How Management Matters

"If a theory of management must build on what happens when operational reality confronts the traditional structures of hierarchical authority—can we make a case that management matters and, more important, how it matters? Riccucci provides a first valuable piece to the puzzle. Her terrific book adds to the important and growing literature on the management of welfare reform."—Journal of Policy Analysis & Management

"All the 'sound and fury' of welfare reform and public management research will 'signify little' unless street-level workers respond with changes in their norms, judgments, and actions. Norma Riccucci's How Management Matters takes us beyond stereotypes and into the complex relationship between managers and workers. This engaging book will change the way scholars think about policy implementation and public management and open new doors of understanding for policy and management students."—Steven Maynard-Moody, director of the Policy Research Institute, University of Kansas

"In this timely and very important book, public managers can learn when, where, and how they can best influence the behavior of street-level workers. Riccucci shows how these workers are influenced by and responsive to a complex mix of factors, and finds that front-line workers may be more open to management direction than previously assumed, particularly when it is based on open, participatory approaches. Given the critical role that street-level workers play in delivering services to the public, Riccucci's analysis contains highly valuable and insightful lessons for public managers and policymakers alike."—Janet Denhardt, professor of public affairs, Arizona State University

"Riccucci's work is part of a growing body of important work that illuminates the world of the front-line worker and the complexities that frame workers' exercise of discretion. This book provides valuable insights into the complex arena of welfare reform as experienced and implemented at the level of the front-line worker. It highlights the tensions workers experience when faced with meeting the goal of helping families and the demands for accountability and documentation and sheds light on the roles of professional norms and occupational cultures in shaping workers' client interactions."—Barbara S. Romzek, associate dean for social sciences and professor of public administration, University of Kansas