The myth of the bureaucratic paradigm : what tradicional public administration really stood for
By: LYNN, Laurence E., Jr
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Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Malden, MA : Blackwell Publisher, mar./apr.2001Public Administration Review: PAR 61, 2, p. 144-160Abstract: For decade, public administration and management literature has featured a riveting story: the tranformation of the field`s orientation from an old paradigm to a new one. While many doubt claims concerning a new paradigm - a New Public Management - few question that there was an old one. An ingrained and narrowly focused pattern of thought, a "bureaucratic paradigm", is routinely attributed to public administration`s traditional literature. A careful reading of that literature reveals, however, that the bureaucratic paradigmis, at best, a caricature and, at worst, a demonstrable distortion of traditional thought that exhibited far more respect for law, politics, citizens, and values than the new, customer-oriented mangerialism and its variants. Public administration as a profession, having let lapse the moral and intellectual authority conferred by its own traditions, mounts an unduly weak challenge to the superficial thinking and easy answers of the many new pardgms of governance and public service. As a result, literature and discourse the capacity to effect public puposes and accoutability to the polity will be enhanced in a manner that comports with our Constitution and our republican institutions
| Item type | Current location | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Periódico | Biblioteca Graciliano Ramos | Periódico | Not for loan |
For decade, public administration and management literature has featured a riveting story: the tranformation of the field`s orientation from an old paradigm to a new one. While many doubt claims concerning a new paradigm - a New Public Management - few question that there was an old one. An ingrained and narrowly focused pattern of thought, a "bureaucratic paradigm", is routinely attributed to public administration`s traditional literature. A careful reading of that literature reveals, however, that the bureaucratic paradigmis, at best, a caricature and, at worst, a demonstrable distortion of traditional thought that exhibited far more respect for law, politics, citizens, and values than the new, customer-oriented mangerialism and its variants. Public administration as a profession, having let lapse the moral and intellectual authority conferred by its own traditions, mounts an unduly weak challenge to the superficial thinking and easy answers of the many new pardgms of governance and public service. As a result, literature and discourse the capacity to effect public puposes and accoutability to the polity will be enhanced in a manner that comports with our Constitution and our republican institutions
Public administration review PAR
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