Theory Bases and Theory Construct

Running head: POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION THEORY BASES VERSUS THEORY CONSTRUCTS 1

Policies and Practices of Public Administration Theory Bases Verses Theory Constructs

W. Brown

Capella University

February 3, 2013

Abstract

There are many ideas or theories competing for attention, but then something happens to make one more applicable than the others at a particular point in time. In one account, the process comes about from different events, which influence the start of policies from these theories. In public administration, theories are the ideas, experiences, or observations, which are referred to as theory bases. There have been times in public administration where theory bases have developed into what is called theory constructs. This paper will discuss three theory bases and one theory constructs in relation and identify one public administrative policy or practice that developed as a result.

The first theory bases comes from Dorman B. Eaton. His theory of “certain great principles which embody a theory of political morality, of official obligation, of equal rights, and common justice in government.” (Shafritz, J. and Hyde, A. 2012). The President during this time was Rutherford Hayes who asked Dorman Eaton if he would travel to England to study the British civil service system. Shafritz and Hyde (2012), “His report—published as a book in 1880 with the title Civil Service in Great Britain: A History of Abuses and Reforms and their Bearing upon American Politics—obviously advocated the adoption of the merit system in America.” (Shafritz, J. and Hyde, A. 2012). He later drafted the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 (theory construct). The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 was a landmark U.S. legislation establishing the tradition and mechanism of permanent federal employment based on merit rather than on political party affiliation (the spoils...