A former staff member of the Senate Government Operations Committee describes the effort to include a provision for judicial review in the bill establishing the Veteran's Affairs Department as an example of how Congress really works
In this book-- the first that attempts to establish firm estimates of the shadow work force-- Paul C. Light explores the reasons why the official size of the federal government has remained so small while the shadow of government has grown so large.
During the past fifty years, the Congresses and presidents of the United States have made many efforts to improve the performance of the federal government. In this book, a leading expert in public management examines the most important reform statutes passed and concludes that the problem is not too little reform but too much. Paul Light explains that Congress and the presidency have never decided whether they trust government and its employees to do their jobs well, and so they have moved back and forth over the decades between four reform philosophies: scientific management, war on waste, watchful eye, and liberation management. These four philosophies, argues Light, operate with different goals, implementation strategies, and impacts. Yet reform initiatives draw on one or another of them almost at random, often canceling out the potential benefits of a particular statute by passing a contradictory statute soon afterward. Light shows that as the public has become increasingly distrustful of government, the reform agenda has favored the war on waste and watchful eye. He analyzes the consequences of these changes for the overall performance of government and offers policy recommendations for future reform approaches.
Paul C. Light examines and evaluates the 100 most significant investigations of policy failures, bureaucratic mistakes, and personal misconduct undertaken by the U.S. federal government between 1945 and 2012. Launched by Congress or the president, sometimes by both at the same time, the investigations at the core of this book were driven by the search for answers about significant breakdowns in government performance. Light reveals which investigations were most effective, and why.
According to Paul C. Light's controversial new book, The New Public Service, this January's 4.8 percent federal pay increase will do little to compensate for what potential employees think is currently missing from federal careers. Talented Americans are not saying "show me the money" but "show me the job." And federal jobs just do not show well. All job offers being equal, Light argues that the pay increase would matter. But all offers are not equal. Light's research on what graduates of the top public policy and administration graduate programs want indicates that the federal government is usually so far behind its private and nonprofit competitors that pay never comes into play. Light argues that the federal government is losing the talent war on three fronts. First, its hiring system for recruiting talent, top to bottom, underwhelms at almost every task it undertakes. Second, its annual performance appraisal system is so inflated that federal employees are not only all above average, they are well on their way to outstanding. Third and most importantly, the federal government is so clogged with needless layers and convoluted career paths that it cannot deliver the kind of challenging work that talented Americans expect. None of these problems would matter, Light argues, if the government-centered public service was still looking for work. Unfortunately, as Light's book demonstrates, federal careers were designed for a workforce that has not punched since the 1960s, and certainly not for one that grew up in an era of corporate downsizing and mergers. The government-centered public service is mostly a thing of the past, replaced by a multisectored public service in which employees switch jobs and sectors with ease. Light concludes his book by offering the federal government a simple choice: It can either ignore the new public service and troll further and further down the class lists for new recruits, while hoping that a tiny pay in
In Governments Greatest Achievements, Paul C. Light explores the federal governments most successful accomplishments over the previous five decades and anticipates the most significant challenges of the next half century.
Explores the political, economic, and social concerns of the baby-boom generation, arguing for increased interest and commitment in such areas in order to prevent the disintegration of the current way of life
The Government-Industrial Complex analyzes the federal government's blended workforce of 9 million civil service, contract, and grant employees. Noted Government reform expert Paul Light explores the history of this blended workforce, explains its rise from Reagan to Trump, and outlines a process for promoting accountability across the government-industrial divide.
In this profile of the public service profession, Paul C. Light examines two decades of change in the career patterns and motivations of America's top public servants. Drawing upon interviews with graduates of the nation's top public policy and administration graduate schools, Light argues that the nation's young professionals have changed little in their basic desire to make a difference through public service, but they no longer imagine thirty-year careers in government as the only way to have an impact on national and local issues. They are just as likely to start their public service careers in the nonprofit or private sectors, and intend to switch back and forth during their careers.
Light presents a revealing look at how thick the bureaucracy really is, how and why thickening occurs, what difference it might make, and what can be done to both reverse the process and keep the thickening from growing back.
Explore American politics through the Constitution Government by the People, 2012 Election Edition continues a tradition of excellence by offering the most classroom-tested introduction to the foundational principles, processes, and institutions of American government. Emphasizing the accomplishments of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, this text highlights the central role people play in a constitutional democracy. Government by the People inspires students to see how similarities and differences in political beliefs continue to shape government today. This text features full integration with the New MyPoliSciLab. MyPoliSciLab includes a wide array of resources to encourage students to look at American politics like a political scientist and analyze current political issues. Political Explorer lets students play the role of a political scientist by investigating issues through interactive data. Core Concept videos discuss the big ideas in each chapter and apply them to key political issues. Simulations allow students to experience how political leaders make decisions. A better teaching and learning experience This program provides a better teaching and learning experience-for you and your students. Here's how: Personalize Learning-The New MyPoliSciLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals. MyPoliSciLab is now compatible with BlackBoard! Engage Students-The stunning visual design engages students in the text. Improve Critical Thinking- Learning objectives in every chapter help students focus on important topics. Analyze Current Events-Coverage of the 2012 elections keeps the study of politics relevant and shows how political scientists look at the development of the American political system. Support Instructors- A full supplements package including the Class Preparation Tool in the New MyPoliSciLab is available. Note: MyPoliSciLab does not come automatically packaged with this text. To purchase MyPoliSciLab, please visit: www.mypoliscilab.com or you can purchase a ValuePack of the text + MyPoliSciLab (at no additional cost): ValuePack ISBN-10: 0205950086/ ValuePack ISBN-13: 9780205950089.
In September 1878, Thomas Alva Edison brashly—and prematurely—proclaimed his breakthrough invention of a workable electric light. That announcement was followed by many months of intense experimentation that led to the successful completion of his Pearl Street station four years later. Edison was not alone—nor was he first—in developing an incandescent light bulb, but his was the most successful of all competing inventions. Drawing from the documents in the Edison archives, Robert Friedel and Paul Israel explain how this came to be. They explore the process of invention through the Menlo Park notes, discussing the full range of experiments, including the testing of a host of materials, the development of such crucial tools as the world's best vacuum pump, and the construction of the first large-scale electrical generators and power distribution systems. The result is a fascinating story of excitement, risk, and competition. Revised and updated from the original 1986 edition, this definitive study of the most famous invention of America's most famous inventor is completely keyed to the printed and electronic versions of the Edison Papers, inviting the reader to explore further the remarkable original sources.
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