Janet V. Denhardt

The New Public Service: Serving Rather than Steering

The New Public Management has championed a vision of public managers as the entrepreneurs of a new, leaner, and increasingly privatized government, emulating not only the practices but also the values of business. Proponents of the New Public Management have developed their arguments largely through contrasts with the old public administration. In this comparison, the New Public Management will, of course, always win. We argue here that the better contrast is with what we call the “New Public Service,” a movement built on work in democratic citizenship, community and civil society, and organizational humanism and discourse theory. We suggest seven principles of the New Public Service, most notably that the primary role of the public servant is to help citizens articulate and meet their shared interests rather than to attempt to control or steer society.

The Role of Democratic Values in Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders are typically seen as visionaries and catalysts of organizational change. Although organizational change is important, the transformational leadership model is vitally important and relevant to the public sector in ways that are not accounted for in this model. This article builds on and extends existing literature by identifying the key normative elements of a public sector transformational leadership model. Specifically, it focuses on why transformational leadership in the public sector should explicitly address democratic norms and the role of citizens and citizenship in both formulating and realizing shared goals.

THE NEW PUBLIC SERVICE: AN APPROACH TO REFORM

Under evolving forms of governance, government will play a different role in the steering of society. Yet government will still be judged by legal and political criteria, economic and market criteria, and democratic and social criteria. The first of these was central to traditional public administration, the second is at the forefront of “the new public management,” and the third is central to “the new public service.” Here we outline the characteristics of the new public service and how its principles will guide future public administrators.

Barriers to Citizen Engagement in Developing Countries

Abstract Developing countries often face distinct and formidable challenges in their efforts to build citizen engagement and democratic governance processes. In this article, we examine these challenges and consider how they relate to international efforts to foster democratic governance in developing countries. We consider the impact on developing nations of external incentives, the absence of democratic culture and civil society, profound poverty, time pressures and demands for immediate results, and the lack of an institutional infrastructure. We find that existing international aid programs may, in some instances, actually work to thwart citizen engagement efforts. We conclude by suggesting how a realistic recognition of the barriers to citizen engagement in developing countries can inform international efforts to foster democratic governance.

Community Policing and Community Building: A Case Study of Officer Perceptions

This research uses the responses from more than 500 officers serving a Midwestern city to understand their perceptions of themselves, fellow officers, the police department, neighborhood organizations, and the larger community in relation to community policing. Based on this data, the authors explore how community policing might be used to create a greater convergence of purpose among citizens, neighborhoods, organizations, and the broader well-being of the community. Findings indicate that officers doubt the ability of citizens to rise above their own self-interest, but they think that they and their fellow officers can do so. Furthermore, findings suggest the need for an overarching community agenda to prevent neighborhoods from becoming “civic cocoons” and to promote convergence of purpose between neighborhoods and the broader community. Finally, this research suggests that police departments that engage in transparent decision making that carefully balances departmental and community interests are better able to encourage this collaboration.

Leadership Education in Public Administration: Finding the Fit between Purpose and Approach

Abstract This article asserts that leadership education programs can be strengthened by questioning assumptions about the nature of leadership and the skills it requires and by using pedagogical approaches that are a good fit with the knowledge and skills students are expected to master. The authors argue that differing views and assumptions about leadership and how it can be practiced successfully may suggest different educational approaches. The authors address four approaches to public sector leadership—trait, situational, transformational, and value-based—and compare the skills and abilities, representative literature, and teaching techniques associated with each approach; they argue that value-based leadership is particularly important in developing a model for public leadership education. They also consider whether special leadership responsibilities and approaches derive from the public sector context, and, if so, how public affairs educators might infuse leadership education with these elements.