Raymond W. Cox

Tacit Knowledge and Discretionary Judgment

The goal of this analysis is to define the individual and organizational parameters within which the ethical exercise of discretion may occur. The application of tacit knowledge is the introduction of judgment prior to deciding. Discretionary judgment is not an assignment or position. It is not the product of explicit knowledge. It cannot be delegated based upon explicit criteria. But it will emerge from the practices and activities of tacitly defined informal networks.

Seeding the Clouds for the Perfect Storm: A Commentary on the Current Fiscal Crisis

When the National Conference of State Legislatures (Pound 2009) issued its report on the fiscal condition of states in February 2009, few would have guessed how much worse conditions would be by the fall. With national unemployment hovering around 10 percent, trending upward toward 14 percent in some states and nearly 20 percent in some metropolitan areas, it is little wonder that journalists call this the Great Recession. The benchmark is no longer how bad things are in comparison with the recession of 1981-83 but rather how bad things are in compari son with the 1930s. For a variety of reasons, the comparisons to neither the 1980s nor the 1930s are useful. Many of the negative statistics can be compared and found to be similar. Unfortunately, many of the policy mechanisms that helped address the fiscal crisis in cities and states in the 1970s and

MPA as management education

The central theme of this article is that we have not adequately addressed the question of teaching management. The academic community has done a better job of preparing persons for technical/professional positions in personnel, budgeting and policy analysis. This failure to address the problem of teaching management leaves students (particularly mid-career students) without a foundation for understanding their role as managers. Given that so many MPA students aspire to be managers, it is time we faced this failure and sought means to correct it. The article suggests a framework to understand and promote public management education. The central argument is to direct management education toward those factors which reflect the public values which underlie the concept of governance. Toward that end public management education must reflect three elements: 1) the political and ethical foundations of publicness, 2) the examination of the practice of management in public organizations, and 3) the skills needed t...

Exploring the Trust Question in the Midst of Public Management Reforms

This article explored the dynamics of interpersonal trust relationship between political appointees and career managers. Premised on the contemporary public management reforms at the state level, the article found a relatively limited level of interpersonal trust from the perspectives of career managers, and that correlated positively with managerial variables such as flexibility of discretion, participatory management, communication, and commitment. A simple regression analysis, complemented with qualitative data analysis, revealed that managerial variables such as flexibility of discretion, communication, and length of service have significant implications for a trustful relationship between political officeholders and career public managers, accounting for 52% of the variance in the regression model. Juxtaposing the states that have adopted radical civil service reforms and those with moderate reforms, the article found that career managers operating under the two models did not express significant difference in terms of interpersonal trust in their relationship with political appointees.

Justifying Miranda one last time

Due to the recent flurry of police incidents that have make the public paranoid and befuddled about the Constitutions guarantees for the protection for its citizens, this article reviews the efforts of the Supreme Court to redress wrongs against citizens by the police. The article examines the court cases that deal with constitutional questions as impacted by police behavior and the civil rights of citizens.

Doing less with less: The decline of american governments

Public administration has become the victim of its own success. Public policy making and problem solving during the first three decades after WWII began from an assumption that public managers had the competence to overcome policy barriers. The ʼdo more with less” slogan was a statement of professional competence. It was adopted because many believed it was an affirmation of that competence. Now it represents a fiscal demand as a scold to those who will otherwise waste the money. What the public hears is a perverse joke. The goal must be more effective governance, by approaching fiscal stability as a strategic enterprise. The potential tools for more effective services exist and are applied by governments across the globe. Yet the public clings to failed practices (NPM) that are best when dealing with short-term issues

Guidebook for Public Managers@@@The Effective Public Manager: Achieving Success in Government

Preface xi Acknowledgments xxi The Authors xxiii 1 The Perpetual Crisis in Public Management 1 2 Defining Effective Public Management 19 3 How to Find and Keep Good People 47 4 Developing Effective Working Relationships 75 5 Structuring Systems, Tasks, and Responsibilities 91 6 Understanding and Applying Innovation Strategies in the Public Sector 115 7 The Art and Craft of Contracting 141 8 Gathering, Organizing, and Using Information 155 9 Mastering the Budgetary Process 183 10 Shaping Organizational Goals and Strategies 205 11 Communicating with the Media, Stakeholders, and the Public 233 12 Surviving and Thriving in Public Service 261 References 279 Additional Resources 301 Name Index 303 Subject Index 309