The British Administrative System: Principles Versus Practice (Series; 1) - Softcover

Jordan, Grant

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415015510 ISBN 13: 9780415015516

Publisher: Routledge, 1994

Synopsis

This student text brings together and discusses different principles and ideas that are used in the description of policy making and administration in Britain. These include Collective Responsibility, Individual Ministerial Responsibility, Arms Lenght Control, Organisation by Function, Judicial Review of Administration. The problem for those advancing these concepts and those receiving them, is that there is a massive gap between theory and practice.
Grant Jordan reassesses the tool kit of terms to help students achieve a more practical understanding of modern British administration.

About this title

Synopsis:

In this textbook, Grant Jordan discusses the basic principles and concepts that are used to discuss policy making and public administration, showing that there is a great and growing divide between theory and practice. The book looks at the roots of administrative theory, which instead of being based on observation comes from ideas inherited from thinkers such as Weber and Victorian constitutional lawyers. These conventional and fairly simple ideas translate into chaotic practice: the author argues that British public administration is characterized by uncertainty, inconsistency and disorder. He also suggest that theoretical discussions of organizational change are fallacious in a system which seems to thrive while out of step with the available principles. Teachers and students of public policy and public administration should find this new approach useful, as it combines an analysis of theory and practice and discusses many recent developments, including next steps. The author has also published "British Politics and the Policy Process", with J. Richardson (Unwin Hyman, 1987); and "Commercial Lobbyists: Politics for Profit in Britain" (Aberdeen UP, 1990).

About the Author:

Mark Thurner is Professor of Latin American Studies at the Institute of Latin American Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0415015510
• ISBN 13: 9780415015516
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 292