Public Administration and Nonprofit Management in Practice: A Case Study Collection

by Aimee L. Williamson (Editor), Marc Holzer (Editor)

Overview

This insightful text, written by two renowned experts, provides students of public administration and nonprofit management with a collection of relevant, global case studies and corresponding activities.

The chapters are structured around common themes and concepts across the field, including the foundations of public administration, managing people and administering public services, and improving efficiency and efficacy. The cases, which derive from countries around the world, focus on building the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by public and nonprofit administrators globally, providing a much-needed supplement to many of the introductory texts in public administration. Each case is contextualised by a short synopsis, reflective questions, references, further reading and learning activities. The compact case format helps students focus on a specific area of public management, with organization by chapter giving instructors choices among cases and the ability to group related topics. The discussion questions in the cases will develop students’ analytical thinking of real scenarios for the application of course content.

Public Administration and Nonprofit Management in Practice should be used as either core or recommended reading for courses on public and nonprofit management at both the undergraduate and graduate level, including Master of Public Administration (MPA) courses, and related degree programmes.

Online, instructors will find comprehensive teaching notes to support this case-based approach to learning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032426204
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/21/2025
Series:	International Cases in Business and Management
Pages:	158
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Aimee L. Williamson, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Service and Healthcare Administration at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts.  Her research and teaching interests focus on public management, including public-private management distinctions, collaboration, and administrative reform.  She has publications in a wide range of public affairs journals, including Public Administration Review, Public Performance and Management Review, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Public Administration Quarterly.  She has also published cases in The CASE Journal and has been teaching with case studies for over 20 years, including courses in the foundations of public administration, leadership, organizational behavior, and strategic management. 

Marc Holzer, Ph.D. has been a leader in the public administration field since the early 1970s. He is the founder of the National Center for Public Performance and was the founding editor in chief of the international journal Public Performance and Management Review for over four decades. His more than 600 scholarly publications address a wide range of strategic approaches to the measurement and improvement of public services. Dr. Holzer is Distinguished Research Professor (Ret.) at the Department of Public Service and Healthcare Administration at Suffolk University-Boston, and was the Founding Dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University. He is a Past President of the American Society for Public Administration and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.  

Table of Contents

Part 1: Foundations of Public Administration  1. Social Equity at the Nexus of the Administration & Politics Dichotomy in the Academy  2. Strategic Change in Theory and Practice: The Olathe 2040 Future Ready Plan  3. Historical Legacies, Modern Solutions: Reparations in Asheville, NC  4. Forming a Quasi-Business Improvement District: The Case of the Charles Village Community Benefits District  5. The WE Charity Scandal: A Case Study of Nonprofit-Public Relationship Issues in Canada  6. Social Equity and Intervention Services: Case Study in Nonprofit, Social Work, and Law Enforcement Collaboration  Part 2: Managing People and Administering Public Services  7. Managing Post-conflict in the Human Services Agency: The President of the Board Takes the Lead on Organizational Development Planning  8. Contentious Parks in a Growing City  9. Leading Decisions: Choosing the Best Course for a New History Museum Building  10. "The Taxpayers are Going to Be Paying for This": Grappling with a Local Government Embezzlement Scandal  11. Shifting Strategy: From the Campaign Trail to Community Engagement  Part 3: Improving the Efficiency and Efficacy of Public Service Organizations  12. Building State Capability to Tackle Critical Epidemic: Case of Meghalaya, India  13. Closing Time: Managing Internal Processes, Stakeholder Expectations, and Social Equity Concerns in the Hastened Removal of Homeless Encampments in Dallas, TX  14. Developing an Effective and Equitable Mental Health Service Network Through Collaborative Governance  15. Enhancing Citizen Participation through E-Government in Nigeria: A Case Study of Lagos State  16. The New York City Solid Waste Management Plan: Political Rubbish or a Path to Sustainability?

Editorial Reviews

"This timely case book is great! Its cases are truly real-life and practical, challenging readers to develop actionable solutions. Just the right detail, great questions, often paradoxical, and a full range of topics on governance and public administration - finance, social services, managing  crises and scandals, parks, and much more.  I will definitely use it in my classes!”

Evan Berman, Professor Titular, São Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP), Fundação Getúlio Vargas (São Paulo, Brazil) 

 

“I cannot think of a time when this edited volume is more relevant than ever before given the present onslaught on the federal bureaucracy and attempts to dismantle the administrative state. The case studies compiled in this compendium offer thoughtful strategies to leading, managing and working through real world problems on behalf of a diverse public in the United States and abroad. More compelling is that these cases represent a broad swath of what comprises the public sector – government and nonprofit organizations – at various jurisdictional levels written from both the academic and practitioner points of view. And, for instructors and students alike, these scenarios, along with learning objectives and reflection questions to explore, are a goldmine as they depict challenges that as public servants, they will no doubt confront. This book is a must have companion in one’s library for deploying case studies in the classroom.”

G.L.A. Harris, Professor of Global Affairs and former Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty and Administration, Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University, USA

From the Publisher