As H. George Frederickson makes clear in this satirical exploration of the world of public administration being serialized on Governing.com, bureaucrats and those critical of bureaucrats take themselves too seriously. With humor and wit, Frederickson has created an authentic and essential guide for those who aspire to serve the public.
In "Up the Bureaucracy," we meet the public administration twins, city managers Knute and Thor Bjunglesson. Knute is a rather deliberate, careful administrator, whereas his brother is a creative manager, applying cutting-edge and innovative practices to administration. Thor claims to be the only professional public administrator licensed to do body piercing.
Together Knute and Thor dispense advice to help the hapless manager flourish in the halls of bureaucracy and ultimately do good. Through lessons on how to navigate "political time" to learning to speak Bureaucrat, Frederickson teaches that the solution lays somewhere between the stereotypes. Government shouldn't be run like a business. Citizens aren't customers. In fact, they are owners. Nor should government be bogged down in red tape. It needs to be innovative, efficient and flexible. "Up the Bureaucracy" is more than just the humorous adventures of Knute and Thor. It's an insider's guide to organizational success. Read it to succeed. At the same time, read it to laugh.
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H. George Frederickson is the Edwin O. Stene Distinguished Professor of Public Administration at the University of Kansas. During the 2003-2004 academic year he was the John G. Winant Visiting Professor of American Government at the University of Oxford and a Fellow at Balliol College. He is President Emeritus of Eastern Washington University. He has received the Gaus, Waldo, Levine, and Distinguished Research awards. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory and the co-author of "The Public Administration Theory Primer" and "The Adapted City: Institutional Dynamics and Structural Change." In 1990 he served as a Distinguished Fulbright Lecturer in the Republic of Korea.
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