The DOI matches its Crossref record; 1 of the 1 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Responsibility versus accountability in the Friedrich‐Finer debate
Abstract
Purpose To consider anew the classic debate between Herman Finer and Carl Friedrich in the history of public administration that has shaped both the theory and practice of government since the 1940s in much of the Western world, and in other parts of the world influenced by the Western example. Design/methodology/approach A study of the original contribution of both Finer and Friedrich in their own times, which is then put into the current context of reducing the size of government. Findings The central argument is a distinction between accountability which means obeying orders and responsibility which means acting on a judgment of the greater good. Originality/value The paper reminds readers that accountability to a minister and responsibility to the public good may not always coincide.
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“The point is that the orthodox image of bureaucracy as a pure instrument of government is far too narrow (see Jackson, 2009) and so is the conception of the bureaucratic ethos, deriving exclusively from values like efficiency, neutrality, loyalty, expertise, and hierarchy (Cooper, 1990).”
From Public Administration Under Populist Rule: Standing Up Against Democratic Backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as Jackson, 2009
Citations
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Weber, M. (2005) · Social Theory · doi:10.1515/9781474469654-020 · Cited by 1,240
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Research works printed but not linked: 21
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- Finer, H. (1940), “Administrative responsibility in democratic government”, Public Administration Review, Vol. 1 No. 4, pp. 335‐50. · DOI
- Friedrich, C.J. (1935), Problems of the American Public Service, McGraw‐Hill, New York, NY.
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- Hobbes, T. (1651), Leviathan, Blackwell, Oxford.
- Jackson, M. (2004), “Hegel's theory of bureaucracy”, in Bill Jenkins and Edward C. Page (Eds), The Foundation of Bureaucracy in Economic and Social Thought, Edward Elgar, London, Vol. I, pp. 3‐21.
- Jackson, M. (2005), “Philosopher‐kings and bankers”, Theoria, Vol. 107, pp. 9‐35. · DOI
- Justice, J. and Miller, G. (2006), “Decision making, institutions, elite control, and responsiveness in administrative history”, in Rabin, J., Hildreth, W.B. and Miller, G.J. (Eds), Handbook of Public Administration, 3rd ed., Jossey‐Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp. 250‐313.
- McSwite, O.C. (2002), “Moving on (legitimacy is over) millennial consciousness and its potential”, in Jun, J.S. (Ed.), Rethinking Administrative Theory: The Challenges of the New Century, Greenwood, Westport, CT, pp. 3‐23.
- Meier, K. and Krause, G. (2003), “The scientific study of bureaucracy: an overview”, in Meier, K. and Krause, G. (Eds), Politics, Policy, and Organization, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI, pp. 1‐18.
- Mulgan, R. (2003), Holding Power to Account: Accountability in Modern Democracies, Palgrave, London. · DOI
- O'Leary, R. (2005), The Ethics of Dissent, Congressional Quarterly, Washington, DC.
- Rhodes, R.A. and Wanna, J. (2007), “The limits to public value, or rescuing responsible government from Platonic guardians”, Australian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 66 No. 4, pp. 406‐21. · DOI
- Ridley, F.F. (1985), “Political neutrality in the British civil service”, Politics, Ethics and Public Service, Royal Institute of Public Administration, London, pp. 31‐42.
- van Riper, P.P. (1984), “The politics‐administration dichotomy: concept or reality?”, in Rabin, J. and Bowman, J.S. (Eds), Politics and Administration: Woodrow Wilson and American Public Administration, Marcel Dekker, New York, NY, pp. 17‐30.
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Public Administration Under Populist Rule: Standing Up Against Democratic Backsliding
Bauer, M. W. (2024) · International Journal of Public Administration · doi:10.1080/01900692.2023.2243400 · Cited by 104
“In the famous words of Dwight Waldo, who force-fully advocated this point of view, it is not credible to claim that “autocracy during working hours is the price to be paid for democracy after hours” (Waldo, 1952, p. 87; see also Mosher, 1982; Jackson, 2009; Spicer, 2018).”
Metadata
- Authors
- Jackson, M.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Jackson, Michael
- ORCID
- Jackson, Michael
- Venue
- Journal of Management History
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2009-01-09
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 66-77
- ISSN
- 1751-1348 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1973110065
- Cited by
- 98
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 4.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Management History (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Public Administration › Public Policy and Administration Research
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Public Administration and Governance
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Public Administration and Political Analysis
- Keywords
- Carl Friedrich, public administration theory, accountability, responsibility, public goods, ministerial accountability, history of public administration
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