The Future Of Public Administration:

21 Pages 5186 Words

The Future of Public Administration:
Challenges to Democracy, Citizenship, and Ethics

Abstract:

This paper examines several trends likely to affect the field of public administration over the coming two decades. Implications of these trends for the internal management of public organizations and for the relationship between public officials and citizens are considered. It becomes apparent that new skills and abilities will be required for public servants of the future.

Introduction:

In this article, I would like to explore some of the conditions under which public managers will operate in the future, some of the areas of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they will be required to possess, and some of the pathways public managers might explore in order to move toward that future. I will begin by suggesting five challenges that will likely face the top public managers of the next century, challenges that will affect all sectors of society, but that will be of particular importance to those in the public service. I will then examine two important directions that public administration will likely take in the future.

First, let us examine some of the trends that will affect the field of public administration over the coming decades. In each case, I will state the trend rather broadly, but I will restrict my comments to the implications for the public service. I would suggest the following:

1. An extraordinary explosion of new knowledge and technological innovations, especially in the areas of information sciences, genetics, materials, instrumentation, automation, and space. This point is so obvious that initially it may appear trite. But I want to suggest two aspects of this problem or this opportunity that make it important for public managers. First, there is no question that we live in an age of extraordinary technological change. Twenty five years ago, the computing power that now sits on your desk or even in your ...