“Principles, Values, and Assumptions Underlying “Good Public Management’” by John Kamensky, NAPA Fellow


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Executive Summary

The definition of “good public management” is premised on a set of underlying principles, values and assumptions. There is no consensus on what these might be. Past government management reform efforts were rooted in different principles, values and assumptions that reflected the president’s perceptions of how the world works and how other people behave, the trends of the day in the private sector, or the political environment.

This issue paper offers a framework for understanding the various perspectives and competing advice a president may receive in regard to developing his management improvement agenda.

At least four different perspectives “good public management” have served as the unstated underpinnings of reform efforts undertaken over the past 50 years:

• The “state,” or traditional hierarchical, perspective sees public administration from the standpoint of centralized, integrated control by the president.

• The market-based perspective sees public administration relying on commercial management approaches such as competition, choice, customers, incentives, and contracts.

• The civil society perspective sees society as being comprised of voluntary civic and social organizations that act collectively on behalf of the larger community.

• The collaborative perspective has adapted approaches from the previous three perspectives. It is based on the development of common goals and extended, or peer-to-peer, relationships across hierarchical boundaries.

Each of these perspectives reflects different management approaches and potential new initiatives. For example, advocates of the traditional hierarchical perspective would advocate stronger central controls as an approach to increasing accountability while the collaborative perspective would advocate stronger transparency as a preferred approach for achieving increased accountability.

The author recommends that the next President define and articulate a set of management operating principles early in his Administration and communicate them clearly to his political appointees as a framework for action. These principles should then be used to guide the supporting institutional framework in the Executive Office of the President.

Related Resources

EOM Panel Minutes:
Topic presented at EOM Panel on October 20, 2006.

Associated Presentation Materials:
What Are The Values, Principles, And Assumptions Underlying Any Assessment of Presidential Management Capacities To Address Challenges Of The 21st Century, presented by John Kamensky and Ron Moe to EOM Panel, 10/20/06

Other Related NAPA Materials:
See related EOM  issue paper, “The President Needs Help:  A Proposed Office of Federal Management,” by Academy Fellow Ronald Moe.(establish hotlink once this issue paper is available)