The Town of Oglesby Ambulance Service case study will be used regularly in class. You should come prepared to apply the week’s topic material to that case situation in a general discussion of the week’s topic. For example, when we are discussing decision making, what kinds of decision processes could be applied in determining whether or not to build another fire station in the town? Or, how can town officials best deal with political pressure to establish another station?

 Students will be evaluated based on their performance in three areas: attendance and participation, homework assignments, and the practical exercise—a simulation that includes all aspects of the public manager’s job. It is meant to provide a "hands-on" reinforcement of the theories, concepts, and techniques the student will encounter in this course, and, in most cases, has encountered on the job. In the practical exercise, the student is to take on the role of a newly-appointed department head in an agency of a small Indiana city, Dunes, In this role (s)he will analyze the situation, make decisions that reflect an understanding of both the political and organization context, and be able to develop and present the rationale behind those decisions. The practical exercise contributes 60% of the students’ final grade. Hint: Students are advised to begin working on the practical exercise early in the semester and to work on the various components of it as we deal with the areas related to those components during the semester. This is not a last-minute kind of project! Creativity and imaginative solutions and presentation are a plus on this project. The simulation can be found on the class website after the second class session. Your Dunes report is due December 3, 2008.

 Another component of your grade is composed of assigned thought papers. Thought papers are due on the date each is listed; they will not be accepted late! In each case, these papers are meant to be 1 to 2 pages, typewritten, and in no smaller than 12 point type, double-spaced. These thought paper assignments will contribute 36% to your final grade.

 The final component of your grade (4%) will come from attendance and participation in class discussions, especially related to the case studies at the end of each chapter.

 As the class is structured around activities, lecture, and discussion, attendance and participation are important to the learning experience. This is especially true when there is no traditional textbook and the lecture component provides most of the structure of the class. In the case (rare, one hopes), you miss a class, it will be your responsibility to get notes from a classmate. Otherwise, you will miss some important information – some of which will help you complete the Dunes project. Graduate study is a commitment of time and effort. Please consider the class sessions in the same light as you would consider professional appointments. As indicated above, attendance and participation will be the deciding factor when your final grade is on the borderline between two grades.

 PLEASE NOTE:

 You are reminded that you are a student in a professional school. Your actions should express the seriousness of your commitment to professional standards, whether in the classroom, on campus, and/or in the community. Please remember that your actions are a reflection on your school and your profession.

 Each student will be required to provide an email address for this class. For those who do not presently have an email address, the University provides Internet access free of charge. We will be using the Internet to communicate, to complete assignments, and in other ways.

 ALL cell phones and pagers must be turned off for the class sessions. If your work or home situation requires that your device remain on, please inform me. In cases where the device is needed, it must be set to vibrate, so as not to disturb the class.

 The scheduled date for automatic withdrawal for this class is October 31. If you miss classes or don’t think you can complete the course work, you should withdraw. Do not assume that lack of attendance will withdraw you from the class. If you do not complete the work or contact me, your final grade will be an “F”.

Week             Date               Topic                                    Readings and Assignments

  1          Aug 27   Introducing the class; what is Public Administration? Public Service? Read: Town of Oglesby case study. Be prepared to examine and analyze the case. We will analyze Public Administration in action (Does CSI present any truth about public management?)                     Cropf, Chapter 1.          

 2          Sep 3   Growth of Government and Administration.                Cropf, Chapter 2

            Assignment 1: Government, at all levels, tries to improve the lives of ordinary citizens. Yet many Americans view government in a negative light. What can public administrators do to make Americans think more positively about government?

 3          Sep 10           Ethics and Public Administration                         Cropf, Chapter 3; Frederickson article (on reserve); Cooper chapter (on reserve)

                         Assignment 2: Do you think public servants should be held to higher

 ethical standards than managers in the private sector? Why?

 4          Sep 17           The Institutional Context of Public Policy     Cropf, Chapter 4     

Assignment 3: The Brownlow Committee was created in order to make recommendations for reforming the executive branch to better cope with the Great Depression. How might a new Brownlow-type committee view the president’s major powers with respect to the bureaucracy in light of current threats and opportunities?

5          Sep 24           Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations Cropf, Chapter 5; Cimitile, et al. article (on reserve)

             Assignment 4: Read the Cimitile article. What does it tell you about the impact of unfunded mandates? About the relationship among the three levels of government? About what local governments can and can’t do in their interorganizational/intergovernmental context? Under what circumstances, if any, do you think it appropriate for the federal government to order a state or locality to undertake an action it has chosen not to take and that will cost the state or locality to administer?

 6          Oct 1  Civil Society and Public Administration                                    Cropf, Chapter 6

                    Assignment 5: Based on the discussion in the chapter, can you think of specific ways that collaboration between public administrators and citizens can be fostered? What are some practical difficulties that might arise?

7          Oct 8 Organization and Public Administration Theories      Cropf, Chapter 7; Mintzberg article (on reserve)

                        Assignment 6: Find out some basic information about the organization you currently work for (or have worked for in the past). What is its purpose? When was it created and why? Obtain or create an organizational chart. Write a brief history of your organization.

  8         Oct 15   Organizational Dimensions of Public Administration Cropf, Chapter 8            

9          Oct 22           Motivation and Decision Making, and Leadership                               Cropf, Chapters 9 and 10; Follett article (on reserve)

Assignment 7: Management can be defined as ‘the process of getting things done through others.’ Discuss how delegation and motivation enable the work of management to occur. And, how would Follett’s integrative method of dealing with conflict act as a motivator for workers?

10       Oct 29               The Policy Process                                     Cropf, Chapter 11              

Assignment 8: Why is there often such a difference between what policymakers intend when they authorize governmental programs and what happens at the local level when those programs are implemented?

11         Nov 5            Privatization and Public Administration           Cropf, Chapter 12

           Assignment 9: As more government services are privatized, the lines separating public from private can become blurred. How can government remain accountable to the public while more and more services are being delivered by nongovernmental organizations?

12        Nov 12           Public Budgeting and Finance      Cropf, Chapter 13; Osborne & Gaebler chapter on  reserve)

             Assignment 10:  Get a copy of a local or state government budget. How could government agencies apply Osborne & Gaebler’s ideas about entrepreneurial budgeting to conserve resources? How would these ideas work for the government whose budget you are examining? (Note: you do not need to turn in the budget itself)           

13        Nov 19           Human Resource Management               Cropf, Chapter 14           

            Assignment 11: Research public organization job opportunities on the web, in the newspaper, etc. You need not examine all three governmental levels (federal, state, and local)—one will do for this exercise. Then, create and attach your own resume. (For those of you presently seeking employment or a change in employment, it can be posted on the Web through the University). 

14        Nov 26          FINISH YOUR DUNES PROJECT!!!

(No formal class meeting)

15        Dec 3             Managing Information Resources,          Cropf, Chapter 15; Edmiston (on reserve); Bryson chapter (on reserve) 

Assignment 12: Search the Web. Find three government websites, one from a local government, one from a state government, and one from the federal government. List the Web addresses and describe the effectiveness of each site—what does it try to do? How does it make government more accessible to citizens? What would you change?

   ********Dunes project (practical exercise) due********