Saskatchewan Practice of Public Administration in Historical Perspective
| Author: | McLaren, Robert | |
| Year: | 1997 | |
| Pages: | 240 | |
| ISBN: | 0-7734-8445-0 978-0-7734-8445-0 | |
| Price: | $179.95 + shipping | |
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This book combines two themes: the normative theory of how public administration should be conducted, with the descriptive practice of how the public service of Saskatchewan has conducted itself. Each chapter presents one or several of the main public administration concerns, explaining the differing perspectives on how and why public service could and should be provided. It then uses a recognizable period in Saskatchewan's history to illustrate the decisions that were made to implement these theories, why they were made, and the results.
Reviews
"This book fills a large gap and will be of interest not only to those with a particular interest in Saskatchewan, but also those who are interested in broader issues of the development of provincial public administration. . . . McLaren is particularly strong in the area where provincial bureaucracies receive the most criticism - patronage. He deals with this crucial aspect of bureaucratic modernization with original historical scholarship and contemporary theorizing, which will be of interest to both historians of the post-war and those with an interest in the development of the modern bureaucratic state." - Kenneth Rasmussen
"McLaren provides both a good historical description of the various innovations and an analysis of the genesis and future effect of those innovations. This book will be very useful to both students and practitioners. It is written in a clear and readable style. Because McLaren has done such a good job of weaving together key events and people who were instrumental in them, this book has a vitality which is seldom found in works of public administration. I highly recommend this book as a significant contribution to the literature on the history of public administration." - David Siegel
"McLaren provides both a good historical description of the various innovations and an analysis of the genesis and future effect of those innovations. This book will be very useful to both students and practitioners. It is written in a clear and readable style. Because McLaren has done such a good job of weaving together key events and people who were instrumental in them, this book has a vitality which is seldom found in works of public administration. I highly recommend this book as a significant contribution to the literature on the history of public administration." - David Siegel
Table of Contents
Table of Contents:
Getting Started (definitions; initial departmental organization; Public Service Act, 1906)
Programs and Patronage to Develop a Province (instruments of government; organizing government departments; initial Saskatchewan programs; fraud and whistle-blowing; patronage; Civil Service Act, 1913)
Facing the Great Depression (the periods of federalism in Canada; local government; the Co-operative Government; program management and evaluation; public finance in a depression)
Merit and Unionization (the Coldwell Commission; Public Service Act, 1930; merit staffing; bonus payments to public servants; career versus position-classification systems; Public Service Act, 1947; unionization)
Creating the Saskatchewan Welfare State (good public administration through selection and training, plans and management, resources and political support; the Saskatchewan Welfare State; Crown corporations and the GFO)
Efficiency and the Royal Commission of 1965 (the Saskatchewan Public Administration Fund; types of governmental efficiency; the Government Purchasing Agency)
Public Servants and Public Policy (the Westminster Model of public service; the Finer-Friedrich debate; the minister-department relationship; delegated legislation)
The New Public Management (downsizing; decentralization)
Epilogue, Bibliography
Getting Started (definitions; initial departmental organization; Public Service Act, 1906)
Programs and Patronage to Develop a Province (instruments of government; organizing government departments; initial Saskatchewan programs; fraud and whistle-blowing; patronage; Civil Service Act, 1913)
Facing the Great Depression (the periods of federalism in Canada; local government; the Co-operative Government; program management and evaluation; public finance in a depression)
Merit and Unionization (the Coldwell Commission; Public Service Act, 1930; merit staffing; bonus payments to public servants; career versus position-classification systems; Public Service Act, 1947; unionization)
Creating the Saskatchewan Welfare State (good public administration through selection and training, plans and management, resources and political support; the Saskatchewan Welfare State; Crown corporations and the GFO)
Efficiency and the Royal Commission of 1965 (the Saskatchewan Public Administration Fund; types of governmental efficiency; the Government Purchasing Agency)
Public Servants and Public Policy (the Westminster Model of public service; the Finer-Friedrich debate; the minister-department relationship; delegated legislation)
The New Public Management (downsizing; decentralization)
Epilogue, Bibliography