Thesis--University of Southern California, 1959. / Bibliography: leaves [54]-57.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Southern California. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Southern California. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1963. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 234-248).

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Progressive reformers attacked the problem of corruption and lack of efficiency in city government. Reform groups in individual cities banded together in the National Municipal League and, because they believed that partisan politics were the root of the problem, attempted to devise a system which would remove politics from municipal government. Their work culminated in the introduction of the city manager, or as it is often called council-manager, form of city government. Under this plan, which closely resembles the organization of a business corporation, the elected council would serve as a board of directors and the city manager as the operating head of city government. Reformers hoped that by taking the day-to-day decisions out of the hands of elected officials and placing them in the hands of a professionally trained manager they might remove the stigma of corruption and partisanship from city government and promote efficiency. Whether this plan as it was originally conceived was or was not successful in Dallas is the subject of this thesis.

Thesis (M.A.), Political Science, Public Administration--University of Central Oklahoma, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-63).

Thesis (PH. D)--University of Pennsylvania, 1935. / Bibliography: p. [297]-299.

Logan, Utah has a number of organizational and procedural problems, as do many other American cities. This study was initiated with the hope that some system could be ascertained that would solve or alleviate most of these problems. The history and development of the City Manager Plan of Government was researched thoroughly and a number of cities with the plan in operation in whole, or in part, were studied. The conclusion was that Logan, Utah would substantially improve the efficiency of its operations as a whole if it adopted the City Manager Plan. This thesis is of the advocacy type, as the author was convinced early in the study that Logan could resolve many of its problems and gain stature among cities by assuming a more business-like stance in the business end of its operations.

The purpose of this study is to define more clearly the task of the city manager by examining the following perceptions of his role: 1) The city manager perceives himself as being an administrator, leaving the political realm to the city council. 2) The city manager is a policy-maker perceiving that his job includes providing objectives and goals for council and community. He uses his knowledge and experience to create an atmosphere within which various alternatives can be presented with full and free discussion of these alternatives. 3) The role of the city manager cannot be defined along the lines of two mutually exclusive statements. The job of the manager includes a combination of both administration and policy-making.

Municipal government is responsible for public safety, maintenance of city streets and parks, wastewater treatment, trash removal, fire and rescue services, public transportation, and other essential services which mean that it plays a big role in the life of the city and its citizens. The efficiency of the work of the municipality largely depends on the work of its top management. Most common forms of the head of a municipality in Russia is a mayor or a city manager. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze municipal officials’ views on a proposed change from a system with a mayor to a city manager system in the city of Arkhangelsk, Russia. In order to understand this, I look at the history of the country and interviews, study the theoretical material as well as the media. The thesis is qualitative and aimed to find out what the new system of city manager mean in practice and see the benefits and downsides of the new system according to those who are involved in the local government. In the case study I interview civil servants and councilors. The theoretical framework is based on the theories of Weber, Simon, Du Gay, Christensen & Lægreid, Pierre & Rothstein and others. The result shows that both civil servants and councilors see the possibilities of more efficient work of the municipal government if one has the city manager system of governance. They see the city manager to be a professional manager who would be out of politics and not dependent on the opinion of certain group of people. At the same time, I can point out that the ideas of New Public Management help the public sector to be productive. NPM-ideas are often argued to enhance efficiency, but they are not fully compatible with the Russian context. Due to the history and realities in Russia, I have come to a conclusion that the city manager system has weak points such as the lack of professional managers and the power vertical built in Russia, whose representatives mostly belong to one political party.