The Public Administrator: God? Or Entrepreneur? Or are they the Same in the Public Service

Abstract

}This paper distinguishes entrepreneurial behaviour in the public service (innovative activity where the risks and benefits are essentially personal or informed consent can reasonably be presumed) from decisions involving risks to others, usually anonymous and beyond consultation. It argues that decisions by public officials are more often of the latter type, imposing risks on others. This leads to a requirement for guidelines based first on rights and fundamental principles, then on a calculated risk-benefit analysis, and finally on a lively sense of personal responsibility. In the end, only leadership can instill a shared sense of organizational and personal values that assure the responsible exercise of administrative discretion in making risky collective decisions.