Justice for All: Promoting Social Equity in Public Administration: Promoting Social Equity in Public Administration

This is the first book that provides a comprehensive examination of social equity in American public administration. The breadth of coverage--theory, context, history, implications in policy studies, applications to practice, and an action agenda--cannot be found anywhere else. The introduction examines the values that support social equity (fairness, equality, justice) in relationship to each other. Unlike other books, Justice for All contrasts equality with the value of freedom and related norms such as individulalism and competition. It is the tension between these competing value clusters that shapes the debate about social equity in the United States. Subsequent chapters advance this theme, for example, contrasting the choice between combatting inequality and promoting development in urban regions, and between affirmative action and advancing diversity. Later chapters highlight the book's key contribution--the application of social equity principles in practice--with chapters on health, criminal justice, education, and planning. Additional chapters examine the ways that social equity can be advanced through leadership and policy/social entrepreneurship, assessment of agency management, and managing human resources. The book concludes with an agenda that affirms a more active and comprehensive definition of social equity for the field and elaborates how that definition can be converted into actions supported by the measurement of access, proceduraal fairness, quality, and results.

Norman J. Johnson is Vice President at Alisias, an Atlanta-based public affairs firm that serves corporate and public entities engaged in complex and/or controversial issues. His teaching and administrative work at the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, Florida ASM, and Georgia Tech focused on expanding the pool of human capital and diversity among engineers, managers, researchers, and entrepreneurs. As a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, he is a founding member of the Social Equity Panel, long-serving member and currently chair of the Brownlow Book Panel, and member of the Board of Directors. He holds Master's and PhD degrees from The Ohio State University. James H. Svara is Professor in the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University and Director of the Center for Urban Innovation, and specializes in local government politics, management, innovation, and ethics. His major publications include Official Leadership in the City: Patterns of Conflict and Cooperation; Leadership at the Apex: Politicians and Administrators in Western Local Government; The Ethics Primer for Public Administrators in Government and Nonprofit Organizations; and The Facilitative Leader in City Hall. He previously taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina State University. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and an honorary member of the International City/County Management Association.