Learning Objectives

• Explore the relevance of the politics-versus-administration dichotomy, as expressed by Dwight Waldo, on public administration
• Analyze the multidisciplinary aspects of public administration
• Discuss how the focus on accountability has impacted the development of public administration as a profession
• Compare and contrast the basic tenets of the new public administration movement to current practices within the profession
• Analyze the significant differences between management and leadership and how they manifest themselves in public agencies.
• Discuss how the practice of management differs in public agencies versus the private sector
• Examine the core technical skills necessary to effectively lead a public agency
• Demonstrate how citizen expectations have been impacted by the development of web-based information systems
• Investigate how program evaluation can facilitate increased transparency in public agencies

Reading and Resources

Textbook: Public Administration: An Action Orientation, Chapters 10 and 11
These chapters draw attention to the new public administration movement and how this reform effort is impacting the face of public administration in the United States as well as around the globe. The reading highlights trends that are defining the latest challenges and opportunities to the field of public administration.

Video: New Public Administration (cc) (16:32)
This video outlines the development of the new public administration movement and its genesis from the turbulent 1960s in the United States.