Dichotomy and Complementarity between Politicians and Managers
in Strategic and Operational Planning. Analysis of an Italian Local
Authority
Eleonora Cardillo
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Business University of Catania
https://doi.org/10.47191/jefms/v4-i5-03ABSTRACT:
The study analyzes the interactive processes between politicians and managers in the context of local authorities. Starting from the literature that deals with dichotomous or complementary models, the aim of the research is to explain the different political and administrative actors logic that characterize these organizations. The nature of the relationships between these subjects constitutes an important element for understanding managerial processes and the approaches in acquiring accounting innovations. The research, through a qualitative approach, presents the case of an Italian local authority. The way in which subjects perceive these dynamics in the strategic and operational planning phase was evaluated and interpreted, highlighting some characteristics and criticalities of the dialectical process.
KEYWORDS:
Dichotomy, complementarity, politicians, managers, local governments, interaction
REFERENCES:
1) Bryson, J. M., Crosby, B. C., & Bloomberg, L. L. (2014). Public value governance: Moving beyond traditional public
administration and the new public management. Public Administration Review, 74(4), 445-456.
https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12238.
2) Casey J. L., Vogel M. D. (2019), Preparing for the Next Generation: Profiles of Millennial City Managers and Their Approach
to the Job, State and Local Government Review, 10.1177/0160323X19889094, (0160323X1988909).
3) Christensen T., Laegreid P. (2001), New Public Management–the Transforma- tion of Ideas and Practice, Ashgate.
4) Dalli D. (1981), La componente umana nei processi di controllo dell’impresa, op.cit. Si veda anche Bacharach S. B., Lawler
E. J., Power and politics in organizations, Jossy Bass, London 1980. Pfeffer J., Power in organizations, Pittman, Boston.
5) Demir T., Nyhan R.C. (2008), The politics–administration dichotomy: an em- pirical search for correspondence between
theory and practice, «Public Admi- nistration Review», vol. 68, n. 2, 81–96. Frederickson H.G., Smith K.B. (2003), Public
administration theory primer, West view Press, Boulder, CO.
6) Goodnow F.J., (1900), Politics and Administration: a study in government, New York, Russell and Russell.
7) Hansen K.M., Ejersbo N. (2002), The relationship between politicians and ad- ministrators: A logic of disharmony, «Annual
Edition Public Administration», 80(4.), 733–750.
8) Interlandi M. (2018), Il principio di separazione tra politica e amministrazione: una “storia difficile”, in Dirittifondamentali,
Fascicolo 1/2018, p. 9.
9) James H. Svara J. H. (2020), The Roles and Relationships of City Managers in the United States, The Palgrave Handbook
of the Public Servant, 10.1007/978-3-030-03008-7, (1-17).
10) Liguori M., Sicilia M., Steccolini I. (2009), Politicians versus managers: roles and interactions in accounting cy- cles,
«International Journal of Public Sector Management», vol. 22, n. 4, 310–323.
11) Mitchell D. (2017), To monitor or intervene? City managers and the implementation of strategic initiatives, Public
Administration, 10.1111/padm.12381, 96, 1, (200-217).
12) MontjoyR., DouglasW.(1995),ACaseforReinterpretedDichotomyofPolitics and Administration as a Professional Standard
in Council–Manager Govern- ment, «Public Administration Review», Wiley, 55, (3), 231–239.
13) Overeem P. (2005), The value of the dichotomy: politics, administration and the political neutrality of administrator,
«Administrative Theory & Praxis», 27 (2), 311–329.
14) Park S. (2018), Cutbacks revisited: the relationship between resources and performance, Public Management Review,
10.1080/14719037.2018.1500631, 21, 4, (515-536).
15) Stillman R.J. (1973), Woodrow Wilson and the study of administration: a new look at an old essay, «American Political
Science Review», vol. 67, 582–591.
16) Svara H. J., Nelson K. L. (2014), The Roles of Local Government Managers in Theory and Practice: A Centennial Perspective,
Public Administration Review, 75 (1), https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12296 Pages 49-61.
17) Svara J.H. (1998), The politics–administration dichotomy model as aberration, «Public Administration Review», vol. 58,
n. 1, 51–58.
18) Svara J.H. (1999), The shifting boundary between elected oYcials and city managers in large Council– Manager cities,
«Public Administration Review», vol. 59, n. 1, 44–53.
19) Svara J.H. (2001), The myth of the dichotomy: complementarity of politics and administration in the past and future of
public administration, «Public Ad- ministration Review», vol. 61, n. 2, 176–183.
20) Tahmasebi R., Musavi M.M.S., (2011), Politics–Administration Dichotomy: A Century Debate, «Revista Administratie Si
Management Public», Facul- ty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest,
Romania, vol. 2011(17), 130–143.
21) Wallmeier f., Thaler J. (2018), Mayors’ leadership roles in direct participation processes – the case of community-owned
wind farms, International Journal of Public Sector Management, 10.1108/IJPSM-07-2017-0182, 31, 5, (617-637).
22) Wilson W. (1887), The study of administration, in Shafritz J.M., Hyde A.C. (eds.), Classic of public administration, 4th edn.
Orlando, FL, Harcourt Brace College Publisher.
