Understanding and Managing Public Organizations

Understanding and Managing Public Organizations is the best single source book available for the topics it addresses. I assign it to my Human Resources Management and Organization Theory seminars and I ensure that all of my doctoral students read it for comprehensive exams.
--Patricia W. Ingraham, professor, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University

This new edition of Hal G. Rainey's award-winning book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of research on public organizations and management. Includes new tables, figures, and other teaching tools designed specifically to make this book even more useful in graduate courses. Using numerous real-life vignettes and examples, the book summarizes expert analysis on goals, power, effectiveness, motivation and work attitudes, decision making, and more. Drawing on a comprehensive review of current research about government organizations and managers--and about effective and ineffective practices in government--it offers specific suggestions for managing these challenges in today's public organizations.

Updated to include coverage of recent trAnds and developoments such as total quality management, the National Performance Review, the reinventing government movement and other recent reform efforts, privatization, and managing for excellence. In addition, Rainey draws from major national surveys to reveal important new development in areas such as public service motivation and the structure of public agencies. Now an even more valuable reference for students, scholars, and managers alike.