Marcus Foster and the Oakland Public Schools: Leadership in an Urban Bureaucracy

Critics of public organizations have charged them with rigidity, insensitivity to public needs, inefficiency, and other faults. Marcus Foster and the Oakland Public Schools examines an urban political executive's efforts to meet these demands. Foster's three-part program of community participation, decentralization, and budgeting was successful, but the unbridgeable gap between theory and application burdened efforts to reform budgeting. Jesse J. McCorry shows how the common notion that organizational change is thwarted by bureaucratic recalcitrance and inertia is oversimplified.

Format: Hardback
Length: 180 pages
Publication date: 25 March 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

Critics of public organizations have leveled a range of charges against them, including rigidity, insensitivity to public needs, inefficiency, and various other shortcomings. While these criticisms may not be novel, the surge of urban political activism during the 1960s infused a sense of urgency into demands for organizational change. Marcus Foster and the Oakland Public Schools takes a closer look at the efforts of an urban political executive to address these demands.

In his quest to reform the education bureaucracy, Marcus Foster, former superintendent of schools in Oakland, California, introduced a comprehensive program aimed at revitalizing the system. This program consisted of three key components: community participation, decentralization, and budgeting. Each of these components was designed to address specific criticisms of bureaucracies and received strong support from students of organizations.

The most successful changes implemented by Foster were those where he had direct control over the necessary resources. This allowed him to initiate community involvement and establish its procedures. However, when it came to implementing changes that required existing bureaucratic units to relinquish some of their resources, Foster's success was more limited. The challenge lay not in the control of resources by others but in the vast gap between theory and application that hindered efforts to reform budgeting.

Jesse J. McCorry delves into the oversimplification of the common notion that bureaucratic recalcitrance and inertia pose significant barriers to organizational change. By broadening analytic perspectives, McCorry reveals that certain bureaucratic reforms, while well-intentioned, may exceed the capabilities of even the most effective leadership. This title is part of UC Press' Voices Revived program, which commemorates the University of California Press' commitment to seeking out and nurturing the brightest minds and providing them with a platform to express their ideas, reach a wider audience, and have a meaningful impact. Drawing on a rich backlist dating back to 1893, Voices Revived showcases the timeless wisdom and insights of past thinkers, ensuring that their voices continue to resonate in the present day.

Weight: 408g
Dimension: 234 x 156 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520356771