We have indicated that both academicians and practitioners have sought to solvethe problem of knowledge acquisition in pubfic administration.In order to under-stand in a practical manner the issues they have raised，we will examine two casesthat illustrate some of the central topics in pubfic adminisation theory.In each case，you might begin by asking how you as an observer would characterize the Vari OUS actors and how you would analyrze thek relationshipS with one another.What kind of information（complete or incomplete，objective or subjective，and SO on）do you have available？（Typically,students reviewing cases such as出ese comment that they need more information thaat the case did not tell them enough.But，of course，tllose involved would say the same thing；it just seemsthat there iS never enough in for mation.Does your asking for more information suggest出at you hold a certain view of organizations that would be made more complete with the addition of this information？If your questions reflect a set of assumptions about life in public organizations，how would you characterize t110se assumptions？ You might then consider the case from the standpoint of也os einvolved.Try to understand，from their point of view，exactly what was taking place.Specifically.you might try to reconstruct their analysis of the situation.on what knowledge orunder standing of organizational life did they act？What information did tlley have？What information（1id they lack？How would they have characterized t}1eireneralapproach to life in public organizations？What expectations about human be havior didtheyhold？How didthey see the primary tasks f their organization？What was their understanding of the role of government agencies and those working in suchagencies？What wase relationship between their frame of reference and their behavior？ Our first case illustrates出e relationship between the way we view or Raniza-tion M life and the wav we act in public organizations.Ken Welch was a summerintern in the management services division of a large federal in stallation.Durinhis three-month assignment，Ken was to undertake a variety of projects related to management concerns in the various laboratories at the center.The managementservices division was part of the personnel department，but personnel in the division often acted as troubleshooters for top management，SO the unit enjoyed considerable prestige within the department and，correspondingly，received specialaention from its director. ……
