The 21st Century Public Manager - (Public Management and Leadership) by Zeger Van Der Wal (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Truly global in scope and ambition, the 21st Century Public Manager addresses key trends, challenges, and opportunities facing public managers across contexts and regimes. This accessible textbook aims to inspire public managers in rethinking their roles, skills, and values as they enter a VUCA world-one characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. It is written for aspiring and current public managers in graduate schools and executive education programs.

From the Back Cover

'van der Wal has delivered the book that many of us who work with public managers, both in the classroom and the boardroom, have been waiting for. He speaks directly to students of public management in this accessible, readable and dare we say it, inspirational book; a book that will become the text for those of us who strive to help public managers make sense of their world, and make a difference in it.' Janine O'Flynn, University of Melbourne, Australia

'The 21st Century Public Management is well named. It provides an excellent overview of contemporary research and theory in public management and is more forward looking than any recent book on the topic. The author blends public management theory with theories from other relevant fields, in a manner that is not only intellectually satisfying but also accessible and relevant for the strategic public manager. This book should be in the collection of any serious public management scholar and will also be of great value to public management students and practitioners.' Barry Bozeman, Arizona State University, USA

'Are public officials ready to lead a world of growing complexity and turbulence? The 21st Century Public Manager arms students of public management with the insights to deal with the government of the future. It thoughtfully makes sense of the challenges of an interconnected world, like big data, and global crises. The result is a thoroughly modern and engaging reframing of the job for the public manager ready to serve a more knowledgeable and demanding public.' - Donald P. Moynihan, La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

'The managerial face of a volatile, complex and ambiguous public sector consists of multiple stakeholders, turbulent authority, new work forces, innovation, competing ethics and complex collaboration. Zeger van de Wal helps us to make sense of this environment in this timely new introduction, which will become central to the way public managers operate in the face of these challenges in the coming decades.'' - Geert Bouckaert, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium

Truly global in scope and ambition, the 21^st Century Public Manager addresses key trends, challenges, and opportunities facing public managers across contexts and regimes. This accessible and timely textbook aims to inspire students of public management in rethinking their roles, skills, and values as they enter a VUCA world--one characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

The perspectives and strategies provided in the book are grounded in the latest empirical evidence, but are translated to the operating environment of the 21^st century public manager.

The book looks well beyond Western settings and perspectives, and thus serves the global market of programs and schools in public management, public administration, and public policy.

Insightful and comprehensive, this book makes for the perfect introduction for students interested in the theories, practices and functions of public management.

Zeger van der Wal is Assistant Dean and Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

About the Author

Zeger van der Wal is Assistant Dean (Research) and Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. In 2014, he was awarded the prestigious Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Fellowship as well as the school's Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. He was previously Assistant Professor at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Zeger van der Wal is Assistant Dean (Research) and Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. In 2014, he was awarded the prestigious Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Fellowship as well as the school's Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. He was previously Assistant Professor at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands.