ASPAnet This Week
News About ASPA Members
We have received some good news concerning
the safety of a few ASPA members working at the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon. If you are an ASPA member who works at either location, please
let us
know that you are all right. Likewise to all others, please let us know
if your colleagues who work at these facilities are safe.
How You Can Help the Victims
Visit the ASPA web site for a partial list of organizations
assisting the victims of last Tuesday’s events.
PA Times Asks for Members’ Reactions
The PA Times, ASPA’s monthly newspaper,
calls for members to send in reactions to the terrorist attacks on September
11, 2001 for a special edition. We would like to pay tribute to those
who died and those working in the rescue efforts, while giving members a
venue for expressing their grief, horror and pride in America and our public
servants. If you wish to contribute to this issue we ask that your
reactions remain between 100-1000 words. Please submit them via
e-mail no later than September 19 to cklein@aspanet.org.
ASPA 2002 Awards Process Begins
ASPA is accepting nominations for its
2002 national awards until October 19, 2001. Click here to access
the nominations form (PDF format). The awards will be presented at ASPA’s
2002 National Conference in Phoenix, March 23-26.
ONLINE COLUMNS
We’ll
Rise to the Occasion
by Harlan Cleveland
This week’s terrorist attacks in New York and Washington were enormous as a human tragedy, historic as a turn of events. While most news media have focused on what well-known leaders around the world and especially in the United States are saying about what will happen next, the main thing to watch is how the American people react -- and what they will tell their leaders to do about it. That’s how it really works in the US: on important policy issues, the people get there first and their leaders follow sooner or later.
The
Power of Public Service
by Bob and Janet Denhardt
Like you, we were devastated and shaken by the tragic events of September 11. Even now, each hour brings a new set of images and emotions, new thoughts and fears. The image of police officers and firefighters going up those stairs is compelling. But even more compelling is the larger and more pervasive power of public service. As these events have once again shown, service to the public is indeed a proud and noble profession. [Editor’s note: this column has literally traveled throughout the world since Thursday, having appeared on various listservs and having been forwarded countless times via e-mail. Several newspapers and magazines have requested permission to reprint it.]
Charisma
is More Than Personality
by John Rouse
The concept, charisma, gets a lot of play these days. Bill Clinton, according to conventional wisdom, has charisma and George W. Bush does not. Daniel Katz and Robert L. Kahn, in their ageless book, The Social Psychology of Organizations, argue that charisma originates with people’s emotional needs and from dramatic events associated with the exercise of leadership.
Forget
About Wars, Think About Privatization
by Fred Thayer
Yes, the recent crashing of jetliners into the Pentagon in Washington and into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York has killed more people than the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Except for that single statistic, however, it makes little sense to portray the two events as having the same effect on the American citizenry. The popular explanation on September 12 and 13 was that the lax security at American airports in recent years has been caused by a desire to “make things more convenient for passengers” but this is a bit off the mark. It is widely known that at many airports, the security procedures have been turned over to private contractors who, under normal competitive market pressures, must promise to deliver first-class service for third-class prices, cannot afford to look closely into the backgrounds of those they hire, employ non-citizens who are not subject to any checks, and pay very low wages.
FORTHCOMING COLUMNS
Life is Often Perilous and Mystifying
by Anita Maltbia
It seems to me that Life is often perilous and mystifying. That as quickly as it opens new vistas of joy, it will plunge us into the deepest depths of despair. But when I look for the things that are constant in all the events of Life, they are indeed there, too.
New Public Management in Mexico (part
two of three)
by David Arellano-Gault
In the last column I discussed the specific characteristics of the Mexican governmental apparatus. The public administration has been a structural part of the political system, actually, the basic and most important arena for political struggle.
DID YOU KNOW?
You can find answers to your ethics questions
by visiting the ASPA
Ethics Knowledge Community.
ASPA EVENTS THIS WEEK (tentative)
Monday
· The Utah Chapter holds its fall
conference - New Century...New Opportunities.
Thursday
· The Hampton Roads Chapter hosts
a general membership meeting in Hampton, VA.
· The Iowa Chapter holds a member
spotlight meeting.
EVENTS CALENDAR ADDITIONS
· The Business of Government Hour Radio Program can be heard Saturday mornings on local radio in Washington, DC and via streaming audio online.
Visit the ASPA Calendar.
ASPANET TOP 10
Here are the ten most visited pages on
the ASPA web site for the month to date:
1. Web site Front Page
2. Careers in Public Administration
3. Recruiter Online
4. Recruiter Online
Government Jobs
5. Recruiter Online
University Jobs
6. Public Administration
Resources
7. Membership
9. Publications
9. Career Links
10. Students’ Area
ONLINE FEATURES
PA Times Online
Read articles from the latest issue of
ASPA’s monthly newspaper.
Index of Online Forms
Access all of ASPA’s online forms on one
page.
FirstGov
Search more than 50 million US federal
government web pages via the search engine located on ASPA’s web site!
Contact Staff
You can access e-mail addresses and phone
numbers for ASPA staff members online.
ASPA Listservs
ASPA now operates five listservs (general,
international, students, chapter leaders and section leaders).
Aspanet.org Quicklist
Use the Aspanet.org Quicklist on the web
site’s front page to access popular pages throughout the site. The
Quicklist operates as a drop down-menu. Click your browser on the menu’s
down arrow and then click it again on the page you want to visit.
Recruiter Online
Check out the latest academic, government
and nonprofit job listings.
ASPA Store
Purchase a variety of ASPA products and
publications online.
See you online!!
--
Erik Bergrud
Senior Director for e-Organization Development
American Society for Public Administration
Phone: (816) 746-9022
Fax: (816) 587-3027 or (202) 638-4952
ebergrud@aspanet.org
http://www.aspanet.org
Join ASPA or renew your ASPA membership today!