THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING

Increasingly, the nations of the world are becoming more interdependent among themselves. This is true not only in an economic sense, but in a political sense as well. The field of public administration has become internationalized, presenting a new challenge to both teachers and students of the discipline. The article argues that special attention should be given to teaching students how to manage policy interdependency. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary approach is advocated as a method of broadening students' perspectives in public administration. In concluding the article, the author offers several recommendations for improving public administration programs.     

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN POST‐CONFLICT SOCIETIES: LESSONS FROM ACEH,INDONESIA

Post‐conflict reconstruction programs increasingly include components designed to strengthen the performance of the public service and to support public sector reform. Although there is a growing body of literature on the relationship between public administration, and peace and development, there have been few case studies of donor efforts to strengthen public administration as part of post‐conflict reconstruction. This study examines efforts to strengthen the civil service in Aceh, Indonesia, following the province's first post‐conflict elections in 2006. It examines the impact of a donor‐funded program designed to assist Aceh's first post‐conflict administration (2007–2012) to reform its personnel management practices. The case study sheds light on weaknesses in current donor approaches to public administration reform in post‐conflict situations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE DISCIPLINE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND THE STUDY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

No doubt my colleagues in this venture will attest to the wide range of contributions which Robert Parker and Dick Spann have made to the field of public administration. I have benefited greatly from these contributions, as well as from discussions with both, in particular from those with Dick Spann during my period in the Department of Government and Public Administration at the University of Sydney. However, the breadth of their coverage has not been without some cost to the field, and in this paper I want to examine their influence on the area which I know best, that of local government.     

THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF INTERNATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

Abstract: Increasingly, the terms occupying centre stage on the policy agenda in many countries are global in reach. Thus they stretch the operational efficiency and suitability of the fabric of the sovereign state to its limits, and beyond. In particular the issue of global environmental change is demonstrating the need to break new ground in terms of institutions and instruments which provide vehicles for the creation and implementation of public policy "beyond the state". This paper explores the evolution of this situation during this century, and considers the institutional responses to the need for broader and broader geographical expressions of sovereignty.     

THE ADMINISTRATION OF FRENCH NATIONAL ECONOMIC PLANNING: LESSONS FOR AUSTRALIA

"We are therefore giving priority to setting up economic planning machinery with industry and employee co-operation to restore strong but balanced economic growth."—E. G. Whitlam, The Australian , 14th May, 1973.     

THE RELEVANCE OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT TO SOCIAL WELFARE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Abstract: Citizen involvement is regarded as a desirable component of public policy making, particularly policy in the social welfare field. This paper examines different conceptions of social welfare and different conceptions of citizen participation. Participation is a term with many shades of meaning, and policy makers should distinguish between sociotherapy, market research and citizen power, all of which come under the rubric "citizen participation". Different conceptions of participation are appropriate in different policy circumstances and these circumstances are examined with reference to two recent Australian participatory programs in the welfare field. The paper concludes with an examination of the applicability of participation, leadership and expertise to public administration, and argues that these three values exist in a dialectical relationship and that social justice and the effectiveness of programs will be limited if too much reliance is placed on any one of these values.     

MARKET IDEOLOGY AND PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY: INTRODUCTION TO SYMPOSIUM ON THE MARKET AND THE STATE

The four papers of which this symposium consists, together with the papers prepared by discussants, were part of a workshop organised by the Academy of Social Sciences over two days at the end of October 1989. The purpose of the workshop was to stimulate debate on this important public policy issue and to generate findings as well as point to material for further research. This introduction highlights the objectives of the workshop, its program, logistics and findings. It is regretted that one commentator was not able to present a contribution in time for inclusion in the journal. I take the opportunity in this introduction to thank the Academy of Social Sciences for sponsoring this workshop, three of its senior officers for their active participation (President, Peter Karmel; Director, Bruce Miller; and Treasurer, Stuart Harris) and the editors of the Australian Journal of Public Administration for providing this forum for the wider dissemination of the discussion it generated.     

STRUCTURE AND ACTION AS CONSTRUCTS IN THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION*

Abstract: In this paper we first examine the dominant instrumental paradigm of organization, and the critique to which it has been subjected from both social action theory and a more structural analysis of organizational life. Secondly, we draw on critical theory to construct an alternative paradigm. This addresses some of the problems left by critiques of the dominant paradigm, focuses on the relationship between structure and action, and the way in which each of these constitutes, and is constituted by, the other. In the final section we outline the implications of this analytical approach for analysis and practice in public administration. Public administration is about what people do, but also about how this activity is perceived and talked about. This distinction between thought and practice is not the same as the distinction between the academic and the practitioner. Although the academic operates largely in the world of thought — through teaching, research and writing — the work of the practitioner also rests on foundations in the world of thought, namely, the perception of the organization as an instrument for the accomplishment of some purpose, and of the administrator as the controller of that instrument for the better achievement of the end. We contend that these approaches to analysis and practice mask significant aspects of the ways that relationships within and between organizational contexts come to be structured and conducted, and do not provide a basis for understanding or evaluating either organizational processes or the activities of managers within these.     

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE THIRD WORLD: PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Nations of the Third World are not developing as quickly as their potential suggests they should. This article posits that one of the major reasons for this lack of development is a scarcity of trained public managers. Teaching citizens of developing countries public administration presents a special challenge. The authors point out that the emphasis in training these individuals should be placed on practical learning. In addition, curriculum should not be based solely on the American model, but should recognize the cultural and economic dissimilarities that exist. The authors close the article by suggesting some possible training approaches for developing nations.