1. What kind of a subject is public management/public administration? -- The aims of this book -- The nature of the beast -- Public management and public administration -- Public management, private management, generic management? -- What kind of theories and methods are used in PM? -- Where does academic PM come from? -- What is PM about? -- Why study it? -- Key reading -- The layout of the rest of the book -- 2. Theory -- Foreword: ontologies and epistemologies -- The plan of the chapter -- Theory, concepts and description: why theory is so important, but not all important -- "Big name" theories -- Some big name theories: 1. neo-institutionalism -- Some big name theories: 2. rational choice and principal-agent theory -- Some big name theories: 3. governance theories -- Small theories -- Theories with no name -- Post-modernism in PM -- Time, change, stability and public management -- Contexts -- Personal footnote -- Key reading -- 3. Methods and approaches -- Introduction -- Designing research -- Quantitative versus qualitative? -- A menu of methods -- Literature reviews -- Statistical analysis -- Surveys -- Interviews -- Case studies -- Textual analysis -- Comparisons -- Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) -- Access, time and some other practicalities -- Concluding observations -- Further reading -- 4. The public management community -- Introduction -- The PM diaspora -- Measuring the performance of PM academics -- Engagement with the world of practice -- A community in flux? -- Key reading -- 5. The relationship with practice -- Introduction -- Why do practitioners want academic advice? -- So what kinds of knowledge can academics offer that might be useful to practitioners? -- Rules of engagement for PM academics working with practitioners -- Final observations -- 6. Current and future issues ("megatrends") -- Introduction -- What are academics currently focusing on? -- External "megatrends" -- Fiscal austerity -- Technological change -- Demographic change -- Climate change -- Interactions -- Concluding observations -- Further reading -- 7. Public management in interesting times -- Back to the future -- Final words.