William F. Willoughby, The Movement for Budgetary Reform in the States, 1918
Thesis: In this article Willoughby discuses about the reforms and the spectrum to which such reforms can be applied in the political scenario from the budgetary perspective. The budgetary has been defined in this article as the tool for implementing democracy and correlating Legislature and the Executive of the United States of America.
“A new spirit in American politics is manifesting itself in the powerful movement for the reform of government organization and procedures” (Page 40)
“It is a canon of administrative science, however, that when discretionary powers and authority are increased a corresponding increase should be made in the means of controlling and supervising the manner in which these augmented powers are exercised” (Page 41)
“It has been pointed out in our consideration of the nature and functions of a budget, how essential are this form of organization to the proper operation of a budgetary system.” (Page 43)
The article discusses about the ways in which budgetary can be used a tool in implementing various reforms. Budgetary has also been described as the measurable quanta for effectiveness of different wings of the Legislature and Executive.
The language used in the article is fairly simple and comprehendible, and the information provided very comprehensive and detailed highlighting the importance of the budgetary.
V.O. Key, Jr., The Lack of a Budgetary Theory, 1940
Thesis: The author in this article highlights the importance of a working theory for implementation of budgetary and its policies and highlights the lack of a sufficient working theory for budgetary in the federation. The article also emphasizes on the proceedings of discussions related to implementation of the budgetary.
“On the most significant aspect of public budgeting, i.e., the allocation of expenditures among different purposes so as to achieve the greatest return, American budgetary literature is singularly arid.” (Page 109)
“Literature skirting the edges of the problem is found in the writings of those economists who have concerned themselves with the economic problems of the socialist state.” (Page 110)
“Various studies of the economics of public works touch the periphery of the problem concerning the allocation of public expenditure.” (Page 110)
“Each spending agency has its clientele, which it marshals for battle before budgetary and appropriating agencies.” (Page 111)
“The thousands of little decisions made in budgetary agencies grow by accretion into formidable budgetary documents which may from their sheer mass are apt often to overwhelm those with the power of final decision” (Page 112)
The article suggests the reliability and demand of comprehensive analysis of the process of budgetary and importance of creating an awareness of its problems during its implementation. The article elaborates on how a working theory on budgetary can be beneficial for both the budget officers and allocation of finances.
The article is presented in a unique manner, depicting both the pros and cons of the budgetary, telling the reader of its complexity as well as its significance.
Allen Schick, The Road to PPB: The Stages of Budget Reform, 1966
Thesis: Schick in his article reviews the PPB system and compares the reaction of the budget offices towards PPB. Schick also summarizes the basic implications attached with budgetary and how they link with PPB and budgetary reform.
“Budgeting always has been conceived as a process for systematically relating the expenditure of funds to the accomplishment of planned objectives.” (Page 197)
“PPB is predicated on the primary of the panning function; yet it strives for a multipurpose budget system that gives adequate and necessary attention to the control and management areas” (Page 200)
“Functional accounts had been designed to facilitate rational program decisions, not to deter officials from misfeasance.” (Page 201)
“Although no single action represents the shift from a control to a management orientation, the turning point in this evolution probably came with the New Deal’s broadening perspective of government responsibilities.” (Page 203)
“In all governments, the appropriations cycle, rather than the anticipation of future objectives, tends to dictate the pace and posture of budgeting.” (Page 209)
The article is a relative study of PPB and its application in budgetary reforms and administrative scenarios.
The article elaborates the reader with the basic key points of the budgetary and the PPB and is a good read to develop a basic understanding of both.
Arron Wildavsky, Rescuing Policy Analysis from PPBS, 1969
Thesis: In his article Wildavsky advocates the importance of policy analysis and how it should not be limited by PPBS. The article discusses about the validity of “numbers” in the productivity of an organization and why it should be considered for Policy Analysis.
“A belief in the desirability of policy analysis-the sustained application of intelligence and knowledge to social problems-is to want to do good is sufficient to accomplish noble purposes.” (Page 251)
“Policy analysis is expensive in terms of time, talent and money. It requires a high degree of creativity in order to imagine new policies and to test them out without requiring actual experience” (Page 252)
“The deeper change goes into the bowels of the organization, the more difficult it is to achieve. The more change can be limited to central management, the greater the possibility for carrying it out.” (Page 252)
“Except for a few individual programs like the proposals for income supplements or assessing the desirability of a supersonic transport, the cost of most domestic policies does not rise into the billions of dollars.” (Page 253)
The article discusses about the errors in PPBS taking an example of its failure in the Defense department and other cases. The article also discusses about the implications of policy analysis, and highlights why it is important to attend to policy analysis issues more liberally
The article makes the reader aware of various policy analysis issues and the incompatibility of PPBS. The article can be read as a case study guideline.
Charles H. Levine, Organizational Decline and Cutback Management, 1978
Thesis: The author elaborates on the decline of the public organizations, the reasons for management cutbacks and the strategic choices that an organization can make during policy analysis. Levine also discusses about the Administrative Theory and explanation of organizational decline.
“The decline and death of government organizations is a symptom, a problem, and a contingency. It is a symptom of resource scarcity at a societal, even global level that is creating the necessity for governments to terminate some programs, lower the activity level of others, and confront tradeoffs between new demands and old programs rather than to expand whenever a new public problem arises.” (Page 347-348)
“Growth is a common denominator that links contemporary management theory to its historical antecedents and management practices with public policy choices.” (Page 348)
“Decline forces us to set some of our logic for rationally structuring organizations on end and upside down.” (Page 349)
The article is a comprehensive study on policy analysis using various administrative perspectives and how organizational management suffers from losses and its effects on the management performance.
The article is a detailed analysis of organizational failures. It gives the reader a chance to see for themselves on what can go wrong during policy making and what the repercussion of such errors are.
Naomi Caiden, Public Budgeting Amidst Uncertainty and Instability, 1981
Thesis: Caiden in this article gives a working theory on what budgeting measures must be taken during instability in social and public affairs. The article also throws light on the general behavior of public organizations during strenuous times and what can be done to relieve some of the strains from an organization working in the public sector.
“Budgeting processes may be said to thrive on stability.” (Page 420)
“More and more public administrators find themselves working in conditions of fiscal stress in which they must try to accomplish unlimited goals with fewer real resources.” (Page 421)
“The injection of new values such as forward planning, participation, formal program evaluation, prioritizing and zero base considerations into the budget process has enormously complicated the life of budget formulators.” (Page 422)
The article is a discussion on the search and validity of budgetary reforms that may produce a suitable effect on the economy of organizations as a whole. The article talks about accountability and what holds true in the assessment of expenditure and budget analysis.
The article is good reference for the reader in terms of comparative study of budgeting in normal situations as well as times of uncertainty.
Irene S. Rubin, Perennial Budget Reform Proposals: Budget Staff versus Elected Officials
Theory: Rubin discusses about proposals being rejected and how staffs are responsible for the rejection and throws light on the iterating perennial budgetary reforms. The author places all claims based on qualitative interviews and testimonies of the legislature.
“Proposals may be combined, tailored to create the maximum political support, and may be voted on several times, gaining support each time until final passage.” (Page 579)
“Budgets staffers who were interviewed often think of themselves as teachers of elected officials. They consider the budget process complex and arcane.” (Page 582)
“When a problem arises at the national level, legislators with experience at the state level introduce the state level solution.” (Page 584)
The article briefly describes the personal experiences and notions of budget officers and digs into the system of ups and downs in policy making between the budget staff and the elected officers, quoting both ends of the story facilitating a comparative study of both the perspectives.
The article is a unique reading opportunity and provides the reader with insights from real budgeters on topics like budget assessment and budget policy analysis
