Administration & Society current issue

Who Watches the Watchmen?: Evaluating Judicial Performance in the American States

Paynter, S., Kearney, R. C. — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:07:26 PST

Scholars and human resource practitioners agree that effective performance appraisal systems have clear objectives, reliable and valid appraisal methodology, separation of personal judgments from job-based performance assessments, acceptance by employees, and leadership commitment. Using data from state reports, surveys, case histories, personal interviews, and judicial performance appraisal studies, this article juxtaposes judicial performance evaluation (JPE) and the criteria for effective appraisal systems to address the question of whether judicial independence can be preserved when judges’ performance is systematically evaluated by multiple raters. The authors conclude that JPE is an effective performance appraisal tool that can satisfy the need for accountability to the public while protecting judicial independence.

Reflections on Defining the Public Interest

King, S. M., Chilton, B. S., Roberts, G. E. — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:07:26 PST

The definition and nature of the public interest is an ongoing area of debate and controversy among public administration scholars and practitioners. This article’s main thesis is that there exists an identifiable public interest entailing both normative and pragmatic elements that should be a foundational concern of every practicing public administrator. The administrator’s duty entails three factors: (a) the fiduciary duties to the commons as defined and constrained by constitutional principles, (b) policies that are congruent with our democratic values, and (c) the practice of nonidiosyncratic and universalized ethical administrative leadership and decision making. The article addresses this much maligned and dismissed topic by tracing its historical development focusing on the various lenses, working definitions, characteristics, and typologies of the public interest and illustrating their application in a case study of the Federal Communications Commission. The authors conclude with summary reflections and implications for public administration and public policy.

I've Seen Fire and I've Seen Rain: Public Management and Performance After a Natural Disaster

Meier, K. J., O'Toole, L. J., Hicklin, A. — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:07:26 PST

Public organizations operate as open systems in settings that can be a source of difficulties for managers and for program performance. The unexpected arrival of two major hurricanes in 2005 caused widespread havoc, and some of the consequences constituted major shocks to public agencies—in particular, to public educational systems. This article assesses whether such shocks caused drops in performance, and whether organization and management contributed to a mitigation of these deleterious effects. Evidence indicates that shocks do disrupt performance but also that staff capacity and stability in street-level personnel of the organizations can reduce or eliminate these negative consequences.

Looking for the FEMA Guy, Mayor, Local Planning Guy, Governor, and Others

Waugh, W. L. — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:07:26 PST

Response to Comments on "Looking for the FEMA Guy"

Birdsall, I. — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:07:26 PST

Our Cutting Edge Isn't Cutting It: Why Public Administration Should Be the First Discipline to Implement a Social Class-Based Affirmative Action Plan for Hiring Professors

Oldfield, K. — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:07:26 PST

During the past several years, various writers and commentators have argued that as part of their affirmative action efforts, universities should enroll more students of working-class origins because socioeconomic integration ensures greater social equity, democracy, and intellectual diversity. The present study shows that the justifications applied to student diversity pertain equally well to professors. This discussion proposes that if public administration were first to use socioeconomic status–based affirmative in faculty hiring, it would prove the discipline’s willingness to meet its self-imposed obligation to be cutting edge, a promise studies have shown it has yet to fulfill.