Public administration is – as B. Guy Peters already observed – the crucial linkage between the political institutions of governing and the actual delivery of services. Public administration is a very important and active actor with respect to both designing policies and implementing it. Thus, a basic knowledge of public administration is of utmost importance for everybody, who wants to improve the circumstances of everyday life.
In this class we will thoroughly address two or three main aspects of the current debate on public administration: (1) New Public Management as an approach to bring market and business oriented thinking into public administration. While aiming at maximizing the efficiency of public administration, it has its obvious shortcomings, e.g. neglecting the dimension of power. (2) Change Management as an approach reflecting on ways to reform public administration while being aware of path dependencies. (3) Ways to fight and to prevent corruption as e.g. different kinds of controlling public administration. |
