1st Edition

Logics of Legitimacy Three Traditions of Public Administration Praxis

By Margaret Stout Copyright 2013
    325 Pages 19 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The discipline of public administration draws predominantly from political and organizational theory, but also from other social and behavioral sciences, philosophy, and even theology. This diversity results in conflicting prescriptions for the "proper" administrative role. So, how are those new to public administration to know which ideas are "legitimate"?

    Rather than accepting conventional arguments for administrative legitimacy through delegated constitutional authority or expertise, Logics of Legitimacy: Three Traditions of Public Administration Praxis does not assume that any one approach to professionalism is accepted by all scholars, practitioners, citizens, or elected representatives. Instead, it offers a framework for public administration theory and practice that fully includes the citizen as a political actor alongside elected representatives and administrators. This framework:

    • Considers both direct and representative forms of democracy
    • Examines concepts from both political and organizational theory, addressing many of the key questions in public administration
    • Examines past and present approaches to administration
    • Presents a conceptual lens for understanding public administration theory and explaining different administrative roles and practices

    The framework for public administration theory and practice is presented in three traditions of main prescriptions for practice: Constitutional (the bureaucrat), Discretionary (the entrepreneur), and Collaborative (the steward). This book is appropriate for use in graduate-level courses that explore the philosophical, historical, and intellectual foundations of public administration. Upon qualified course adoption, instructors will gain access to a course outline and corresponding lecture slides.

    WHY AND HOW THE TRADITIONS FRAMEWORK WAS CREATED

    The Legitimacy Question

    Why Worry about Role Conceptualization? Professional Socialization in Public Administration
    IntroductionThe Importance of Role Conceptualization in Public Administration
    What Is Role Conceptualization?
    How Role Conception Is Formed
         Step 1: Practitioner Acts as Role Taker
         Step 2: Role Performance Is Performed and Assessed
         Step 3: Experience Impacts Role Conception and Conceptualization
         Step 4: Pedagogy Transmits Role Conceptualizations

    Using Theoretical Frameworks as Interpretive Lenses
    Introduction
    Developing and Assessing Theoretical Frameworks
         Significant Focus
         Organizing Capacity
         Coherency
    Frameworks in Public Administration
         Dwight Waldo
         David Rosenbloom
         Richard Stillman
         Orion White
         David Farmer
         Jan Kooiman
         Historical Eras and Schools of Thought
              The Founding Era
              An Orthodoxy Emerges
              The Refounding Era
              The Reinventing Era
              The Transformational Era
    Summing Up
    Tradition as a Framework Metaphor

    How the Traditions Framework Was Created
    Introduction
    Employing the Ideal-Type Method
         Identify a Social Phenomenon of Interest
         Choose a Culturally Significant Frame of Reference
         Identify Essential Generic Elements
         Interpret Genetic Meanings
         Construct the Ideal-Types

    THE TRADITIONS FRAMEWORK

    The Generic Elements of Each Tradition
    Introduction
    Political Ontology
    Political Authority and Scope of Action
    Criterion of Proper Behavior
    Administrative Decision-Making
    Rationality
    Associated Organizing Style
    Assumed Governance Context
    Implications for Role Conceptualization
    Pulling the Type Together

    The Constitutional Tradition—Bureaucratic Accountability to the Constitutional Order
    Portrait of a Bureaucrat
    Introduction
    Political Ontology
    Political Authority and Scope of Action
    Criterion of Proper Behavior
         Accountability through Neutral Competence
         Accountability through Agency Conservation
         Administrative Decision-Making Rationality
         Organizing Style
         Assumed Governance Context
         Implications for Role Conceptualization
         Tradition Summary

    The Discretionary Tradition—Entrepreneurial Responsibility for Desirable Outcomes
    Portraits of Entrepreneurs
    Introduction
    Political Ontology
    Political Authority and Scope of Action
    Criterion of Proper Behavior
         Responsibility for Instrumental Outcomes
         Responsibility for Social Outcomes
         Summary
    Administrative Decision-Making Rationality
    Organizing Style
    Assumed Governance Context
    Implications for Role Conceptualization
    Tradition Summary

    The Collaborative Tradition—Stewardship Responsiveness to the Citizenry
    Portrait of a Steward
    Introduction
    Political Ontology
    Political Authority and Scope of Action
    Criterion of Proper Behavior
    "Administrative" Decision-Making Rationality
    Organizing Style
    Assumed Governance Context
    Implications for Role Conceptualization
    Tradition Summary

    CRITIQUE AND ANALYSIS

    Mutual Critiques among Traditions
    Introduction
    How the Traditions Fail to Achieve Their Own Logics
         Elected Officials Fail to Represent or Control
         Administrators Fail to Follow Orders or Rules
         Discretion Fails to Produce the Public Good
         Collaboration Fails to Produce the Public Good
    How the Traditions Fail According to Other Logics
         Democracy Is Inefficient and Ineffective
         Administrative Discretion Is Undemocratic
         Representation Is Problematic
         Government Has Been Captured by Market Interests or Self-Interest
         Collaboration Is Unconstitutional
         Collaboration Fails to Achieve the Public Interest (Because It Is Only Partial)
    Summing Up

    Integrations, Conciliations, and Dialectical Syntheses
    Introduction
    Key Integrations or Conciliations of Traditions
         Integrationist Approaches
         Conciliatory Approaches
         Summation
    Dialectical Relationship Within and Among Traditions
         Dialectic Within Traditions
         Dialectic Among Traditions

    Assessing Contextual Fit of the Traditions—A Mental Experiment
    Introduction
    The Emerging Contemporary Governance Context
    Critical Discussion
         Structural Fit
         Normative Fit
    Barriers to (R)Evolution
    How Do We Get There?
    Summation

    References

    Appendix: Foundations Course Outline
    Section 1: Introduction to the Course and Its Purpose in the MPA Program
    Section 2: The Landscape of Public Administration Theory
    Section 3: The Historical Roots of Public Administration
    Section 4: Competing Logics of Legitimacy in Public Administration
    Section 5: Putting Theory into Practice: Blended Logics and Individual Preferences

    Index

    Biography

    Margaret Stout is an assistant professor of public administration at West Virginia University. Her research explores the role of public and nonprofit practitioners in achieving democratic social and economic justice with specific interests in administrative theory, public service leadership and ethics, and sustainable community development. She has a particularly strong interest in the ontological underpinnings of these issues. Her published work can be found in Administration & Society, Public Administration Review, Administrative Theory & Praxis, International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Public Administration and Management, Contemporary Justice Review, Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, Second Edition, and PA Times. She serves on the board of the Public Administration Theory Network and is active in the American Society for Public Administration, serving as chair of the Section on Public Administration Education and on the board of the Section on Democracy and Social Justice. She also serves on the editorial board of Administrative Theory & Praxis and provides peer review for a host of other academic journals.

    Dr. Stout’s first career was in human resource development, with a focus on work/life balance programming. Leading directly from related experiences in statewide and regional community and economic development initiatives, her second career was in community and youth development, serving as a community organizer, project manager, executive director, and organizational consultant to a host of nonprofit and government agencies in Arizona. She enjoys bringing these varied practitioner experiences into her current career as a professor.