1. According to the text, public administration can be described as a “paradox.” There is

“an enduring sense that public bureaucracy is a large, immovable object,  and a fundamental belief that top executives need to produce deep, constant change. Few elected officials champion the cause of public administration per se, but no official can ignore the imperative to make public programs work.”

What do you think of this paradox in American public administration? Is it ultimately something that undermines or strengthens American government?

2. Where does the American commitment to governmental reform stem from? How does this compare with governments abroad? In your opinion, what is motivating this American movement now?

3. Define downsizing, which is one approach to governmental reform. How did citizens instigate this movement? What levels of government have utilized this approach? Has downsizing been effective? When do you think downsizing should be implemented?

4. Discuss the 2010 Pew Center on the States and Public Policy survey cited in the text where residents of the five most financially distressed states commented on their distrust of government yet their high expectations of that government. What do you think of these incongruities?

5. Define reengineering, which is another approach to governmental reform. How have H. George Frederickson or others criticized reengineering? How did President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush react to this approach? When do you think reengineering should be implemented?

6. Define continuous improvement, which is another approach to governmental reform. What is total quality management? How did Vice President Al Gore respond to the approach of continuous improvement? When do you think continuous improvement should be implemented?

7. How do the fundamental precepts of each approach to reform conflict with each other? Is it possible to mix approaches? Have reformers mixed these approaches? Why do you think these approaches have been borrowed from the private sector? What are the benefits and drawbacks of these approaches coming from the private sector?

8. Why is administration in a constant state of change? Why do you think the United States in particular has been devoted to altering its administrative apparatus to make the system work ever better? What implications does it have that one of the oldest constitutional democracies is constantly changing the way it functions?

9. Which of the three major administrative reform strategies—downsizing, reengineering, or continuous improvement do you find to be the most compelling and why? What are the weaknesses inherent in the other two?

10. Why do you think the private sector has so much influence on government, especially when it comes to reform? How does the public perceive the private sector? How has this changed over time? What could account for these changing perceptions?