage of the institutions, processes, concepts, persons, history, and typologies a student needs to gain a thorough grasp of public service as a field of study and practice. Features include: A significant focus on "public interests," nonprofit management, hybrid-private organizations, contracting out and collaborations, and public service at state and local levels. A careful examination of the role that religion may play in public servants’ decision making, as well as the unignorable and growing role that faith-based organizations play in public administration and nonprofit management at large. End-of-chapter ethics case studies, key concepts and persons, and dedicated "local community action steps" in each chapter. Appendices dedicated to future public administration and nonprofit career management, writing successful papers throughout a student’s career, and professional codes of ethics. A comprehensive suite of online supplements, including: lecture slides; quizzes and sample examinations for undergraduate and graduate courses containing multiple choice, true-false, identifications, and essay questions; chapter outlines with suggestions for classroom discussion; and suggestions for use of appendices, e.g., how to successfully write a short term paper, a brief policy memo, resume, or a book review. Providing students with a comprehensive introduction to the subject while offering instructors an elegant new way to bring ethics prominently into the curriculum, The Public Administration Profession is an ideal introductory text for public administration and public affairs courses at the undergraduate or graduate level.

Table of Contents:
Part 1. FOUNDATIONS of the Public Administration Profession 1. The Public Interests 2. Virtue of Public Administrators 3. Utility in Democratic Policymaking 4. Duty to the Constitution and Laws Part 2. APPLICATIONS of the Public Administration Profession 5. Federalism, States, Communities and Honesty 6. Public Organizations Management and Loyalty 7. Human Resources Management and Diversity 8. Public Financial Management and Corruption 9. Nonprofits and Faith-Based Organizations Epilogue. The Public Administration Profession. Appendix A. Sources of Professional Ethics. Appendix B. Career Management. Appendix C. Information Literacy.

About the Author :
Bradley S. Chilton is Professor and Director of the Public Administration Program at the University of Texas at El Paso, USA. Stephen M. King is Professor and Chair of Political Science at Regent University, USA. Viviane E. Foyou is Assistant Professor in the Public Administration Program at the University of Texas at El Paso, USA. J. Scott McDonald is Professor in the Public Administration Program at the University of Texas at El Paso, USA.

Review :
"The Public Administration Profession weaves core topics of public administration with essential ethical concepts to create a textbook that is both engaging and practical with chapters that provide case studies highlighting contemporary topics. The material is easily accessible for the traditional student and for the in-practice professional and provides assistance to aid students in developing their writing and critical thinking skills. The Public Administration Profession fills a void in current offerings by providing a text that reminds the reader of the importance of incorporating ethics into all aspects of public administration."—Cindy Davis, Stephen F. Austin State University, USA "I appreciate the balanced approach of this textbook… the authors have done an impressive job of providing readers with exposure to key authors/thinkers within the discipline. As a professor who is consistently frustrated with introductory PA textbooks that have an unbalanced approach to the levels of government, the structure and foci of this textbook are refreshing. Finally, the authors’ decision to ground the contents of the textbook in the ASPA Code of Ethics is exciting, and I think breathes life into a type of textbook that can otherwise come across as muddled and excessively broad."—Anthony Campbell, Tennessee State University, USA "… it appears to have a novel approach and in-depth information. I think the book has tremendous strength in terms of its approach and its focus on ethics. Furthermore, the inclusion of topics like ‘state and local government administration’, and ‘nonprofit and faith-based organizations’ is very important which makes this book more suitable for our students. In addition, the specific sections of each chapter including case study, discussion question, and action steps are very unique and extremely useful in class and outside learning."—Suparna Soni, SUNY-Buffalo State, USA "I really like this book… it offers a lot of depth and theoretical background to explain why we "do" public administration a certain way and where the ideas came from. I also like the focus on ethics, which is a key topic that many texts usually cover at the end and in a manner that is not practical for students. The case studies at the end of each chapter of extremely helpful, as well, and something that I would use. Finally, I am very pleased that there is a chapter on non-profits which is something I have wanted to include in more depth in my course."—Chad Kinsella, Ball State University, USA