Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Echoes Of The “Misfounding” Of Public Administration: The Voices Of Generation X, Gary S. Marshall, Christine M. Reed

Public Administration Faculty Publications

This paper build on previous research into the "X Generation, " in particular their apparent cynicism about all theories of organization as being mere strategies of manipulation. Their voices were described in that study as "the voice of a new cohort of students that we will increasingly find in our classrooms" (Marshall, 1997). Current MPA students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha participated in focus group discussions designed to elicit information about their motivations for enrolling in our graduate program. Initial findings confirmed the organizational commitment of older age cohorts, as well as their identification with large governmental institutions. …