PSPA
500: Scope and Dynamics of Public
Administration
Fall 2005
Professor: Curt Wood
Class Times: Wednesday, 6:30-9:15 PM at Naperville Campus
Office Hours: Thursday, 10-11:30 AM and by appointment
Office Room No. 213 IASBO Building
Email: chwood@niu.edu
Office Phone: (815) 753-6144
The purpose of the Scope and Dynamics of Public Administration is to advance the understanding and appreciation of the history, study, and practice of the scope and dynamics of public administration. As such, the emphasis will be on relating the theories and history of public administration with current practice through lectures, readings, student presentations, written assignments, case studies, and role-playing.
It is my goal to train graduate students to think critically about the major theories of public administration and to link theory with practice using critical analysis. I will challenge students to think actively by taking responsibility for and becoming involved in their own learning inside and outside the classroom.
Jerome B. McKinney and Lawrence C. Howard: Public Administration: Balancing Power and Accountability, 2nd Edition. 1998. Praeger.
Jay M. Shafritz, Albert C. Hyde, and Sandra J. Parkes: Classics of Public Administration, 5th Edition. 2004. Thomson Wadsworth.
In addition, there is a packet of readings and case studies that are on reserve at the NIU Library on the Naperville campus or at the DeKalb campus that all students are required to use for this course.
Mid-term and the
Final Examination
There will be an in class mid-term and a comprehensive take home final exam. The mid-term and final exam will consist of a long-answer essay question and five short-answer essay questions. The essay questions will challenge the student to integrate theory with practice. The midterm will cover the material from the first half of the course and the final exam will cover the material from the entire semester. If a student writes out the mid-term, a blue book is required. Handwriting must be legible to be accepted by the professor. Students may use a lap top computer for the mid-term. If a student uses a lap top, a CD or diskette containing the student’s answers must be turned into the professor at the end of class on the mid-term day. The take home final exam is due on or before the designated time and day of the final exam for the course. Students may submit the final exam at the MPA office on the DeKalb campus or to the professor in the classroom at the Naperville campus on the designated day and time of the final exam. No electronic final exams will be accepted. The maximum length of the final exam is 8 typed pages, with one-inch margins, double-spaced, and 12 point. Make-up or late exams will only be permitted in the case of extreme emergencies. In order to be eligible to make up a test or submit a late exam, the student must notify Professor Wood prior to the test that he/she will not be able to take the test at the appointed time. An unexcused absence from an exam will receive a score of zero.
Students will select three (3) class themes (see the weekly topic schedule) and write three reaction papers to the assigned readings for each theme. Students should briefly describe, analyze, and evaluate the major theories, concepts, or ideas in the readings, and relate these major theories, concepts, or ideas to one’s professional experience. The idea is to integrate theory with practice. Each paper should be approximately four (4) pages, double spaced, one-inch margins, and 12 point. In addition, each student will be required to orally present his or her reaction paper to the class on the due date. Presentations should be approximately five (5) minutes with another five (5) minutes of questions from the class. Grades will be based on the quality of the content, writing, and the presentation. During the first four (4) weeks of class, the professor will provide a sign-up sheet so students can choose their three topics (See topic schedule below). A maximum of five (5) students will be allowed to sign up for each topic. The schedule of topics will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
In addition, doctoral students of Public Administration will be required to submit a book review and critique of H. George Frederickson and Kevin Smith’s book titled A Primer of Public Administration: Theories of Public Administration or Bob and Kathy Denhardt’s book titled The New Public Service. Book reviews should not exceed five (5) pages. In addition, each doctoral student will be expected to present their book review and critique at the November 30 class. The presentation shall last no longer than 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of class questions and discussion. Grades will be based on the quality of the content, writing, and the presentation.
Attending class is a prerequisite for participation. Each student is expected to fully participate in class discussion and is encouraged to ask questions during class. In order to meaningfully participate, each student must be prepared for class. Each student is expected to have read the material prior to coming to class.
Letter grades will be based on the standard 100 percent scale (e.g. 90% – 100% = A, 80% – 89% = B, 70% - 79% = C, etc.). The following components are the criteria for calculating the course grade.
Papers (3) and Presentations (3) 25%
Mid-term exam 15%
Final exam 25%
Case studies (8) 25%
Participation/Attendance 10%
100%
Week 1 (Aug 24): Introduction
Student and professor introductions.
Go over syllabus.
Hand out “Topic Sign-up Sheet ” to be completed by students in class
Complete calling tree
Week 2 (August 31):
The Role of Public Administration in a
Democracy
McKinney and Howard: Chapter 2
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes: Woodrow Wilson (1887), Frank
Goodnow (1900), Leonard White (1926), and Waldo (1948)
Hand out “Topic Sign-up Sheet” to be completed by
students
Case study #1 due: “Fire or Be Fired” by John L. Pape
(Found in packet)
Lecture and discuss assigned case study
Student presentation of papers
McKinney and Howard: Chapter 18
Lecture
Student presentation of papers
Case study (in class): “Affordable Housing”
Week 4 (September 14): Ethics and Social Equity
McKinney and Howard: Chapter 1, Chapter 7 (pages
171-174), and Chapter 13 (pages 334-342)
ICMA Code of Ethics with Guidelines (Found in packet)
Shafritz, Russell, and Parkes: H. George Frederickson (1971), Samuel Krislov (1974), Dennis Thompson (1985), and R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. (1990)
Case Study # 2 due: “Public Scrutiny and Accountability: An Ethical Dilemma in State Administration” by Geralyn M. Miller (Found in packet) or “Cultural Diversity and Social Justice: Racial Profiling in a Police Department” by James D. Ward (Found in packet).
Hand out “Topic Sign-up Sheet ” to be completed by students (final opportunity for students to sign up for their three (3) papers and presentations).
Lecture
Student presentation of papers
Six (6) in-class ethics case studies (Found in packet)
Week 5 (September 21): Organizational Theory I (classical theories)
McKinney and Howard: Chapters 7 (pages 135-157) and
Chapter 9
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes: Frederick Taylor (1912), Max Weber (1922), and Luther Gulick (1937)
Student presentation of papers
Week 6 (September
28): Organizational Theory II (organic theories) and Leadership
McKinney and Howard: Chapter 7 (pages 157-186) and
Chapter 11
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes: Chester Barnard (1938), Herbert Simon (1946)
Mary Parker Follett (1926), A.H. Maslow (1943), and Douglas Murray McGregor (1957)
Case Study # 3 due: “Cherry County Blues: A Problem of Low Morale and High Turnover” by Jeffrey S. Ashley and Kimberly Bejcek (Found in packet)
Student presentation of papers
Discuss assigned case study
Week 7 (October 5): Public Policy and Decision Making
McKinney and Howard: Chapters 5 and 10
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes: Charles Lindblom (1959), Jeffrey Pressman and Aaron Wildavsky (1973), John Kingdon (1995), Michael Lipsky (1980), and Deborah Stone (1997)
H.
George Frederickson and Kevin Smith: “ Theories of Bureaucratic Politics” in Public Administration Theory Primer
(2003). Chapter 3 pages 41-66, Westview Press (Found in packet).
Case study # 4 due: “Restoring Mystic Lake: Program Choices When Science is Ambiguous” by R. Edward Bradford and Dwight C. Kiel
Student presentation of papers
In class case study: “The Administrator as Policy Adviser” (Found in packet)
Week 8 (October 12): Mid-term in class
Week 9 (October 19): Government Reform and the New Public Management (NPM)
McKinney and Howard: Chapters 3 and 4
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes:Graham Allison (1980), Paul Appleby (1945), Ronald Moe (1987), Christopher Hood (1990), The National Performance Review (1993)
Case study # 5 due: “To Privatize of Not to Privatize? A City Prepares to Contract Out Services” by Robert P. Watson (Found in packet)
Lecture
Student presentation of papers
Discuss assigned case study
Week 10 (October 26): Strategic Planning and Performance Measurement
McKinney and Howard: Chapter 8 and 15
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes: Alice Rivlin (1971)
Case Study # 6 due: “Strategic Planning and Performance Measurement: Setting Goals and Tracking Achievement in the City of Glenville” by Donald P. Moynihan (Found in packet)
Presentation of student papers
Discuss three (3) in class performance case studies (Found in packet)
Week 11 (November 2): Public (Community) Relations
McKinney and Howard: Chapters 6 and 12
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes: Theodore Lowi (1969) and Philip Selznick (1949)
Janet and Robert Denhardt: “Chapter 10” in The New Public Service: Serving, not Steering, 2003. M.S. Sharpe, pages 169-175 (Found in packet)
Case study # 7 due: Resolving the Conflict Between the “Public Interest” and Neighborhood Interests” (Found in packet)
Presentation of student papers
Discuss assigned case study
Week 12 (November 9):
Intergovernmental Relations
McKinney and Howard: Chapters 16 and 17
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes: Morton Grodzins (1966) and Deil Wright (1990)
David Nice: “The Intergovernmental Setting of State-Local Relations” Chapter 2 in Governing Partners by R. Hanson, pages 17-36 (Found in packet)
Lecture
Presentation of student papers
Case study in class: “Dealing with Bureaucracy and Intergovernmental Relations: The EPA and Hazardous Waste” by Lisa Nelson (Found in packet)
Week 13 (Nov. 16): Financial Management
McKinney and Howard: Chapter 14
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes: V.O. Key (1940), Naomi Caiden (1981)
Curtis Wood: “Toward a Theory of Public Budgeting?” (Found in the packet)
Curtis Wood: “The Public Choice and Public Finance Approach to Fiscal Federalism”
Case study # 8 due: “Coping with Revenue Shortfalls: The Experience of a Rural Southern County” by Alex Sekwat
Lecture
Presentation of student papers
Discuss assigned case study
Week 14 (November 23): No Class due to Thanksgiving break.
Week 15 (November 30): Human Resources
McKinney and Howard: Chapter 13
Shafritz, Hyde, and Parkes: Frederick Mosher (1982)
Lecture
Doctoral student book review and presentations due.
Final presentation of student papers
Hand out final exam
In-class simulation of collective bargaining
Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, NIU is committed to making reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Those students with disabilities that may have some impact on their coursework and for which they may require accommodations should notify the Center for Access-Ability Resources (CAAR) on the fourth floor of the Health Services Building. CAAR will assist students in making appropriate accommodations with course instructors. It is important that the student inform CAAR and Professor Wood during the first two weeks of the semester of any disability-related needs.
Please turn your cell phones off before coming to class. Cell phones may not be used in class, nor is it acceptable to read newspapers or bring persons not enrolled in the course to class.