Journal•ISSN: 0095-3997
Administration & Society
SAGE Publishing
About: Administration & Society is an academic journal published by SAGE Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Politics & Government. It has an ISSN identifier of 0095-3997. Over the lifetime, 1709 publications have been published receiving 51310 citations. The journal is also known as: AAS & Administration and society.
Topics: Politics, Government, Bureaucracy, Public sector, Public policy
Papers published on a yearly basis
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1,267 citations
TL;DR: The concept of "wicked problems" has attracted increasing focus in policy research, but the implications for public organizations have received less attention as mentioned in this paper. But the main organizational and cognitive dimensions emerging from the research literature on wicked problems.
Abstract: The concept of “wicked problems” has attracted increasing focus in policy research, but the implications for public organizations have received less attention. This article examines the main organizational and cognitive dimensions emerging from the research literature on wicked problems. We identify several recent approaches to addressing problem complexity and stakeholder divergence based on the literatures on systems thinking, collaboration and coordination, and the adaptive leadership roles of public leaders and managers. We raise some challenges for public management in some key functional areas of government—strategy making, organizational design, people management, and performance measurement. We argue that provisional solutions can be developed, despite the difficulties of reforming governance processes to address wicked problems more effectively.
1,204 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that organizational studies are undergoing change and are moving toward greater sensitivity to subjective perceptions of the world, as illustrated by the current focus on "organizational culture" as opposed to empirical data.
Abstract: Organizational studies are undergoing change. Organization theory and research are moving toward greater sensitivity to subjective perceptions of the world, as illustrated by the current focus on “organizational culture.” (1) This development shifts the analysis of organizations from the study of empirical “objective” data to “intersubjective” data. Scholars want to know what organizational members experience and how that experience influences their decisions and actions. Contemporary organizational research is, therefore, composed less of “factual” statements from detached observers about administrative behavior and more of statements from participants themselves.
775 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify some of the impediments to progress in the study of public values and explore boundaries and meanings of public value, and identify some impediments for public value exploration.
Abstract: Exploring boundaries and meanings of public value, the authors seek to identify some of the impediments to progress in the study of public values. The study of public values is often hamstrung by m...
768 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a theory of public participation based on Habermas's theory of communicative action was proposed and evaluated in a case study of a forest policy-making process.
Abstract: This article reports progress on developing a theory of public participation that may prove useful to administrative bodies. The authors review a theory of public participation based on Habermas’s theory of communicative action and then reconsider the theory in light of a case study. Participants of a forest policy-making process reported their perceptions of a good process, and the authors used grounded theory methodology to induce criteria of good process. By contrasting the case study results with the theoretical criteria, insights are left into the strengths and shortcomings of the theory.
704 citations