The Public Administration Theory Primer

Transcription

0813345765-Frederickson Layout 1 10/12/11 11:36 AM Page iiiTh e P u b l i cA d m i n i s t r at i o nTh e o r y P r i m e rsecond editionH. George FredericksonUniversity of KansasKevin B. SmithUniversity of NebraskaChristopher W. LarimerUniversity of Northern IowaMichael J. LicariUniversity of Northern Iowaa member of the perseus books group

0813345765-Frederickson Layout 1 10/12/11 11:36 AM Page ivWestview Press was founded in 1975 in Boulder, Colorado, by notable publisherand intellectual Fred Praeger. Westview Press continues to publish scholarly titlesand high-quality undergraduate- and graduate-level textbooks in core socialscience disciplines. With books developed, written, and edited with the needs ofserious nonfiction readers, professors, and students in mind, Westview Presshonors its long history of publishing books that matter.Copyright 2012 by Westview PressPublished by Westview Press,A Member of the Perseus Books GroupAll rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this bookmay be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission exceptin the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Forinformation, address Westview Press, 2465 Central Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301.Find us on the World Wide Web at www.westviewpress.com.Every effort has been made to secure required permissions for all text, images,maps, and other art reprinted in this volume.Westview Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in theUnited States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For moreinformation, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus BooksGroup, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800)810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail special.markets@perseusbooks.com.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataThe public administration theory primer / H. George Frederickson . . . [et al.].—2nd ed.p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-0-8133-4576-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-8133-4577-2(e-book) 1. Public administration—United States. I. Frederickson, H. George.JF1351.F734 2012351.73—dc23201103550910 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

0813345765-Frederickson Layout 1 10/12/11 11:36 AM Page vContentsPreface, viiChapter 1 Introduction: The Possibilities of Theory1Chapter 2 Theories of Political Control of BureaucracyChapter 3 Theories of Bureaucratic PoliticsChapter 4 Public Institutional TheoryChapter 7 Decision Theory4167Chapter 5 Theories of Public ManagementChapter 6 Postmodern Theory1597131165Chapter 8 Rational Choice Theory and Irrational BehaviorChapter 9 Theories of Governance219Chapter 10 Conclusion: A Bright Future for Theory?References, 267Index, 291v245193

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0813345765-Frederickson Layout 1 10/12/11 11:36 AM Page viiPrefaceThe first edition of The Public Administration Theory Primer sought to address aproblem faced sooner or later by all students, scholars, and practitioners of publicadministration. In order to make sense of what we study or practice we need somestructure or framework to understand decisions, outcomes, causes, and the like;in other words, we need a theory. The big problem in the field of public administration is not that we lack theory; the problem is one of surfeit rather than deficit.The big challenge is ordering, synthesizing, and making sense of multiple theoretical and empirical perspectives. The first edition of the primer was explicitlyaimed at meeting that challenge.Since its publication in , The Public Administration Theory Primer hasbeen adopted by scores of instructors, cited in hundreds of scholarly articles, andserved as a comprehensive survey of the field for thousands of students and academics. Though it continued to serve as a standard reference and text, events inside and outside the academy left the first edition increasingly dated. There havebeen numerous new developments and contributions in public administrationtheory since its publication; changes in government and management practiceshave created new demands for different types of theories; and some of the conceptsand models given extensive coverage in the original edition have either passedfrom favor or been superceded by subsequent work.This second edition of The Primer retains the original’s thematic focus andgeneral organization, but is extensively updated to include the latest directionsand developments. These include the rise of reporting as a means to hold bureaucracy accountable (see Chapter ), the continuing evolution of the “hollow state”or “shadow bureaucracy” and the rise of network theory (see Chapter ), newpsychological/biological behavioral research with big implications for decisiontheory and, especially, rational choice (see Chapters and ). The contributionsof nearly a decade’s worth of new research is woven into all the chapters, some ofwhich has altered our conclusions about the health and robustness of some popular conceptual frameworks (see Chapter ).Many deserve thanks for making the second edition of The Primer possible.We appreciate the hard work, faith in the project, and patience in seeing it throughvii

0813345765-Frederickson Layout 1 10/12/11 11:36 AM Page viiiviiiPrefaceto fruition of Anthony Wahl, our editor at Westview. We also have a long list ofdebts to many others whose contributions through two editions should not gounmentioned. These include Ken Meier, Leisha DeHart-Davis, and Tom Catlaw.We thank our colleagues at the Department of Public Administration of the University of Kansas, the Department of Political Science at the University of Nebraska, and the Department of Political Science at the University of NorthernIowa for encouraging and supportive environments in which to work. We thankDwight Waldo for his inspiration. Above all we thank our spouses, Mary Frederickson, Kelly Smith, Danielle Larimer, and Kirsten Licari, for their unflaggingand loving support.

0813345765-Frederickson Layout 1 10/12/11 11:36 AM Page 11Introduction:The Possibilities of TheoryWhy Do We Need Theory in Public Administration?All the great human events in history were probably achieved by what we todaywould call public administration. Organization and management practices in collective or public settings are certainly as old as civilization, and significant changesin those practices tend to accompany historical shifts in mass-scale social organization and operation. For example, the transition from feudal society to the extended nation-state was made possible by the centralization of policy, on the onehand, and the decentralization of policy implementation, on the other (Tout ;Ellul ; Chrimes ). The colonial era would be described the same way,but on a worldwide scale (Gladden ). There are splendid comparisons ofBritish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, and Belgian approaches to issues of colonialcentralization and decentralization, the management of courts, and the organization and management of navies and armies (Gladden , – ). Extensivearchaeological research indicates that early Armenian civilizations were built onrather elaborate forms of administration (Von Hagen ; Prescott ; Mason ; Morley ). In China, the Sung dynasty (A.D. – ) “maintainedsubstantially the traditional Chinese system of government and administration.The Emperor, who was supreme, was advised and assisted by a Council of Statewhose members, varying from five to nine, supervised individually the several organs of Administration, which were grouped under ( ) the Secretariat-Chancellery,( ) the Finance Commission, and ( ) the Bureau of Military Affairs” (Gladden , ; Yutang ; Loewe ; Balazs ; Weber ).In these and countless other examples, the elemental features of public administration permeated social development; indeed, it is argued that civilization requiresthe elemental features of public administration (Waldo , ; Wildavsky1

0813345765-Frederickson Layout 1 10/12/11 11:36 AM Page 22The Public Administration Theory Primer ; Douglas and Wildavsky ). Following Max Weber, the elemental featuresof public administration include ( ) some basis of formal authority with claims toobedience; ( ) intentionally established laws and rules, which apply to all; ( ) specific spheres of individual competence, which include task differentiation, specialization, expertise, and/or professionalization; ( ) the organization of persons intogroups or categories according to specialization; ( ) coordination by hierarchy; ( )continuity through rules and records; ( ) the organization as distinct from the persons holding positions or offices in it; and ( ) the development of particular andspecific organizational technologies (Weber ). Virtually all considerations ofthe great epochs of human history have found the building blocks of organizationand management (Gladden ). The practices of public administration are, then,as old as civilization and essential to the development of civilization.Although the practice of public administration is very old, the formal study ofpublic administration and the elaboration of public administration theory are verynew. As a separate self-conscious or self-aware academic and intellectual thing—a body of knowledge, a field of professional practice, an academic subject, a formof politics, a social construction of reality—public administration is young. Whenmeasured from the Federalist, public administration is more than years old,more than decades, more than generations. When measured from the publication of Woodrow Wilson’s founding essay ( / ), public administrationis more than years old, more than decades, more than generations. As aseparate and self-conscious collection of concepts, ideas, reforms, courses and degrees, and professed answers to public problems, public administration is a youngadult.In his encyclopedic description of what we know about public administration,James Q. Wilson claims to have little interest in theory and expresses the opinionthat theory has little to offer to an understanding of bureaucracy:I wish that this book could be set forth in a way that proved, or at least illustrated,a simple, elegant, comprehensive theory of bureaucratic behavior. I have come tohave grave doubts that anything worth calling “organization theory” will everexist. Theories will exist, but they will usually be so abstract or general as to explainrather little. Interesting explanations will exist, some even supported with facts,but these will be partial, place- and time-bound insights. Many scholars disagreewith me. More power to them. ( , xi–xii)If contemporary understandings of public administration are merely recitationsof facts derived from research—letting the facts speak for themselves—can publicadministration theory be taken seriously?One purpose of this book is to answer this question with a firm yes. DespiteWilson’s disclaimer, theory is the bedrock of understanding public administration.

0813345765-Frederickson Layout 1 10/12/11 11:36 AM Page 3Introduction: The Possibilities of Theory3Indeed, in many ways Wilson’s own work is a profoundly important theoreticalcontribution.There is no theorist more clever than the scholar claiming to have no theory.Simply to arrange the facts, describe the research findings, and claim no theorymay appear to be safe. But theory of some kind will have guided the selection ofwhich facts to present, how to order those facts, and how to interpret them. Alltheories have weaknesses, and denying theory while doing theory has the big advantage of not having to defend those weaknesses. Denying theory while doingtheory has other advantages as well. It helps to avoid the stereotypes of, say, decision theorists or rational choice theorists. To claim to be atheoretical skirts thetruth-in-labeling test. Without acknowledging a theory or expressing an interestin a theory, the scholar can attempt to avoid labels and stereotypes. These are allcompelling reasons to avoid theoretical boxes and categories; but these reasons donot diminish the centrality of theory in all of public administration.Can theory be important in a field as applied, practical, and interdisciplinaryas public administration? This book answers this question with another firm yes.We believe it is self-evident that a need exists for greater conceptual clarity andtheoretical reliability in the treatment of public administration. It is always tempting in an applied field to fall back on common sense and wisdom as sufficient tothe task of implementing public policy. In fact, common sense and wisdom arenecessary for carrying out effective policy, but they are not sufficient, especiallywhen common sense and wisdom are poorly defined or not defined at all. Deepthinking is also helpful, but insufficient. The certainties derived from the deepthought of one generation are often poor guides for succeeding generations. Forexample, it is presently accepted almost universally that public bureaucracies areslow, cumbersome, self-serving, and inefficient—the common sense or wisdomof our day. We act on that common sense by deregulating, downsizing, contractingout, privatizing, encouraging bureaucratic risk taking and innovation, and loosening controls on government purchasing and bidding. In the s, when theUnited States was in a deep economic depression, an opposite type of commonsense prevailed. Based on that common sense, we depended on centralized government to solve common problems. We are now rapidly moving away from dependence on centralized government, and common sense and conventionalwisdom appear to guide these trends.In the past forty years, public administration has developed more systematicpatterns of inquiry about the substance of public organization behavior, publicmanagement, and public policy implementation. This work has c

The Public Administration Theory Primer second edition H. George Frederickson University of Kansas Kevin B. Smith University of Nebraska Christopher W. Larimer University of Northern Iowa Michael J. Licari University of Northern Iowa a member of the perseus books group 0813345765-Frederickson_Layout 1 10/12/11 11:36 AM Page iii. Westview Press was founded in 1975 in Boulder,