The Public Administrator's Companion


Book Description

The second edition of The Public Administrator’s Companion: A Practical Guide examines the most important elements of public administration. The authors provide readers with a keen understanding of how government works, useful for both students and practitioners of public administration. The book discusses governmental structure, human resources, and public funding. It delineates administrators’ actions in strategic planning, consensus building, budget development, performance measurement, and public policy assessment and implementation. This edition includes new chapters on nonprofit organizations and leadership for administrators, as well as an appendix about preparing and making presentations. The previous edition’s appendix on getting a job in local government has been revised to include interviewing and hiring from the perspectives of both the agency and applicant. Real-world examples and cases from the local, state, and federal level reinforce key topics. Each chapter ends with a “Practicing Public Administration” section that provides helpful exercises for building the skills described in the chapter and a “Bibliography,” which provides useful source materials that can broaden the reader’s comprehension of the chapter.




Public Value and Public Administration


Book Description

Governments and nonprofits exist to create public value. Yet what does that mean in theory and practice? This new volume brings together key experts in the field to offer unique, wide-ranging answers. From the United States, Europe, and Australia, the contributors focus on the creation, meaning, measurement, and assessment of public value in a world where government, nonprofit organizations, business, and citizens all have roles in the public sphere. In so doing, they demonstrate the intimate link between ideas of public value and public values and the ways scholars theorize and measure them. They also add to ongoing debates over what public value might mean, the nature of the most important public values, and how we can practically apply these values. The collection concludes with an extensive research and practice agenda conceived to further the field and mainstream its ideas. Aimed at scholars, students, and stakeholders ranging from business and government to nonprofits and activist groups, Public Value and Public Administration is an essential blueprint for those interested in creating public value to advance the common good.




Research Methods for Public Administrators


Book Description

As in previous editions, this highly practical book is written with beginning MPA students and practitioners in mind. It focuses on the interpretation and use of research findings, not just number crunching. It covers the entire research process, from initial questions to final report, in clear, jargon-free language, and includes numerous easy-to-understand examples and exercises that provide opportunities for concrete applications of the concepts. It is solidly grounded in public administration and recognizes both the promise and limitations of research within a political environment. Key features of the book: --It is highly practical and written to accommodate a mix of readers: those who want to become analysts, managers who will oversee research contracts, and citizens who need to know whether to believe the facts and data they read in today's news; --It minimizes the use of jargon and explains difficult concepts in clear language. Plentiful end-of-chapter exercises provide opportunities for concrete application of the concepts; --Key points are highlighted as "takeaway lessons" so readers are reminded about what really matters. The tough questions to ask are suggested in every chapter; --Examples and applications are used throughout the book to illustrate concepts and add topical interest; --It covers the entire research process, from initial questions to the final report. This book demystifies and makes practical the research every public administrator and policy analyst needs to do the job well. Online instructor's materials, including a Test Bank, PowerPoint slides, and a Survey and Documental Analysis (SDA) guide, are also available to adopters.




Cultural Competency for Public Administrators


Book Description

With a focus on a broad spectrum of topics--race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and sexual orientation at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels--this book equips readers to better understand the complex, real-world challenges public administrators confront in serving an increasingly diverse society. The book's main themes include: What is cultural competency and why is it important? Building culturally competent public agencies; Culturally competent public policy; Building culturally competent public servants; How do agencies assess their cultural competency and what is enough? PA scholars will appreciate the attention given to the role of cultural competency in program accreditation, and to educational approaches to deliver essential instruction on this important topic. Practitioners will value the array of examples that reflect many of the common trade offs public administrators face when trying to deliver comprehensive programs and services within a context of fiscal realities.




Research Methods for Public Administrators


Book Description

Research Methods for Public Administrators contains a thorough overview of research methods and statistical applications for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and practitioners. The material is based on established social science methods. Concepts and applications are discussed and illustrated with examples from actual research. The book covers research design, methods of data collection, instructions on formulating research plans, measurement, sampling procedures, and statistical applications from basic statistics to more advance techniques. The basics of conducting experiments, survey research, case studies, and focus groups are discussed. Data organization, management, and analysis are also covered, as are data analysis and hypothesis testing. Descriptive and inferential statistics are discussed and illustrated with examples. The book also includes a chapter on obtaining and analyzing secondary data (data already collected for other purposes) and a chapter on reporting and presenting research results to a variety of audiences. This is a general textbook written primarily for students of public administration and practitioners in public and not-for-profit organizations. It includes materials shown to be useful in gathering and assessing information for making decisions and implementing policies. The material is discussed at a level to be accessible and with enough detail to be useful. New to the seventh edition: Additional and expanded material on qualitative research, big data, metadata, literature reviews, and causal inference New material on experiments and experimental research New examples and case studies, including those dealing with public policy Expanded material on using computers for data management Information on new NSF and NIH ethics and protection of human subjects requirements for researchers New data sets and Power Point slides for each chapter.




Public Administration and Society


Book Description

For instructors who want to expose their students to the social, political, and historical context of the practice of public administration, this book provides a unique approach to the introductory PA course. The author's own text is skilfully interwoven with a collection of seminal readings and documents that illuminate the key issues of past and present for public service professionals in a democratic society. More than an overview of public administration, Public Administration and Society offers students a broad perspective on the American Founding Era, the relationship of citizens to government, and how the structure of government reflects societal values. The premise of the book is that understanding the societal context is important to the success of the practitioner and to the practitioner's role as a responsible agent of change in a democratic society. Introductory essays and readings offer students perspectives on five important thematic areas in public administration: the Founding-Era debate over the size and scope of government, the relationship of the community to the individual, public organizations and policy making, values and public administration, and the role of the public service practitioner in a democratic society. This new edition of features five new readings, and, based on input from adopters, an entirely new section on public policy making (Part IV: Public Organizations and Policy). The author's part-opening sections have all been extensively revised and updated.




Statistics for Public Administration


Book Description




The Spirit of Public Administration


Book Description

Administration an exhilarating and challenging perspective.




Public Administration


Book Description

The public sector today permeates much of society. This wide-ranging reach is distilled into a cogent overview of governing in the twenty-first century in the latest edition of Johnson’s acclaimed work. In a clear and engaging style, the author examines the public-private collaborations through which public policies are shaped, implemented, and revised. Throughout, he emphasizes the role of public administrators in forming and maintaining the partnerships that advance the goals of government. Johnson’s well-organized survey draws on both classic works and current issues in describing the organization and operation of American government. Abundant sidebars on current challenges like immigration, health care, disaster preparedness, homeland security, infrastructure investment, and data privacy offer valuable examples of public administration in practice and illuminate the collaborative nature of American governance.




The Public Administration Theory Primer


Book Description

The Public Administration Theory Primer explores how the science and art of public administration is definable, describable, replicable, and cumulative. The authors survey a broad range of theories and analytical approaches—from public institutional theory to theories of governance—and consider which are the most promising, influential, and important for the field. This book paints a full picture of how these theories contribute to, and explain, what we know about public administration today. The third edition is fully revised and updated to reflect the latest developments and research in the field including more coverage of governments and governance, feminist theory, emotional labor theory, and grounded research methodology. Expanded chapter conclusions, additional real-world application examples throughout, and a brand-new online supplement with sample comprehensive exam questions and summary tables make this an even more valuable resource for all public administration students.