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Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector (Random House series in political science) Review

This was a required text book for one of the classes in my master of public administration program (MPA). I found it to be extremely useful for understanding both the historical evolution of public administration and the current practice. The emphasis on the (sometimes conflicting) managerial, legal, and political perspectives of each aspect of public administration works nicely if you are also learning the Hamiltonian, Madisonian, and Jeffersonian perspectives on the founding of the government. I always find it useful to understand and remember how things work if I get a good explanation of why it is so--this book does a good job of balancing the how/why.

It's not a text for the casual reader, but if you are a graduate student, plan to be (or already are) a public manager, or just want a thorough grounding in the theory and practice of public administration, this book will serve you well.

Since I know some students don't buy books on their syllabi for financial reasons or for stubbornness, my recommendation is to get the book. It also makes a great reference for the papers you'll have to write.

Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector (Random House series in political science) Overview

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION is one of the most widely adopted books for both undergraduate and graduate levels. The basis of the appeal is the three part framework of management, politics, and the law. Its theme is that all three perspectives are central to public administration, and that ignoring one or another leads to failures in both the practice of and in academic treatments of the field. This edition continues to refer to these three perspectives, but it divides management into two subsets: traditional and "the new public management".

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Customer Reviews

Textbook Review - Calidiva - DETROIT, MI, US
I received this book in a timely fashion, with minimal writing in text. The cost was way below retail price.



appreciate the credit! - V. Bress - Centennial, CO
The class was full and I emailed the seller immediately to refund or credit my account. He was quick and credited my account right away -- I really appreciate that!

I emailed the professor to be added to his class. He later responded and agreed to do so. I wish now that I didn't request to credit my account. Other used books are selling higher than he originally posted his. You snooze, you lose! I'm still grateful for the quick response and understanding. Thank you!



Difficult reading, very "wordy" - Love Literature - California
This book was a required text for my PA course. It was very wordy and at times difficult to understand due to the repetitious content. I feel that there is probably a more straight forward style of writing than this one. Not for the student who is just beginning a public administration course, some back ground would be helpful if this text is to be used. However, it contains "Introduction" in its title. Well! I 'don't know about that? Great info, however, difficult reading.



mosgt boring book ever. - A. Fenton -
This is the most repetative book I have ever read. Just reading the intro to any chapter is all you really need, within the chaper, the author will state the exact same thing 3-5 times. I give it three starts because there is a lot of good information, it is just not well presented.

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