Chapter 2 considers theories of political control over bureaucracy. From the
beginning of the field, a fundamental debate has questioned the appropriate range
of discretion for bureaucrats in a democratic polity. Contemporary research on
this subject has contributed to the development of political control theory. Chapter
treats the subject of bureaucracy as theories of bureaucratic politics, a lively
and popular body of theory that particularly reflects the contributions and influence
of political science. Chapter takes up the subject of the houses in which
public administration happens, the formal and informal organizational structures
of organizations. Over the past thirty years, this body of theory has changed dramatically—
from organization theory to institutional theory. Chapter changes
the analysis from the houses of public administration to the management of work
in those houses. Management theory is a body of work that is not only rather old,
as in scientific management, but is also very new, as in contemporary theories ofleadership and Total Quality Management, or is still being developed, as in recent
descriptions of shadow bureaucracy and the hollow state. Chapter is a discussion
of postpositivist and postmodern public administration theory. This body of theory
is most heavily influenced by contemporary sociology and by trends in philosophy.
Of the theories considered herein, postmodern theory is the most
normative. Chapter is a consideration of decision and action theory. This body
of theory is a primary bridge to other, similar fields, such as planning, business
administration, and operations research. Chapter is a treatment of rational
choice theory, an influential perspective on public administration particularly reflecting
the colonization of the social sciences and public administration by economics.
Chapter takes up the newest theoretical perspective in public
administration: governance, including the trend toward the hollowing out of the
state. The eight chapters set out the essential details of each of these theories, suggesting
that each is an important part of public administration. The final chapter
puts these parts together and attempts to describe and to understand public administration
theory in its entirety.