Leadership of Public Bureaucracies – The Administrator as Conservator
November 3, 2010
In Leadership of Public Bureaucracies – The Administrator as Conservator, Larry D. Terry explores public administration from a relatively new perspective, that of Bureaucratic Leadership, which he describes as historically neglected by scholars. Bureaucratic leadership, according to Terry, is “…institutional leadership in the administration of public bureaucracies within the executive branch of all levels of government” (p. 4). Terry goes on to discuss the important role bureaucratic leaders play in public administration. Terry’s first chapter looks at the reasons why the subject of bureaucratic leadership has not received the attention he believes …show more content…
Chapter 1 also establishes a normative role for leaders of public bureaucracies. The key concept of the leadership role of the administrator is his function as ‘‘conservator.’’ Terry advanced the idea that “…administrative conservatorship is the willingness of administrative elites, out of traditional loyalty and moral principles, to preserve authority and distribution of power with regard to the propriety of an institution’s existence, its functional niche, and its collective institutional goals…the preservation of institutional integrity” (p. 25). He dissects and defines this statement within his concept of administrative conservatorship. For Terry’s concept, institution must be differentiated from and not confused with organization. He draws from the works of Selznick and Scott to derive his definition of an institution as “…a creation of social needs and aspirations; it is an adaptive, responsive, cooperative system that embodies cultural values. The cultural values and moral commitments of a society are implanted in its institutions.” Broadly, administrative elites are seen as “…those individuals or groups who are responsible for the promotion and conservation of social …show more content…
Rather, the book turns into a “how-to” manual for executive leadership. His introduction of strategies doesn’t fit the overall concept he’s trying to advance. I was left wanting a clearer explanation of the concepts related to conserving mission and support. I felt the chapter on conserving values was completely off the mark. Terry’s definition of values, “objects of desire that are capable of sustaining group identity…including any set of goals or standards that can form the basis of shared perspective and group feelings” (p. 108), is not what I consider to be an organization’s values. To me, the values of an organization are the acceptable standards which govern the work actions of individuals within the organization. Those standards must be defined, promoted and conserved by the leadership of the organization. Terry goes on to contradict himself by expanding the administrator conservator role into an “executive cadre” whereby several leaders are responsible for this task. While I believe that this is absolutely true in the real world and Terry is correct, he appears to be reaching for answers. It’s obvious that leadership, perhaps in the form of an “executive cadre”, is responsible for promoting and conserving mission as well as support yet Terry doesn’t rely on this during those discussions. Overall, I just felt that this was by far his weakest chapter. On the other hand, I did
November 3, 2010
In Leadership of Public Bureaucracies – The Administrator as Conservator, Larry D. Terry explores public administration from a relatively new perspective, that of Bureaucratic Leadership, which he describes as historically neglected by scholars. Bureaucratic leadership, according to Terry, is “…institutional leadership in the administration of public bureaucracies within the executive branch of all levels of government” (p. 4). Terry goes on to discuss the important role bureaucratic leaders play in public administration. Terry’s first chapter looks at the reasons why the subject of bureaucratic leadership has not received the attention he believes …show more content…
Chapter 1 also establishes a normative role for leaders of public bureaucracies. The key concept of the leadership role of the administrator is his function as ‘‘conservator.’’ Terry advanced the idea that “…administrative conservatorship is the willingness of administrative elites, out of traditional loyalty and moral principles, to preserve authority and distribution of power with regard to the propriety of an institution’s existence, its functional niche, and its collective institutional goals…the preservation of institutional integrity” (p. 25). He dissects and defines this statement within his concept of administrative conservatorship. For Terry’s concept, institution must be differentiated from and not confused with organization. He draws from the works of Selznick and Scott to derive his definition of an institution as “…a creation of social needs and aspirations; it is an adaptive, responsive, cooperative system that embodies cultural values. The cultural values and moral commitments of a society are implanted in its institutions.” Broadly, administrative elites are seen as “…those individuals or groups who are responsible for the promotion and conservation of social …show more content…
Rather, the book turns into a “how-to” manual for executive leadership. His introduction of strategies doesn’t fit the overall concept he’s trying to advance. I was left wanting a clearer explanation of the concepts related to conserving mission and support. I felt the chapter on conserving values was completely off the mark. Terry’s definition of values, “objects of desire that are capable of sustaining group identity…including any set of goals or standards that can form the basis of shared perspective and group feelings” (p. 108), is not what I consider to be an organization’s values. To me, the values of an organization are the acceptable standards which govern the work actions of individuals within the organization. Those standards must be defined, promoted and conserved by the leadership of the organization. Terry goes on to contradict himself by expanding the administrator conservator role into an “executive cadre” whereby several leaders are responsible for this task. While I believe that this is absolutely true in the real world and Terry is correct, he appears to be reaching for answers. It’s obvious that leadership, perhaps in the form of an “executive cadre”, is responsible for promoting and conserving mission as well as support yet Terry doesn’t rely on this during those discussions. Overall, I just felt that this was by far his weakest chapter. On the other hand, I did