Handbook of Public Administration, 3rd Edition

Part 7

Professionalizing Public Administration Practice

Part 7 concludes this book by reflecting on what it means to be a member of the public administration profession. The chapter authors identify key professional expectations with regard to professional ethics and liability. The concluding chapter summarizes lessons from the book about effective enterprises and being an effective public administrator.

While public administration may not be considered a profession in the classic sense that law, divinity, and medicine are—it neither monopolizes specialized knowledge nor controls entry into the profession—in other respects, public administration has become very professionalized. For example, public administrators require extensive training, ...