在这部分析官员行为动机与官僚组织运行机制的经典之作中，作者用简明的语言为我们展现了一部美国版的《官场现形记》，让我们洞悉官员的心理与行为，把握官僚组织的决策机制，从而加深对官员和官僚组织的理解。
本书是剖析官员与官僚组织行为、透视官僚制内幕的经典力作。本书构建了一种有用的决策理论，该理论通过对官员动机、行为模式等方面的分析来帮助人们认识官僚组织的行为，从而提高决策质量。作者将官员分为权力攀登者、保守者、狂热者、倡导者、政治家等五种类型，在此基础上，分析官员的动机、目标和行为对官僚组织决策的影响，探讨官僚组织所承担的社会职能及其所处的环境对其结构、行为和决策的影响。

Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation.
How do these unintended consequences come about and how can we avoid them? By applying conventional thinking to complex social problems, we often perpetuate the very problems we try so hard to solve, but it is possible to think differently, and get different results.
Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to contribute more effectively to society by helping them understand what systems thinking is and why it is so important in their work. It also gives concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning without becoming a technical expert.
Systems thinking leader David Stroh walks readers through techniques he has used to help people improve their efforts to end homelessness, improve public health, strengthen education, design a system for early childhood development, protect child welfare, develop rural economies, facilitate the reentry of formerly incarcerated people into society, resolve identity-based conflicts, and more.
The result is a highly readable, effective guide to understanding systems and using that knowledge to get the results you want.
Review
“I don't know of another book in this field that presents the ideas of systems thinking in such a clear and practical way, with so many real-world examples."--Janice Molloy, managing editor, Reflections: The SoL NorthAmerica Journal on Knowledge, Learning, and Change
Publishers Weekly-
"This dense volume will be of genuine use to many in the nonprofit world ... Stroh has a valuable insight to impart: Becoming a more effective systems thinker is not just an analytical task 'but also an emotional, physical, and ultimately spiritual one.' For those dedicated enough to stay with Stroh's message, this book will be a useful beginning.”
“Stroh has offered an important gem in his new book, Systems Thinking for Social Change. Both illuminating and immediately useful, the book shares the key dynamics and success factors gleaned from his long career of working with organizations struggling with society’s most persistent issues. A must read for anyone whose aim is to make a difference on the ground.”--Kristina Wile, co-president, Leverage Networks, and managing partner, Systems Thinking Collaborative
“If there is only one book you read on systems thinking, it should be Systems Thinking for Social Change. If you’re new to systems thinking, I consider this a must read. If you’ve been involved in systems thinking for some time and want a renewed and extended perspective, I highly recommend it. Stroh’s new work covers all the relevant areas appropriate for a solid introduction to systems thinking, though it doesn’t stop there. It makes a serious contribution by detailing a number of real-world situations that have been investigated and improved using the approach presented in the book. And it does very well something that I’ve not seen done before: it not only shows how to map the current system, but also shows how to then create a revised map of how the system is intended to work in the future. This approach ends up identifying where measurements should be made on an ongoing basis to ascertain whether the system is undergoing the intended transformation.”--Gene Bellinger, director, Systems Thinking World, Inc.
“The philanthropic sector has shifted from a ‘charity’ mindset to a focus on changing systems to create sustainable change. Systems Thinking for Social Change offers practical tools for those serious about improving communities and organizations. It doesn’t minimize the complexity, but rather empowers social-change agents with tools to understand the complexity and identify the leverage points.”--Teresa Behrens, director, Institute for Foundation and Donor Learning
“Over fifteen years ago, David Stroh was instrumental in introducing systems thinking to the peace-building field, using tools that have proven to be powerful for improving the effectiveness of our work. This book is a valuable resource for our field ― a must read for all practitioners who have been seeking practical and easy-to-understand guidance on using systems thinking for conflict analysis and strategic planning for better impacts.”--Diana Chigas, professor of practice, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and co-director of collaborative learning, CDA Collaborative Learning Projects
“This is a must read for public leaders and citizens who are interested in the learning disciplines required for a sustainable, proactive approach to preserving our shared resources.”--Georgianna Bishop, president, The Public Sector Consortium
“For those who have worked for many years in the social-service sector, and who have grown cynical or disillusioned as to whether it is even possible to effect major social change, David Peter Stroh’s book, Systems Thinking for Social Change, is a must read―a clear, thoughtful, and practical guide for those desiring to create lasting social change. But reader beware! Systems thinking is more than a new way of thinking. As Stroh puts it, it is a new way of being. It requires the ability to look at things in a new way, to interact with others differently, to have a clear vision of where you want to go, a willingness to see things the way they are and, finally, the courage to take responsibility for why the system as is isn’t working. If you want to help create long-lasting, effective social change, if you want to say ‘we’re doing it―we’re actually making progress,’ then read this book.”--Anne Miskey, executive director, Funders Together to End Homelessness
“David Stroh, in his invaluable new book, shows that good intentions are not enough for those who aspire to make lasting progress on fundamental social issues―and also how the language and tools of systems theory can provide a deeper understanding of the root causes and help identify the leverage points for productive and sustainable change.”--Russell Eisenstat, executive director, Center for Higher Ambition Leadership
“Societal problems are a swirl of causes, effects, interactions, and contributing relationships. Yet, too often, simplistic answers are applied by the well-intended that only touch on one strand of what is (in reality) a complex and interconnected web. Stroh’s work provides an actionable guide on how to model these relationships―and more importantly how to have a meaningful and lasting impact on them.”--Jason E. Glass, superintendent and chief learner, Eagle County Schools

为什么瑞士和日本的山林公地能维持几个世纪的经济增长和生态稳定，而土耳其的近海渔场却屡屡因过度捕捞而发生冲突？为什么菲律宾桑赫拉的农民能建立起长期有效的公共灌溉系统，而美国加州政府却迟迟无法解决地下水的过度使用问题？面对哈丁的“公地悲剧”，一些人建议由“国家”对绝大多数自然资源实行控制，以防止它们的毁灭；另一些入则建议把这些自然资源私有化就能解决问题。但我们在现实世界中看到的是：无论国家还是市场，都未能成功地解决“公地悲剧”；反而是许多地方和社群中的人们，借助既不同于国家也不同于市场的制度安排，对某些资源系统成功地实行了适度治理。那么，对于一个地方和社群中互相依赖的公民而言，如何才能实现真正有效的自我组织和治理，从而在所有人都面对搭便车、规避责任或其他机会主义行为诱惑的情况下，取得持久的共同收益？对此，《公共事物的治理之道：集体行动制度的演进》通过对各种成败案例的实证考察，首次系统地总结了人们用以分析公共事物解决之道的理论模型，并从博奔的角度探索了政府与市场之外的自主治理公共资源的可能。2009年诺贝尔经济学奖得主代表作20世纪美国政治学界引用率最高的当代经典那些在一个实际场景中找到具有公地困境结构的分析人员，常常要求由一个局外人来强加一种解决方案：实行X是解决某种公地困境的“唯一方法”。这种主张是基于这样一种信念：X对解决各种特定的公地困境都是必要且充分的。但是，X的内容却极少变化。一种主张假定，中央政府应该持续地为一种特定资源的统一决策承担责任。另一种主张则认为中央政府应该放弃对资源的所有权，允许个人在一组界定明确的财产权范围内，去追求他们自己的利益。无论是中央集权的倡导者还是私有化的倡导者，都把制度变迁必须来自外部并强加给受它影响的个人作为中心的信条。但是，尽管他们对“国家”在为提高效率而变更制度方面所具有的必要性和有效性上的看法是一致的，他们建议的制度变迁方法仍有很大差别。如果一种主张是正确的，另一种就不可能也是正确的。矛盾的立场不可能两者同时都正确。我对这两种主张中的任何一种都不赞同。我认为他们提出的意见都过于表浅。与只存在一个单一问题和一种单一解决方案的看法不同，我认为存在着许多不同的问题和许多不同的解决方案。与能够容易地设计出最优制度安排、并能由一个外部权威以很低的成本去强行实施的看法不同，我认为“把制度搞正确”是一个困难的，耗时的和引发矛盾的过程。这个过程既需要有一整套能在文化上被认同的规则，又需要有关于时间变量和空间变量的可靠信息。新的制度安排在现实中不会如在抽象模型中那样运行，除非这些模型建构完整、有实际依据，以及现实场景中的当事人理解如何发挥新规则的作用。对于共同拥有公共池塘资源的人们将不可避免地跌人陷阱并不能自拔的假设，我并不认同。我认为，个人使他们自己从各种不同困境中解脱出来的能力因环境的不同而不同。本书讨论的案例具体描述了为解脱悲剧性结局所作的成功的和不成功的努力。……导言第一章公地治理之反思三种有影响的模型模型的隐喻性用法当前的政策方案挑战第二章研究公共池塘资源情境中自主组织和自主治理的制度方法公共池塘资源的情境相互依存、独立行动和集体行动三个难题：供给、承诺和监督调查框架现实场景的制度研

《政治与行政》成于1900年，为行政学开山之作之一，论点明确、论述充分、论据权威、文献丰富、观点新颖（在20世纪初）、文字流畅、结论具有说服力并且有政策操作性。
对政治与行政关系的系统阐述是古德诺的重大学术贡献之一，他不仅指出了政治与行政之间必须进行一定程度的分立以实现国家的两种基本功能，而且强调了政治对行政进行必要的控制是二者和谐的基础，并给出了实现和谐的具体途径。政治与行政之间的分立与和谐是其整个思想的核心，片面强调任何一个方面都可能导致对其思想的误读。这对于今天我们正确认识政治与行政的关系仍有重要的启示作用。
本书适合政治学、行政学、法学、公共管理学的广大师生、学者收藏、阅读。