Public Administration and Nonprofit Management in Practice

This insightful text, edited by two renowned experts, provides students of public administration and nonprofit management with a collection of relevant, global case studies and corresponding activities.

The chapters are structured around common themes and concepts across the field, including the foundations of public administration, managing people and administering public services, and improving efficiency and efficacy. The cases, which are derived from countries around the world, focus on building the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by public and nonprofit administrators globally, providing a much-needed supplement to many of the introductory texts in public administration. Each case is contextualized by a short synopsis, reflective questions, references, further reading, and learning activities. The compact case format helps students focus on a specific area of public management, with organization by chapter giving instructors choices among cases and the ability to group related topics. The discussion questions in the cases will develop students’ analytical thinking of real scenarios for the application of course content.

Public Administration and Nonprofit Management in Practice should be used as either core or recommended reading for courses on public and nonprofit management at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including Master of Public Administration (MPA) courses and related degree programmes.

Instructors will find comprehensive teaching notes online to support this case-based approach to learning.

Aimee L. Williamson, PhD, is a Professor in the Sawyer Business School’s Department of Public Service and Healthcare Administration at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. Her research and teaching interests focus on public management, including public‑private management distinctions, collaboration, and administrative reform. She has publications in a wide range of public affairs journals, including Public Administration Review, Public Performance and Management Review, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Public Administration Quarterly. She has also published cases in The CASE Journal and has been teaching with case studies for over 20 years, including courses in the foundations of public administration, leadership, organizational behavior, and strategic management.

Marc Holzer, PhD, has been a leader in the public administration field since the early 1970s. He is the founder of the National Center for Public Performance and was the founding editor in chief of the international journal Public Performance and Management Review for over four decades. His more than 600 scholarly publications address a wide range of strategic approaches to the measurement and improvement of public services. He is a Distinguished Research Professor (Ret.) in the Department of Public Service and Healthcare Administration at Suffolk University in Boston and was the Founding Dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University. He is a Past President of the American Society for Public Administration and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.