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Chapter 11
Assessing Contextual
Fit of the Traditions—
A Mental Experiment
Introduction
To summarize the path traversed thus far, we have drawn broadly from an array of
literature in public administration and management, public policy, organization
behavior, sociology, political theory, philosophy, and theology. Using a discourse
analysis, we have analyzed the fundamental assumptions and rationalities of three
role conceptualizations for the public administrator: Bureaucrat, Entrepreneur,
and Steward. We have explored a comparative typology that aims to advance our
understanding of what it means to be a “good” public administrator a