Product Description

"This is an important work, especially in these times when administrative ethics are getting more attention. It is readable and timely."
--The Journal of Academic Librarianship

Since its original publication, The Responsible Administrator has become the standard resource for public administrators seeking to systematically confront and address ethical issues and incorporate them into their decision-making and management choices. In administrative ethics courses, according to the Working Group on Ethics Education of the American Society for Public Administration, the single most commonly used book is Terry Cooper's The Responsible Administrator.

In this thoroughly revised and updated fourth edition, Cooper expands on and uncovers many current issues relevant to administrative ethics. He presents a design approach to administrative ethics, emphasizing the connection between decision making and actual practice within an organization. Cooper offers new insight on postmodernism, explaining how the problems organizations now face have been intensified by postmodern conditions, and describes the relationship between ethics and the emerging principal-agent theory. The new edition also features a large number of up-to-date case studies and examples.

The theoretical framework presented in this powerful resource is clearly grounded in practice. Featured techniques help managers consider all the factors involved in a decision, ensuring that they balance professional, personal, and organizational values. The case studies and examples in this edition illustrate the techniques that work and those that don't.

The Responsible Administrator helps both experienced and novice public managers become effective decision makers, providing them with a solid understanding of the role and importance of ethics in public service-and the framework to incorporate ethical and values-based decision making in day-to-day management.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #764293 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-21
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Review
"This is an important work, especially in these times when administrative ethics are getting more attention. It is readable and timely; recommended for all academic libraries." (The Journal of Academic Librarianship)

"While there is a wide range of good books and articles on ethics in public administration, the best is Terry Cooper's The Responsible Administrator." (H. George Frederickson, Edwin O. Stene Professor of Public Administration, University of Kansas, Praise from the Third Edition)

"The Responsible Administrator is a book of lasting significance. It is at once theoretically sophisticated and practically useful. . . . for both the scholar and the manager." (James Bowman, professor of public administration, Florida State University, Praise from the Third Edition)

"When I taught Ethical Problems in Public Administration I found The Responsible Administrator the most 'teachable' of the books available because it provided a balanced menu of cases, information, analysis, and theory. I am pleased to see the work further developed and enriched." (Dwight Waldo, professor emeritus, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University, Praise from the Third Edition)

"A cogent and well organized piece of work. Overall, this book is an excellent piece of scholarship. The writing style is clear and concise. "The strength of this book is its ability to integrate rather difficult philosophical and moral questions with good case studies. I know of no other book that achieves these goals as well. "In sum, both pre-service students and practitioners will be enriched by being exposed to this important book." (Curtis Ventriss, associate professor of public administration, University of Vermont, Praise from the Third Edition)

Review
“Cooper’s fifth edition is the definitive text for students and practitioners who want to have a successful administrative career. Moral reasoning, as Cooper so adeptly points out, is essential in today’s rapidly changing and complex global environment.”--Donald C. Menzel, Ph.D., president, American Society for Public Administration; professor emeritus, public administration, Northern Illinois University

“The Responsible Administrator is at once the most sophisticated and the most practical book available on public sector ethics. It is conceptually clear and jargon-free, which is extraordinary among books on administrative ethics.”--H. George Frederickson, Stone Distinguished Professor of Public Administration, University of Kansas

“Remarkably effective in linking the science of what should be done with a prescriptive for how to actually do it, the fifth edition of Cooper’s book keeps pace with the dynamic changes in the field, both for those who study it and those who practice it. The information presented in these pages can be found nowhere else, and it is information we cannot ethically afford to ignore.”--Carole L. Jurkiewicz, Ph.D., John W. Dupuy Endowed Professor, Woman’s Hospital Distinguished Professor of Healthcare Management, Louisiana State University, E. J. Ourso College of Business Administration, Public Administration Institute

“After a quarter of a century in print and five editions, it is time to name Terry Cooper’s The Responsible Administrator a classic, not only in the field of public service ethics, but in the broader domain of public policy and administration as well. As useful and enlightening as it was when first published in the Reagan era, this new edition works well for a post 9/11 public service with its strong emphasis on the design approach to ethics.”--Guy B. Adams, professor and associate director, Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs, University of Missouri–Columbia

About the Author
TERRY L. COOPER is The Maria B. Crutcher Professor in Citizenship and Democratic Values at the School of Public Administration, University of Southern California. During 1988-1989, he was a Fulbright professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he lectured and conducted research on the anticipatory responses of Hong Kong senior civil servants to the transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997.

Customer Reviews

The Responsible Administrator
This text should be required for all students studying public administration, whether at the undergraduate or graduate level. It offers relevant and practical solutions to local, state, national and global problems. Students and practitioners of public administration will encounter a new landscape that informs them of how to be an active and effective citizen in the governance of the US government from all levels of government. It is simply a good read. Terry Cooper knows the importance of combining scientific and normative values in the administration of our governments.The Responsible Administrator: An Approach to Ethics for the Administrative Role

Good Review
I received this book in a timely manner. It was in good condition. The readings in it were a nice look at ethics in Public Administration.

The most thought-provoking nap I've ever taken
To countereffect the wordiness of the author, I'll keep this brief. This is a thought-provoking read, and as an administrator I will take much of this book to heart. In many respects it will be life- or at least job-altering. For that, I am very pleased.

The painful part was actually getting through the book. It is very dryly written, with pretentious language and lacking clear outline. Truly painful.

I found the first couple chapters agonizing. Then the author hit his stride and offered a lot of valuable insight. I wish it had been written in plain english rather than all the superfluous fluff. We already know you're smart: now tell us what you are trying to say.