Suggested Reading
Arnold, Peri E. Making the Managerial Presidency:
Comprehensive Organization Planning. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1986.
Managing the federal bureaucracy is a monumental task. Arnold studies how
effectively it can be done and argues for the importance of large-scale
planning.
Brehm, John, and Scott Gates. Working, Shirking, and
Sabotage: Bureaucratic Response to a Democratic Public. Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press, 1996.
Brehm and Gates argue that, in general, bureaucracies do a good job of
responding to the public.
Fesler, James W., and Donald F. Kettl. The Politics of the
Administration Process. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House,
1991.
Fesler and Kettl study how politics affects the bureaucracy and how
bureaucratic politics shape policy.
Kerwin, Cornelius M. Rulemaking: How Government Agencies
Write Law and Make Policy. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly
Press, 2003.
An in-depth study of the rule-making process.
Wilson, James Q. Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and
Why They Do It. New York: Basic Books, 1989.
Wilson, a prominent scholar, provides a thorough account of the nuts and
bolts of the bureaucracy: how bureaucracies provide services, and how they are
managed.
Wood, Dan B. Bureaucratic Dynamics: The Role of Bureaucracy
in a Democracy. Boulder, Col.: Westview, 1994.
Democratic governments are supposed to be accountable to the people, but
bureaucracies are unelected and powerful. Wood explores how bureaucracy can
function—and be held accountable—in a democratic society.
Useful Websites
www.census.gov
The U.S. Census Bureau provides extensive statistical information on
government agencies, not just on the public.
www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html
The Federal Register lists all proposed rule changes
issued by government agencies.
www.icma.org
The website for the International City/County Management Association, a
professional organization of city managers. The city manager system of local
government was a key component of the Progressive movement, which also spawned
the civil service.
www.opm.gov
The Office of Personnel Management is the central personnel agency for the
federal government. The site contains information about civil service exams and
rules.
www.whistleblower.org
The site of the Government Accountability Project, which offers support
and encouragement to whistleblowers.
www.whitehouse.gov/omb
The Office of Management and Budget is one of the most important parts of
the Executive Office of the president. The site contains extensive budget
information.
