Mission Mystique: Belief Systems in Public Agencies (Kettl Series)


Product Description
In an era filled with mistrust for big government and big business, Charles Goodsell goes against this grain to draw attention to public agencies admired for what they do and how well they do it. In his groundbreaking new book, Goodsell places renewed focus on organizational mission and its potential to be a strong energizing force in government—one that animates a workforce internally and attracts admiration and talent externally. He offers a normative template for the mystique that underlies this phenomenon and highlights� �in six rich case studies—a driving sense of purpose, a cultural and motivational richness, and a capacity for tolerating dissent while still innovating and learning. Analyzing what works best (and what doesn ��t), Goodsell provides a metric through which agency mystique can be evaluated and modeled.
Goodsell � s fresh take on public agencies not only defines good public administration in terms of ethical conduct, constitutional accountability, and performance effectiveness, but argues that the field must add the crucial standard of institutional vitality.
</p>Mission Mystique: Belief Systems in Public Agencies (Kettl Series) Review
Charles Goodsell is a well regarded student of public administration. In this book, he addresses the importance of mission and belief systems in creating excellence in government agencies. The concept for the book came about as a result of a discussion between Goodsell and a former student of his. Goodsell wondered why the National Park Service had such a good reputation (along with the Fish and Wildlife Service). Two major ideas underlie the book: (1) "mission mystique," (page xi) ". . .the notion that truly exceptional public agencies possess a radiating aura of special importance and excitement that derives from the substantive nature of the work they do and how they do it"; (2) a typology of attributes helping to define an agency "belief system" (see page 14 for the template). To get a better sense of facts on the ground, Goodsell conducted interviews with many people.He applies his framework to a number of agencies: National Park Service, National Weather Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Social Services in Mecklenburg County (NC), Virginia State Police, and the U. S. Peace Corps.
Goodsell's efforts are directed at showing what separates these organizations apart from others. The final chapter rates each of the agencies studied on the nine characteristics from his template. Overall, each agency does well. Some interesting factoids (from Table 8.1 on page 251): (a) All of the agencies are given top marks for mission and for reputation. He concludes by discussing the implications of his research for public administration.
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