Public Administration Theory and Views of the Human Person

271 Pages·2015·5.33 MB·English

by  Gerald L. Zandstra

Western Michigan University
ScholarWorks at WMU
Dissertations Graduate College
8-2007
Public Administration Teory and Views of the
Human Person
Gerald L. Zandstra
Western Michigan University
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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION THEORY AND
VIEWS OF THE HUMAN PERSON
by
Gerald L. Zandstra
A Dissertation
Submitted to the
Faculty of The Graduate College
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
School of Public Affairs and Administration
Dr. Matthew S. Mingus, Advisor
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan
August 2007
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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION THEORY AND
VIEWS OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Gerald L. Zandstra, Ph.D.
Western Michigan University, 2007
Public administrative theory, despite its reach into American life, lacks broad
agreement about its field of inquiry, its underlying presuppositions, and its purpose.
Theorists such as Herbert Storing, Stephen Bailey, Richard Stillman, David Hart,
Vincent Ostrom, William Dunn, Bahman Fozouni, Mark Rutgers, Michael Harmon
and others have observed and lamented these shortcomings. Without well-developed
theory, the objectives of public administration are a moving target.
This project does not attempt to resolve this deficiency. Instead, it is intended
to address a primary question pertaining to public administration’s core principles:
what is the nature of the human person? The line of argumentation is not that public
administration theorists do not have an operative view of human nature. Rather, it is
proposed that all theories of public administration begin with some assumptions about
human beings which can be termed operational anthropologies.
No attempt is made to consider all possible aspects of human nature. Only
two are examined: the classically defined virtues of prudence and justice. A
definition of each is provided followed by an examination of the theories of Frederick
Taylor, Herbert Simon, Frederick Mosher, Vincent Ostrom, and Amitai Etzioni. The
goal is to determine what each author believes to be true of human nature as
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determined by an examination of their most prominent book.
The project ends with a call for additional research to be done into the major
theorists’ views of the human person. It also calls for those currently working in
public administrative theory to clarify their anthropological assumptions as an
important part of their theorizing.
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Copyright by
Gerald L. Zandstra
2007
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the contributions of the chair of my committee,
Dr. Matthew Mingus. His availability, wisdom, and patience were greatly
appreciated. Those involved in the work of the Acton Institute, especially Dr. Sam
Gregg, Father Robert Sirico, and a host of conference participants and lectures have
enabled me to think seriously about the nature of the human beings, their inherent
dignity, and the function of power in government and administrative structures. Their
stories, reflection, and considerations have been invaluable. Dr. Scott Greenway has
been a longtime friend and fellow traveler in considering the nature of the human
person from a theological perspective. My grandparents and parents were formative
in their example of treating others with dignity and respect. Finally, the four human
persons with whom I have shared much of my life and are closest to me deserve
special acknowledgement: my wife, Mary and our sons James, Thomas, and Jacob.
We have planned together, studied together, worked together, and stayed together
through thick and thin. It has been an exercise in pure joy watching our boys grow
into their abilities. My love, respect and admiration for each of you is more than can
put into words.
Gerald L. Zandstra
ii
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PREFACE
My interest in the nature of human persons has been part of my journey
throughout my entire academic and professional life. It began with theological
studies at Calvin Seminary. One of the first considerations in doing theology proper
is the nature of the human person. Making use of sacred texts, philosophy, history,
biology, sociology, theological tradition, and other disciplines, budding theologians
are taught to come to some conclusions about what human beings are and are not as
well are what they can and cannot do. Capacity and possibility are taken just as
seriously as are origin and telos. The Westminster Catechism is a good demonstration
of the seriousness with which theologians think about human beings. The first
question asks, “What is the chief end of man?”
After serving as a pastor and teaching a bit in a seminary, I moved on to a
think-tank on economics, theology, and ethics and eventually taught global economics
courses in an MBA program. In studying economics, it quickly became clear that the
consideration given to anthropology in economics is just as serious as it is in
theology. The first economists were philosophers and, in many cases, theologians.
While modem economics is more often associated with charts, graphs, and
complicated mathematics, the science originally was more interested in how human
beings make use of their resources and provide for themselves and their families.
iii
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Thinking about the nature of the human person and examining operating assumptions
are pivotal to understanding economic theory and practice.
When I came to thinking about public administration and began to read its
history and some of its chief theorists, I was struck by two things: a sense of
wandering or uncertainty in its theoretical basis and a suspicion that the cause might
be an inattentiveness to assumptions about the nature of human beings. The more I
read, the more I realized that, while others in the field had the same sense of
wandering, few were working to address it or attempt to get at some of the core
reasons for it. It is my hope that this project is at least a first step, albeit a wobbly
one, toward clarity in anthropological assumptions.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................... ii
PREFACE.............................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................ vii
CHAPTER
I. THE CONTINUING INTELLECTUAL CRISIS IN PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION................................................................................. 1
An Overview of Public Administration Theory................................. 1
The Need for Theory.......................................................................... 6
Anthropology Matters......................................................................... 10
H. CREATING AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK..................... 30
Narrowing the Anthropological Focus............................................... 30
Creating a Framework........................................................................ 32
Possible Combinations....................................................................... 46
m. TESTING MAJOR THEORISTS................................................................. 79
Choosing Theorists and Their Books................................................. 79
Frederick Taylor’s The Principles o f Scientific Management............ 83
Herbert Simon’s Administrative Behavior......................................... 122
Frederick Mosher’s Democracy and the Public Service.................... 163
Vincent Ostrom’s The Intellectual Crisis in American Public
Administration.................................................................................... 186
Amitai Etzioni’s The Spirit of Community: Rights,
Responsibilities, and the Communitarian Agenda............................. 220
v
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