JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION - naspaa

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Enhancing Professional Socialization Through the Metaphor of Tradition in American MPA programs occurs much more covertly and haphazardly. To own up to the fact that we are, in a very real sense, indoctrinating students of public administration in competing political philosophies, and to combat the confusion created in its wake, professional socialization and role-taking must become a more intentional choice-making activity. “Taking conscious responsibility for the socialization process will become imperative in tomorrow’s organizations” (Bennis, 1967, p.15). As sagely noted elsewhere, the various theories in our field “present important choices for students trying to develop a personal philosophy of public administration” (R.B. Denhardt, 2000, p.iii). Theories help clarify the normative ethos at play in the field, in a given organization, and in an administrator’s own organizational experience (Harmon & Mayer, 1986). “When we take on the mantle of public service, it is important to know not only who we serve, but to which tradition we are committed, what moral principles this tradition upholds, and what attitudes it engenders” (Stout, 2006, p.620). The metaphor of tradition provides a pedagogical structure through which faculty can organize competing theories and ideas. Student choices among traditions can then provide a framework for reflexive attempts to understand, and endeavors to act effectively (Arendt, 1978; Stivers, 2000c, 2003). APPLICATION TO CURRICULUM Applying the model proposed here, the different PA traditions offer an organizing framework for many topics in the field, which keeps the question of legitimacy visible through coherent sets. Whether it is through a foundations course that covers the landscape of the field in an overview, or through individual courses that provide depth of knowledge in specific elements of practice, the traditions can provide useful framing that always can be linked back to the legitimacy question of “Who’s in charge” Using the NASPAA (2007) accreditation guidelines, let us consider in brief the most likely common topics of MPA study: 1. Political and legal institutions and processes, 2. Economic and social institutions and processes, 3. Organization and management concepts and behavior, 4. Human resources management, 5. Public policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation, 6. Decision-making and problem-solving, 7. Quantitative and qualitative techniques of analysis, 8. Budgeting and financial processes, and 9. Information management, technology applications, and policy. Here, these topics will be grouped into related sets and, referring back to Table 1, a sketch will be offered of how the traditions might help organize typical course content. 306 Journal of Public Affairs Education
Enhancing Professional Socialization Through the Metaphor of Tradition Institutions and Processes of Political Economy In regard to political, legal, economic, and social institutions and processes, the three traditions have fundamentally different interpretations of appropriateness. In foundations courses, it is common to cover the legal and political aspect of the field, and how public administration fits into the larger political economy—including civil society. Through these topics, typical discussions focus on political philosophy, political economy, and constitutional structures and processes. However, what one professor described as “putting a lot of balls into the air” can be transformed from juggling lists of discrete philosophical perspectives, theories, and institutional structures into coherent sets of related ideas about these institutions and practices. The Constitutional tradition assumes a representative political state that is guided by a conservative version of classical liberalism. It envisions a mixed economy, where capitalism is constrained by government in order to achieve the common good. Governance occurs through government agencies, which are controlled through hierarchical authority, procedures, and a functional differentiation in which administrators serve the representative political system. The citizen is conceived of as an abstraction called “taxpayer” or “voter.” Interactions are based on political mandates, plus rules and procedures that require equal treatment of all recipients of government services. Civil society is considered the domain of the citizens, who influence government only through formal processes that are constitutionally allowed. The Discretionary tradition assumes an administrative state that is guided by modern liberalism, which to a large degree makes the political system symbolic in nature. It envisions free-market capitalism that is minimally constrained by government. In fact, there is a blurring of boundaries between private and public sectors through the process of contracting out government work, while leaving remaining government functions in the hands of expert public administrators. This use of discretion and outsourcing is made accountable through the use of outcome objectives, including sometimes competing ideals of efficiency, effectiveness, equity, and ethics. It is the responsibility of expert practitioners to assure that these objectives are met. Here, citizens are treated as customers or clients, and interactions are based on principles of exchange. Both civil and political processes take on the pluralist, competitive model borrowed from theories of efficient economic markets. The Collaborative tradition calls for a radical, fully democratic political economy, where political and market activities are self-governing in nature. Governance thus occurs through fluid, egalitarian networks of concerned individuals, regardless of social sector or role. Ultimately, roles such as politician and public administrator would be dissolved into the role of citizen. Again, there are many possible interpretations of what these social institutions and rules of engagement can or should look like. Some theories draw from workplace Journal of Public Affairs Education 307
Page 1 and 2: Summer 2009 Volume 15, No. 3 JPAE J
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