Ralph P. Hummel
Ralph P. Hummel was a professor of public administration at the University of Akron and a founding fellow of the Institute of Applied Phenomenology in Science and Technology. He is best known for his book The Bureaucratic Experience.
Education and career
Hummel graduated from Wayne State University, where he worked for The Daily Collegian. He worked as a reporter and editor for The New York Times and The Washington Post, among other papers. He received his Ph.D. in political science from New York University in 1972. His Ph.D. thesis examined the concept of charisma in the works of Max Weber.He taught at Fordham University, State [University of New York at Fredonia], John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York University, Brooklyn College, and the University of Oklahoma. After 10 years as a professor at the University of Akron in the Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies, he retired in 2008 and became professor emeritus.
''The Bureaucratic Experience''
Hummel's most famous work was the book The Bureaucratic Experience which went through five editions. The book contends that bureaucracy is dehumanizing; for example, it deals with cases instead of people, and it focuses on efficiency at the expense of other human values.Hummel also wrote The Real American Politics: Changing Perspectives on American Government and Politics for Human Beings with Robert A. Isaak