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Public Administration: Theory or Practice

Public Administration: Theory or Practice

Trends in the teaching public administration discourse tend toward contemporary course delivery methods in the advent of computers and the internet. Discussions are often about available instructional technologies and teaching…

Employee Engagement and Labor Unions – A Win-Win

Employee Engagement and Labor Unions – A Win-Win

When my organization begins a new employee engagement survey, we conduct a kick-off meeting to explain the survey process to the key stakeholders in the agency or jurisdiction where we…

The Relevance of Context: Public Management in a Complex Environment

The Relevance of Context: Public Management in a Complex Environment

Today’s public sector employees function in a highly complex fishbowl environment, complicated by political leaders and public managers broadcasting their opinions in 140 characters. Sacrificing substance for splash, we’ve entered…

P.A. Research on Hurricanes

P.A. Research on Hurricanes

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria that devastated Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico call for social science research. The hard sciences of meteorology and hydrology have already spoken and deserve credit…

Requiring Alternative Financial Services Providers to Report Borrowers’ Repayment Histories Would Increase Financial Inclusion

Requiring Alternative Financial Services Providers to Report Borrowers’ Repayment Histories Would Increase Financial Inclusion

If policymakers required all financial service providers, not just banks and credit cards, to report the ongoing financial histories of their customers and required credit rating agencies to collect, analyze…

Driving a City’s Financial Recovery: An Interview with Detroit CFO John Hill

Driving a City’s Financial Recovery: An Interview with Detroit CFO John Hill

Jason Juffras spoke with Detroit chief financial officer (CFO) John Hill to learn about Detroit’s financial crisis and nascent recovery. Mr. Hill also played a major role in Washington, D.C.’s…

The Lesson: Don’t Throw a Plunger at a Dart Board

The Lesson: Don’t Throw a Plunger at a Dart Board

One simple rule of darts is in the name of the game: You’ll only succeed if you use darts. If you try to throw a plunger at a dart board,…

Filling the Ranks

Filling the Ranks

A high school’s senior year is rife with choices. They ask the inevitable question: “Where do we go from here?” The paths are endless, and that uncertain resolve leads us…

Stranded Resources and Servant Leadership: Public Service in 2017 and Beyond

Stranded Resources and Servant Leadership: Public Service in 2017 and Beyond

The whole world is screaming. It’s become a global activity. In some places, it’s the only activity. Public servants hear various screams, too — constituent screams. In fact, one can…

Incentivizing Evidence-based Medicine

Incentivizing Evidence-based Medicine

When treatment plans are guided by an image of the patient as a potentially litigious, hard to satisfy paying customer, with no policies to provide a counterweight and incentivize good…

Recommitting to Public Service Values in Troubled Times

Recommitting to Public Service Values in Troubled Times

It is no secret our politics are often divisive and lacking in civility. In this environment, it is easy for public service professionals to blame the challenges we face in…