Public Administration: The Essentials - First Edition
Jayme L. Renfro
Copyright Year:
Publisher: University of Northern Iowa
Language: English
Formats Available
Conditions of Use
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA
Reviews
The text thoroughly describes the historic aspects of public management in a logical, well organized manner. The concepts are complete, concise and explained in an approachable manner for students. read more
Reviewed by Patty Boyle, Instructor, Lane Community College on 9/12/25
Comprehensiveness
The text thoroughly describes the historic aspects of public management in a logical, well organized manner. The concepts are complete, concise and explained in an approachable manner for students.
Content Accuracy
Recent changes at the Federal level are not yet updated but would expect that to be a future effort.
Relevance/Longevity
Given the massive and rapid amount of change at the federal level it will be impossible to keep the materials perfectly up to date. Instructors will need to supplement with emerging events.
Clarity
Compared to other texts, I very much appreciated the concise approach the author takes in these materials.
Consistency
Well organized and accurate.
Modularity
The text is well paced following natural breaks in the materials.
Organization/Structure/Flow
Similar to modularity, it was easy to follow the authors approach to explaining the materials.
Interface
It would be helpful to add images/graphics to some sections of the text to add variety and visual interest.
Grammatical Errors
None noted.
Cultural Relevance
No problems as far as I can tell.
CommentsUsing this text would be an excellent way to introduce students to public agency management and operations. Given the changes in the Federal Government structure, this area of study is increasing in importance and relevance.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Public Administration: The Basics
- Chapter 2: The Public Sector
- Chapter 3: Organizational Management and the Foundations of Administration
- Chapter 4: Organizational Behavior
- Chapter 5: Public Policy
- Chapter 6: Public Budgeting and Finance
- Chapter 7: Public Human Resources Management
- Chapter 8: Ethics and Accountability in Public Administration
- Conclusion
About the Book
Public Administration: The Essentials provides students with the conceptual foundation they need for an introduction to the field of public administration. This OER textbook covers the most critical issues in the field through the use of classic texts and theory as well as through modern examples.
About the Contributors
Author
Jayme Renfro is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa. Dr. Renfro teaches Public Administration and Public Policy at the undergraduate and graduate level, offering introductory courses as well as courses in leadership and management, race and policy, policy process and analysis, and public human resourcemanagement. She has previously published three books, State and Local Government 2013-14, State and Local Government 2014-15, and Cases and Topics in State and Local Government. She has also published several articles in political science journals on political behavior.