Integrating Rigor and Relevance in Public Administration Scholarship: The Contribution of Narrative Inquiry

A traditional view of scholarly quality defines rigor as the application of method and assumes an implicit connection with relevance. But as an applied field, public administration requires explicit attention to both rigor and relevance. Interpretive scholars' notions of rigor demand an explicit inclusion of relevance as an integral aspect of quality. As one form of interpretive research, narrative inquiry illuminates how this can be done. Appreciating this contribution requires a deeper knowledge of the logic of narrative inquiry, an acknowledgement of the diversity of narrative approaches, and attention to the implications for judging its quality. We use our story about community-based leadership research to develop and illustrate this argument.     

Behavioral Public Administration: Combining Insights from Public Administration and Psychology

Behavioral public administration is the analysis of public administration from the micro‐level perspective of individual behavior and attitudes by drawing on insights from psychology on the behavior of individuals and groups. The authors discuss how scholars in public administration currently draw on theories and methods from psychology and related fields and point to research in public administration that could benefit from further integration. An analysis of public administration topics through a psychological lens can be useful to confirm, add nuance to, or extend classical public administration theories. As such, behavioral public administration complements traditional public administration. Furthermore, it could be a two‐way street for psychologists who want to test the external validity of their theories in a political‐administrative setting. Finally, four principles are proposed to narrow the gap between public administration and psychology.     

Reputation and Public Administration

This article examines the application of organizational reputation to public administration. Organizational reputation is defined as a set of beliefs about an organization’s capacities, intentions, history, and mission that are embedded in a network of multiple audiences. The authors assert that the way in which organizational reputations are formed and subsequently cultivated is fundamental to understanding the role of public administration in a democracy. A review of the basic assumptions and empirical work on organizational reputation in the public sector identifies a series of stylized facts that extends our understanding of the functioning of public agencies. In particular, the authors examine the relationship between organizational reputation and bureaucratic autonomy.     

反思"公共管理(学)":公共行政的观点

公共管理(学)研究,是在扬弃(传统)公共行政(学)观念和行政改革实践的基础之上发展成为目前各国行政学理论发展的主流.具体就我国特定的历史情境而言,笔者认为由于国内行政学理论探讨中存在的"公共性"不足和"行政"研究的相对不足,以及中国行政现实的需求,"公共行政"研究应成为当前最紧要的任务.对"公共管理"概念、理念、模式的引入与研究应相当慎重,公共行政学的科学价值与学术地位不容动摇.     

孙中山与公共管理

孙中山是中国20世纪三大伟人中的第一人.他深信应该"天下为公",并将终于实现世界"大同".他对"政治"的简单解释为"政"指"众人的事","治"是"管理",亦即"管理众人的事"就是"政治".他努力谋求公共利益和重视合格公共管理人员的培养,在理论和实践方面,很接近或相同于后来成为新兴独立学科的"公共行政"或"公共管理"所研习的内容.因此,他可算是中国现代公共管理研究的先驱.     

公共行政中的社会正义

在公共行政中强调社会正义是当今国际社会的一个重要话语,由于中国近现代以前的政府行政过程中社会正义的色彩甚为淡漠,因此,具有普适性的社会正义观念对于中国公共行政具有深刻的现实意义.目前,社会正义在中国公共行政中难以通过制度性的规定体现在公共政策之中,其原因在于公共行政中的党政不分.在法制不完善的情况下,党政主要负责人个人的意愿很容易替代公众的愿望.此外,政府通常是依据"红头文件"来实施公共行政,在缺少不同意见时,如何体现社会正义是中国公共行政实施过程中需要认真考虑的问题.     

公共行政中的宪政主义

公共行政中的宪政主义是研究公共行政的两条线索之一,长期以来没有被深入研究,对其进行系统论述具有较强的理论创新意义。公共行政中的宪政主义与西方政治哲学中的宪政主义既有区别也有联系,其内容为公民权利,公民社会或社区价值,人本主义与后现代公共行政及公民参与,它贯穿于公共行政发展的全程,仍然需要进一步发展以完成其使命。