This title was first published in 2000: The focus of this analysis is that of moral standards in public service, with special attention to the role(s) of officials. It presents discussion of some of the issues that seem to the contributors to be of pressing importance and that seem to have relevance for public service in the new millennium. It concentrates in particular on public officials, and the constraints imposed on them by the political environment in liberal democracies.

Reimagining Public Sector Management delves into the crisis and emergency management of the pandemic, exploring the ways in which different agencies responded to the pandemic and the lessons learnt in terms of disaster planning and co-ordination.

Christopher Hodgkinson is one of the most important contributors to the field of educational administration. This collection of essays open up the philosophical foundations of ethical educational administration by reviewing his writings and exploring the ethical theories of major philosophers, as they apply to administration and leadership. Ethical Foundations of Educational Administration is published in honour of the work of Christopher Hodgkinson. It is divided into two sections. The first comprises biographical essays and a critical evaluation of Professor Hodgkinson's work, focusing on his personal and intellectual contributions to a moral theory of educational administration and leadership. The second section looks at how his moral philosophy can inform administrative practice. The work of a broad range of philosophers is discussed, from the pre-20th century theories of Aquinas, Adam Smith and Kant to the pragmatists Peirce, James and Dewey, Heidegger, MacIntyre, Bourdieu, Churchland and Thagard. Christopher Hodgkinson's definition of administration as 'philosophy-in-action' is now famous within the field. This collection illustrates the essential truth of that maxim, showing that moral philosophy, approached in the spirit promoted by Hodgkinson has both practical and critical purpose when brought to bear upon educational administration and leadership.

Organizations are a defining feature of the modern world, and the study of organizations (organization studies) has become well established in both sociology departments and professional schools, most notably business and management schools. Organization studies has long drawn inspiration from foundational work in sociology. The sociological lens affords depth of insight into the technological, economic, cultural, and political forces that shape organizations from both within and without. In particular, "classical" works in sociology have long energized organizational research, primarily by suggesting ways of making sense of the ever-accelerating pace of social change. In recent decades, however, the field has lost interest in these sociology classics. This trend reflects and reinforces an increasingly inward-looking and academic focus of contempory organization studies. Not only does this trend weaken organization studies' engagement with the big social issues of our time, but it isolates the field from the broader field of the social sciences. The aim of this Handbook is to re-assert the importance of classical sociology to the future of organization studies. Alongside several thematic chapters, the volume includes chapters on each of nearly two dozen major European and American theorists. Each of these chapter addressing: (a) the ideas and their context, (b) the impact of these ideas on the field of organization studies, and (c) the potential future research these ideas might inspire. The goal is not reverential exegesis, but rather to examine how the classics can energize organizational research. This wide-ranging Handbook, with contributions from leading American and European scholars, will be a vital, informative, and stimulating resource for anybody undertaking research in, teaching, or interested in learning more about organization studies today.

Contributed papers presented at a national seminar, organized by the Dept. of Public Administration, Himachal Pradesh University, on April 19-20, 2001.

Robert C. Solomon takes a hard look at the treacherous terrain of ethical decision-making in a highly competitive environment.

This book develops a particular stance on the subject of public service. It does so in large part by indicating how early modern political concepts and theories of state, sovereignty, government, office and reason of state can shed light on current problems, failings and ethical dilemmas in politics, government and political administration. Simply put, public service is an activity involving the constitution, maintenance, projection and regulation of governmental authority. Public service therefore has a distinctive character because of the singularity of its ‘official’ object or ‘core task’ – namely, the activity of governing in an official capacity through and on behalf of a state. In pursuing this activity, public servants – civil, juridical and military – have a range of tasks to perform. It is only once the nature of those tasks is appreciated that we are able to identify the unique character of public service. The authors employ early modern political concepts and doctrines of state, sovereignty, government, office and reason of state in order to critically analyse contemporary political issues and offer solutions to problems concerning the status and conduct of public service. This book aims to remind public servants of the status of their ‘calling’ as office-holders in the service of the state, a daunting task given the rising tide of populism and the widespread prevalence of anti-statist, bureaucrat-bashing political discourse. It stresses the governmental dimension of the work of public servants as occupants of official roles in the service of the state, in order to reinforce their legitimate position in articulating public interests against the excesses of private interests and intense partisanship that continue to dominate many societies. This timely and thought-provoking book will be of great interest to those working within a range of fields in the humanities and social sciences, including political science, history, sociology, philosophy, organization studies and public administration.