Ridley's Prefectoral Administrative Function and the Case of Environment Canada.

This study tests the relevance of Ridley's ideal-type concept of the prefectoral administrative function in a departmental setting in Canada. It follows the pursuit of administrative decentralization within Environment Canada, a complex department which has thus far introduced three prefectoral administrative mechanisms – a Regional Board, a Regional Director and a Committee of Regional Executives – for this purpose. The sliding scale of authority which Ridley associates with the prefectoral administrative function makes eminent sense of the Environment Canada experience. The wider analytical reach of Ridley's concept of the prefectoral administrative function, and hence the greater theoretical relevance of the system in administrative theory and practice, is confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Political Studies is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)