Winner of the 2020 Outstanding Book Award Presented by the Public and Nonprofit Section of the National Academy of Management Winner of the 2019 Louis Brownlow Book Award from the National Academy of Public Administration Bureaucracy, confusing paperwork, and complex regulations—or what public policy scholars Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan call administrative burdens—often introduce delay and frustration into our experiences with government agencies. Administrative burdens diminish the effectiveness of public programs and can even block individuals from fundamental rights like voting. In AdministrativeBurden, Herd and Moynihan document that the administrative burdens citizens regularly encounter in their interactions with the state are not simply unintended byproducts of governance, but the result of deliberate policy choices. Because burdens affect people’s perceptions of government and often perpetuate long-standing inequalities, understanding why administrative burdens exist and how they can be reduced is essential for maintaining a healthy public sector. Through in-depth case studies of federal programs and controversial legislation, the authors show that administrative burdens are the nuts-and-bolts of policy design. Regarding controversial issues such as voter enfranchisement or abortion rights, lawmakers often use administrative burdens to limit access to rights or services they oppose. For instance, legislators have implemented administrative burdens such as complicated registration requirements and strict voter-identification laws to suppress turnout of African American voters. Similarly, the right to an abortion is legally protected, but many states require women seeking abortions to comply with burdens such as mandatory waiting periods, ultrasounds, and scripted counseling. As Herd and Moynihan demonstrate, administrative burdens often disproportionately affect the disadvantaged who lack the resources to deal with the financial and psychological costs of navigating these obstacles. However, policymakers have sometimes reduced administrative burdens or shifted them away from citizens and onto the government. One example is Social Security, which early administrators of the program implemented in the 1930s with the goal of minimizing burdens for beneficiaries. As a result, the take-up rate is about 100 percent because the Social Security Administration keeps track of peoples’ earnings for them, automatically calculates benefits and eligibility, and simply requires an easy online enrollment or visiting one of 1,200 field offices. Making more programs and public services operate this efficiently, the authors argue, requires adoption of a nonpartisan, evidence-based metric for determining when and how to institute administrative burdens, with a bias toward reducing them. By ensuring that the public’s interaction with government is no more onerous than it need be, policymakers and administrators can reduce inequality, boost civic engagement, and build an efficient state that works for all citizens.

A largely undiscussed problem exists in the counseling community. Each year many excellent professional counselors with little or no administrative preparation or leadership experience are asked to assume administrative roles in schools, colleges and universities, state and federal government offices, community agencies, and foundations. The purpose of this book is to lighten their challenge by providing them with knowledge of the basic tasks and tools needed by a professional administrator and, equally important, how to adapt those tasks and tools to various professional settings. Key features of this outstanding new book include the following: *General Skills -- Chapters 1 and 2 address the meanings of the terms leadership, management and administration, examine the tasks associated with each term, and provide the concepts and skills (e.g., strategic planning, budgeting, recruitment and development of staff, use of technology, etc.) needed by any counseling administrator in any setting. *Applications -- Chapters 3-9 examine the similarities and differences in counseling leadership and management in different settings. The point is made that counseling services are rarely stand-alone structures; typically they are part of larger institutions to which they must demonstrate their contribution. No other book examines how counseling services are adapted to different settings. *Expertise -- Written by three professional counselors who collectively have more than 90 years of administrative experience, this book supplements existing research and scholarship with a wealth of personal experience -- especially on those topics where the published literature is thin. This book is appropriate for the following audiences: 1) graduate students in counselor education or counseling psychology who aspire to leadership positions; 2) practicing counselors entering (or those new to) administrative positions; 3) practicing counselors seeking to understand the institutional settings in which they practice; and 4) counseling administrators seeking an easy-to-use reference volume.

In his First Letter to the Corinthians Paul cites “administrators” as one of God’s gifts to the Christian community (1 Cor 12:28). But many who serve in administrative service today have difficulty seeing how their everyday work is an expression of discipleship. This book, written by an experienced administrator and noted biblical scholar, shows how the various functions of institutional administration are deeply rooted in the Scriptures and are a genuine expression of our call to discipleship. Leadership, mission statements and planning, finances and fund raising, personnel issues, communications, and public relations—all of these seemingly “secular” activities serve to build up the Body of Christ and deserve to be recognized as authentic Christian ministry. To see administrative service as a biblically rooted gift can help those involved in this way of life to find deeper and more satisfying spiritual meaning in what they do.

A compelling look at the ethics of social work administration and the inherent integration of ethics in social organizations.

In today’s new business environment, there are great work-from-home opportunities for office managers, executive assistants, administrative professionals and anyone else with excellent organizational and computer skills. Why fight traffic to go to an office when you can do the same work—perhaps at better pay—from home? Start your own office or administrative support service, offering your word processing, dictation, database management, telephone, communication or other administrative services on a contract basis to companies around the globe. Learn how to turn your business skills into a profitable freelance opportunity: • Write a strong business plan that lays out your path to success • Determine services and policies that maximize profits • Get great deals on the software and equipment your business needs • Hire an excellent staff if your business grows too big for one person • Go above and beyond your competition to attract regular clients Successful entrepreneurs in this field reveal the secrets to growing a highly profitable business. Plus, get websites and contact information for valuable resources in the “Business Support Service National Directory” inside. Leave the drab office behind and strike out on your own in this hot field.

What should be the roles and behavior of administrators to meet the challenges facing social service agencies today? Here is a thought-provoking book that provides a great deal of insight into administrative leadership, an essential component in the survival and effectiveness of social service agencies. In response to the enormous challenges that social service agencies are facing, including justification of their mission, mobilization of resources, and responsiveness to new social needs, experts present theoretical and empirical studies on administrative leadership in the social services, reviewing the most recent theories and research on the relationship between leadership and service effectiveness. They also focus on emerging issues in social work administration, including a description of the role of women in social work administration and an assessment of a feminist model of macro practice; the rise of for-profit social service agencies; management-union relations; and entrepreneurship as a new model for administrators. Administrative Leadership in the Social Services is especially useful for administrators of social service agencies by providing them with insight into their own practice and giving them guidance to improve their administrative effectiveness. To students and scholars, this outstanding new volume presents a review of theories and research on current and emerging issues in social work administration.

From the late 1970s until the present day, the New Public Management movement flourished in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and a number of other countries over the globe. Nowadays, governments across the world are more service-oriented than previously, and administrative system innovations are encouraging new ways of improving public services. Increasingly, more and more countries are witnessing administrative innovations to provide better, quicker, and more efficient and effective service to the public. To this end, this collection of essays highlights public service theory and practices. While some chapters concentrate on innovation in administrative systems, others pay attention to more theoretic and practical issues. A few examine municipal-level public service and innovation, whereas others focus on environment, community policing, public infrastructure, partnership governance, and e-service and e-participation, as well as citizen participation. The book represents an excellent, updated resource for scholars, students and practitioners in the broad field of public administration, public policy, public affairs and public management.