Collapsing Structures and Public Mismanagement

• Main Author: Seibel, Wolfgang (auth)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature 2022
• Subjects: Public administration; Open Access; public mismanagement; collapsing structures; public management; organisational failure; Black Swans; human security; Risk management; causal mechanisms; building collapse; West Gate Bridge; I-35W Mississippi River Bridge; Canterbury TV Building in Christchurch; urban development; contractors; consultants; accountability structures
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

This open access book is about mismanagement of public agencies as a threat to life and limb. Collapsing bridges and buildings kill people and often leave many more injured. Such disasters do not happen out of the blue nor are they purely technical in nature since construction and maintenance are subject to safety regulation and enforcement by governmental agencies. This book analyses four relevant cases from Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Germany. Arguing that, while preventing disaster through public oversight is essentially easy, the difficult part for public officials and private contractors and consultants alike is to resist incentives that threaten professional skills and standards. Rather than stressing well-known pathologies of bureaucracy as a potential source of disaster, this book argues, learning for the sake of prevention should aim at neutralizing threats to integrity and strengthening a sense of responsibility among public officials.