{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/42989"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/42989","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Bureaucracy at the state level: the quest for responsibility","abstract":"This thesis replicates Herbert Kaufman's study of the administrative behavior of federal bureau chiefs at the state level. Kaufman asserted that bureau chiefs are not as autonomous as we depicted. Their behavior is confined by the legal, institutional, political and operational constraints. This thesis supports Kaufman's findings--except that it's more optimistic about the occurrence of innovative changes in public agencies. This study looks at six state agency heads of the State of Virginia. Their behavior is examined from the conception of \"responsibility.\" Chapter One argues that responsibility connotes two aspects of meaning: objective and subjective. Objective responsibility is ensured through the constraints placed on bureaucrats. Contents of these constraints are examined in Chapter Two. The findings show that these agency heads are behaving in ways consistent with the limits set by the constraints.","abstract_html":"This thesis replicates Herbert Kaufman's study of the administrative behavior of federal bureau chiefs at the state level. Kaufman asserted that bureau chiefs are not as autonomous as we depicted. Their behavior is confined by the legal, institutional, political and operational constraints. This thesis supports Kaufman's findings--except that it's more optimistic about the occurrence of innovative changes in public agencies. This study looks at six state agency heads of the State of Virginia. Their behavior is examined from the conception of "responsibility." Chapter One argues that responsibility connotes two aspects of meaning: objective and subjective. Objective responsibility is ensured through the constraints placed on bureaucrats. Contents of these constraints are examined in Chapter Two. The findings show that these agency heads are behaving in ways consistent with the limits set by the constraints.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lui, Percy Luen-Tim"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Public Administration","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Public Administration and Public Affairs","degree_department":"Public Administration and Public Affairs","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Goodsell, Charles T."],"committee_members":["Dudley, Larkin S.","Wamsley, Gary L."],"year":1994,"date_issued":"1994-06-05","date_published":"1994-06-05","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:44Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-06102009-063147"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-06102009-063147","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42989","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Goodsell, Charles T."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Dudley, Larkin S.","Wamsley, Gary L."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Public Administration and Public Affairs"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lui, Percy Luen-Tim"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T21:37:24Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T21:37:24Z","2009-06-10"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1994-06-05"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.dcmitype","label":"Dc Type Dcmitype","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Public Administration and Public Affairs"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Public Administration"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-06102009-063147"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42989"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis replicates Herbert Kaufman's study of the administrative behavior of federal bureau chiefs at the state level. 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