Public Management Research

Abstract

Are public management researchers sufficiently addressing the contemporary challenges and changes in the real world of public management, including the challenges identified by public management practitioners themselves? If research is to be relevant for senior public managers, it should engage with these contemporary trends and challenges. The article thus raises some normative as well as analytical aspects of research. Research effort should place considerable weight on understanding and responding to the challenges articulated by public management practitioners. This will enable researchers and practitioners to navigate better the ‘swamp’ of complex and wicked problems, rather than be content with theory-building on the ‘high ground’.

Key words:

• Management priorities
• research agenda
• research priorities
• research relevance
• theory and practice

Acknowledgement

This article is a revised version of the Keynote Presentation, 26 March 2008, IRSPM Conference, Brisbane. The author would like to thank many colleagues who provided comments on these ideas including Kerry Brown, John Alford, Stephen Osborne and PMR anonymous reviewers.

Notes

For example, Behn (1995: 313) proposes three fundamental and enduring questions for modern public management, which he calls: (1) Micromanagement: how can managers break the micromanagement cycle? (2) Motivation: how can public managers motivate people? And (3) Measurement: how can public managers measure the achievements of their agencies? Additional themes arise in relation to appropriate frameworks for public management education and training. For example, Denhardt (2001) proposes some developmental themes around conceptual understanding, inter-personal behavioural skills, and self-management for mature decision making. See further discussion in Kirlin (1996a, 1996b), Callahan (2001) and the extensive writings of Laurence E. Lynn.