Co-winner of the Louis Brownlow Book Award from the National Academy of Public Administration
Co-winner of the Book Award from the Section on Public Administration Research of the Academy of Public Administration Description
The theory of public administration has long been based on the notions of hierarchy and authority. However, the way managers actually manage has increasingly become at odds with the theory. The growing gap between theory and practice poses enormous challenges for managers in determining how best to work—and for American government in determining how best to hold public administrators accountable for effectively doing their jobs.
In the quest to improve the practice of public administration, Kettl explains, political scientists and other scholars have tried a number of approaches, including formal modeling, implementation studies, a public management perspective, and even institutional choice. This book offers a new framework for reconciling effective administration with the requirements of democratic government. Instead of thinking in terms of organizational structure and management, Kettl suggests, administrators and theorists need to focus on "governance,"or links between government and its broader environment—political, social, and administrative. Government is the collection of institutions that act with authority and create formal obligations;governance is the set of processes and institutions, formal and informal, through which social action occurs. Linking government and governance, Kettl concludes, is the foundation for understanding the theory and practice of government in twenty-first century America—for making public programs work better and for securing the values on which the American republic has been built.Reviews
"Kettl's new book is a well-written and insightful assessment of the state of public administration, in both theory and practice . . . Highly recommended."—Choice"Kettl argues that the problems now being thrust upon government are changing much faster than the structures of government action."—Laurence E. Lynn, Jr., Public Administration Review "An excellent discussion regarding recent influences on the field, including the new public management, institutionalism and network theory."—Patrick G. Scott, Political Studies Review "The Transformation of Governance is very successful in presenting an interesting, well-informed, well-written discussion of contemporary challenges and recent developments in the field of public administration, including globalization, devolution, and hyperpluralism."—Hal G. Rainey, Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professor, University of Georgia
Author Information
Donald F. Kettl is a professor of public affairs and political science at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His many books include The Global Public Management Revolution, Reinventing Government, and The State of Public Management.
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The Foundation of Merit: Public Service in American Democracy