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THE UNDERGRADUATE INTRODUCTORY TEXTBOOK IN

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

by

Bradley S. Chilton

Associate Professor

Department of Criminal JusticeP.O. Box 305130

University of North Texas

Denton, TX 76203-5130Phone: 940-369-8860

Email: [email protected]

Stephen M. King

Associate Professor

Department of Government, History, and JusticeP.O. Box 356

Campbell University

Buies Creek, NC 27506Phone: 910-893-1481

Email: [email protected]

Prepared for presentation at the

2005 Teaching in Public Administration Conference

Sheraton Four Points HotelDestin-Fort Walton Beach, FL

Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548

Copyright @2005

Rough draft. Do not copy, cite, or otherwise reproduce any of this paper’s content without expresswritten permission of both authors.



ABSTRACT

We teach the introductory public administration course to undergraduates and are frustrated in

finding a textbook that is appropriate to the reading and experience level of our undergraduate

students. Enrollments in undergraduate introductory public administration courses are growing

and the course is often required in related growing fields, such as criminal justice. Yet, nearly all

introductory public administration textbooks are written for the reading level and experience of

graduate students. Few include a sufficient treatment of the use of private, non-profit, and faith-

based organizations in the delivery of public services. Selecting eleven introductory public

administration textbooks, the paper critiques their topical coverage, reading and life experience

assumptions, and coverage of private, non-profit, and faith-based organizations in the public

sector. We conclude with recommendations for introductory public administration textbooks that

may be more appropriate to undergraduate reading levels, experience assumptions, and timely

coverage of private, non-profit and faith-based efforts in the public interest.

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THE UNDERGRADUATE INTRODUCTORY TEXTBOOK IN PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION

By

Bradley S. Chilton, University of North TexasAnd

Stephen M. King, Campbell University

“The textbook sucks!” (Anonymous, 1992).

“No one reads textbooks for fun,” Anthony Haynes (2001).

We all know the familiar textbook greeting: a collective groan from the reluctant class. So,

the textbook for the undergraduate introductory public administration course is not the most

glamorous of books on the shelf. It is dull, colorless, with little graphic appeal, and reads like the

“challenge cuisine” of Scottish Haggis or Norwegian Lutefisk . It flies under the academic regalia

colors of “grey on grey” and evokes little enthusiasm or sympathy. Are we doomed to some

purgatory of endless repeat performances of this dreary scene?

No! At least, it is our hope to partially illuminate our grey landscape by suggesting the

addition of some style, color, graphics, even glamour within these tomes on bureaucracy. We

teach introductory public administration courses to undergraduates and have frustration in finding

a textbook that is appropriate to the reading and experience level of our undergraduate students.

Enrollments in undergraduate introductory public administration courses are growing and the

course is often required in related growing fields, such as criminal justice. Yet, nearly all

introductory public administration textbooks are written for the reading level and experience of

graduate students. And few include lengthy treatment of the use of private, non-profit, and faith-

based organizations in the delivery of public services. Taking selected, widely-available

undergraduate-level introductory public administration textbooks, the paper critiques their topical

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coverage, reading and life experience assumptions, and coverage of private, non-profit, and faith-

based organizations in the public sector. We conclude with recommendations for introductory

public administration textbooks that may be more appropriate to undergraduate reading levels,

experience assumptions, and timely coverage of private, non-profit and faith-based efforts in the

public interest.

THE UNDERGRADUATE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION COURSE

Higher education enrollments in the US are booming (Hebel, 2004; Jamilah, 2004A) and

the introductory course in public administration, public affairs, and the administration of public

services has benefited greatly (Chronicle.com, 2004). Undergraduate programs in political

science, public administration, public policy, and related programs in the liberal arts require the

course for their majors. Further enrollments are picking up as the course is increasingly required

or collateral for nearby multi-disciplinary programs in criminal justice, social work, and other

public service and professional degree programs. This is a large market for undergraduate

textbooks; the undergraduate introductory public administration course are “bread-and-butter”

lecture courses, commonly generating large enrollments in multiple, over-enrolled sections (e.g.,

Sharpe & Prichett, 2004).

In addition to introducing undergraduate students to public administration, such textbooks

are useful to politicians, officials, judges, bureaucrats, and citizens as a comprehensive survey of

public service and bureaucracy. Thus, undergraduate-level introductory public administration

textbooks may also be suitable for purchase and personal reference in markets outside higher

education (contrary to the introductory quote from Anthony Haynes). It may be particularly

helpful, for example, to new or re-invented managers of public, non-profit, faith-based, or other

private agencies who seek a better understanding of the rule of government, administration,

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management, and public policy at the national, state and local level. If only they could get through

all the unnecessary jargon, extensive bibliographies, and seemingly endless endnotes!

The undergraduate introduction to public administration courses (and closely similar

courses) typically are offered to students at associates and bachelors degree programs no lower

than the sophomore level through the senior level. Students enrolled in the course generally have

no more than two years (freshman and sophomore) of college, consisting of general education

requirements and including typical pre-requisites as “introduction to American government” and

“state and local government” courses. The students are usually majoring in one of the social or

behavioral sciences (e.g., political science, psychology, economics, public policy, public

administration, sociology, and so forth). An increasing number of students in the course are

majors in a professional program (e.g., criminal justice, business, social work, and so forth). The

general prerequisites for “introduction to public administration” may include some general

education courses (e.g., history, English). More relevant, some require a specific prerequisite

course or two in American national government. Most liberal arts programs throughout the

country have similar types of requirements; however, each college makes this decision. (See,

generally, Teaching Public Administration Roundtable, 2005).

The teaching challenges for such a course are typical of undergraduate instruction and,

among other factors, include: (1) inadequate student writing abilities; (2) inadequate preparation

(i.e., too process-oriented) for the deeper, philosophical, value-based issues at these administrative

levels; (3) little, if any background and knowledge of private, non-profit and faith-based

organizations in public service; and (4) a dated liberal-state-bias of students coming out of

American government and related courses. The vast majority of prerequisites and course materials

are written by faculty of an older generation and background that bias in favor of now-dated

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approaches to expanding the liberal-state and “jobs for the boys” mentality. Students come out of

prerequisites and other courses in political science, for example, which are generally more liberal

than conservative in their ideology. And once again, little attention has been paid in these pre-

requisites to the growing role of the non-profit sector in public service delivery, especially with

faith-based and community organizations. But America has changed and students and their

instructors need to recognize the importance of these new approaches in public administration.

SELECTED UNDERGRADUATE INTRODUCTORY TEXTBOOKS

Most introductory public administration textbooks are written for the reading level and

experience of graduate students. Few include lengthy treatment of the use of private, non-profit,

and faith-based organizations in the delivery of public services. Taking a look at eleven selected

undergraduate-oriented introductory public administration textbooks, we critique their topical

coverage, reading and life experience assumptions, and coverage of private, non-profit, and faith-

based organizations in the public sector.

I. Richard C. Box, Public Administration and Society: Critical Issues In American Governance

Typical of these more graduate-oriented textbooks surveying public administration is a new

one by Richard C. Box, Public Administration and Society: Critical Issues In American

Governance (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2004). Professor Box clearly designed this for the

introductory course within a traditional graduate-level M.P.A. degree program. It is a theme book

on the central issues of “content, change, and democracy” within national government. However,

it may be used at the senior level in undergraduate programs in public administration. The text is

divided into five parts: PART I - Introduction to the Central Issues: Context, Change, and

Democracy; PART II - Debate and Decision in the Founding Era; PART III - Community and the

Individual; PART IV - Social Equity and Economic Efficiency; and PART V - The Role of the

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Practitioner in a Democratic Society. The primary strength is the emphasis placed on the role of

major philosophical values in the development and implementation of issues in public

administration. Too often this approach is missing, placing the study of public administration in a

nearly valueless framework, except if the values of “efficiency, economy, and effectiveness” are

counted. In fact, Box writes, “...many who teach the introductory course find that students have

little knowledge of the historical, social, and structural basis of the American system of

government and its effects on key issues facing today’s public administrators” (vii). Further, he

notes that, “...instead of the emphasis on management topics found in introductory public

administration texts, this book provides a macro-level view of the cultural, political, institutional,

and economic context of public administration, within a framework that is historical and critical”

(vii). In addition, Box incorporates several previously published pieces that make up Parts II-V,

including selections from The Federalist Papers.

Problematic for use in the undergraduate introductory public administration course, is that

the Box book is more of a supplemental reader than a textbook. Second, it is designed for the

graduate level student and experiences in a typical M.P.A. degree program. Third, even though

Box says that he offers an historical, social, and structural basis for the study of public

administration—an approach that he notes is overlooked in introductory courses—he limits his

“historical, social, and structural” analysis to a cursory overview of the US Constitution, drawing

upon both federalist and anti-federalist perspectives in overused sections of The Federalist Papers

(papers 10 and 51, specifically). In other words, Box gives little attention to constitutional issues

than is expressed in an introductory-level American government textbook. Fourth, Box highlights

H. George Frederickson’s “social equity” thesis and contrasts this with economic efficiency

values, once again trumpeting the liberal view that government administrators are to be equally

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concerned with social conditions as they are with administrative effectiveness. This is hardly a

novel idea and takes us little distance in understanding how public administration might work in a

re-invented, privatized, de-regulated world with non-profit and faith-based organizations.

II. George E. Berkley and John Edward Rouse, The Craft of Public Administration.

Of the currently available textbooks with an undergraduate focus, the longest-running has

been: George E. Berkley and John Edward Rouse, The Craft of Public Administration, 8th edition

(New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2000). Berkley and Rouse set out to produce a

“pedagogical gathering of pertinent yet limited literature, assembled to inform and interest college

students in the dynamics of the public, or government, sector in the United States” (2000: ix). To

their credit, the book reads fairly well, staying away from unwieldy jargon and acronyms that are

too often found in most public administration texts. Each chapter is summarized and includes a

“Case Study” that highlights some aspect of the chapter. In addition the student is challenged to

think more clearly about the issues through reading and discussing several end-of-the-chapter

essay questions.

Of course, the Berkley and Rouse text has the usual glaring weaknesses so typical of the

undergraduate introductory public administration textbook. First, it lacks color; the text is black

and white throughout. Second, besides the end-of-chapter case study and questions, it lacks any

pertinent pedagogical highlights, such as “action steps,” “web sites,” “interactive student sections,”

or a discussion or prominent figures and their roles in public policy and administration. Third, it

does not emphasize the founding principles or historical values of public administration, such as

federalism, separation of powers, order, security, and justice and how these principles and/or

values lay the foundation for future direction in public administration. Instead, it focuses on the

values of equality and efficiency, two values that they contend “...are likewise the crucial

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determinants of how well the public, or government, sector functions in the United States” (ix-x).

Fourth the text spends the first two chapters on the “craft” of public administration, a term that is

not well defined or explained. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the development and influence of public

organizations. The remaining eight chapters cover personnel, unionism, leadership,

communications, budget, productivity, administrative law, and regulatory pressures. This is not a

comprehensive survey of public administration in America.

III. Michael D. Lemay, Public Administration: Clashing Values In the Administration of Public

Policy.

One of the newest introductory public administration textbooks is one that takes seriously

its undergraduate audience: Michael D. Lemay, Public Administration: Clashing Values In the

Administration of Public Policy (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2002). The Lemay textbook has the

following three primary strengths: (1) it is not value neutral; (2) it focuses on administrators at all

levels of government, particularly focusing on state and local levels; and (3) it employs a number

of pedagogical devices. First, it does not present the sham of some ‘value neutral’ approach to

public administration. Instead, it focuses on fundamental values of constitutional public

administration in America, including: freedom, equality, order, responsiveness, efficiency,

neutrality toward others, tolerance, societal versus individual rights, limited government, popular

sovereignty, separation of powers and checks and balances, judicial review, judicial activism or

restraint, federalism, freedom of expression, the right to assemble, functional administration, chain

of command, standard operating procedures, national versus local standards, accountability,

comparable worth, affirmative action, reverse discrimination, entitlement, rationality, and

maximum participation. Second, Lemay gives greater emphasis on the role of state and local

administrators. Where most public administration textbooks focus almost exclusively on the

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national government bureaucracy, statutes, cases, rules and regulations, Lemay uses many

examples from state and local levels. Third, Lemay employs a wider variety of instructional

devices, including boxed inserts, boxed readings program, cartoons and graphics, tables, figures,

glossaries, and so forth. He chooses relevant readings, punctuating them with lively discussion

questions. The copy-editors at Wadsworth Publishing Company added great graphs, figures, and

other graphics to assist today’s undergraduate in a more visual-oriented learning approach. Like

Berkley and Rouse (2000), Lemay limits the number of footnotes and lists of recommended

readings.

However, while we applaud his values-based approach, Lemay may incorporate too many

values for a single undergraduate textbook. Instead of limiting his repertory of values to between

four and eight, for example, he attempts to fully incorporate a much longer list of values (see

above). This may be confusing to the undergraduate reader. In addition, he juxtaposes values that

are traditionally considered within “administration” against those analyzed as “political” without

distinguishing the contexts of their institutional differences. Obviously, the distinction of

administration and politics is familiar and one can overdo a dichotomy between the two; however,

this distinction may help in making Lemay’s rather long list of values more understandable to the

undergraduate reader. While Lemay’s list of values is much better than in Berkley & Rouse, he

once again fails to include much on the pervasive influence of non-profit, faith-based, and other

community organizations in the administration of public services. And like all the textbook

authors considered in this sampling, Lemay fails to summarize his thoughts, advice, future

directions, and actions. The undergraduate reader needs to learn to see the implications of a choice

among values.

IV. Nicholas Henry, Public Administration and Public Affairs.

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The Nicholas Henry text (Public Administration and Public Affairs, 9 th edition, 2004,

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall) has several positive and negative features associated with

an introductory text in public administration. First, one of the disadvantages is its length (482

pages). Interestingly enough, though, this is not atypical, with three other public administration

texts over 550 pages each.i According to Henry, the length is largely justified in order to help

explain how the field and practice of public administration changed after the events of September

11, 2001. Second, in order to document all of these changes (and many more besides) Henry

utilizes over 2000 footnotes! The average number of footnotes per chapter is 154, with the smallest

number equaling 60 (in the organization theory chapter, chapter 3) and the largest number of

footnotes totaling 305 (in the human resource management chapter, chapter 9). We believe this

simply too long and unwieldy for an introductory undergraduate text. Third, another disadvantage

is that the text is sometimes plagued by cumbersome academic-sounding jargon; although in places

he addresses a topic in an almost conversationalist style, such as his opening sentence:

“Bureaucracy is in our bones.” Unfortunately, this example is the exception and not the rule. And

fourth, like many of the other texts, Henry’s is absent of color, sidebars, pictures, discussion

questions, and web sources.

On the flip side, one of the advantages is its depth of coverage (However, as we mentioned

above this raises the problems of too many pages and too many footnotes). Several of the

substantive additions to the text for the 9th edition include, but are not limited to, discussion and

examination of globalization’s impact on public administration, the new era of governance, the

unique characteristics of organizations in the nonprofit sector, red tape and public organizations,

game theory, decision trees, the critical path method, and cost-benefit analysis, e-government and

its implications for public administrators and many others (2004: xi). Second, the text does provide

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several helpful appendices that document items pertinent to public administration, such as ASPA’s

Code of Ethics, and information on how to write a resume for a public service position.

V. George J Gordon and Michael E. Milakovich’s, Public Administration in America.

George J Gordon and Michael E. Milakovich’s Public Administration in America, 6 th

edition (New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1998) is a fairly readable text. It contains chapter-

ending “Suggested Readings;” it is fairly-well organized, researched and written; key terms and

concepts throughout the text are in bold to catch the student’s attention; and it has fairly

understandable tables, charts, and graphs including the text.

However, its advantages are in many ways overshadowed by its disadvantages: it is almost

thoroughly directed toward the national government, with very little attention paid to state and

local administration; only one reference to nonprofit organizations (and nothing on the burgeoning

role of faith-based organizations); and no attention to the role of technology, including e-

government, and public administration and policy formulation.

VI. Robert B. Denhardt and Joseph W. Grubbs’ Public Administration: An Action Orientation, 4 th

edition.

Robert B. Denhardt and Joseph W. Grubbs’ Public Administration: An Action Orientation,

4th edition (Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2003) succeeds where many public administration

texts fail. The chapters are clearly organized, fairly well-written, free of burdensome footnotes--

instead, the authors simply list the references used or cited at the end of the book; and each chapter

comes complete with boxed references of cases and/or illustrations and periodic inserts

highlighting information technology aids, especially web sites, which can be useful teaching tools.

In addition, the authors provide each chapter with “Terms and Definitions,” “Study Questions,”

“Cases and Exercises,” and “Additional Readings” components. Besides the pedagogical and

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writing pluses of the text, the substantive highlights include a fuller discussion of the role of non-

profits, the expanding global role of public administration, and the authors’ popular distinction:

“an action orientation,” where Denhardt and Grubbs discuss “…the influencing of operations of

public agencies,” and the acquisition of skills necessary by managers to work in public

administration.

Overall the text is sound pedagogically. However, the Denhardt and Grubbs’ text

overemphasizes the specificity of such values as postmodernism, Jungian psychology, and

interpersonal relations in the development of public administration and policy. These values have

their place; however, the role of public administrators and public administration in the 21st

century

is, we believe, not centered in the individualistic aspects of human relations as much as it is (or

should be) around the broader view of the public interest. Too much time and attention is drawn

away from the larger concerns of the public interest than compartmentalizing public administration

into explaining how and why public managers do their job; hence the “action orientation” that the

authors refer to. Administrative and management action is laudable, but so is the bigger picture of

administration in the public interest.

VII. Melvin J. Dubnick and Barbara S. Romzek’s, American Public Administration: Politics and

the Management of Expectations.

Where Professors Denhardt and Grubbs are successful in clarity, organization, and

coverage of public administration to an undergraduate audience, Melvin J. Dubnick and Barbara S.

Romzek’s American Public Administration: Politics and the Management of Expectations (New

York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991) fail. Despite their claim that it is a text intended

for the upper-division undergraduate, it falls outside the traditional mode and understanding of

public administration topics and standard coverage of those topics. In their defense, they do claim

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that “…as we wrote the book, we discovered that it has a voice and message welcomed not only by

our targeted group, but also by both lower-division undergraduates and post baccalaureate students

who have little background in the field but who found our presentation challenging and useful” (iv-

v). Perhaps this explains why there are chapters entitled “The Ecology of Public Administration,”

“Physical and Technological Ecology,” “Living up to Expectations,” and “Demographic, Cultural,

and Economic Factors;” chapter titles not typically found in introductory public administration

textbooks.

Several items catch our attention. First, who is the primary target audience—graduates,

undergraduates, or others? Second, the theme—perhaps purpose or motivation is a better term—of

the text is similar to most other public administration texts: the defense of the public sector and the

civil servants who work in the various national, state, and local administrative offices. We quote

from the preface: “This is a book that stresses respect for those who devote their lives to public

service…this is a book about the accomplishments of public administration and the pressures

facing America’s public servants each working day…” They conclude “We are convinced that

most public service professionals do not deserve the bashing they frequently received, but rather

that they deserve to be understood and appreciated for what they are able to accomplish” (iii). We,

too, do not believe that bureaucrats need to be constantly bashed, but then neither do we believe we

should simply make a blanket implication that public service and public servants do not need to be

scrutinized. Public service is a noble task, even a calling in the spiritual sense of the term;

however, it also requires public servants to be accountable for not only achieving the goals, but in

also pursuing a greater and higher purpose: the pursuit of the public interest.

VIII. Jeffrey D. Greene’s, Public Administration in the New Century: A Concise Introduction.

Jeffrey D. Greene’s Public Administration in the New Century: A Concise

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Introduction (Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2005) intends for his text to be read by

introductory MPA students, but he believes it is written, “…at a level that is appropriate for both

undergraduate and graduate students” (xi). Greene’s motivation was to write a concise—the

emphasis on concise —introduction to public administration, even for the first-year MPA student.

We greatly applaud his efforts. The text is limited to nine chapters, many of them labeled

“Fundamentals of…” or the “Basics of…” emphasizing that the following material is just that: the

fundamental and basic terms and concepts and ideas associated with that particular topic. The best

chapter, we believe, is Chapter 2: “Studying Public Administration: An Overview of the

Discipline.” It not only covers the basics of the historical and disciplinary concepts and ideas

associated with public administration, beginning at the turn of the 20th century, but it focuses on

several of the key historical and contemporary figures, both scholars and practitioners, who help

shaped public administration, beginning with Woodrow Wilson and ending with David Osborne

and Ted Gaebler (vi). Even though they are black and white, the photos of many of the founders of

public administration are a welcome diversion from straight text.

One problem may also be the advantage of the text: it is too concise, at least in terms of

breadth of coverage. In fact, some chapters are almost too detailed for depth of coverage, with the

total number of footnotes exceeding 70 in a couple of instances, and in one case over 100. So it is

not the depth of the individual chapters that is of concern, but the lack of coverage. This can

partially be solved by separating current chapters into multiple chapters, and by adding chapters on

nonprofit and faith-based organizations. A definite plus is that Greene dares to tread in water that

is declared off limits by most public administration scholars: the influence of religion in the

development of ethics (pp. 369-371). Although he does not really posit a definitive point of view

of this topic, he does note that, “Religion requires faith and a belief in God, whereas the principles

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and morals associated with philosophies do not. The impact of Christian-based morals on

American society has been significant” (p. 370). We commend Professor Greene for his courage.

We also are argue that religion, notably Christianity, especially when conceived and applied as the

basis of a moral value system, is the core of many faith-based organizations, and their widespread

influence in public administration circles, particularly in the delivery of social, labor, education,

and other similar types of services at all three levels of government, and most notably in the non-

profit sector.

IX. David Schuman and Dick W. Olufs III, Public Administration in the United States, 2nd edition.

In Schuman and Olufs’ text (Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company, 1993), the

authors strive to distinguish their work from the standard public administration texts. First,

although the book is historical; it also looks to the future. As the authors note in the preface, “We

wanted the first edition of this text to take us and our students out of the 1980s and toward the turn

of the century” (v). The authors believe the second edition moves the reader closer to the turn of

the century. Second, most introductory public administration texts, Schuman and Olufs examine in

great detail the role, function, and place of state and local governments in public administration.

Third, their aim was “to present the material in a way that gets students to think about public

administration” (v). Thus they use a “reader friendly” writing style; not verbose scholarly jargon.

Fourth, they use ample boxed cases, examples, and photos to highlight selected aspects of the topic

matter.

However, the text has some disadvantages as well. First, like many of the texts the book is

simply too long. Instead of incorporating too many footnotes, for example, they simply carry their

arguments too far. (For an example, see Chapter 9, “The Civil Service.”) Second, even though they

added a chapter on “Ethics,” which is commendable, they did not include a chapter that examines

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the growing importance of non-profits and privatization. Also, the text does not address the

primary role of public administrators to address the public interest.

X. Dennis Palumbo and Steven Maynard-Moody, Contemporary Public Administration.

In Dennis Palumbo and Steven Maynard-Moody’s Contemporary Public Administration

(White Plains, NY: Longman Publishing Group, 1991) the authors highlight a popular thesis

among public administration text writers: “Administrators are policy-makers, not just the faithful

(or unfaithful) servants of elected officials” (xii). The notion that public administrators “live in a

world of friction between abstract principles and actual practice” (xii) is certainly not new, not

even to undergraduates. Still, it is worth exploring, although we are not convinced it deserves an

entire textbook devoted to it.

Pedagogically, the text meets several of our “very readable” criteria: fairly-well written,

clear and distinct, and nicely organized (although the chapter on federalism should probably be

more toward the front of the text rather than at the end). Each chapter, with the exception of the

first, ends with a case study that is designed to bring together as many of the diverse ideas of the

chapter as possible in order to give the reader and instructor something to discuss, something that

is practical and able to put into place the theories and principles discussed.

The text seems to be more strongly directed toward a public management class than it is

toward an introductory text in public administration. Parts 3 (“Micro-Administration—The Art and

Science of Management” and 4 (“Macro-Administration—The Art and Science of Policymaking”)

are clearly oriented toward this theme. Even though this approach is certainly laudable for the

study of public administration, we are not sure it should be the primary theme for an undergraduate

introductory public administration course. The emphasis of the book is largely on the environment

of the tightly knit group of federal managers, rather than upon state and local policymakers. For

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example, the majority of cases are oriented toward the federal government (7 of the 12 chapters).

Further, as it true of most of the texts surveyed, there is little emphasis placed on the pursuit of the

public interest and the development of non-profits in the policy making process.

XI. Richard J. Stillman’s, II, Public Administration: Concepts and Cases.

Just as we began this survey of texts, we end it: by examining a non-traditional text. The

last text we survey is not in the purest sense an introductory text to public administration. It is a

hybrid between a text and a reader, much like the Box text, but with notable exceptions. Richard J.

Stillman’s II, Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, 8 th edition (Boston, MA: Houghton

Mifflin Company, 2005) is probably the best of the eleven. The eighth edition marks thirty years

since publication of the first edition. It is an immensely popular supplement to most introductory

public administration texts, and we contend could probably stand on its own, providing the

instructor supplemented the readings with solid lectures, highlighting the various parts of public

administration.

As with the previous editions, the eighth edition employs the “concept-case study method,”

which, as Stillman notes, “…permits students to read firsthand the work of leading administrative

theorists who have shaped the modern study of public administration” (xxi) with current case

studies, drawn from all levels of government, and includes the important role that private and non-

profit organizations play. Stillman uses four questions for selecting the scholarly pieces and the

corresponding cases. First, “Do the writings focus on the central issues confronting public

administrators;” second, “Do the writings, individually and collectively, give a realistic view of the

contemporary practice of public administration;” third, “Do the individual conceptual readings and

cases studies relate logically to one another;” and fourth, “Are the writings interesting and long

enough to convey the true sense and spirit intended by the authors?” Presumably, a definitive

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“Yes” is required of each question, each reading, and case study before any piece is included.

The book is subdivided into three parts: Part I covers the Environment, Structure, and

People of public administration; Part II describes the major activities, responsibilities, and roles of

public administrators; and Part Three focuses on value questions, issues, and dilemmas of public

administration. What is exciting is that Stillman devotes one entire chapter (Chapter 15) to

discussing the relationship between public administration and pursuit of the public interest.

Pictures, cases, illustrations, end-of-chapter references, and other reader-friendly

pedagogical techniques make this an important part of any undergraduate public administration

instructor’s library.

PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

When did we take out “public service” from administration in the public interest? It seems

that many authors of public administration survey textbooks have constricted less and less of the

public service. To be sure, some recent scholarship pushes back against this constriction. Marc

Holzer assembled an overview of public service motivations, commitments, and the contribution of

a wide range of public administrators in Public Service: Callings, Commitments, and Contributions

(1999). And Cheryl Simrell King and Camilla Stivers have taken on the misunderstandings of the

media and an anti-government popular culture that would bury the study of public administration

in Government Is Us: Public Administration in an Anti-Government Era (1998). Overall, though,

undergraduate introductory public administration textbooks seem to defer to other academic

disciplines in neglecting the inclusion of the role of non-profits, faith-based, and private

organizations involved in the administration of the public interest.

We believe that public administration includes all that is within the “administration in the

public interest,” including activities by public, non-profit, faith-based, community, and aspects of

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private and corporate organizations. While we must defer to and work with others who have a

stake in this broad “administration in the public interest,” our overview of public administration

must include in its survey the efforts of these many different organizations toward the betterment

of public life. This does not make the pitch that everything and everyone is public administration,

but demonstrates how public administrators must work with a wide variety of organizations to

affect public goods and ends. That the colleges of business administration, law, social work,

criminal justice, and so forth, have taken recent interest in the provision of public services by, e.g.,

non-profits, faith-based, and community organizations, has not diminished their role in the practice

of public administration. Public administration stands to lose a great prize if it forfeits its

legitimate interest in the study of the administration of public services by these disparate

organizations. If we only study public sector agencies, indeed only federal agencies, we lose sight

of the vast bulk of the control, power, and management of the public interest in our society. And

our undergraduate introductory textbooks are a highly important place to stake our claim to the

study of administration in the public interest that brokers, directs, and coordinates the efforts of a

wide variety of public, non-profit, faith-based, and private organizations.

This is a time of public service commitment. Students, college administrators, and

politicians have recently proposed public service components of undergraduate education (e.g.,

Hebel, 2002). And students are volunteering and looking toward careers in public service to a

greater degree (e.g., Jamilah, 2004B). Now is the time for public administration to affirm its

scholarly interests in the study of administration of public services, not to retreat to some historic

pastures of the past. The rise of many high school magnet programs in “public service,”

“leadership & public affairs,” “law & public service,” “law, government & public service,” and so

forth demonstrates the bumper crop of potential undergraduate students to come in these fields.

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For example, the West Orange County Public High School in Orlando, Florida (Magnet in “Law,

Government & Public Service”), offers the basic course in public administration, as well as related

electives in law, criminal justice, and in-service learning in a variety of federal, state and local

government agencies.

The undergraduate introductory public administration textbook must embrace the current

flood of interest by undergraduates in public service. Instead of narrowly defining the field to the

dictates of the specialties of scholars or deference to other academic fields, public administration

needs to embrace the role Harland Cleveland called the “get it all together profession” (Cleveland,

1988).

TEXTBOOKS WRITTEN FOR UNDERGRADUATES

The fundamental problem of undergraduate introductory public administration textbooks is

that they are written primarily for the reading and experience level of graduate students in the

M.P.A. programs. Our examples only touch the tip of this iceberg; there are many more. These are

textbooks by experts deeply immersed in and debating the literature of public administration. We

get a sense that these expert authors took on the task of writing an introductory public

administration textbook in the hopes of converting a few years’ worth of MPA lesson plans into a

classroom bestseller. Instead, the better writers seem to be at a level that may be only somewhat

familiar with most of the subject matter to be covered, with a willingness to brush up on the less

familiar areas through writing a textbook. This tension of expertise and writing for undergraduates

is described by Professor Bauman:

“...do I write for students or for the professors who order the copies? Students want

simplified, clear, and entertaining text; to reach an average student, your style must

compete with the local newspaper, Saturday Night Live, and Puff Daddy. Professors want

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intellectual complexity and vocabulary that announces, ‘This is college, ladies and

gentlemen.’ They want you to sound like The New York Times Review of Books, PBS, and

Joan Didion. From my observation, most textbook writers figure out which group butters

their royalty checks. I, however, took the path less traveled and wrote directly for students.

Sure, some reviewers sniffed, ‘Maybe it’s OK at a community college, but we would never

use it here’ - meaning at place of higher education. I gathered my integrity about me like

sagging underwear and pressed on. Today it gratifies me when students say my book talks

to them and they really like that it’s not too heavy to carry. Rule #2: Write for both

students and professors, to spread the alienation around .” (Bauman, 2003: B5)

Behind the humor is a very serious statement about the issue of the way people learn -

something often neglected in the study of public administration, higher education, and the textbook

publishing world (Sordi, 2003). We are witnessing a startling increase in the numbers of

undergraduate students in the USA, from diverse backgrounds, educational preparation, and

learning styles. As we move to an information society with increasing educational requirements,

we address a wider range of readers, experiences and learning styles. We need to balance “abstract

conceptualization” with “concrete experience” and move between different learning styles to

ensure that all readers are educated, perhaps even captivated by the classroom experience (Haynes,

2001).

CONCLUSION

In this paper we examine eleven introductory public administration textbooks for general clarity

and readability, topic coverage, use of pedagogical techniques, and development and coverage of

specific issues, such as private, nonprofit, and faith-based organizations and the role of public

administration and administrators in pursuing the public interest. We find most of the eleven texts

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wanting in one or more areas. The result is the lack of sufficient and effective undergraduate

introductory public administration texts.

The undergraduate introductory public administration textbook must face the challenge of a

new age in higher education with a more balanced writing style oriented to the reading level,

experiences, and interests of contemporary college students. Of course, we will continue to write

for our graduate students in the MPA degree programs, doctoral programs, and for other scholars.

But we should take our readers seriously in the undergraduate introductory public administration

course and write to them as well. The discipline of public administration must take seriously the

important task of presenting itself through its textbooks (e.g., as in psychology: Roediger, 2004),

especially as we expand the umbrella of higher education to larger portions of American society,

and include more within the administration of public services.

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WORKS CITED

Anonymous. 1992. [Anonymous student comment in the student teaching evaluations for Political

Science 440-Introduction to Public Administration, Fall Semester 1992, Washington State

University-Pullman, Dr. Bradley Chilton - instructor]

Bauman, M. Garrett. 2003. “Textbook Writing 101,” The Chronicle of Higher Education 49 (#43,

July 4, 2003): B5.

Berkley, George E. and John Edward Rouse. 2000. The Craft of Public Administration, 8th

edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Box, Richard C. 2004. Public Administration and Society: Critical Issues In American

Governance. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.

Cleveland, Harlan. 1988. The Knowledge Executive: Leadership In an Information Society.

Boston: E. P. Dutton.

Chronicle.com, “Students Study Less Than Expected,” The Chronicle of Higher Education 51

(#14, 11/26/2004): A1.

Denhardt, Robert B. and Joseph W. Grubbs. 2003. 4 th edition Public Administration: An Action

Orientation. Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth Publishing Company.

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Dubnick, Melvin J. Barbara S. Romzek. 1991. American Public Administration: Politics and the

Management of Expectations. New York, NY: MacMillan Publishing Company.

Gordon, George J. Michael E. Milakovich. 1998. 6th edition. Public Administration in America.

New York, NY: St. Martins Press.

Greene, Jeffrey D. 2005. Public Administration in the New Century: A Concise Introduction.

Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Haynes, Anthony. 2001. Writing Successful Textbooks. London: A & C Black.

Hebel, Sara. 2004. “No Room In the Class,” The Chronicle of Higher Education 50 (#43,

7/2/2004): A19.

Hebel, Sara. 2002. “National Service Program Turns Critics Into Fans: Americorps, Once

Derided as a Pet Program of President Clinton, Now Enjoys GOP Support,” The Chronicle of

Higher Education 48 (#33, 4/26/2002): A24.

Henry, Nicholas. Public Administration and Public Affairs. 2004. 9 th edition. Upper Saddle River,

NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Jamilah, Evelyn. 2004A. “Community Colleges At a Crossroads,” The Chronicle of Higher

Education 50 (#34, 4/30/2004): A27.

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Jamilah, Evelyn. 2004B. “Wanted: Life Experience,” The Chronicle of Higher Education 50 (#41,

6/30/2004): A25.

Johnson, William C. 1992. Public Administration: Policy, Politics, and Practice. Guilford, CT: The

Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc.

Lemay, Michael D. 2002. Public Administration: Clashing Values In the Administration of Public

Policy. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Palumbo, Dennis and Steven Maynard-Moody. 1991. Contemporary Public Administration. New

York, NY: Longman Publishing Company.

Roediger, Roddy. 2004. “Writing Textbooks: Why Doesn’t It Count?” American Psychological

Society Observer 17 (#5, May 2004): 1.

Rosenbloom, David H. 1998. 4th edition. Public Administration: Understanding Management,

Politics, and Law in the Public Sector. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Shafritz, Jay M. and E.W. Russell. 2000. 2nd edition. Introducing Public Administration. New

York, NY: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Schuman, David and Dick W. Olufs III. 1993. 2nd edition. Public Administration in the United

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States. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath Company.

Sharpe, Norean Radke, & Gordon D. Prichett, “Business Curricula Should Integrate Liberal Arts

and Vocational Skills,” The Chronicle of Higher Education 50 (#30, 4/2/2004): B19.

Sordi, Michele. 2003. “Building a Better Book: Tips For Prospective Textbook Authors,”

SIOP.COM (Society For Industrial and Organizational Psychology) (January 2003): 1.

Stillman, Richard J. II. 2005. 8th

edition. Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Boston, MA:

Houghton Mifflin Company.

Teaching Public Administration Roundtable. 2005. [a website of Rutgers University at

www.andromeda.rutgers.edu/~ncp/roundtable/resources.htm]

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iENDNOTES

William C. Johnson, ‘s Public Administration: Policy, Politics, and Practice (Guilford, CT: The Duskin Group, Inc., 1992)

is 554 pages; David H. Rosenbloom’s (with the assistance of Deborah D. Goldman) Public Administration: Understanding

management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector , 4th edition (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1998) is the

longest at 596 pages; and Jay M. Shafrtiz and E.W. Russell’s Introducing Public Administration, 2nd edition (New York, NY:

Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 2000) is 570 pages.

chilton and king

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