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Chapter 5
The Generic Elements
of Each Tradition
Introduction
As noted in Chapter4, the generic elements found to be signicantly related to
legitimacy in public administration are (1)political ontology; (2)political authority
and scope of action; (3)criterion of proper behavior; (4)administrative decision-
making rationality; (5)organizing style; (6)the assumed governance context; and
(7)role conceptualization. is chapter explains why each of these issues is signi-
cant to public administration theory, as well as how they relate to legitimacy and
to one another. Table5.1 provides a summary of these generic elements and their
basic ...