Dubnick, Mel, and Barbara S. Romzek. “Accountability in Public Administration: A Manifestation of the Janus Myth.” Working Paper WP-85-3. Prepared for delivery at the 1985 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, The New Orleans Hilton, August 29–September 1, 1985.
Abstract: Among the issues one finds in the contemporary literature surrounding American public administration, few recur as frequently and with as much prominence as accountability. This paper examines the Janus-like nature of accountability in public administration — simultaneously facing in multiple directions — and develops a framework for understanding its multiple manifestations in the public sector context.
Author’s Note: This conference paper was the initial presentation of the accountability framework eventually published in: Romzek, Barbara S., and Melvin J. Dubnick. “Accountability in the Public Sector: Lessons from the Challenger Tragedy.” Public Administration Review 47 (3), 1987: 227–238. Its focus was primarily on city management cases.