John Clayton Thomas

This book is designed to describe the special tasks, talents, and tools for leading in the pursuit of the public good, especially but not exclusively in the public sector. Despite a glut of books on leadership, no other book to date has attempted to speak to the specific challenges and strategies for leadership that focuses on improving the lot of society as a whole.Leading for the Common Good is designed for current and prospective managers whose work focuses at least in part on creating public value, that is, on improving society as a whole. Many of those managers work in the public sector, but many also work in the nonprofit sector or in parts of the private sector with a particular interest in public goods (e.g., environmental planning, private education). Many of these managers will work in all of these sectors over the course of their careers, always with a concern for how their efforts contribute to the larger community.This book will explore the distinctive nature of public service leadership with an eye toward serving at least two purposes: (1) to develop a better understanding of the nature of public service leadership, including when and where it is desirable, and (2) to assist practicing and potential public service leaders in carrying out their leadership roles.The book will include occasional boxed profiles of specific managers who have excelled in the pursuit of public value. These profiles will be used both to illustrate points from specific chapters and to demonstrate the difference that committed managers can make.The principal markets for the book are likely to be (1) master’s students in public administration or public policy, (2) advanced undergraduates in public policy, public administration, etc., and (3) practicing public administrators.

This book is designed to describe the special tasks, talents, and tools for leading in the pursuit of the public good, especially but not exclusively in the public sector. Despite a glut of books on leadership, no other book to date has attempted to speak to the specific challenges and strategies for leadership that focuses on improving the lot of society as a whole.Leading for the Common Good is designed for current and prospective managers whose work focuses at least in part on creating public value, that is, on improving society as a whole. Many of those managers work in the public sector, but many also work in the nonprofit sector or in parts of the private sector with a particular interest in public goods (e.g., environmental planning, private education). Many of these managers will work in all of these sectors over the course of their careers, always with a concern for how their efforts contribute to the larger community.This book will explore the distinctive nature of public service leadership with an eye toward serving at least two purposes: (1) to develop a better understanding of the nature of public service leadership, including when and where it is desirable, and (2) to assist practicing and potential public service leaders in carrying out their leadership roles.The book will include occasional boxed profiles of specific managers who have excelled in the pursuit of public value. These profiles will be used both to illustrate points from specific chapters and to demonstrate the difference that committed managers can make.The principal markets for the book are likely to be (1) master’s students in public administration or public policy, (2) advanced undergraduates in public policy, public administration, etc., and (3) practicing public administrators.

For almost a half a century, scholars and practitioners have debated what the connections should be between public administration and the public. Does the public serve principally as citizen-owners, those to whom administrators are responsible? Are members of the public more appropriately viewed as the customers of government? Or, in an increasingly networked world, do they serve more as the partners of public administrators in the production of public services?This book starts from the premise that the public comes to government not principally in one role but in all three roles, as citizens and customers and partners. The purpose of the book is to address the dual challenge that reality implies: (1) to help public administrators and other public officials to understand the complex nature of the public they face, and (2) to provide recommendations for how public administrators can most effectively interact with the public in the different roles. Using this comprehensive perspective, Citizen, Customer, Partner helps students, practitioners, and scholars understand when and how the public should be integrated into the practice of public administration.Most chapters in Citizen, Customer, Partner include multiple boxed cases that illustrate the chapter’s content with real-world examples. The book concludes with an extremely useful Appendix that collects and summarizes the 40 Design Principles – specific advice for public organizations on working with the public as customers, partners, and citizens.

For almost a half a century, scholars and practitioners have debated what the connections should be between public administration and the public. Does the public serve principally as citizen-owners, those to whom administrators are responsible? Are members of the public more appropriately viewed as the customers of government? Or, in an increasingly networked world, do they serve more as the partners of public administrators in the production of public services?This book starts from the premise that the public comes to government not principally in one role but in all three roles, as citizens and customers and partners. The purpose of the book is to address the dual challenge that reality implies: (1) to help public administrators and other public officials to understand the complex nature of the public they face, and (2) to provide recommendations for how public administrators can most effectively interact with the public in the different roles. Using this comprehensive perspective, Citizen, Customer, Partner helps students, practitioners, and scholars understand when and how the public should be integrated into the practice of public administration.Most chapters in Citizen, Customer, Partner include multiple boxed cases that illustrate the chapter’s content with real-world examples. The book concludes with an extremely useful Appendix that collects and summarizes the 40 Design Principles – specific advice for public organizations on working with the public as customers, partners, and citizens.

This straightforward and practical guide outlines a strategic approach to public involvement in government decision making. Prepares public managers for the difficult task of involving citizens more fully in the affairs of government while maintaining effectiveness and efficiency. Written in easy-to-understand terms, Public Participation in Public Decisions presents the Effective Decision Model of Public Involvement that managers will find to be an invaluable asset when making decisions about when and how to involve the public.