Paradigm no doubt is an overworked word Nevertheless it is a useful one because there is no other term that conveys the concept of a field's self-identity and the changing dynamics of a field's self-identity and the changing dynamics of that identity. Paradigmatic questions are of especial significance in public administration. With approximately 90 per cent of all advanced degree graduates in public administration going into government employment with roughly one-in-six nembers of the American labor force working for one government or another and with administrative-profession-technical personnel the major growth factor in public service hiring practices it follows that the way in which public administration defines itself will determine to a profound degree the manner in which goverment works. It