Thinking Government

Thinking Government, second edition is fully revised and updated. It maintains the descriptive and analytical focus of the first edition while including new materials and coverage of the Martin Government, the new Conservative Party, the federal elections of 2004 and 2005, Budget 2005, the politics and administration of a minority government, and the contemporary debates regarding the public policy direction of the country. It contains a full description and analysis of the institutions of the federal government and the nature and working of the power relations between elected politicians and senior public servants, along with in-depth coverage of organizational theory, a comparison of public and private sector management, and a critical review of management decision-making.

As with the first edition, David Johnson offers a thorough introduction to the fields of Canadian public administration and public sector management. The book devotes special attention to the role of government in society, as well as how ideas and ideologies shape Canadians’ thinking about the role of the state, and how parties and governments respond. As with its predecessor, this second edition clearly places Canadian government and public administration within its inherent political context. It assesses systems of financial and human resource management, including coverage of the politics of the budgetary process, employment equity policy, human resource reform, and collective bargaining in the federal public service. Thinking Government, second edition also devotes considerable attention to contemporary issues in management reform, public sector accountability and ethics, and the dynamic of transformative leadership within the public service.