Distinct Contributions of the Comparative
Approach
“Interest in the comparative study of administration
across national boundaries, which gained momentum in
the middle of the century, soon made apparent the inadequacies
of a narrow culture-bound definition of public
administration” (Heady 2001, 3). Since the 1960s, comparative
public administration has been instrumental in
advancing knowledge in the following areas.
Construction of Typologies
A typology is an attempt to classify extensive data according
to some basic criteria or distinctive feature of the
systems under study. This practice is not new. In fact, one
of the most famous and frequently discussed typologies in
the literature is Max Weber’s ideal type, which organized
certain elements of reality into a logically consistent conception.
Weber used these generalized types of authority
systems to understand society as subject to lawful regularities.
Each of his three historical types of authority systems
(traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational) has a distinct
pattern of staffing and employment.