Action Theory in Practice: Toward Theory without Conspiracy

Bernard Shaw once remarked that all professions are conspiracies against the laity. By conspiracy, Shaw meant the power of professions, by virtue of their exclusive roles in the creation and legitimation of specialized knowledge, to control or manipulate the presumed beneficiaries of that knowledge in the service of their (the professions') own ends. Public administration, since having attained professional status, is not exempt from this charge.' Witness the widespread reports of clients and others affected by public agencies feeling victimized and alienated by those whose official charge is to serve them. Far from mitigating such feelings, the increasing professionalization of public administration appears to have resulted in administrators being viewed by the public as having joined the ranks of more established conspirators such as lawyers, physicians, psychiatrists, and educators. A plausible explanation for the accusations of conspiracy by public administrators may be inferred from a recent paper by Robert Biller. Biller argues that professional administrators, by virtue of their education and organizational experience, typically bring to bear a particular mind set in the solution to client problems that is directly at odds with problems as defined by the clients.