ABSTRACT
In administrative theory, the phenomenon of administrative reform is being rediscovered, although it has been explored ever since homo sapiens found that he was a born reformer. The structural approach to change tends to obscure the significance of ubiquitous reform pressures in administrative dynamics. Continuous structural differentiation in modernizing societies further complicates the problem, though administrative competence has been strengthened by the growth of central institutions and by a greater capacity to generate and absorb persistent transformation. Normally an administration is considered healthy if it meets all demands put on it and if it gives no cause for alarm. The subjectivity of administrative reform makes it prey to fashion, fad, and fancy. Although the study of the fluctuations should prove fruitful for administrative theorists despite accumulating source material, the pervasiveness of administrative reform, a climate favoring progress in general and reform in particular, concern with administrative malfunctioning, and a reformist tradition in administrative theory.
