Debating Public Administration: Management Challenges, Choices, and Opportunities(ASPA Series in Public Administration and Public Policy)

Dialog between practitioners and academics has increasingly become the exception rather than the rule in contemporary public administration circles. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, Debating Public Administration: Management Challenges, Choices, and Opportunities tackles some of the major management challenges, choices, and opportunities of the twenty-first century facing public managers across various subfields of public administration. Informed by contemporary pressures on public managers to reconceptualize purpose, redefine administrative rationality, recapitalize human assets, reengage resources, and revitalize democratic constitutionalism, the book offers students, practitioners, and researchers an opportunity to take stock and ponder the future of practice and research in public administration. Organized by three sets of major management challenges facing the field—Rethinking Administrative Rationality in a Democratic Republic, Recapitalizing Organizational Capacity, and Reconceptualizing Institutions for New Policy Challenges—the book takes an uncommon approach to the study of these topics. In it, leading practitioners and academics comment on condensed versions of articles appearing in the Theory to Practice feature of Public Administration Review (PAR) from 2006 through 2011. The authors and commentators focus on some of the best current research, draw lessons from that literature for practice, and identify gaps in research that need to be addressed. They expertly draw out themes, issues, problems, and prospects, providing bulleted lessons and practical takeaways. This makes the book a unique one-stop resource for cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral, and cross-professional exchanges on contemporary challenges.

Table of Contents:
PART I: Rethinking Administrative Rationality in a Democratic Republic Chapter 1: Managing Successful Organizational Change in the Public Sector Authors: Sergio Fernandez, Indiana University, and Hal G. Rainey, University of Georgia Commentators: Patrick E. Connor and Fred Thompson, Willamette University J. Christopher Mihm, Government Accountability Office Mary Tschirhart, University of North Carolina-Charlotte Chapter 2: Back to the Future? Performance-Related Pay, Empirical Research, and the Perils of Persistence Authors: James L. Perry, Trent A. Engbers, and So Yun Jun, Indiana University Commentators: David J. Houston, University of Tennessee-Knoxville Sanjay K. Pandey, Rutgers University Howard Risher, Risher Enterprises, Ltd. Chapter 3: From "Need to Know" to "Need to Share": Tangled Problems, Information Boundaries, and the Building of Public Sector Knowledge Networks Authors: Sharon S. Dawes, Anthony M. Cresswell, and Theresa A. Pardo, SUNY-Albany Commentators: Lisa Blomgren Bingham, Indiana University Sharon L. Caudle, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University Chapter 4: Toward "Strong Democracy" in Global Cities? Social Capital Building, Theory-Driven Reform, and the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Experience Authors: Juliet Musso, University of Southern California; Christopher Weare, University of Southern California; Thomas Bryer, University of Central Florida; and Terry L. Cooper, University of Southern California Commentators: Brian J. Cook, Virginia Tech Tina Nabatchi, Syracuse University John Clayton Thomas, Georgia State University Chapter 5: Reinventing Administrative Prescriptions: The Case for Democratic-Constitutional Impact Statements and Scorecards Author: David H. Rosenbloom, American University Commentator: John M. Kamensky, IBM Center for the Business of Government PART II: Recapitalizing Organizational Capacity Chapter 6: Betting on the Future with a Cloudy Crystal Ball? How Financial Theory Can Improve Revenue Forecasting and Budgets in the States Authors: Fred Thompson and Bruce L. Gates, Willamette University Commentators: Roy T. Meyers, University of Maryland-Baltimore County Katherine G. Willoughby, Georgia State University Chapter 7: Managing Public Service Contracts: Aligning Values, Institutions, and Markets Authors: Trevor L. Brown, Ohio State University; Matthew Potoski, University of California-Santa Barbara; and David M. Van Slyke, Syracuse University Commentators: Ruth H. DeHoog, University of North Carolina-Greensboro Suzanne J. Piotrowski, Rutgers University-Newark Thomas F. Reilly, Clark County, Nevada Andrew B. Whitford, University of Georgia Chapter 8: A Return to Spoils? Revisiting Radical Civil Service Reform in the United States Authors: Stephen E. Condrey, Condrey and Associates, Inc., and R. Paul Battaglio, Jr., University of Texas-Dallas Commentators: Frank D. Ferris, Executive Vice President, National Treasury Employees Union Norma M. Riccucci, Rutgers University-Newark Frank J. Thompson, Rutgers University-Newark Chapter 9: A Solution in Search of a Problem? Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and the New Governance Author: Sally Coleman Selden, Lynchburg College Commentators: Domonic A. Bearfield, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University Lael R. Keiser, University of Missouri-Columbia Sharon H. Mastracci, University of Illinois-Chicago PART III: Reconceptualizing Institutions for New Policy Challenges Chapter 10: Is the World "Flat" or "Spiky? Rethinking the Governance Implications of Globalization for Economic Development Authors: Richard C. Feiock, Florida State University; M. Jae Moon, Yonsei University; and Hyung Jun Park, Sungkyunkwan University Commentators: William Lyons, City of Knoxville, Tennessee and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Laura A. Reese, Michigan State University John C. Morris, Old Dominion University, and Douglas J. Watson, University of Texas-Dallas Chapter 11: Spanning "Bleeding" Boundaries: Humanitarianism, NGOs, and the Civilian-Military Nexus in the Post-Cold War Era Author: Nancy C. Roberts, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School Commentator: Robert "Robin" H. Dorff, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College Chapter 12: Left High and Dry? Climate Change, Common-Pool Resource Theory, and the Adaptability of Western Water Compacts Authors: Edella Schlager, University of Arizona, and Tanya Heikkila, University of Colorado-Denver Commentators: Elizabeth A. Graffy, U.S. Geological Survey and University of Wisconsin-Madison

Review :
"In the following chapters, thanks to the immense talent and hard work of the editors, authors, and commentators, readers can catch a rare, insightful glimpse of innovative minds at work within modern public administration—even by whom, why, what, where, and how creative innovation is accomplished throughout the field. And maybe, just maybe, they will draw the conclusion that right now American public administration lives in an incredible golden age." —From the Foreword by Richard Stillman, Editor in Chief and Jos C. N. Raadschelders, Managing Editor, Public Administration Review, 2006-2011