Foundations of Public Service - Softcover

Morgan, Douglas F; Green, Douglas F.; Green, Richard T; Shinn, Craig W; Robinson, Robert K

3.25

12 ratings by Goodreads

9780765634597: Foundations of Public Service

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0765634597 ISBN 13: 9780765634597

Publisher: Routledge, 2013

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Designed to serve as a basic text for an introductory course in Public Administration, this innovative work provides students with an understanding of the basic management functions that are covered in all standard textbooks with two important differences.

First, it is written to address the needs of both the experienced practitioner and the entry-level public servant. Case examples bridge the content-rich environment of practitioners with the basic principles of public administration sought by pre-service students.

Second, the discussion of basic management practices is grounded in the political and ethical tensions inherent in the American constitutional form of governance. This reflects the authors' belief that public administration operates as an integral part of the country's political traditions, and thereby helps define the political culture. The book provides a framework for understanding American political traditions and how they inform public administration as a political practice.

Key Changes in the Second Edition include:

A new introductory chapter that explains what the authors mean by a constitutional approach and why that is important.< /li>
An expanded discussion of the role of civil society in promoting the common good.
A new section in chapter 5 on New Public Governance.
Updated exhibits that incorporate up-to-date census data and revenue figures (chapter 10).
A new section in chapter 14 that recognises the importance of maintaining accountability in contract and networked systems of governance.
Significantly rewritten chapters to add emphasis on the relevance of the chapter material to nonprofit organisations.
A significantly revised bibliography which incorporates new bodies of research that have appeared since the first edition.

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Review:

"Douglas Morgan and his colleagues have written a remarkable book. Using a rich and thought provoking mix of theory and practical case studies, their Foundations of Public Service offers students of public administration an excellent education in our democratic constitutional values and shows how these values are important for today's public managers, working both in government and in many other organizations that deliver public services. The book also provides an important contribution to public administration scholarship by drawing our attention to the complex and sometimes conflicting character of our constitutional values and what this means in practical terms for American public administration. As such, this is a unique book that is invaluable not only for students, who want to learn how to be effective public managers, but also for those professors who teach them and who think and write about public administration." --Michael W. Spicer, Cleveland State University

"Readers of Foundations of Public Service should take the title to heart. The authors make strikingly clear the importance of the constitutive foundations on which administrative service must stand. They also deftly demonstrate the meaning of public service when those foundations are translated into action. The second edition is a work of great significance for students, practitioners and scholars alike." --Brian J. Cook, Virginia Tech

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