Administrative Renewal: Reorganization Commissions in the 20th Century

(Paperback)

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In Administrative Renewal, the periodic efforts to reorganize the executive branch during the 20th century are examined and analyzed. Receiving special attention are the landmark commissions, such as the Hoover Commissions of mid-century

Reviews

Ronald Moe has summed up a career of careful scholarship on the organization and management of the executive branch in this concise volume on the major landmark commissions of the 20th century. Moe has not been a bystander on these issues; from his perch at the Congressional Research Service, he has participated in the deliberations surrounding the adoption or rejection of many of the proposals he analyzes. Reorganizing the executive branch is not for amateurs; anyone interested in understanding thestructure of the executive ranch or in reforming it, should begin with Moe's dissection of the theory and implementation of past reorganization commissions. 'Administrative Renewal' is an impressive accomplishment that should be read by anyone contemplating changes in executive branch structure. -- James Pfiffner, George Mason University
Americans are inveterate tinkerers. That's as true for the management of the federal government as anywhere in American society. In this terrific study Moe charts the course of a long parade of commissions that, thought the 20th century, sought to increase government's efficiency and reduce its costs. The result is not only an invaluable survey of the thinking behind reform ideas, successful and not. It's also a guidebook on how to think about making government work betterand what steps are most likely to work. The book is must reading for anyone who cares about where we've been and where we need to go. -- Donald F. Kettl, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Americans are inveterate tinkerers. That's as true for the management of the federal government as anywhere in American society. In this terrific study Moe charts the course of a long parade of commissions that, thought the 20th century, sought to increase government's efficiency and reduce its costs. The result is not only an invaluable survey of the thinking behind reform ideas, successful and not. It's also a guidebook on how to think about making government work betterand what steps are most likely to work. The book is must reading for anyone who cares about where we've been and where we need to go. -- Donald F. Kettl, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ronald Moe has summed up a career of careful scholarship on the organization and management of the executive branch in this concise volume on the major landmark commissions of the 20th century. Moe has not been a bystander on these issues; from his perch at the Congressional Research Service, he has participated in the deliberations surrounding the adoption or rejection of many of the proposals he analyzes. Reorganizing the executive branch is not for amateurs; anyone interested in understanding the structure of the executive ranch or in reforming it, should begin with Moe's dissection of the theory and implementation of past reorganization commissions. 'Administrative Renewal' is an impressive accomplishment that should be read by anyone contemplating changes in executive branch structure. -- James Pfiffner, George Mason University

Author Bio

Ronald C. Moe is a Fellow at the Center for the Study of American Government, Johns Hopkins University.