New Public Administration - Minnowbrook
Perspective
Like many areas of inquiry such as psychology, sociology, and
political science public administration was also affected by the
turbulence of the Sixties and was very much shaken. The effect
of this is the emergence of the 'New Public Administration -
Minnowbrook Perspective". In the evolution of the discipline of
public administration, this is indeed a turning point.
Minnowbrook Conference
In the nineteen sixties, even though society was plagued with
numerous problems and faced several conflicts, public
administration was not bothered. There was no evidence of the
administration gauging these problems let alone solving them.
This was prominently portrayed by Dwight Waldo great scholar
of public administration in his article Public Administration in a
'Time of Revolutions. Earlier, in the conference held in
Philadelphia in December 1967 on the theory and practice of
public administration, there was a consensus regarding certain
aspects. However, sufficient representation was not given to all
the scholars and practitioners of public administration,
particularly to those belonging to the younger generation. The
Minnowbrook conference was organized in 1968 to take a
realistic view of public administration keeping in view the
contemporary situation and also to fill 'the generation gap'.
The brain behind the conference was no other than Waldo. In a
way, this was the youth conference on public administration.
This academic 'get together' led to the emergence of the
concept of New Public Administration and hence it is called
New Public Administration - Minnowbrook Perspective'.
, The theme of New public Administration mostly consists of
views expressed during the discussions at the Minnowbrook
conference. These were brought out in the form of a book by
Frank Marini. This concept was further elaborated by Dwight
Waldo in his book: ' Public Administration in a Time of
Turbulence; and it was widely popularized. In 1969, at the
American Political Science Annual Conference, some
discussions took place to woo the young scholars of public
administration. Alle 1971, no new book on New Public
Administration that is worth mentioning was published, some
What is New Public Administration?
The concept of New Public Administration launched by Dwight
Waldo represents a revolt against classical public
administration as it is not relevant to post-industrial situations. It
is a revolt against rigidity, lack of innovation, and a fight within
public administration in which process the citizen is forgotten).
It is also against the general norm to treat all the people equally
and keep the interests of the state supreme. In other words, its
charges against the traditional administration are; denial of
social justice, impersonality with its bureaucratic approach,
neglect of moral values, overlooking social equality, and failure
to look into the human needs at the cutting edge level.
Theme
The important aspects of the theme of New Public
Administration are as follows:
Relevance: Dissatisfaction is expressed regarding the existing
state of the discipline of public administration. It is pointed out
that the management-oriented public administration is not
relevant to the present conditions. It is stressed that more
interest should be evinced in administrative actions and their
political and administrative implications. Traditionally, public
administration shows concern for efficiency and the economy
but is not much bothered about the contemporary problems.
Perspective
Like many areas of inquiry such as psychology, sociology, and
political science public administration was also affected by the
turbulence of the Sixties and was very much shaken. The effect
of this is the emergence of the 'New Public Administration -
Minnowbrook Perspective". In the evolution of the discipline of
public administration, this is indeed a turning point.
Minnowbrook Conference
In the nineteen sixties, even though society was plagued with
numerous problems and faced several conflicts, public
administration was not bothered. There was no evidence of the
administration gauging these problems let alone solving them.
This was prominently portrayed by Dwight Waldo great scholar
of public administration in his article Public Administration in a
'Time of Revolutions. Earlier, in the conference held in
Philadelphia in December 1967 on the theory and practice of
public administration, there was a consensus regarding certain
aspects. However, sufficient representation was not given to all
the scholars and practitioners of public administration,
particularly to those belonging to the younger generation. The
Minnowbrook conference was organized in 1968 to take a
realistic view of public administration keeping in view the
contemporary situation and also to fill 'the generation gap'.
The brain behind the conference was no other than Waldo. In a
way, this was the youth conference on public administration.
This academic 'get together' led to the emergence of the
concept of New Public Administration and hence it is called
New Public Administration - Minnowbrook Perspective'.
, The theme of New public Administration mostly consists of
views expressed during the discussions at the Minnowbrook
conference. These were brought out in the form of a book by
Frank Marini. This concept was further elaborated by Dwight
Waldo in his book: ' Public Administration in a Time of
Turbulence; and it was widely popularized. In 1969, at the
American Political Science Annual Conference, some
discussions took place to woo the young scholars of public
administration. Alle 1971, no new book on New Public
Administration that is worth mentioning was published, some
What is New Public Administration?
The concept of New Public Administration launched by Dwight
Waldo represents a revolt against classical public
administration as it is not relevant to post-industrial situations. It
is a revolt against rigidity, lack of innovation, and a fight within
public administration in which process the citizen is forgotten).
It is also against the general norm to treat all the people equally
and keep the interests of the state supreme. In other words, its
charges against the traditional administration are; denial of
social justice, impersonality with its bureaucratic approach,
neglect of moral values, overlooking social equality, and failure
to look into the human needs at the cutting edge level.
Theme
The important aspects of the theme of New Public
Administration are as follows:
Relevance: Dissatisfaction is expressed regarding the existing
state of the discipline of public administration. It is pointed out
that the management-oriented public administration is not
relevant to the present conditions. It is stressed that more
interest should be evinced in administrative actions and their
political and administrative implications. Traditionally, public
administration shows concern for efficiency and the economy
but is not much bothered about the contemporary problems.
