A Perspective on the Challenge of Public Management: Environmental Paradox and Organizational Culture

Management in the public sector presents some unique challenges stemming from the paradoxical nature of the public administration environment. We probe the paradox using the concept of organizational culture to explore the consequences for public managers. Our analysis suggests that the public manager may indeed face a more complicated challenge than the business administrator, and that inadequate understanding of the culture of public administration is a key obstacle to managerial improvement in government.