Public administrators need to be empowered to make difficult decisions. Acting in the public interest often means doing what is ethical even when it is an unpopular choice. Yet, too often, public servants at the local, state, and federal levels internalize the notion that their hands are tied and that they are limited in their ability to effect change. Empowering Public Administrators: Ethics and Public Service Values provides a much-needed antidote to inaction, offering a new lens for viewing administrative decision-making and behavior.

This book makes a case for bringing historically significant theories to the forefront of public service ethics by applying them to a series of current ethical challenges in practice. Exploring administrative discretion as modern bureaucrats govern public affairs in a political context, this collection builds on the normative foundations of public administration and provides readers with a scaffold for understanding and practicing public service values. Questions for discussion and applications to practice are included in each chapter making this collection of interest to public affairs master's and doctoral students as well as public service practitioners.

About the Author

Amanda M. Olejarski teaches public administration courses at the University of Central Florida. She serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Public Integrity. Her research has been published in the top public administration journals, and she is the author of several books on ethical decision-making including Ethics for Contemporary Bureaucrats (Routledge, 2020).

Sue M. Neal is Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Arkansas State University, USA. She is the Cofounder of the Veterinary Care Accessibility Project, a research nonprofit aimed at improving animal welfare in the United States and beyond. She was employed for over two decades as an executive director in the nonprofit sector and has done extensive research consulting for a number of national animal welfare organizations. Her research interests include ethics in the public sector and animal welfare, and her work has appeared in a number of journals. Dr. Neal serves as the Managing Editor of the journal Public Integrity.

Reviews

"This ambitious collection succeeds in providing fresh ethical perspectives to the field of public administration, perennial value concerns about public service, and contemporary problems. Olejarski (Univ. of Central Florida) and Neal (Arkansas State Univ.), the editor-in-chief and managing editor of Public Integrity, have brought together outstanding contributors to offer deeply insightful essays. Each chapter includes purposeful questions for practitioners to consider. Recommended for doctoral and advanced master's students. Faculty will find this volume to be an invaluable instructional and scholarly resource."

M. L. Godwin, University of La Verne, USA

"High praise for the new book which addresses the importance of different public service approaches. Empowering Public Administrators: Ethics and Public Services Values is a must read book for anyone wanting to understand the complexities, nuances and the creation of public service approaches from ontology and epistemology perspectives. Olejarksi and Neal have sagely assembled a collection of chapters that are both thought-provoking and also very useful from an organizational level."

Richard Greggory Johnson III, University of San Francisco, USA

Book Information
ISBN 9781032651828
Author Amanda M. Olejarski
Format Hardback
Page Count 384
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g