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This book compares British and American business and
public sector management ideas and practices for the
period 1900 - 1939. It identifies for the first time six
pioneers of British administration, including Civil
Service reformer (Lord) Richard B. Haldane; William H.
Beveridge, former Director of the London School of
Economics and Political Science; Lyndall Urwick, a
manager at the Rowntree Cocoa Works, York and management
educationalist / international consultant.
The book challenges the conventional wisdom about
American 'classical organisation theory', 'human
relations theory' and 'bureaucracy', replacing them by a
British philosophy of administration based on a
unification of the science of administration with ethics.
A foundation text for courses on business management,
public policy, public administration, public law,
sociology, and other social sciences. Also, key reading
for civil servants and policy-makers. Valuable for
emerging nations seeking to identify and implement sound
administrative ideas and practices.
Reviews
"I have been using your excellent The British
Philosophy of Administration as the main text for my
'Foundations of Public Administration' class. I think
that this volume sets out the two principal approaches to
Public Administration in an unsurpassed way; I know of no
other book that does this so well. Student responses have
been very good indeed. Public Administration in the New
Democracies of Eastern and Central Europe face unique
challenges, and the 'classic' curricula, and books, are
just not transferable. In such a situation, it is
particularly fortunate that there exist books such as
yours - although very few indeed". Professor W.J.M.
Drechsler, Chair of Public Administration, University of
Tartu, Estonia.
"Since large-scale bureaucracies now characterize
both the private and public economies of both nations [the
UK and USA] the differences ought to be, one supposes,
explicable on some intellectual basis. That is
what Rosamund Thomas has attempted to provide in this
careful and well-written excursion". (Harvard)
Business History Review
"Thomas's volume marks an important and distinctive
departure in studies of administration...The work is both
conceptual and historical. Thomas establishes her ability
to handle disparate material very well, and she
sensitively presents diverse views, whether or not she
agrees with them. This is a scholarly work..." Business
Management and Labor (USA).
Bureaucracy:
Business Management: Business Policy: Law: Ethics:
History: Sociology: Public Administration: Public Policy:
Political Science: Government
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