The Promise Of Representative Bureaucracy Diversity And Responsiveness In A Government Agency

This text on representive bureaucracy covers topics such as: bureaucracy as a representative institution; bureaucratic power and the dilemma of administrative responsibility; and representative bureaucracy and the potential for reconciling bureaucracy and democracy.

"Representative Bureaucracy and Performance: Public Service Transformation in South Africa is a first-rate blend of quantitative and qualitative analysis of one of the major transitions in modern governance. Fernandez makes a major theoretical contribution to the literature on representative bureaucracy in demonstrating how descriptive representation translates into both active representation and better performance. His discussion of the crucial role of language and communication brings new insight to the literature on public administration and democracy."—Kenneth Meier, Distinguished Scholar in Residence, American University "This study of public sector transformation goes beyond the descriptive qualitative research largely found in South African public administration historiography by undertaking sophisticated quantitative analysis to show that representation of previously historically disadvantaged groups, under certain circumstances, can improve the performance of public organizations. This is an excellent contribution, not only to public administration scholarship in South Africa, but also to the sparse literature on public organizations in developing countries. The book should be of great value to scholars and practitioners of public administration, as well as to students of political science and organizational studies."—Robert Cameron, Professor, University of Cape Town "This book provides an excellent analysis of the theory of representative bureaucracy in the context of South African post-apartheid government. South Africa is an important and fascinating case. The work adds substantially to the literature on representative bureaucracy and will be of interest to all who are concerned with the effectiveness of government organizations."—J. Edward Kellough, Professor, University of Georgia Governments throughout the world seek to promote employment equity and ensure that bureaucracies are representative of the citizenry. South Africa offers a rare and fascinating case for exploring what happens to bureaucracies as they undergo demographic transformation. Grounded in the theory of representative bureaucracy and using a mixed methods approach, this book explores how major changes in the demographics of the South African public service have affected the performance of the institution. The empirical analysis offers compelling evidence that representative bureaucracies perform better. As public organizations become increasingly representative by hiring historically disadvantaged persons, especially Africans, their performance improves, controlling for a range of factors. Evidence indicates representative bureaucracies perform better because they empathize with and advocate for historically disadvantaged communities, are equipped with linguistic and cultural competencies to serve a diverse citizenry, and can induce compliance, cooperation, and coproduction.

What is the relationship between the composition of the public sector workforce and the nature of the society it serves? Taking a comparative and analytical perspective, the authoritative and accessible chapters illustrate the salience of representativ

ÔThis volume confronts one of the most central issues in the study and practice of bureaucracy. Questions about representativeness of public institutions raises key issues about legitimacy, especially in contexts characterised by ethnic diversity and cleavages. Debates are shaped by normatively informed positions that contrasts those in favour of representativeness with those who point to limitations and side-effects. This volume offers a set of important contributions to these debates by linking the long-standing debates about representative bureaucracy with an impressive range of country studies. This volume is a fundamental contribution to the theme of representative bureaucracy.Õ Ð Martin Lodge, London School of Economics, UK The book explores one of the most topical issues of public bureaucracies worldwide: the relationship between the composition of the public sector workforce and the nature of the society it serves. Taking a comparative and analytical perspective, the authoritatively, yet accessibly written, country chapters show how salient the politics of representativeness have become in increasingly diverse societies. At the same time, they illustrate the wide variety of practice based on different political systems, administrative structures, and cultural settings. Providing comprehensive up-to-date information and analysis, these studies will interest scholars and practitioners alike, from comparative public administration and management, government, public policy, and diversity studies.

The readings in this collection provide a comprehensive guide to the established knowledge and emerging issues regarding democratizing public bureaucracies by making them socially representative. The book includes both classic and cutting-edge works, and presents a contemporary model for analyzing representative bureaucracy that focuses on the linkages between social origins, life experiences, attitudes, and administrators' decision making. The selections address many of the leading concerns of contemporary politics, including diversity and equal opportunity policy, democratic control of administration, administrative performance, the pros and cons of the new public management, and reinventing government. Many of the field's most cited works are included. Each chapter starts with an introductory summary of the key questions under consideration and concludes with discussion questions. With it's extensive selection of classic and contemporary readings, the book will have wide application for courses on bureaucracy, public administration, and public sector human resource management.

One of the major dilemmas facing the administrative state in the United States today is discerning how best to harness for public purposes the dynamism of markets, the passion and commitment of nonprofit and volunteer organizations, and the public-interest-oriented expertise of the career civil service. Researchers across a variety of disciplines, fields, and subfields have independently investigated aspects of the formidable challenges, choices, and opportunities this dilemma poses for governance, democratic constitutionalism, and theory building. This literature is vast, affords multiple and conflicting perspectives, is methodologically diverse, and is fragmented. The Oxford Handbook of American Bureaucracy affords readers an uncommon overview and integration of this eclectic body of knowledge as adduced by many of its most respected researchers. Each of the chapters identifies major issues and trends, critically takes stock of the state of knowledge, and ponders where future research is most promising. Unprecedented in scope, methodological diversity, scholarly viewpoint, and substantive integration, this volume is invaluable for assessing where the study of American bureaucracy stands at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, and where leading scholars think it should go in the future. The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics are a set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of scholarship on American politics. Each volume focuses on a particular aspect of the field. The project is under the General Editorship of George C. Edwards III, and distinguished specialists in their respective fields edit each volume. The Handbooks aim not just to report on the discipline, but also to shape it as scholars critically assess the scholarship on a topic and propose directions in which it needs to move. The series is an indispensable reference for anyone working in American politics. General Editor for The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics: George C. Edwards III

Public services touch the majority of people in advanced and developing economies on a daily basis: children require schooling, the elderly need personal care and assistance, rubbish needs collecting, water must be safe to drink and the streets need policing. In short, there is practically no area of our lives that isn't touched in some way by public services. As such, knowledge about strategies to improve their performance is central to the good of society. In this book, a group of leading scholars examine some of the most pressing issues in public administration, political science and public policy by undertaking a systematic review of the research literature on public management and the performance of public agencies. It is an important resource for public management researchers, policy-makers and practitioners who wish to understand the state of the field and the challenges that lie ahead.

Can a baker refuse to make a wedding cake for a gay couple? Despite the U.S. Supreme Court decision guaranteeing marriage equality in 2015, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) citizens in the United States continue to be discriminated against in fundamental areas that others take for granted as a legal right. Using social equity theory and intersectionality but written in an accessible style, this book demonstrates some of the ways in which LGBTQ citizens have been marginalized for their identity and argues that the field of public administration has a unique responsibility to prioritize social equity. Categories utilized by the U.S. Census Bureau (male or female, heterosexual or homosexual), for example, must shift to a continuum to accurately capture demographic characteristics and citizen behavior. Evidenced-based outcomes and disparities between cisgender and heterosexual and LGBTQ populations are carefully delineated to provide a legal rationale for a compelling governmental interest, and policy recommendations are provided – including overdue federal legislation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.