Book Description

Managing in the public sector entails an understanding of the interaction between three distinct dimensions—administrative structures and processes, organizations and their cultures, and the skills and values of individual managers. Public managers must produce results that citizens and their representatives expect from their government while balancing these concerns within a constitutional scheme of governance. In Public Management, authors Carolyn J. Hill and Laurence E. Lynn, Jr. show that constructing critical analyses and persuasive arguments is the principal tool for effectively managing in three dimensions. Students learn how to analyze and explain managerial strategies and decisions, critically assessing real world case studies and building their own arguments. Four unique features further the book’s approach and reinforce practical learning: Rule of Law boxes showcase how public managers are affected by statutes, regulations, and court decisions. Concepts in Action boxes show how sense-making, deliberation and decision making are common features in everday news stories, opinion pieces, and government reports. How the World Works boxes aptly illustrate how human nature creates conundrums, irony, and surprise in the practice of public management—a reminder that theory cannot fully explain the variety and complexity of human and organizational behavior. Analysis and Argument sections at the end of every chapter guide students in case analysis and help them build the elements of an argument (Claim, Reason, Evidence, Warrant, Acknowledgment and Response). Rich with vivid, “ripped-from-the-headlines” examples of managerial situations as well as noteworthy scholarship, Public Management underlines the challenges and art of balancing structure, culture, and craft.