Spring
2007
DuSable
464
Thursday
Professor: Kimberly
Nelson, Ph.D.
Office: 211
Email: klnelson@niu.edu Office
hours: Monday and Thursday 9-10
and
by appointment
This course is intended to introduce students
to the primary issues and problems faced by local government managers. After an introduction to the development and
context of the contemporary American city, this course will then cover the
primary issue areas with which city administrators must contend. The six
policy/issue themes are policymaking and leadership, citizen participation,
urban service delivery, personnel management, public budgeting and finance, and
economic development. Each policy issue
will be covered from the perspective of the urban manager.
We will devote two class sessions to each
theme in order to fully explore the implications for public managers. During the first session, the professor and
students will discuss the literature related to the theme. For the second week, a guest speaker(s) will
describe his experiences related to that theme and we will discuss a case study
related to the topic.
Required
Texts:
Morgan, David R. and Robert E.
England. 2006. Managing
Urban
Watson, Douglas J. and Wendy L.
Hassett, editors. 2003. Local
Government Management: Current Issues and Best Practices.
In addition, there will be
supplemental readings posted on Blackboard.
The professor reserves the right to change this syllabus
at any point in the semester.
Course Requirements:
Research papers (2 @ 20% each) 40%
Biweekly questions (6 @ 3% each) 18%
Case studies (5 @ 4% each) 20%
Group Presentation 12%
Participation/Attendance 10%
100%
There will be
no exams in this class. Two research
papers will be completed in place of traditional exams.
Biweekly Questions:
For each week in which we will have a guest
speaker, students should come to class with three typed questions prepared for
the speaker. Each student will submit
the questions at the end of the class for grading.
Group Presentation:
During five of the weeks in which we have no guest speaker, two/three
students will be assigned to present on the topic for that week. Although you may use readings assigned for
that week, you must also incorporate additional sources. Students will work as a group to develop the
presentation. Presentations should be as
interactive as possible, either including questions for discussion or a class
exercise. The presentations should
address the major conceptual ideas from the readings and attempt to relate
those ideas to the practice of local government management. Each student should submit his/her part of
the presentation to the professor as well as any notes or discussion questions
he/she developed. I will distribute a
sign-up sheet in which you state your preferences, and then I will determine
the group assignments.
Research Papers:
Each student will write a research paper on
one of the major topics from the class. As these are in lieu of exams, students
should spend a considerable amount of the semester researching and writing
these papers. There are three major
components to each of these assignments; the description of each and the
grading breakdown are provided below.
1) Research proposal (15%):
The research proposal should be approximately
1 page in length. It will describe the
research question and/or hypotheses, the reasons for doing the research, an
initial summary of the existing literature and theory, a description of the
proposed methodology, and a preliminary bibliography. The due dates for the proposals are listed on
the course schedule.
2) Finished paper (70%):
The full papers should be written in the same
format as academic journal articles.
Using a qualitative or quantitative approach, you are to critically
examine a major topic in local government management grounding the analysis in public
administration theory. The first paper
is due March 8, the second paper is due May 3.
Proper attribution of sources is mandatory.
3) Presentations (15%):
On the dates the papers are due, each student
will give a brief presentation of their findings. On March 8, students will
present after the guest speakers in place of completing a case study
assignment. On May 3, the entire class
period will be devoted to presentations.
Consequently, presentations on March 8 should be limited to 5
minutes. No handouts or supplemental
materials are required. On May 3,
presentations should be approximately 10 minutes in length. Handouts, overheads or a PowerPoint
presentation should be included.
Format:
10-15 pages, double-spaced, 12-point font,
1-inch margins
Use headings/subheadings
APA style (in-text parenthetical citations)
Cover page
Evaluation of the
papers will be based upon both content and writing quality. Please consult the APA Publication Manual for descriptions of appropriate citation
format.
This course is a
graduate seminar, not a lecture course.
In order for students to get the greatest benefit from the course, they
should come to class prepared to discuss the weekly topics. Therefore, students should complete the
readings on time and bring notes on the readings to class. Additionally, half of your participation
grade will be determined by your attendance.
Late assignments will only be accepted with
prior approval from the instructor or in cases of documented emergencies. Division policy prohibits the submission of
work via email or fax.
Attendance: This course is
a graduate seminar, not a lecture course.
In order for students to get the greatest benefit from the course, they
should come to class prepared to discuss the weekly topics. Therefore, students should complete the
readings on time and bring notes on the readings to class. Additionally, half of your participation
grade will be determined by your attendance.
Academic
Integrity: Students
are required to adhere to NIU’s code of student conduct for academic
integrity. Violations will result in a
failed grade on the assignment and possibly the class. You are expected to ensure that all
assignments submitted for a grade reflect substantially your own work, that
work submitted under your name is substantially original, and that you have
understood and learned the competencies in each assignment and not relied solely
on the knowledge of others. Students whose work is substantially
plagiarized from others, whether intentional or not, will receive a ‘0’ on that
assignment or exam. A lack of
understanding as to what constitutes plagiarism is no defense. If you are unclear of what actions constitute
plagiarism, please see me.
Students with
Disabilities: NIU abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which mandates
reasonable accommodations be provided for qualified students with disabilities.
If you have a disability and may require some type of instructional and/or
examination accommodation, please contact me early in the semester so that I
can provide or facilitate in providing accommodations you may need. If you have
not already done so, you will need to register with the Center for
Access-Ability Resources (CAAR), the designated office on campus to provide
services and administer exams with accommodations for students with
disabilities. The CAAR office is located on the 4th floor of the University
Health Services building (815-753-1303). I look forward to talking with you
soon to learn how I may be helpful in enhancing your academic success in this
course.
Key: M & E = Morgan
& England; W & H = Watson & Hassett; BB = On
Blackboard
Class Schedule:
DATE
|
TOPIC |
ASSIGNMENT DUE |
|
|
Jan. 18 |
Introductions |
|
|
|
Jan. 25 |
Evolution &
context of cities |
M & E, Chapters 1, 2 & 3 1st Research Proposal Due |
|
|
Feb. 1 |
Policymaking,
decision-making & leadership |
W & H, M & E, Chapter 6 and pp. 85-111 and 232-238 If you have not yet read James Svara’s
article on Complementarity, please
read it on Blackboard |
|
|
Feb. 8 |
Speaker on policymaking, decision
making, and leadership Case Study: “Working with Elected Officials” |
||
|
Feb. 15 |
Urban service
delivery—public safety, operations, evaluation |
M & E,
Chapter 7 W & H, BB--Cities, Politics, & |
|
|
Feb. 22 |
Speaker on urban service delivery Case Study: “ |
||
|
Mar. 1 |
Personnel management |
M & E, Chapter 10 W & H, 2nd
Research Proposal Due |
|
|
Mar. 8 |
Speaker on personnel management
No case study this week |
Research Paper #1 Due |
|
|
Mar. 15 |
Spring
Break |
||
|
Mar. 22 |
Citizen
participation |
M & E, pp. 111-114 W & H, |
|
|
Mar. 29 |
Speaker on citizen participation Case Study: “Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Patronage” |
||
|
Apr. 5 |
Meet from Public
budgeting & finance |
M & E, Chapter 9 W & H, |
|
|
Apr. 12 |
Speaker on
public budgeting & finance Case Study: “Getting
Control of the |
||
|
Apr. 19 |
Economic
development |
M & E, Chapter 5 BB, “Equitable Approaches to Local Economic
Development”; “Distinguishing Development Incentives from Giveaways”;
“Multinetwork Management” |
|
|
Apr. 26 |
Speaker on
economic development Case Study: “Port
Pleasant” |
||
|
May 3 |
Presentations
on research papers |
Research Paper #2 Due |
|