Leadership of Public Bureaucracies: The Administrator as Conservator [Paperback]

Larry D. Terry (Author), Douglas F. Morgan (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0765609592 | ISBN-13: 978-0765609595 | Publication Date: October 2002 | Edition: 2

Leadership within public administration is stuck in the `no-man's-land' between political science and organization theory. On the one hand organization theorists promote their particular brand of transformational leadership - the leader sets the basic values of the firm and heroically shapes the culture of the organization. On the other hand political scientists treat public management as a prescribed regiment of strict obedience to elected officials - without values or heroism. This book offers an alternative well-reasoned and viable basis upon which to construct a concept of leadership which is directly and immediately relevant to the practising public administrator.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: M.E. Sharpe; 2 edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765609592
• ISBN-13: 978-0765609595
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,250,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this Book, January 14, 2010

By 

Fred Thompson (Salem, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leadership of Public Bureaucracies: The Administrator as Conservator (Hardcover)

Larry Terry died too young. This is his legacy. It is a wonderful legacy. Larry presents a normative theory of administrative leadership that draws heavily on the works of Philip Selznik. He argues that public officials should be institution builders and "Conservators" of public institutions, vigorously protecting their integrity (buffering), and when called upon to do so, adapting to change (exploiting opportunities to strengthen institutions). He also suggests a number plausible reasons for believing this is how public officials are disposed to behave. But, do they? Interestingly, the rich body of empirical analysis carried out by Kenneth Meier and Larry O'Toole implies that this is precisely how public officials tend to behave and that, when they do behave like Larry's conservators, good things happen. This is challenge to those who, like myself, are predisposed to managerialism, one that deserves a very respectful hearing and consideration.

This book is also elegantly written and argued.