Differences in the status of professionalism in local government management among U. S. states may be attributed to various cultural, regional, and institutional factors. The prominence of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree in the local government profession denotes the influential role of graduate education institutions of public administration and affairs in professionalization. This study examines the impact of municipal proximity to university-based MPA programs on the nature and occurrence of professional local government management in states of the West North Central Midwest region. The findings suggest that an increase in a municipality’s physical distance from a state or regional MPA program is negatively associated with local government professionalism. Despite dissimilarities in composition and local government specificity among regional MPA institutions, the results support the proposition that university-based MPA programs may contribute to professional public administration within a geographic sphere of influence.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AmmonsD. N. (1994). The role of professional associations in establishing and promoting performance standards for local government.Public Productivity and Management Review, 17, 281–298.
2.
AmmonsD. N. (2008). City manager and city administrator role similarities and differences: Perceptions among persons who have served as both.American Review of Public Administration, 38, 24–40.
3.
BaldwinJ. N. (1988). Comparison of perceived effectiveness of MPA programs administered under different institutional arrangements.Public Administration Review, 48, 876–884.
4.
BergB. L. (2009). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
5.
BermanD. R.MerrillB. D. (1976). Citizen attitudes toward municipal reform institutions: A testing of some assumptions.Western Political Quarterly, 29, 274–283.
6.
BoxR. C. (1993). Resistance to professional managers in American local government.American Review of Public Administration, 23, 403–418.
7.
CarrJ. B.KaruppusamyS. (2008). The adapted cities framework: On enhancing its use in empirical research.Urban Affairs Review, 43, 875–886.
8.
ChildsR. S. (1965). The first fifty years of the councilmanager plan of municipal government. New York, NY: National Municipal League.
9.
DeSantisV. S.GlassJ. J.NewellC. (1992). City managers, job satisfaction, and community problem perceptions.Public Administration Review, 52, 447–453.
10.
DyeT. R.MacmanusS. A. (1976). Predicting city government structure.American Journal of Political Science, 20, 257–271.
11.
ElazarD. J. (1994). The American mosaic: The impact of space, time, and culture on American politics. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
12.
FoxC. J. (1992). What do we mean when we say “professionalism?”: A language usage analysis for public administration.American Review of Public Administration, 22, 1–17.
13.
FredericksonH. G.JohnsonG. A. (2001). The adapted American city: A study of institutional dynamics.Urban Affairs Review, 36, 872–884.
14.
FredericksonH. G.JohnsonG. A.WoodC. H. (2004). The adapted city: Institutional dynamics and structural change. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
15.
GabrisG. T.DavisT. J.NelsonK. L. (2010). Demand versus supply: Can MPA programs satisfy the need for professional management in local government?Journal of Public Affairs Education, 16, 379–399.
16.
HansellW. H. (2002). Professionalism in local government administration. In FredericksonH. G.NalbandianJ., The future of local government administration: The Hansell symposium (pp. 181–192). Washington, DC: International City/County Management Association.
17.
International City/County Management Association (ICMA). (2012). ICMA 2012 state of the profession survey. Retrieved from http://icma.org/en/icma/knowledge_network/documents/kn/Document/305096/ICMA_2012_State_of_the_Profession_Survey_Results.
18.
International City/County Management Association (ICMA). (2014). The municipal year book 2014: Local government issues, trends, facts, and resources. Washington, DC: ICMA Press.
19.
International City/County Management Association (ICMA). (2015a). Directory of ICMA-recognized local governments. Retrieved from https://members.icma.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?webcode=recognizedlocalgovsearc.
20.
International City/County Management Association (ICMA). (2015b). ICMA voluntary credentialing program overview. Retrieved from http://icma.org/en/icma/members/credentialing.
21.
KammererG. M.FarrisC. D.DeGroveJ. M.ClubokA. B. (1962). City managers in politics: An analysis of manager tenure and termination. Gainesville: University of Florida Press.
22.
KennedyP. (2003). A guide to econometrics (5th ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
23.
KlineR. L.BlanchardP. D. (1973). Professionalism and the city manager: An examination of unanswered questions.American Review of Public Administration, 7, 163–174.
24.
KovenS. G.GoetzkeF.BrennanM. (2008). Profiling public affairs programs: The view from the top.Administration and Society, 40, 691–710.
25.
LineberryR. L.FowlerE. P. (1967). Reformism and public policies in American cities.American Political Science Review, 61, 701–716.
26.
MirabellaR. M.WishN. B. (2001). University based educational programs in the management of nonprofit organizations: An updated census of U. S. programs. Public Performance and Management Review, 25, 30–41.
27.
MouritzenP. E.SvaraJ. H. (2002). Leadership at the apex: Politicians and administrators in western local governments. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
28.
NalbandianJ. (1991). Professionalism in local government: Transformations in the roles, responsibilities, and values of city managers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
29.
NalbandianJ. (2005). Professionals and the conflicting forces of administrative modernization and civic engagement.American Review of Public Administration, 35, 311–326.
30.
NalbandianJ.O’NeillR.Jr.WilkesJ. M.KaufmanA. (2013). Contemporary challenges in local government: Evolving roles and responsibilities, structures, and processes.Public Administration Review, 73, 567–574.
31.
NelsonK. (2011). State-level autonomy and municipal government structure: Influence on form of government outcomes.American Review of Public Administration, 41, 542–561.
32.
NelsonK. L.SvaraJ. H. (2010). Adaptation of models versus variations in form: Classifying structures of city government.Urban Affairs Review, 45, 544–562.
33.
NelsonK. L.SvaraJ. H. (2012). Form of government still matters: Fostering innovation in U. S. municipal governments.American Review of Public Administration, 42, 257–281.
34.
Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA). (2015). About NASPAA accreditation. Retrieved from https://accreditation.naspaa.org.
35.
NewellC.. (2004). The effective local government manager (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: International City/County Management Association.
36.
OstromV.BishR.OstromE. (1988). Local government in the United States. San Francisco, CA: ICS Press.
37.
PoisterT. H.IngrahamP. (1991). Assessing MPA program outcomes: Current practice and policy alternatives.American Review of Public Administration, 21, 169–181.
38.
ReinagelT. P.GerlachJ. D. (2015). Internships as academic exercise: An assessment of MPA curriculum models.Journal of Public Affairs Education, 21, 71–82.
39.
RennerT. (2001). The local government management profession at century’s end. In The municipal year book 2001 (pp. 35–46). Washington, DC: International City/County Management Association.
40.
RennerT.DeSantisV. S. (1999). Contemporary trends in municipal government structures. In KempR. L., Forms of local government: A handbook on city, county, and regional options (pp. 195–206). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co.
41.
RoederP. W.WhitakerG. (1993). Education for the public service: Policy analysis and administration in the MPA core curriculum.Administration and Society, 24, 512–540.
42.
SaltzsteinA. L. (1974). City managers and city councils: Perceptions of the division of authority.Western Political Quarterly, 27, 275–288.
43.
SchnoreL. F.AlfordR. R. (1963). Forms of government and socioeconomic characteristics of suburbs.Administrative Science Quarterly, 8, 1–17.
44.
SherbenouE. L. (1961). Class, participation, and the council-manager plan.Public Administration Review, 21, 131–135.
45.
SimmonsJ. R.SimmonsS. J. (2004). Structural conflict in contemporary cities.American Review of Public Administration, 34, 374–388.
46.
SkidmoreM. J. (2001). Kansas City, Missouri: The experience of a major midwestern city under council-manager government.Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, 24, 81–91.
47.
SlackJ. D. (1990). Local government training and education needs for the twenty-first century.Public Productivity and Management Review, 13, 397–404.
48.
StillmanR. J.II. (1974). The rise of the city manager: A public professional in local government. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
49.
StreibG.RiveraM. (2009). Assessing the ethical knowledge of city managers.Public Integrity, 12, 9–23.
50.
SvaraJ. H. (1977). Citizen preference for urban election institutions: Discarding old models of city government.Urban Affairs Review, 12, 511–522.
51.
SvaraJ. H. (1999). The shifting boundary between elected officials and city managers in large councilmanager cities.Public Administration Review, 59, 44–53.
52.
SvaraJ. H. (2002). The roles of the city council and implications for the structure of city government.National Civic Review, 91, 5–23.
53.
SvaraJ. H. (2010). The next generation challenge: Incorporating the local government managers of the future.Journal of Public Affairs Education, 16, 361–377.
54.
SvaraJ. H.WatsonD. J.. (2010). More than mayor or manager: Campaigns to change form of government in America’s large cities.Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
55.
U. S. Census Bureau. (2013). Census regions and divisions of the United States. Retrieved from https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf.
56.
WangJ.BunchB. S.StreamC. (2013). Increasing the usefulness of academic scholarship for local government practitioners.State and Local Government Review, 45, 197–213.
57.
WhitakerG. P.DeHoogR. H. (1991). City managers under fire: How conflict leads to turnover.Public Administration Review, 51, 156–165.
58.
WhiteL. D. (1927). The city manager. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
59.
WolfingerR. E.FieldJ. O. (1966). Political ethos and the structure of city government.American Political Science Review, 60, 306–326.
60.
ZhangY.YaoX.CheongJ. (2011). City managers’ job satisfaction and frustration: Factors and implications.American Review of Public Administration, 41, 670–685.
