Rational Gridlock

By (author) Patrick B. Edgar

Not available to order

Publication date:

20 May 2011

Length of book:

176 pages

Publisher

UPA

ISBN-13: 9780761851660

The citizens of the United States love to hate their own government, and much of the disdain is particularly directed at the bureaucrats. Part of the problem is contained within the idea of bureaucracy itself. Most government agencies operate under a rational system which results in the 'victory of process over outcome.' Rational Gridlock describes how this rationality undermines our ability to solve problems or to gain the confidence of the general public. The author offers suggestions of how we can change the bureaucratic environment into one that appreciates the creative abilities of all its members, without the false premise of operating government like a business. Drawing upon the ideas found in an unexpected source, Chaos Theory, leaders in the public sector are called to a more interactive, sensible set of strategies. No matter how skilled public administrators may be, they cannot expect to be admired by the public until the respect is mutual.
In this book, Edgar (Southern Arkansas Univ.) reviews existing models of bureaucratic organization and suggests ways to improve the effectiveness and responsiveness of bureaucracies. Broadly critiquing the basic paradigm behind strategies of administration, which he terms rational, Edgar suggests instead that bureaucratic actors look to scientific theories of chaos as the basis for agency operation and organization. The author makes an admirable attempt to systematize and categorize different means of organizing an administrative system, and wisely draws from his experiences as a consultant and upon an impressive array of research from the natural and social sciences. However, the book gets bogged down in reviews of the literature and details of organizational design, and the effort to tie the subject to broader issues of political disillusionment is unsuccessful. The result is a somewhat confusing medley of theory, history, literature review, and case studies. Nonetheless, the book may serve as a useful introduction to theories of public administration.