Synopses & Reviews
Diversity and affirmative action are subjects that tend to elicit some form of emotion, either strongly supportive or strongly opposed. In Diversity and Affirmative Action in Public Service, Walter Broadnax has drawn together a collection of essays that provides the reader with a historical overview of the evolution of these concepts within a public service context. The book opens with a discussion of representative bureaucracy and, using that material as a backdrop, proceeds to provide highly useful snapshots of the evolution of these concepts over the last several decades. The reader will be able to see clearly how the debate regarding this important topic has changed and matured over the last thirty years.The introduction and the individual chapter introductions bring together the perspectives of the practitioner and the academician. Many of the selected pieces have strong practical applications, and a substantial number of them were written by practitioners themselves.
Synopsis
In 1968 a theory of social equity was developed and put forward as the "third pillar for public administration, with the same status as economy and efficiency as values or principles to which public administration should adhere. Considerable progress has been made in social equity in the past 20 years. Theoretically, the works ofRawls and Rae and associates provide a language and a road map for understanding the complexity of the subject. The courts were especially supportive of principles of social equity in the later years of Chief Justice Earl Warren and during the years of Chief Justice Warren Burger. The present period, marked by the leadership of William Rehnquist, evidences a significant drawing back from the earlier commitment to equity. The decisions of state courts, based upon state constitutions and the common law, hold considerable promise for advancing social equity principles. Scholarly research demonstrates the belief of the American people in fairness, justice, and equality and their recognition of the complexity of the subject and their ambivalence toward competing claims for equality. Research on public administration finds that bureaucratic decision rules and the processes of policy implementation tend to favor principles of social equity.
Synopsis
In Diversity and Affirmative Action in Public Service, Walter Broadnax brings together much of the most influential research and thought in public administration literature regarding diversity and affirmative action. Equal employment opportunity, gender discrimination, creating a representative bureaucracy, age discrimination, and disabilities are examined in detail by drawing on the best work in the Public Administration Review, and by providing useful perspectives regarding that work over time.
About the Author
Walter D. Broadnax is Dean of the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. Prior to this appointment he was Professor of Public Policy and Management in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Maryland, where he also directed the Bureau of Governmental Research.