In your original thread discuss the following: Statesmanship as it relates to public administration reform and the future.The challenges and opportunities that a would-be statesman would face in this

Public Management Research Association Toward a Relevant Agenda for a Responsive Public Administration Author(syf 7 K R P D V $ % U \ H r Source: Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory: J-PART, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Jul., 2007yf S S 0 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Public Management Research Association Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25096332 Accessed: 12-12-2022 01:25 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Public Management Research Association, Oxford University Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory: J-PART This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms JPART 17:479-500 Toward a Relevant Agenda for a Responsive Public Administration Thomas A Bryer University of Southern California ABSTRACT The relevance of the concept "bureaucratic responsiveness" has been questioned in recent years. One reason for the questioned relevance is the apparent environmental changes that are occurring in public administration. Globalization and devolution have infiltrated the halls of bureaucracies. Public agencies are being asked to collaborate with actors in other sectors of society, including, and especially, citizens and citizen associations. In addition to these environmental changes, administrators are being confronted with potentially competing ethical obligations that make decisions regarding responsiveness challenging. This article uses these evolving environments and competing ethical obligations to formulate a set of six variants of bureaucratic responsiveness: dictated, constrained, purposive, entrepreneurial, collaborative, and negotiated. It is argued that to be relevant, writers and researchers in public administration need to consider each of these variants and how they potentially collide with each other to shape administrator thought and behavior, particularly in the collaborative context. In conclusion, it is suggested that calls for the abandonment of "responsiveness" as a central concept in public administration are premature, and emerging research questions are offered. INTRODUCTION Public administration is at crossroads. Once dominated by a technical-rational culture, public administration is now traveling three not necessarily compatible paths: technical rational, entrepreneurial, and citizen participatory. Stivers (2001yf K D V F K D U D F W H U L ] H G W K e crossroads as nothing short of a battle for the heart and soul of public administration. Adding to the tension at the crossroads is the evolving context in which administrators are working, which is increasingly one that is networked bureaucratic (O'Toole 1997yf . The implications of public administration's current multiplicity include the existence of multiple environments for public administrators, potentially conflicting obligations for performance and behavior, and, as a result, choices regarding responsiveness. To be relevant in these changing environments, represented by the evolution of public administration, and conflicting obligations, represented by the crossroads, writing and research needs to be based on certain relevance criteria. Public administration scholarship The author thanks three anonymous reviewers for detailed and useful feedback. Additionally, thanks are given to Terry Cooper, Jack Meek, Patricia Nickel, and Feng Wang who reviewed early drafts of the article. Address correspondence to the author at [email protected]. doi:10.1093/jopart/mul010 Advance Access publication on August 29, 2006 ? The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected] This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 480 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory ought to be based on past research to be relevant to scholarship (Whetten 1989yf Z K L O H W K e contribution should be related to "social and organizational reality" (La Porte 1971, 18yf . More specifically, it is suggested that scholarship should be sensitive, reflexive, historically driven, and future looking. It ought to be aligned with current environmental enactments of administrators as well as desired future enactments, and it should actively acknowledge ethical dilemmas administrators face and are likely to face in the conflicting and evolving demands and environments to which they need to respond. Relevance of responsiveness research and writing to the scholarly and practitioner communities, it is argued, should begin by unpacking the concept of "bureaucratic re sponsiveness." A single, unifying conceptual construct fails to meet the requirements of relevant writing, namely, it does not capture the conflicts that arise as bureaucrats are faced with responsiveness in different variations. Unpacking the concept into six variants?dic tated, constrained, purposive, entrepreneurial, collaborative, and negotiated?enables the researcher to better understand, inform, and enhance responsiveness in any given context. Ultimately, the purpose of this article is to define emerging research questions and establish a research agenda to better understand and enable a responsive public adminis tration in the context of changing environments with potentially conflicting obligations. By unpacking the concept of responsiveness and tracing its history through a literature review, it becomes clear how responsiveness as a concept was relevant in the past and remains relevant today. Through the explicit association of responsiveness variants to different ethical perspectives, this article builds on a path developed by Maesschalck (2004yf Z K o traces periods in administrative reform, such as traditional public administration, new public management, and new public service, in terms of their impact on administrators' ethics. In so doing it becomes clear how ethical obligations based on assumptions of different administrative reform efforts can conflict if taken together, as is potentially the case in much of today's public administration. Though Maesschalck's conceptualization has not been empirically verified, conceptually it is a foundation from which competing obligations' impact on administrator behavior can be considered. This article also follows paths created by scholars seeking to create categories to better understand and analyze various efforts and movements in public administration. Specifi cally this article finds parallels with the work of Kaufman (1956yf / L J K W \f, and recent work by McGinn and Patterson (2005yf . D X I P D Q H [ D P L Q H V W K H K L V W R U L F D O G H Y H O R S P H Q W R f public administration through the lens of three potentially competing and desired values: representativeness, neutral competence, and executive leadership. He concludes that the history of public administration is a story of a shifting balance between these values, rather than displacement, which is a similar conclusion to that reached in this article. Light (1997yf H [ S O R U H V I R X U W L G H V R I D G P L Q L V W U D W L Y H U H I R U P W K D W F D S W X U H W K H H V V H Q F H R f the multitude of legislative and executive reform efforts. He concludes through his rich historical review that there has been too much reform, much of it conflicting, to make much meaningful difference in the achievements of government. Similarity is found in this article's conclusion that future research should consider all variations or categories of responsiveness, rather than to hold each variant separately in the evolving administrative environment. An affinity exists with McGinn and Patterson (2005yf Q R W L Q W K H L U V X E V W D Q F H E X W L Q W K H L r purpose. Their aim in considering the state of gender and feminism in public administra tion "is not to offer a chronology of progression, or a complaint of retrogression, as much as a conceptual guide to the ideas in use" (930yf 7 K H L U I R F X V P X F K O L N H W K H I R F X V K H U H L V R n This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Bryer Responsive Public Administration 481 the content of existing literature in public administration and related fields, which are used to substantiate and actively assess the six variants of responsiveness offered. This article continues by unpacking the concept of responsiveness, which will serve as the basis for examining its relevance as a concept and the relevance of public administra tion writers to the scholarly and practitioner communities. The first part of the article, as such, establishes the framework based on the conflicting ethical obligations and environ mental enactments that give rise to the six responsiveness variants. Following this, a review of representative literature on responsiveness is undertaken to see where there are gaps based on the framework established, answering the question: How has research and writing on responsiveness been relevant? Finally, an agenda for research and writing that is relevant to both the scholarly and practitioner communities is offered in conclusion. ENVIRONMENTAL ENACTMENTS, ETHICS, AND RESPONSIVENESS Public organizations, perhaps more than private organizations, must deal with multiple stakeholders and potentially conflicting demands (Kanter and Brinkerhoff 1981yf + R Z W K H y balance the demands of multiple stakeholders will have consequences for their activities, outcomes, and the degree of trust in them by the public. The ways in which public agencies balance the needs and demands of stakeholders is a study in responsiveness. The enacted environment of the administrator defines possible stakeholders to whom a response can and should be made. Enacted environments are based on past experience and interpretation. The process of enactment is a sense-making process (Weick 1995yf , whereby administrators will seek to categorize and label different components of the environment. By categorizing and labeling stakeholders, classes of stakeholders, pro cesses, and demands, administrators can make the environment more simple (Ashforth and Mael 1989; Ashforth and Humphrey 1995, 1997yf D Q G O H V V F R P S O H [ % R L V R W D Q G & K L O d 1999yf Z K L O H S R W H Q W L D O O \ O R V L Q J V R P H V L J K W R I L P S R U W D Q W G L V W L Q F W L R Q V E H W Z H H Q D Q G Z L W K L n categories (Yanow 2003yf ) R U H [ D P S O H < D Q R Z \f observes how categories created and legitimized through the census process and through other social evaluation programs allow researchers and administrators to distinguish between different groups in society. However, such distinctions, particularly when used to inform policy making and admin istrative decision making, mask the extensive variety within categories. Environments can be enacted as described above, but they can also be controlled to a large extent by dominant actors in organizations or by what Child (1972, 1997yf G H V F U L E H s as the dominant coalition. Organizational structures, cultures, and performance pressures can restrict the ways in which organization members enact their environment. That is, the choices of action and thought can be restricted so as to ensure rational action within constraints, which is the essence of the view that humans are boundedly rational (March and Simon 1993; Simon 1997yf . Three ethical perspectives?control centered, discretionary, and deliberative (Adams and Balfour 2004yf " O H D Y H D G P L Q L V W U D W R U V Z L W K S R W H Q W L D O O \ F R P S H W L Q J H W K L F D O R E O L J D W L R Q V , determined in part by the nature of the environments each administrator enacts and in which each administrator exists. Control-centered ethics is based on control through reg ulation, codes of conduct, and a quest for transparency (Adams and Balfour 2004yf 7 K e assumption is that administrators cannot be trusted to act in a manner consistent with political masters or for the public good without imposed mechanisms of control (Finer 1941; McCubbins, Noll, and Weingast 1987yf . This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 482 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory On the other side is discretionary ethics. If discretion is afforded to administrators to enact their own environment without overabundance of regulation and restriction, the ethical climate is not one of mistrust but rather of confidence in one's ability to choose right from wrong, professional or public interests over private interest. The assumption is that if labels and categories are created, they are based on standards consistent with professional norms (Miller 2000yf L Q W H U Q D O V W D Q G D U G V R I F R Q G X F W ) U L H G U L F K \f, and in Weber's terms, sine ira ac studio (without bias or scornyf $ G D P V D Q G % D O I R X U \f. Once discretion is granted, however, there exist potentially competing ethical claims that seek to shape the role and prescribe the behavior of administrators. Frederickson (1971, 1990yf R I I H U V H T X L W \ R U M X V W L F H D V D Q D S S U R S U L D W H R U L H Q W D W L R Q I R U S X E O L F D G P L Q L V W U a tors. Cooper (1991yf R I I H U V F L W L ] H Q V K L S E H K D Y L R U D V W K H D S S U R S U L D W H G R P L Q D Q W H W K L F D O R U L H n tation. Administrators in this view are citizens who are employees of other citizens, and they need to treat that responsibility as first among all others. Though not necessarily conflicting, these perspectives pose responsiveness options or options for how to enact environments through responsive actions and interpretation of those actions. For instance, public administrators need to determine who is suffering injustice or who the appropriate publics are for participation in citizenship activities. Existing on a different plane is deliberative ethics. Along with the control-centered and discretionary ethical obligations, Adams and Balfour (2004yf R I I H U W K D W D W W H Q W L R Q Q H H G s to be given not only to perspectives that focus on autonomous individuals as the center of ethical decision making but also to ethics at a collective level. These are rooted in the work of Maclntyre, as Stewart (1991yf G H V F U L E H V D Q G R S H U D W L R Q D O L ] H G I R U S X E O L F D G P L Q L V W U D W L R Q E y Cooper (1987yf 2 E O L J D W L R Q V D Q G L Q W H U Q D O J R R G V D U H V R F L D O O \ F R Q V W U X F W H G D Q G D L P W R D F K L H Y e excellence. As Adams and Balfour (2004yf G H V F U L E H E X L O G L Q J D F R P P X Q L W \ G H Y H O R S V S X E O L c life and public ethics concurrently. Ethics are based in deliberation. The relevance of bureaucratic responsiveness is questioned in recent literature largely due to the changing environments that are described here. An example of the questioned relevance is seen in the work by Stivers (1994yf Z K R R E V H U Y H V W K D W U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V P D L n tains a negative connotation in that it assumes bias by an administrator toward one stake holder or position rather than another. To be responsive to one stakeholder is to potentially be unresponsive to another. Stivers (1994yf R I I H U V D Q D O W H U Q D W L Y H E D V H G L Q G H P R F U D W L F Y D O X H s that centers on a "listening bureaucrat." Reinterpreting responsiveness in this manner is a useful exercise to conceive of a desired future state of public administration. A second example is found in the work of Vigoda (2002yf Z K R I R F X V H V V S H F L I L F D O O \ R Q W K H L Q F U H D V L Q g collaborative environment of public agencies. He suggests replacing the concept of "responsiveness" with that of "collaboration." Public administration scholars do need to be relevant and, as suggested by Stivers and Vigoda, need to change in order to maintain relevance. Relevance needs to be maintained both for fellow scholars and users of research and writing on public administration. Rec ognizing the multifaceted character of responsiveness in terms of multiple administrative environments and ethical obligations can ensure the current and future relevance not only of the concept but also of the scholarly community's place in theorizing about and researching the concept. Recognizing the multifaceted character of responsiveness is accomplished here through the identification of six variants of responsiveness. These variants are derived from the three potentially competing ethical perspectives and are substantiated through a review of literature on responsiveness. This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Bryer Responsive Public Administration 483 Specifically, each ethical perspective can be associated with the six variants of re sponsiveness introduced below in the following manner: control-centered ethics apply to dictated and constrained responsiveness; discretionary ethics apply to purposive and entrepreneurial responsiveness; deliberative ethics apply to collaborative responsiveness; lastly, all ethical perspectives apply to negotiated responsiveness, as will be discussed. Figure 1 displays the association made between the six responsiveness variants and three ethical perspectives, along with examples that will be discussed in the course of the article. Control-Centered Ethics?Dictated and Constrained Responsiveness Control-centered ethics assume restricted decision making; the ability for administrators to interpret and act upon their environment freely is constrained by rules, regulations, orga nizational cultures, and leadership and authority structures. As such, this ethical perspec tive is associated with responsiveness behaviors that are dictated and constrained. Dictated Responsiveness Dictated responsiveness is the extent to which elected officials and other professional overseers of the bureaucracy direct the character of administrative thought and action. This variant of responsiveness can come in the form of direct order, explicit or implicit pressure, or charismatic or coercive influence from the political "masters" or democrati cally elected overseers of the bureaucracy. Historically, dictated responsiveness in the United States can trace back to the spoils system instituted with President Andrew Jackson and "perfected" through corruption with President Ulysses Grant. With the assassination of President James Garfield by a disgruntled office seeker, the spoils system came crashing down. In efforts to depoliticize the bureaucracy and create a technical-rational system for administering the will of politicians, Progressive reformers established a merit-based civil service system. Created by the Pendleton Act of 1883, the civil service system sought a clear distinction between those people who served in elected office and those individuals who administered the laws. To the victors went the spoils no more. Early writing on the split between politics and administration considered the dichot omy not only ideal for efficient government but also possible to achieve (Wilson 1887; Goodnow 1900yf 7 K H G L F W D W H G U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V L Q W K L V Z D \ F D P H W R E H G H I D F W R G L F W D W H G . There was an expectation and anticipation that bureaucrats, unelected and hired based not on their political loyalties, would nonetheless, faithfully administer the laws passed by elected officials. At the same time as there was an expectation of faithful administration of the laws, it became clear to later writers on the dichotomy that immunity from direct political in fluence afforded to administrators a certain amount of discretion in the extent to which laws are faithfully administered. Waldo (1948yf Z D V S H U K D S V W K H P R V W L Q I O X H Q W L D O L Q T X H s tioning the orthodoxy, observing how the state is an administrative state, where bureaucrats are the center of policy making and implementation. From the spoils system, to meritocracy, to the administrative state, the administrators' environment shifted significantly. The form that political influence took varied, from di rect, to de facto, and today, political influence takes on new forms. Bureaucrats cannot be fired for political reasons; de facto dictated responsiveness has lost its purity. Yet, the possibility for bureaucrats to be responsive to the dictates of politicians is real. This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 4* 00 Figure 1 Variants of Responsiveness and Associated Ethical Perspectives, with Examples Ethical Perspective Control-Centered Responsiveness Variant Dictated Constrained Discretionary Deliberative Purposive Entrepreneurial Collaborative Negotiated Description Examples Responses to elected officials Legislative hardwiring; executive appointments Responses to rules, norms, procedures Administrative procedures; technical-rational culture; professional norms Responses to administrator defined goals Equity, justice or citizenship goals; representative bureaucracy; active representation Responses to individuals Customer orientation; customer satisfaction Responses to stakeholder consensus Generative approach to policymaking; Learning and Design Forum; collaborative learning Responses to multiple, conflicting demands Negotiated rulemaking; all previous examples This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Bryer Responsive Public Administration 485 Constrained Responsiveness Constrained responsiveness is the extent to which administrative thought and action is restricted and shaped by bureaucratic rules, norms, structures, or cultures. This variant of responsiveness arises from technical or rules-based constraints, professional norms and values that shape behavior, and the nature of humans as boundedly rational. Constrained technocratic responsiveness is set in an environment that has at its core a set of processes and rules. Motivated by a desire for efficiency and standard application of rules, bureau crats seek to ensure that responsiveness does not stray from what is permissible under the established guidelines. This idea was discussed above as a de facto dictated responsive ness, as it is the elected officials who oftentimes craft the rules that bind behavior. Policy makers can hardwire agencies in order to ensure that the intent of a law is met over time, even when the policy maker is no longer in office (Moe 1997yf . Structural and rules-based considerations of responsiveness are based in neoinstitu tional political science, in which it is theorized that rules shape behavior and individuals shape the rules that constrain them to act in certain ways (Scott 2001yf + D U G Z L U L Q J R f agencies, for instance, can be meant to make bureaucracies efficient and to enable in dividual bureaucrats to make rational decisions about how to respond to a particular request or situation within constraints established by the rules (March 1978; March and Simon 1993; Simon 1997yf . Rules and procedures can take on a meaning of their own, once they have become institutionalized. As in category making, to simplify one's environment, the original intent or meaning of rules can be forgotten, but their use persists, largely due to the efficiency benefits of following rules and the control over one's environment that is maintained in demanding that rules be followed. The need for legitimacy and control is particularly important for institutional actors who act as owners or proprietors or who are otherwise dominant actors in an environment (Schlager and Ostrom 1992yf 6 H H Q L Q W K L V O L J K W E u reaucratic inertia, or the lack of change in response to different circumstances, is a conse quence of environmental selection forces such as need for control, rather than a cause of such forces (Hannan and Freeman 1984yf . Ethically, administrators are at once constrained by rules and procedures and re sponsive to the same rules and procedures. With such constraint, it is a fair question as to whether or not ethics is even an issue (Thompson 1985yf $ Q H W K L F D O G H F L V L R Q L V R Q e where an individual chooses to do right or wrong, and if wrong, how much wrong for a given good. The former choice?right or wrong?is a deontological question. The latter choice?how much wrong for a given good?is a ideological question. The ideological question is a matter of dirty hands, in which an individual enacts or chooses to do wrong in order to achieve a greater good. Adams and Balfour (2004yf F R Q V L G H U W K H V H L V V X H V L Q W H U P V R f administrative evil, which is rooted in modernity and technical-rational culture. This cul ture programs behavior and masks the ways in which individual behaviors lead to some times horrific outcomes, as in the case of the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia disasters. Discretionary Ethics?Purposive and Entrepreneurial Responsiveness Prior to this point, the nature of responsiveness and ethical obligations discussed centered on the relationship between administrators and their political masters or administrators and the agencies in which they work. Beginning effectively in the late 1960s and early 1970s, This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 486 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory there was recognition that there was more than an amorphous clientele or single public who received benefits and services from government. There was recognition that responsiveness does not mean neutral and equal implementation of laws for all people in the same way. As such, the appropriate ethical lens applied to administrator behavior is not neces sarily control-centered ethics but rather discretionary ethics. Administrators have discre tion to choose right or wrong, and they are challenged to decide ethical and behavioral questions where what is more good than something else is not easily discernible. Discre tionary ethics is thus the appropriate perspective to associate with purposive and entrepre neurial responsiveness. Purposive Responsiveness Purposive responsiveness is the extent to which administrators think and act based upon their own uniquely developed set of professional or public goals. This variant of respon siveness is based on the goals of a collective of administrators or individual administrators to achieve a good for a population or constituency they feel deserves service. However, differential treatment needs to be based, from this view, on a desire to provide more services and meet a greater need of a given group of people, not on a desire to deny services to a needy group of people based on preconceived notions (i.e., categories and labelsyf R I W K H H [ W H Q W W R Z K L F K W K H \ G H V H U Y H V H U Y L F H V D Q G E H Q H I L W V ) R U L Q V W D Q F H F R Q V L G H U W K e case of immigrants who are in need of services: "Public servants could not ethically implement a policy that was overtly detrimental to the well-being of any segment of the population. It would be unethical, for example, to cooperate with cutting off disability benefits to legal immigrants, many of whom are elderly and are likely to wind up mal nourished and/or homeless. Such a policy amounts to defining this group as a surplus population, and an ethical public service cannot be complicit in that sort of public policy" (Adams and Balfour 2004, 162yf . The New Public Administration (Marini 1971yf I R U P H G W K H E D V L V R I W K L V Z D \ R I W K L Q k ing, with an ultimate goal of equity. Frederickson (1971, 1990yf G H I L Q H V H T X L W \ D V G L I I H r ential forms of equality based on blocks or segments of society. That is, all low-income individuals need to be treated differently than other income segments. Similarly, blocks and segments can be based on ethnic or racial minorities of certain income levels. Admin istrators may also have an obligation to future generations (Frederickson 1994yf , Q W H U P V R f responsiveness, then, administrators need to be responsive to the overall objective of a socially just society where goods and services are equitably distributed based on need. Purposive responsiveness is also reflected in representative bureaucracy literature (Dolan and Rosenbloom 2003yf + H U H L W L V W K R X J K W W K R X J K Q R W H P S L U L F D O O \ Y H U L I L H G X Q D m biguously, that administrators who are demographically representative of the larger pop ulation will act in such a way as to achieve greater ends for population segments in need. Entrepreneurial Responsiveness Whereas purposive responsiveness is based on recognition of different needs of groups of people, entrepreneurial responsiveness seeks responsiveness to individuals as customers of government. This variant of responsiveness is the extent to which administrators act and think according to the needs and demands of their identified customers. Based on an environment dominated by concepts borrowed from the private sector and fixed to public sector activities, this variant of responsiveness is individualized and flexible in terms of how rules and structures constrain behavior. Administrators in this environment are encouraged This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Bryer Responsive Public Administration 487 to take risks; they are empowered to do what is necessary to empower customers to get what they want from government (Frederickson 1996yf . The ideas of New Public Management entered practice in the United States through popular books on reinventing government (Osborne and Gaebler 1992yf W K U R X J K I H G H U D l reinvention efforts, as seen in the National Performance Review, and through various state and local government efforts to apply private sector principles to the public sector (Andrisani, Hakim, and Leeds 2000yf ) R U H [ D P S O H * L X O L D Q L \f discusses the effect competition had on New York City's transportation department services. By inviting administrators to compete with private sector providers, administrators were able to push themselves to do more work of higher quality with fewer resources. Such competitive pressure is a central tenant of reinvention and quality improvement in government. Perhaps more central to New Public Management is the idea of responsiveness to the customers of government. Customer orientation drives the thought and action of govern ment reformers who seek to make government as responsive to their customers as private companies are to theirs (Osborne and Gaebler 1992yf 9 L J R G D * D G R W \f defines New Public Management as the "religion" and responsiveness as the "law" in this context. Deliberative Ethics?Collaborative Responsiveness Collaborative responsiveness is the extent to which administrators are open to new ways of thinking and behaving and to which they change their thoughts and behaviors according to the consensus-based decisions of their stakeholders. This variant of responsiveness is based in discretionary ethics, which assumes a certain degree of administrator autonomy. Ethical decisions are private decisions, wrestled in one's mind. Ethics can also be deliberative, based on socially constructed and possibly evolving norms. Such an ethical perspective associates with collaborative responsiveness. Vigoda (2002yf G H V F U L E H V W K H H Y R O X W L R Q R I S X E O L F D G P L Q L V W U D W L R Q D V P R Y L Q J I U R m recognition of the public as consumers or clients to the public as partners or collaborators with administrators. In the collaborative view, Vigoda suggests that responsiveness, at least as defined in the New Public Management view, is not as useful a concept. Admin istrators and citizens are acting as one to achieve a greater public good, as established through collaboration and partnership. This view is put into practice through various government-citizen interaction efforts (King and Stivers 1998yf D Q G F R O O D E R U D W L Y H X Q G H U W D N L Q J V $ J U D Q R I I D Q G 0 F * X L U H ; Kathi and Cooper 2005yf ) R U L Q V W D Q F H W K H / H D U Q L Q J D Q G ' H V L J Q ) R U X P . D W K L D Q G & R R S H r 2005yf L Q V W L W X W H G L Q W K H F L W \ R I / R V $ Q J H O H V V H H N V W R E X L O G W U X V W D Q G V K D U H G X Q G H U V W D Q G L Q J R f common social concerns between city agencies and city neighborhood councils. Another example is AmericaSpeaks (Lukensmeyer and Torres 2006yf Z K L F K L V D O D U J H V F D O H F L W L ] H n discourse process to both empower citizens and inform the policy-making process. Collaboration and deliberation are seen as remedies to an uninformed and dis interested public, and, ethically, they are seen as means to get members of the public to recognize the consequences of the public decisions they make. This latter point is one of the bases of coming to public judgment, a process whereby members of the public move through dialog from unstable preferences and opinion to stable and informed judgment (Yankelovich 1991yf . In terms of responsiveness, it may be the case that full collaboration does not require decisions of responsiveness to whom and under what conditions. However, literature on This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 488 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory collaborative and deliberative processes contains cautionary notes regarding the ability to engage everybody, all publics, in collaboration. The questions will always arise: What public should be involved? What other stakeholders should be involved? Fox and Miller (1995yf L Q W K H L U T X H V W I R U G L V F R X U V H D U J X H W K D W S X U V X L Q J D V W U D W H J \ R f "many talk" is not realistic. Rather, administrators should facilitate discourse among few, rather than many. The few are what Cobb and Elder (1983yf F R Q V L G H U W R E H W K H F H Q W U D O J U R X S , the group's public, and the attention group. These are parts of the public who are interested and/or engaged in activities relevant to a specific issue or issue area. Two big parts of the public are left out of this equation: the so-called attentive public and the behemoth, the general public. With these concerns and practical problems of collaboration, it might not ever be the case that the notion of responsiveness is irrelevant. Rather, as citizens and particular publics seek collaboration directly with public administrators, choices of responsiveness are made more complicated. Administrators might have discretion, but they may still be tightly controlled in their ability to freely and openly act within and interpret their environment. Couple this with demands for collaboration, and administrators now must choose between responsiveness to those with whom they are collaborating, as there is an obligation to citizenship and participation (Cooper 1991yf Z K L O H D O V R P H H W L Q J W K H R W K H U R E O L J D W L R Q V W K D W H [ L V W L Q W K H H Q Y L U R Q P H Q W : to political masters, rules, professional norms, various purposive ends, and consumers. In this way, collaboration is treated more as a negotiation. Negotiated Responsiveness The final variant of responsiveness reflects the challenge faced by administrators in the increasingly collaborative environment to balance potentially conflicting ethical obliga tions. Collaboration is one step beyond responsiveness in the evolution of government citizen relations (Vigoda 2002yf D Q G W K H T X H V W I R U U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V W R F R P S H W L Q J R E O L J D W L R Q s in this collaborative environment might enable both greater responsiveness and more collaboration (Vigoda-Gadot 2003yf . In this environment, administrators might enter a collaborative undertaking, but they treat collaboration more as negotiation. Negotiated responsiveness is the extent to which administrators seek balance between multiple, potentially competing demands. Literature on negotiation and conflict resolution is useful to understanding responsiveness in a nego tiation context. A key point taken from negotiation literature is that an administrator will respond based not only on the interests of oneself and the other parties (Fisher and Ury 1981yf E X W D O V R R Q W K H E H K D Y L R U V R U D F W L R Q V R I R Q H V H O I D Q G W K H R W K H U S D U W L H V ' U X F N P D Q D Q d Harris 1990yf . Along these lines, Druckman (1977yf G L V F X V V H V W Z R W \ S H V R I U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V L Q D E D r gaining context: direct and internal. In the bargaining context, direct responsiveness is to the previous demands made by the other parties in negotiation; internal responsiveness is to one's own previous demands in negotiation. That is, negotiators seek balance between the demands being made by the other parties negotiating and the demands the focal nego tiator is making. To broaden these concepts from negotiation and bargaining to collaboration, admin istrators while collaborating with certain publics are torn between direct responsiveness to the interests and demands of the collaborators and internal responsiveness to the other internalized ethical obligations that both guide and restrict administrator behavior. Internal This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Bryer Responsive Public Administration 489 responsiveness in this case means responding to other obligations that are internalized. Administrators are challenged to balance internal and direct responsiveness in a collabo rative setting. They negotiate potentially conflicting obligations throughout and, perhaps differently, in each phase of collaboration, based on their own interests and behaviors, as well as the perceived interests and behaviors of those with whom they are collaborating. These six variants of responsiveness introduced above will be used as the organizing framework for a review of responsiveness studies. The review is not intended to be comprehensive, but it does contain literature that is representative of the kind of work that has been done in recent years. As part of the review of literature based on the six variants of responsiveness, an answer will be given to the question: How relevant has literature on responsiveness been to the environments and obligations of administrators? BUREAUCRATIC RESPONSIVENESS IN THE LITERATURE Bureaucratic responsiveness has been studied in multiple ways, using various definitions of the concept, and diverse methods to assess the extent of it in various situations. This makes a review of literature on responsiveness potentially complicated. To facilitate the review, it will be organized by the variants introduced in the following order: dictated and purposive responsiveness, constrained responsiveness, entrepreneurial responsiveness, and collabo rative and negotiated responsiveness. This sequencing departs from the conceptual order ing above in order to reflect where empirical literatures combine. Based on the review below it is suggested that existing literature has addressed each variant in a relevant and largely satisfactory way, but more needs to be done to combine perspectives. Following the review, this is a theme returned to in conclusion. Dictated and Purposive Responsiveness Research and writing in public administration and political science have given significant attention to dictated and purposive variants of responsiveness. More often than not, themes related to each variant are addressed without explicit reference to responsiveness, but the issue is still addressed implicitly. Overall, it can be said that writing in public administra tion and related fields has been relevant to the challenges faced by administrators in being responsive to each of the orders of political officials, their normative pursuits, and to both simultaneously. Literature has approached the topic from various theoretical perspectives, including principal-agent theory and theories of decision making, including bounded ra tionality. Studies have used multiple types of methodology, and they have drawn numerous implications from findings. A central tension between dictated and purposive responsiveness is the issue of neutrality. Rourke (1992yf F R Q V L G H U V W K H G H F O L Q L Q J Z R U W K R I Q H X W U D O F R P S H W H Q F H D V L W P L J K t exist in the bureaucracy. In doing so, he underscores how political leaders generally have tried to control the bureaucracy and, failing that, have looked elsewhere for either sup portive implementers of favored policies or neutral implementers of policy, regardless of who was in office. Executives have sought and continue to seek control by increasing the influence of politics in the bureaucracy, beginning with an increasing number of Schedule C appointments (Rourke 1992yf D Q G F X O P L Q D W L Q J L Q W K H D G P L Q L V W U D W L Y H S U H V L G H Q F \ 1 D W K D n 1975yf / H J L V O D W R U V V H H N F R Q W U R O W K U R X J K K D U G Z L U L Q J 0 R H \f and the passage of new administrative procedures (Baila 1998yf . This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 490 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory On this latter point, Baila (1998yf V K R Z V L Q K L V V W X G \ R I W K H + H D O W K & D U H ) L Q D Q F L Q g Administration that administrative procedures are not always efficacious in generating a desired response by administrators. That is, political control is not exerted through all forms of procedures enacted by legislative decision makers. Similarly, Chaney and Saltzstein (1998yf H [ S O R U H W K H U H O D W L R Q V K L S E H W Z H H Q G L U H F W R U G H U V L Q W H U S U H W H G W K U R X J K V W D W e and local laws and police behavior in domestic violence situations. Using a principal-agent model they find that direct orders sometimes shape bureaucratic behavior, but in other cases, bureaucratic discretion is more important, thus suggesting the possibility of purpo sive forms of responsiveness acting simultaneously with dictated forms. In another research, Golden (1992yf I L Q G V W K D W E X U H D X F U D W V L Q W Z R I H G H U D O D J H Q F L H s responded to orders and attempts at control in the Reagan administration differently based on ideology, dominant profession in the agency, and other such factors that together con stitute the character and role orientation of the bureaucrat. She concluded that bureaucrats can respond in one of four ways to direct control: (1yf H [ L W I U R P W K H R U J D Q L ] D W L R Q L I W K H F R Q W U R l attempted is objectionable, (2yf X V H Y R L F H W R V W D W H K R Z F R Q W U R O D W W H P S W H G L V R E M H F W L R Q D E O H \f show loyalty to the President, regardless of the control attempted, or (4yf V K R Z Q H J O H F W E y acting with a lack of enthusiasm but in accordance with the attempted orders. In all, Golden demonstrates the variety of possible responses to attempts at bureaucratic control. The final piece that will be considered here as demonstrative of how research and writing in public administration and related fields has been relevant in terms of dictated responsiveness is a recent study by Meier and O'Toole (2005yf 7 K H \ D W W H P S W W R G L V H Q W D Q J O e the effects of political control from bureaucratic discretion and, ultimately, to challenge literature on political control of the bureaucracy. To do this, they use representative bureaucracy to show both control and discretion. The percentages of Latino school board members in Texas districts were used as a measure of political control and influence, and the percentage of Latino teachers were used as a measure of bureaucratic discretion. Using Latino student achievement as a dependent variable, they found that political control (i.e., the values of politicians as measured by percentage of Latino school board membersyf Z D s not as effective at lifting Latino student achievement as bureaucratic/teacher influence. The conclusion of this piece and all others reviewed above is as follows: be wary of studies that suggest political control as dominant, as they might often miss valuable measures of bureaucratic influence vis-?-vis political control. They might also fail to account for alternative options of bureaucratic behavior in the face of control, per Golden (1992yf . Other literature is more concerned with purposive responsiveness. The Governor's Branch Offices documented by Vosburgh and Hyman (1973yf S U R Y L G H D Q H [ D P S O H I R U K R w goals of client well-being supplanted rules and other constraints on responsiveness. In this case, the Governor of Pennsylvania provided both the symbolic and transformational leadership to change the culture of state government and the instrumental and transac tional leadership to get the resources necessary to institute structural changes. The symbolic leadership is demonstrated in the following statement made by the Governor to employees of the newly created Governor's Branch Offices: "You will no longer be part of (or therefore defender ofyf W K H Z H O I D U H V \ V W H P R U W K H H P S O R \ P H Q W V H F X U L W \ V \ V W H P R U D Q \ R W K H r system. You are now an advocate for the person who comes into the Governor's Branch Offices with a problem" (Vosburgh and Hyman 1973, 438yf . Administrators or advocates were encouraged in the Pennsylvania example to do what was necessary to attend to all of the needs of clients that sought assistance. For instance, This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Bryer Responsive Public Administration a regular newsletter was produced that reported the highly responsive and successful actions of Governor's Branch Offices advocates. One story reported how an advocate brought an unemployed and homeless woman home with him and his family for a night, fed her a meal, and drove her to a new job he found for her the following day. Representative bureaucracy is taken up by a diverse array of literature (Dolan and Rosenbloom 2003yf & H Q W U D O L Q W K L V O L W H U D W X U H L V Z K H W K H U K R Z D Q G W R Z K D W H [ W H Q W S D V V L Y e representation" turns into "active representation." Passive representation is the demo graphic character of members of the bureaucracy, as compared to the general population. Rohr (1986yf D U J X H V W K D W V X F K S D V V L Y H U H S U H V H Q W D W L R Q K H D O V D P D M R U G H I H F W L Q W K H & R Q V W L W u tion, namely the small size and demographically unrepresentative nature of the U.S. House of Representatives. Active representation, in terms of responsiveness, is purposive in form, where administrators, due to their belonging to a particular demographic group, act in a way benefiting the interests ofthat group. Sowa and Seiden (2003yf I L Q G W K D W E X U H D X F U D W V D U H P R U H O L N H O \ W R E H D F W L Y H U H S U H V H n tatives of or responsive in their actions and decisions to minorities when they perceive themselves to have high degrees of administrative discretion. Active representation and responsiveness to a certain population might also require the cognitive adoption of a minority representative role (Seiden, Brudney, and Kellough 1998yf D W P X O W L S O H O H Y H O s of a multilevel governance system (Meier, O'Toole, and Nicholson-Crotty 2004yf 7 K D t is, for instance, purposive forms of bureaucratic responsiveness might require teachers, school administrators, and school board members to all actively represent minority or otherwise underrepresented constituencies in order for there to be notable responsiveness to those constituencies. Without active representatives at multiple levels of governance, political opposition to certain bureaucratic initiatives might be more likely to succeed. This is suggested by a study suggesting the primacy of political opposition in shaping bureau cratic behavior when there are opportunities for active representatives to flourish (Kim 2003yf . A final study that will be discussed here is interesting in that it implicitly bridges purposive and constrained forms of responsiveness. Romzek and Hendricks (1982, 77yf ask "Is organizational involvement undermined by pressures for representation of outside groups' interests or enhanced by the opportunity to represent the interest of the public in a bureaucratic setting?" The responsiveness issue implicitly dealt with here is that between responsiveness constrained by organizational norms, goals, and rules, and responsiveness to an outside constituency. To answer this question, the authors consider the difference between advocacy organizations, such as the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and non advocacy organizations, expecting to find differences based on the perceived role and behaviors of each bureaucrat. They comment, for instance, that an "advocacy agency may attract and hold employees whose action would be seen as inappropriate, disruptive, or even subversive of organizational goals in a more conventional bureaucratic setting" (Romzek and Hendricks 1982, 76yf . Romzek and Hendricks (1982yf V X J J H V W L Q F R Q F O X V L R Q W K D W W K H F K D O O H Q J H L V I R U D J H Q F L H s to not let organizational constraints and expectations conflict with the responsiveness goals of administrators or the agency as a whole. That is, discretion of administrators should not be channeled away from responsiveness behaviors that can achieve organizational goals. With the effect of dictated action from elected officials on responsiveness mostly uncer tain, the organization has the opportunity to constrain or free administrators to be respon sive as they wish. This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 492 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory Constrained Responsiveness Responsiveness can be constrained by organizational rules, cultures, or structures, as well as by professional norms. Research has sought to understand this variant of responsiveness from the perspectives of bounded rationality and resource dependence. Gormley, Hoadley, and Williams (1983yf U H F R J Q L ] H W K H E R X Q G H G O \ U D W L R Q D O F K D U D F W H U R I D G P L Q L V W U D W R U V D Q G W K X s placed great importance on constraints and, particularly, the avenues for access and influence within the constraints. They hypothesized that public utility commissioners would be more responsive to their staff and utility company executives than to consumer advocates; they would be least responsive to individual citizen activists. This hierarchy of responsiveness is based on the access afforded to certain actors in a highly structured and rule-bound process. Reliance on rules and other constraints to inform responsiveness decisions are seen in other studies. Mladenka (1981yf H [ D P L Q H V E X U H D X F U D W L F U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V L Q W Z R X U E D n areas: Chicago, a machine government, and Houston, a reformed government. He found that variations in responsiveness behavior are best understood by examining adminis trative procedures established to process citizen demands, as well as by the level of re sources required to solve the problem. As such, Mladenka identifies three objects of responsive behavior: powerful politicians, knowledgeable citizens, or administrative pro cedures. The third object of response is a function of the technical-rational application of rules and the structural characteristics of the agency that drive use of such rules to make decisions. Getter and Schumaker (1978yf V L P L O D U O \ I L Q G W K D W D U H I R U P J R Y H U Q P H Q W V W U X F W X U H , which consists of a council-manager government, nonpartisan elections, and at-large representation, results in greater responsiveness to group demands, as opposed to public opinion. Another constraint considered here is from professional norms. Kearney and Sinha (1988yf D G G U H V V W K H F R Q F H U Q W K D W D S U R I H V V L R Q D O L ] H G E X U H D X F U D F \ Z L O O E H U H V S R Q V L Y H W o nothing but some narrow, self-preserving interest. They argue that the administrative state consists of representatives from all professions and each of the four estates?scientific, professional, administrative, and political. Whereas no single administrator will be re sponsive to the broadly defined public interest, all administrators acting across their pro fessions will be responsive to the public interest. Individually constrained behaviors are a source of a collective responsiveness, unlike constraints that come from rules and cul tures that could be aggregative in their influence across an agency and jurisdiction. The lesson derived from studies such as these is that administrators are constrained in their behavior, and the constraints in use as applied from above or self-imposed are strong determinants and indicators of responsiveness. For instance, administrators and bureaucracies may be less responsive to a given situation or stakeholder if the structures in place and rules-in-use do not offer readily available avenues for action. Jones et al. (1977yf R I I H U W K D W U H V S R Q V H V E \ S X E O L F D J H Q F L H V W R F L W L ] H Q L Q L W L D W H G F R Q W D F W V P D \ Y D U y if there is no general policy giving that agency responsibility to address the need expressed through the contact. Similarly, the formal procedures in place can shape the extent to which participation by some stakeholders is encouraged and the related extent to which bureaucrats are procedurally able to be responsive to those stakeholders (West 2004yf 1 H [ W W R E H F R Q V L G H U H G L V D Y D U L D Q W R I U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V W K D W L V I U H H I U R P W K e kinds of constraints discussed here, except for the underlying rationale of customer satisfaction. This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Bryer Responsive Public Administration 493 Entrepreneurial Responsiveness Much has been written on entrepreneurial government, reinventing government, and new public management. Several edited volumes have sought to teach and/or demonstrate the virtues of private sector management practices, performance measurement and manage ment techniques, and incentive pay systems as they apply to the public sector. Such volumes include one produced by the Government Performance Coalition, a group con sisting of various nonprofit, think tank, and academic bodies actively pursuing advances in government performance (Abramson 2001yf 7 K L V V D P H J U R X S S U R G X F H G D O R Q J H U Z R U N , though touching on the same or similar themes as the original collection (White and Newcomer 2005yf . O L W J D D U G D Q G / L J K W \f edited a volume that provides lessons and insights to achieve a high-performance government. So-called "best practices" are put on display in a volume showing the private management practices brought to government by mayors and governors (Andrisani, Hakim, and Leeds 2000yf 3 U L Y D W H V H F W R U S H U I R U P D Q F e measurement and management practices have been shown to apply well to government, such as the balanced scorecard (Whittaker 2001yf Z K L F K U H T X L U H V W K D W D J H Q F L H V P H D V X U e their performance based on multiple measures according to the expectations of different stakeholders. Central to reinvention and new public management literature are themes of customer orientation and responsiveness to customers. Alford (2002yf V H H N V W R X Q G H U V W D Q G W K H F X s tomer relationship from the perspective of social-exchange, whereby administrators are responsive to their customers with the expectation that they will get something back in return, such as information, knowledge of local conditions, or compliance with adminis trator directives. Research has also considered how responsiveness to customers might result in diminished responsiveness to elected officials, thus potentially reducing the dem ocratic value of customer-oriented reinvented government (Kettl 1993; Kelly 1998yf . Customer orientation is also emphasized in efforts to measure citizen satisfaction with government services and programs with the intention of enhancing responsiveness to customers (Chi 1999yf 9 D U L R X V K R Z W R J X L G H V S R L Q W W K H Z D \ I R U S X E O L F D J H Q F L H V W R V X c cessfully measure their performance and assess citizen satisfaction (Hatry et al. 1998; Hatry 1999yf . Cope (1997yf F R Q V L G H U V U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V L Q W K H H Q W U H S U H Q H X U L D O F R Q W H [ W E X W G R H V Q R t present any empirical findings. He argues that various reinvention and entrepreneurial efforts are potentially damaging to political and general responsiveness, which is respon siveness to all citizens. Reinvention efforts, he argues, aim to achieve specific responsive ness, which is responsiveness to individual customers. He prefers strategies that bring together citizen and policy makers with administrators. In this way, responsiveness is more than producing a detailed and comprehensive budget or strategic planning document for public consumption; it is based on interaction, influence, and understanding by citizens. The work by Cope (1997yf Q L F H O \ O H D G V L Q W R D G L V F X V V L R Q R I F R O O D E R U D W L Y H U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V R U , more simply collaboration. Collaborative and Negotiated Responsiveness Vigoda (2002yf V X J J H V W V W K D W R Q F H F R O O D E R U D W L R Q E H W Z H H Q D G P L Q L V W U D W R U V D Q G F L W L ] H Q V L s achieved, responsiveness is no longer an issue. Administrators acting in a collaborative and deliberative fashion will "seek both efficiency and effectiveness, short-run and long run perspectives, global and local considerations, individual and collective needs, social This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 494 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory and economic concerns, security and freedom, change and stability, diversity and com monality of purpose" (Roberts 1997, 125yf . In the collaborative and deliberative context, Roberts (1997yf H [ D P L Q H V Z K D W V K H F D O O s a generative approach to policy making. Through such an approach, various stakeholders are incorporated into policy-making, goal setting, and implementation activities. She examines two examples: setting direction in educational policy and reducing a school district budget. Through her analysis, she demonstrated the potential for collaboration and deliberation to replace responsiveness, as suggested by Vigoda (2002yf . An extensive amount of work on collaboration, negotiated rule making, network structures of governance, and coproduction of services continues to appear in numerous journals and at various conferences. For example, a collection of work from a recent con ference on civic engagement at the University of Southern California appeared in the Public Administration Review (Cooper 2005yf 3 D S H U V S U H V H Q W H G D Q G S X E O L V K H G L Q W K e collection addressed various issues of engagement, collaboration, the tools to achieve each, and some empirical findings that show the possibility of each. One piece examines the mechanics of a collaborative model to bring together administrative agencies with citi zen groups to develop shared understanding, trust, and, ultimately, enhanced relationships and possibly improved service delivery (Kathi and Cooper 2005yf . There is a shift happening in the environments of public administrators now from an interaction of responsiveness by managers to clients/customers to collaboration between citizens and public employees (Vigoda 2002yf 7 K L V V K L I W K R Z H Y H U L V O L N H O \ W R E H P R U e challenging for administrators, who have multiple other obligations and constraints as discussed thus far. According to Vigoda (2002, 538yf , Q W K H F R P L Q J G H F D G H V > S X E O L c administrators] are likely to face citizens' demands to treat them as equal partners. This shift forward is expected to be less readily adopted by government and public administra tion [than by citizens themselves]." In this situation, administrators will perhaps tend to treat collaboration, of the kind described by Roberts (1997yf D Q G . D W K L D Q G & R R S H U \f as more of a negotiation. Research on this gray area between responsiveness to customers/clients (along with the various constraints on action and behavioryf D Q G F R O O D E R U D W L R Q Z L W K F L W L ] H Q V L V Q R t readily available. Exceptions arise when looking at research on the unwillingness of administrators to collaborate or accept negotiated agreements. Though not addressing responsiveness directly, such literature shows the struggle on the part of administrators to be responsive to multiple and potentially conflicting demands. For instance, Thomas (1997yf R E V H U Y H V K R Z S X E O L F D J H Q F \ H [ H F X W L Y H V D U H P R U H O L N H O \ W R V H F X U H W K H L U D X W R Q R P y than to form interagency cooperative relationships in order to protect their organizational units from instability. Different motivations of this kind are also reflected in the work of Paolisso (2002yf Z K R R E V H U Y H G K R Z H [ S H U L H Q W L D O N Q R Z O H G J H R I Z D W H U P H Q L Q 0 D U \ O D Q G s Chesapeake Bay conflicted with the scientific knowledge preferences of Maryland regu lators, thus minimizing the amount of trust between the two actors. Another example comes from Parkinson (2004yf Z K R R E V H U Y H V K R Z W K H L G H D O V R f deliberative democracy are difficult to achieve once they collide with the work practices and assumptions of the new public manager. There may be a preference for separating the ordinary citizen from the knowledgeable citizen, thus failing to generate needed citizen input or advanced learning about citizen needs. Harter (1997yf G L V F X V V H V K R Z U H J X O D W R U y agencies might not be willing to commit to the recommendations derived through nego tiated agreement, perhaps due to a general fear of commitment and lost power and control. This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Bryer Responsive Public Administration 495 Both writers see potential for collaboration and negotiated rule making, but there are barriers to pass. Barriers may be overcome through assurance mechanisms regarding the participation in negotiation or collaboration and how agreements will be used (Weber and Khademian 1997yf 8 Q W L O V X F K P H F K D Q L V P V R U R W K H U V R O X W L R Q V D U H G L V F R Y H U H G D Q G D S S O L H G L n all settings, questions remain as to how and why administrators respond to different demands when their ethical loyalties are divided in so many ways. TOWARD A RELEVANT AGENDA FOR A RESPONSIVE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION The crossroads of public administrators represent three not necessarily compatible paths: technical-rational, entrepreneurial, and citizen participatory. If public administration were to be considered in evolutionary terms, it might be said that the field is evolving from a customer/client-oriented responsive government to collaborative governance (Vigoda 2002yf D Q G I U R P V S H F L I L F U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V W R J H Q H U D O U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V & R S H \f. However, any evolution that may be occurring is not replacing old forms of gover nance with newer forms. Rather, new forms are being developed within older forms. Such resultant overlapping produces collisions (Parkinson 2004yf E H W Z H H Q Y D O X H V D Q G R E O L J D W L R Q s of administrators and the new demands placed on their time and resources. For instance, in a collaborative exercise, administrators will have choices regarding how much time, resources, and energy will be applied to the collaboration as opposed to responsiveness to political leaders, agency rules or norms, a particularly deserving class of stakeholders, and/or individual customers of government. In cases of collaboration with a limited num ber of stakeholders, administrators are being asked to recognize specialized and localized needs of a particular community or group of individuals and to be responsive to that group, rather than to offer the same services in the same manner to this as to all other groups. In this context, there are questions that emerge regarding responsiveness. First among these might be: What set of ethical obligations take precedence when there are multiple demands set within the realm of an administrator's environment? Do the dictates of elected officials dominate over bureaucratic constraints in determining responsiveness? How much does a desire to please the customer matter in the collaborative context? How does the inner-negotiation of the administrator play out when collaborators are seeking change and responsiveness to their unique concerns while the concerns of another set of customer stakeholders, constraints of the bureaucracy, and dictates of politicians are pushing for the attention of the administrator as well? These questions have mostly been addressed in pieces, looking at one possible in fluence on administrator thought and action independent of other possible influences. The collision, as Parkinson (2004yf G H V F U L E H V L W L V Z K D W P L J K W E H R I P R V W L Q W H U H V W L Q W K L s governance era, rather than the separate components, acting independently. Another way to view these questions is within the dynamic context of collaboration. A study of collaborative effects is not entirely well suited to a static cross-sectional design. Rather, long-term tracking of administrator and citizen thought and behavior is desired to capture change in responsiveness and views regarding obligations, if change occurs at all. The question that can be asked here makes use of Waldo's (1948yf D G P L Q L V W U D W L Y H V W D W e concept, which connotes the idea that public administration is at the center of the policy making and implementation arenas. Kathi and Cooper (2005yf D V N W K H T X H V W L R Q R I K R Z W K e administrative state can be democratized. Their answer was through a collaborative model between public agencies and citizens called the Learning and Design Forum. Building on This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 496 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory their question, a new one arises: How is bureaucratic responsiveness affected when the administrative state is opened through collaboration between administrators and citizens? The different variants of responsiveness introduced in this article suggest that re sponsiveness may or may not change. Dictated responsiveness, grounded partially in principal-agent theory, suggests that the political environment will control the response; constrained responsiveness, informed by theories of bureaucracy, bounded rationality, and resource dependence, suggests that responsiveness will not change. Indeed, this per spective suggests the possibility of exaggerated action to avoid change (Weick 1991yf W K X s potentially resulting in a change in citizen attitudes and behaviors rather than in adminis trator attitudes and behaviors as through co-optation (Selznick 1949; Pfeffer and Salancik 1978yf & R O O D E R U D W L Y H U H V S R Q V L Y H Q H V V Z K L F K F D Q E H H [ S O R U H G W K U R X J K W K H R U L H V R I O H D U Q L Q J , suggests that administrators will open themselves to learning and change based on inter actions with citizens. In the case where an administrator is operating in a New Public Management culture, rather than the traditional administrative state culture, the question is related but different: How is bureaucratic responsiveness affected when the new public manager is subjected to collaboration between administrators and citizens? As above, there are numerous possible answers to this question, depending on which set of ethical obligations are dominant for the individual administrator. In the dynamic context of collaboration, responsiveness needs to be understood in order to provide public managers and stakeholders of public organizations, including citizens, with knowledge of how successful collaboration can be in terms of enhancing responsiveness. Theoretical justifications can be proposed for any one possible outcome, but a theory needs to be developed to explain why and how responsiveness might change through collaboration when all competing perspectives are taken together. Research on negotiated responsiveness thus should proceed to develop such theory and supply such practical knowledge. It is not likely that a large-scale quantitative study will generate the kinds of information needed at this point in time. Rather focus should be on conducting individual case studies and, where possible, multiple case studies where administrators are placed in a collaborative context and where the dynamics of change can be observed from before the start of collaboration until after the collaborative process has reached some kind of conclusion or milestone. Research should test individual theories that would explain the dominance of any one ethical perspective and responsiveness variant in the collaborative context but should also be open to the development of new theory to fit this evolving context. In summary, future research on responsiveness should be dynamic in design rather than static in order to capture the possible changes over time in administrator thought and behavior. Not only should the effect of opening the administrative state to collaboration be considered but also the reasons for the observed effect should be explored, as suggested by the questions above. Overall, it is clear in the literature that the environments of admin istrators and the ethical obligations confronting administrators are changing but also very much remaining the same. Suggestions to fade the concept of responsiveness in favor of a reinterpretation are as of now premature, but researchers need to show that there is still much to learn in order to keep responsiveness as a central and relevant concept in public administration. To do this, all six variants need to be actively considered within the context of the increasingly networked and collaborative forms of governance existing in today's public administration. This content downloaded from 162.237.206.47 on Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:25:02 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Bryer Responsive Public Administration 497 REFERENCES Abramson, Mark A., ed. 2001. Memos to the President: Management advice from the nation 's top public administrators. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Adams, Guy B., and Danny L. 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