Among the general public as well as in the scientific literature, administrative work is widely associated with heavy bureaucratic procedures that are disconnected from serving clients. Less is said and written about the importance of administrative work in delivering public service. Drawing on a relational theoretical approach and based on an ethnographic field study in two municipal child welfare units in Denmark (including 38 days of observations and 30 interviews), this study shows how administrative work plays three key functions in various accountability relations, and that these functions aid street-level bureaucrats in mastering the complexities of their work. The study offers a theoretical framework that delineates the functions of administrative work in complex street-level practice. By demonstrating how administrative work may contribute positively to fulfilling the purposes of street-level work, this study contributes to developing our understanding of administrative work as an invaluable part of street-level work and provides a more nuanced foundation for future studies on the virtues and issues of administrative work.

中文翻译：

---

在公共服务提供中使行政工作变得重要：将实践与办公室目的联系起来的镜头


在公众和科学文献中，行政工作与繁重的官僚程序广泛相关，这些程序与服务客户脱节。关于行政工作在提供公共服务中的重要性的言论和文字较少。本研究采用关系理论方法，并基于对丹麦两个市级儿童福利单位的民族志实地研究（包括 38 天的观察和 30 次访谈），展示了行政工作如何在各种问责关系中发挥三个关键功能，以及这些功能帮助街道官僚掌握其工作的复杂性。该研究提供了一个理论框架，描绘了行政工作在复杂的街道实践中的功能。通过展示行政工作如何为实现街道工作的目的做出积极贡献，本研究有助于加深我们对行政工作的理解，将其视为街道工作中非常宝贵的部分，并为未来关于行政工作的优点和问题的研究提供更细致的基础。