The Roots of the Discipline of Public Administration: A
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THE ROOTS OF THE DISCIPLINE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: A NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF PROGRESSIVE ERA CHICAGO MICHELLE L. DISTEFANO Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Rutgers, The State University Of New Jersey May 2001 submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN URBAN STUDIES AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS at the CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY AUGUST 2019 ©COPYRIGHT BY MICHELLE L. DISTEFANO 2019 We hereby approve this dissertation For Michelle L. DiStefano Candidate for the doctoral degree for the Department of Urban Studies and Public Affairs And CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY’S College of Graduate Studies by ___________________________________________________ William M. Bowen, PhD Urban Studies and Public Affairs, September ___, 2019 ___________________________________________________ Robert Gleeson, PhD Urban Studies and Public Affairs, September ___, 2019 ___________________________________________________ Jennifer Alexander, PhD University of Texas at San Antonio College of Public Policy, September ___ 2019 Student’s Date of Defense: May 1, 2019 DEDICATION For Max, Bella and Emma ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There have been many people who supported me throughout the process of earning a PhD. I will always be grateful to Dr. Camilla Stivers who was instrumental in my success throughout most of my time at Levin. I am most grateful for her encouragement of my initial participation in the doctoral program and assistance with the development of the topic of my dissertation. I extend a very special thank you to Dr. William Bowen for being my program advisor and the chair of my dissertation committee, his patience, and his unbridled support and encouragement throughout the entire process. I thank Dr. Robert Gleeson for agreeing to be a member of my committee and for his thoughtful comments on the dissertation. I am forever grateful to Dr. Jennifer Alexander for being a member of my committee and for her knowledge, guidance, and, most importantly, friendship. Second, I am grateful for my many friends from Westlake, OH who were always willing to help with my children so that I may get my homework done. I extend a special thank you to Brittainy Neifer for being the best nanny ever. Miss Britt is now family. I extend many thanks to my dear friend Susan Palmer and her family of all men for giving me a place to stay so that I may defend and for celebrating the accomplishment. Lastly, I am truly, truly grateful for my incredibly amazing family. My love Gene is a true partner. This degree belongs as much to my children, Max, Isabella, and Emma, as it does to me. There are too many instances to recall when one or all of them had to go to Levin with me or had to sacrifice time with me. They are the best part of my life. THE ROOTS OF THE DISCIPLINE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: A NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF PROGRESSIVE ERA CHICAGO MICHELLE L. DISTEFANO ABSTRACT In The Administrative State, Dwight Waldo challenges the discipline of Public Administration to remember the purpose of or meaning behind the discipline. In response to Waldo’s question “efficiency for what?”, this dissertation interprets the motivating values of the calls for reform to the process of governance at the turn of the twentieth century in Chicago. The research uses a narrative analysis of archived and published texts of Progressive reformers from the City of Chicago. Philip Selznick’s concept of the process of institutionalization, or to infuse with value, merged with Anthony Giddens’s concept of contextuality guides the interpretation of the actions of the reformers. The concept of institution as a process that infuses a social structure with values at a specific time in a specific place allows for an interpretation of the motivating values of reformers within a physical environment or community. The motivating values of reformers reflect the meaning of the calls for reforms in Chicago. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1 The Research Process ...................................................................... 3 The research question .......................................................... 3 The research parameters ...................................................... 4 II. LITERATURE REVIEW – THE DOMINANT NARRATIVE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SOME PROMINENT DISSENTS .......................................................................................... 11 The Dominant Narrative ................................................................ 12 Prominent Dissents from the Dominant Narrative ........................ 19 III. LITERATURE REVIEW – THE CONCEPT OF INSTITUTION AND PHILIP SELZNICK’S THEORY OF THE PROCESS OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION .............................................................. 26 The Concept of Institution ............................................................. 27 Philip Selznick ............................................................................... 29 TVA and the Grass Roots .................................................. 29 Leadership in Administration ............................................ 32 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 43 vii IV. LITERATURE REVIEW: ANTHONY GIDDENS’S THEORY OF STRUCTRATION AND THE CONCEPT OF CONTEXTUALITY AS A FOUNDATION TO INTERPRET HUMAN INTERACTIONS ................................................................................ 45 The Duality of Structure ................................................................ 48 Contextuality ................................................................................. 50 A Theory of Institution to Frame the Narrative Analysis .............. 55 V. RESEARCH METHOD: NARRATIVE ANALYSIS ........................ 57 Step One: Develop a research question ......................................... 60 Step Two: Determine an appropriate research method ................. 62 Step Three: Identify my prejudices ............................................... 63 Step Four: Identification of stories via storytellers ....................... 64 Jane Addams: Hull House co-founder and peace activist. 65 Anna E. Nicholes: Women’s activist. ................................ 66 Charles E. Merriam: Professor, politician, and public administrationist and administrator. .................................. 66 Alice Hamilton: medical doctor, Hull House resident, healthcare and work place safety advocate. ....................... 67 Daniel Burnham: city planner and architect. ..................... 67 Sophonisba Breckenridge and Edith Abbott: Hull House residents and safe housing advocates. ............................... 68 Step Five: Read, consider, and annotate the stories ...................... 68 Step Six: Interpret and draw conclusions ...................................... 69 viii VI. RESEARCH METHOD: EXISTING RESEARCHER PREJUDICES70 Notions of the Meaning of Public Administration ........................ 71 The City of Chicago ...................................................................... 74 The Progressive Era ....................................................................... 76 Conclusion on my Prejudices ........................................................ 78 VII. NARRATIVE ANALYSIS: CALLS FOR CHANGES TO THE EXERTION OF HUMAN AGENCY ................................................. 79 Jane Addams .................................................................................. 80 “Pragmatism in Politics”, The Survey, 1912 ..................... 81 “Why Women Are Concerned with the Larger Citizenship: Philanthropy and Politics”, The Woman’s Citizen Library - 1913 ....................................................... 84 Anna E. Nicholes: “How Women Can Help in the Administration of a City”, The Woman’s Citizen Library, 1913 .. 89 Summary ........................................................................................ 96 VIII. NARRATIVE ANALYSIS: CALLS FOR CHANGES TO SOCIAL STRUCTURES .................................................................................... 99 Charles Edward Merriam .............................................................. 99 “Investigations as a Means of Securing Administrative Efficiency”, The Annuals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1912 .................................. 100 “Outlook For Social Politics in the United States”, American Journal of Sociology, 1913 ............................. 106 ix Alice Hamilton - “Lead Poisoning in Illinois”, American Labor Legislation Review, 1911 ............................................................. 111 Daniel Burnham, Plan of Chicago, 1908 .................................... 114 Sophonisba Breckenridge and Edith Abbott: “Chicago’s Housing Problem: Families in Furnished Rooms”, The American Journal of Sociology, 1910 ....................................................................... 118 Summary ...................................................................................... 123 IX. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................... 126 Conclusions on the Discipline of Public Administration and the Theory of the Process Institutionalization ................................... 127 Ideas