The call to "reinvent government"—to reform the government bureaucracy of the United States—resonates as loudly from elected officials as from the public. Examining the political and economic forces that have shaped the American civil service system from its beginnings in 1883 through today, the authors of this volume explain why, despite attempts at an overhaul, significant change in the bureaucracy remains a formidable challenge.

'This Handbook on civil service systems is truly international and comparative. It covers and compares countries from all continents. It also connects historical (Weberian) legacies to contemporary challenges such as coordination, the hollow state, and trust. Massey's Handbook does not avoid difficult issues for civil service systems such as ruined reforms, fiscal retrenchment, and cultural and political system shocks. Therefore this book is exceptionally rich and stimulating.' Geert Bouckaert, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium While there is no universally accepted definition of civil servant and civil service, this authoritative and informative Handbook compares and contrasts various approaches to organising the structure and activities of different civil service systems. Underpinning theories and frameworks provide a disciplinary perspective from which to explore recurring topics and themes, and international comparisons are made via case studies from Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North and South America. The expert contributors consider the historical and theoretical context of public administration and public sector management, encompassing issues such as the Weberian legacy, joined-up government and the hollowed-out state thesis. The debate between Anglo-American influenced systems versus the continental European approach to organising the civil service is also addressed.

An essential guide to U.S. politics, from the founding to today With 150 accessible articles written by more than 130 leading experts, this essential reference provides authoritative introductions to some of the most important and talked-about topics in American history and politics, from the founding to today. Abridged from the acclaimed Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History, this is the only single-volume encyclopedia that provides comprehensive coverage of both the traditional topics of U.S. political history and the broader forces that shape American politics--including economics, religion, social movements, race, class, and gender. Fully indexed and cross-referenced, each entry provides crucial context, expert analysis, informed perspectives, and suggestions for further reading. Contributors include Dean Baker, Lewis Gould, Alex Keyssar, James Kloppenberg, Patricia Nelson Limerick, Lisa McGirr, Jack Rakove, Nick Salvatore, Stephen Skowronek, Jeremi Suri, Julian Zelizer, and many more. Entries cover: Key political periods, from the founding to today Political institutions, major parties, and founding documents The broader forces that shape U.S. politics, from economics, religion, and social movements to race, class, and gender Ideas, philosophies, and movements The political history and influence of geographic regions

The authors of this book contend that the civil service system, which was devised to create a uniform process for recruiting high-quality workers to government, is no longer uniform or a system. Nor does it help government find and retain the workers it needs to build a government that works. The current civil service system was designed for a government in which federal agencies directly delivered most public services. But over the last generation, privatization and devolution have increased the number and importance of government's partnerships with private companies, nonprofit organizations, and state and local governments. Government workers today spend much of their time managing these partnerships, not delivering services, and this trend will only accelerate in the future. The authors contend that the current system poorly develops government workers who can effectively manage these partnerships, resulting too often in a gap between promise and performance. This short, lively, and bipartisan volume, authored by the nation's leading experts on government management, describes what the government of the future will look like, what it will need to work well, and how in particular the nation can build the next generation of workers required to lead it.

A plan to restore public trust in how your tax dollars are spent.

Now in its third edition, Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy remains the definitive source for article-length presentations spanning the fields of public administration and public policy. It includes entries for: Budgeting Bureaucracy Conflict resolution Countries and regions Court administration Gender issues Health care Human resource management Law Local government Methods Organization Performance Policy areas Policy-making process Procurement State government Theories This revamped five-volume edition is a reconceptualization of the first edition by Jack Rabin. It incorporates over 225 new entries and over 100 revisions, including a range of contributions and updates from the renowned academic and practitioner leaders of today as well as the next generation of top scholars. The entries address topics in clear and coherent language and include references to additional sources for further study.

From the Nuremberg trials to the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 to recent budget reconciliation bills, the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy provides detailed coverage of watershed policies and decisions from such fields as privatization, biomedical ethics, education, and diversity. This second edition features a wide range of new topics, including military administration, government procurement, social theory, and justice administration in developed democracies. It also addresses current issues such as the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and covers public administration in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America.