Public Management
PUBL 6350, Section 19094, C112, Monday 5:30 – 8:30 PM
University of Houston MPA Program
Spring 2015
Instructor:
James Thurmond. Ph.D.
jhthurmond@uh.edu, 713-743-3930 (c. 713-870-4747)
Rm. 312, Phillip G. Hoffman Hall
Monday – Friday (appointments preferred)
Introduction
Management of a public organization is similar in many ways to a private organization.
Both must operate efficiently and effectively, but according to difference values and mission
perspectives. This requires adherence to similar management criteria and techniques. The big
difference, however, is that public organizations must consider democratic values such as equity,
inclusiveness, individual rights, and representation in their decision making process. Simply put,
public organizations have many more constraints than a private organization (Graham, 1979).
This course focuses on effectively, efficiently, and equitably managing a public
organization to produce public goods and/or services within the constraints of a democracy and
federalism. The course includes a combination of practice and theory in case studies, readings,
class discussions, and class papers. In the end, you should be better prepared to manage a public
organization.
Management is what happens in the black box of management between organizational
inputs and organizational outputs. Is it management style, leadership, any or all of Lynn and
Hall’s three dimensions, etc.? Students who have taken PUBL 6310 Administrative Theory
should have a good understanding of what happens in the managerial black box based on
Rainey’s key dimensions of organizing and managing as listed below:
Key Dimensions of Organizing and Managing, Chapters 6-11 (Rainey 2009)
6 - Organizational Goals and Effectiveness, 145-169.
7 - Formulating and Achieving Purpose, 170-200.
8 - Organizational Structure, design, technology, and information technology,
201-240.
9 - Understanding People in Public Organizations: Values and Motives, 247-272.
10 - Understanding People in Public Organization: Theories of Work Motivation
and Work-Related Attitudes, 273-313.
11 - Leadership, Managerial Roles, and Organizational Culture, 314-350.
Learning Outcomes
1. Improve understanding of public management – know what happens in the black box of
management between organizational inputs and outputs.
2. Be better prepared for public management.
Requirements for the Course
1. Read the assignments and prepare for each class.
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2. If you miss more than three classes without a good valid reason, you are dropped from
the course. Notify me if you cannot be present for a class.
3. Regularly participate in the discussions based upon the readings and your experience.
4. Turn in graduate-level quality papers
a. Turnitin Papers. Late papers will be dropped one letter grade per day.
i. 1st paper (due February 23)
ii. 2nd paper (due March 30)
iii. 3rd paper – final exam (due May 7)
b. Portfolio development
i. Periodically throughout the semester, prepare a portfolio of what you have
learned that improves your marketability.
5. On-line Classes and Exercises -- Discussions will be asynchronous over the designated
discussion period (e.g., Wednesday – Saturday), but student postings should be
throughout the discussion period. True dialogue is required; not simplistic yes/no
responses or forced dialogue at the very end of the discussion period to present a façade
of participation.
a. Six (6) on-line classes – Feb. 9 & 23; March 9 & 30; and April 13 & 27.
i. Course readings will be reviewed through the use of questions and
answers in a discussion format. That is, I post the question and students
respond.
b. Two Group case studies March 2 and April 6 -- Each student will participate in
group exercises, using BB Discussion Board only, and collaborate on solutions to
case studies. The final product will be a group solution to the case study presented
in class.
c. Blackboard Protocol
i. Posting requirement/prompt: Post coherent, not fragmented
sentences/paragraphs.
ii. Response requirement: Engage in a dialogue by responding to other group
members’ posts.
6. Presentations – make three presentations to the class, March 2, April 6, and May 4.
7. Writing – See Blackboard Toolbox for helpful readings on professional writing including
Memo Writing. Dobel, Elmore, and Werner (2003) The Electronic Hallway. Evans
School of Public Affairs. University of Washington.
Grading
Class Element (% of Total Grade)
1. Participation (20%)
Attendance & class
participation
On-line participation
2. Papers (60%)
1st
2nd
Final
3. Group Exercises (20%) 1st
2nd
4. Presentations
Three @ 5 ea.
Total Score
Points
10
10
15
15
15
10
10
15
100
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Grading Elements -- Papers
1. Purpose
• Link the content of the course, both theory and practice, with
your own experiences to demonstrate your understanding of the
course’s applicability.
• Demonstrate understanding of course material by citing it.
2. Evidence-based Reasoning
Use concepts, models, methods, etc. from the class
3. Organization
Flow of ideas and analysis
4. Mechanics and style
Grammar, clarity, precision, and brevity
Grading Elements -- On-line
1. Similar to Papers: Even though your posts and responses on BB will be
more of a dialogue with other group members, still adhere to purpose,
evidence-based reasoning, and mechanics and style as for papers (see
above)
2. Number of posts
3. Quality of posts – What substantive material have you added to the
discussion? What value have you added?
4. Time spent on Background. I don’t put much faith in this element since
it can easily by manipulated by students who log on and then do nothing but
let the site remain open – “gaming the system.”
Grading Elements -- Presentation
1. Body language – professional and compatible with content
2. Eye contact with the audience – don’t read your presentation
3. Voice – projects well with appropriate inflections
4. Pace/speed of presentation – clear and natural
5. Language – no use of fillers; good grammar
6. Timing of presentation to stay within allotted time.
7. Power Point – follows good protocol; good flow; consistency
8. Addressed the topic and informed the audience
Statement on Academic Dishonesty
Presenting the words or works of others as your own is plagiarism, is dishonest,
and is a violation of the University Policy on Academic Honesty. If you are not certain of what is
permissible, you should contact the professor prior to submitting the assignment and/or check the
UH webpage http://www.uh.edu/provost/academic-affairs/policy-guidelines/honesty3
policy/index.php. A student found in violation of academic honesty may be subject to a failing
grade, suspension, or dismissal from the university.
Required Textbook
Hill, Carolyn J. and Laurence E. Lynn Jr., (2009) Public Management A ThreeDimensional Approach, Washington D.C.: CQ Press.
Outline and Assignments
Class 1 (Jan. 26): Introduction
• Public Management:
o Cohen, Steven A. (1993) Defining and Measuring Effectiveness in Public
Management. Public Productivity & Management Review. 71, 1, [Note
Cohen’s definition of management, 45-48].
o Allison, Graham (1979) Public and Private Management: Are They
Fundamentally Alike in All Unimportant Respects? Setting Public
Management Research Agendas: Integrating the Sponsor, Producer, and
User. Public Management Research Conference. Brookings Institution. See
Table 1 – Functions of General Management (385), Table 2 – Differences
between Public and Private Organizations (390), and Section 5 (396 & 397).
o Drucker, Peter. (1959) The Practice of Management, 341-343.
• Mintzberg, Henry (May – June 1996) Managing Government, Governing
Management. Harvard Business Review. [See “The Myths of Management” 78 – 80,
“Models for Managing Government” 80 – 82, and “Governing Management” 82 – 83.
• Olshfski, Dorothy. (1990). Politics and leadership: political executives at work.
Public Productivity and Management Review, Spring 1990.[See Olshfski’s three
definitions of politics (231-238)]
• Jennings, Jr., Edward T. (2006 October) Skills of the transformed public
administrator. PA Times.
• Piskulich, Michelle and David Swindell. (2007) Skills Most Valued in Managerial
Employees. PA Times, Education Supplement, October, 3-4.
Covered by Thurmond (not required reading but check my notes)
• Hammond, John S. (1974) The Roles of the Manager and Management Scientist in
Successful Implementation. Sloan Management Review. 15, 2, 1 – 24. [Note Figure 1
and the six potential benefits from quantitative methods, 9 – 11, and obstacles to
reaching benefits, 11-20]
• Ring, Peter Smith and James L. Perry (1985) Strategic Management in Public and
Private Organizations: Implications of Distinctive Contexts and Constraints.
Academy of Management. The Academy of Management Review. [Note Figure 1, the
five propositions 279-281, and managerial behavior for dealing with the propositions
283-284.]
• Frederickson, H. George, et al. (2012) Theories of Public Management. In The Public
Administration Theory Primer. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 97-129.
Class 2 (Feb. 2): What is public management?
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Chapter 1. What is Public Management? In Public
Management A Three-Dimensional Approach.
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Mintzberg, Henry (1973). Managerial Work. In The Nature of Managerial Work.
Mintzberg, Henry (May – June 1996) Managing Government, Governing
Management. Harvard Business Review. [See “Customers, Clients, Citizens and
Subjects” 76 – 78.
• Morris, Michael (2005). The Principles of Management in The First-Time Manager,
3rd ed., Kogan Page: Philadelphia, 77-89.
• Shalala, Donna E. (1998). Are large public organizations manageable? Public
Administration Review. 58, 4, 284-289.
Covered by Thurmond (not required reading but check my notes)
• Moynihan, Donald P. and John Clayton Thomas (2013) Citizen, Customer, Partner:
Rethinking the Place of the Public in Public Management. Public Administration
Review, Vol. 73, No. 6, 786-796. [Relate to Mintzberg (1996). Managers need to
know how to work with the public in all three roles of citizen, customer, and partner.
Another author asks why not include voter and taxpayer also?]
•
•
ON-LINE CLASS
Class 3 (Feb. 9): Public Management’s Three Dimensions
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Chapter 2 Public Management’s Three Dimensions. In
Public Management A Three-Dimensional Approach. 39-64.
• Morgan, Gareth (1997) Images of Organization, 2nd ed. Sage Publications: Thousand
Oaks, CA. 3-6. [The art of “reading” a situation is you understanding or
conceptualizing a situation with various scenarios in mind and forging action
appropriate to your understandings.]
• Is America a ‘kludgeocracy’? (January 26, 2013) Washington Post.
Class 4 (Feb. 16): Analysis and Argument in Public Management
• Speaker:
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Chapter 3. Analysis and Argument in Public Management.
In Public Management A Three-Dimensional Approach.
• Morris, Michael (2005) Solving a Problem in The First-Time Manager, 3rd edition,
Kogan Page: Philadelphia, The Principles of Management 89-106 [See statistics,
probability, distribution, regression & correlation, Pareto’s 80:20 Principle, and
written record.] and Key Skills 201-205.
• Falkenberg, Lisa (August 28,, 2013) Life lessons for students from news. Houston
Chronicle.
ON-LINE CLASS
Class 5 (Feb. 23): Public Management: The Structural Dimension
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Chapter 5. Public Management: The Structural Dimension.
In Public Management A Three-Dimensional Approach. 133-187.
• Thurmond Memo to City Council (1981) – from which dimension am I working?
What’s my purpose in the memo? Any application of theory in this memo?
• Morgan et al. (2012). Systems Analysis and Local Policymaking 15-18; Chapter 4
Urban Policymaking 89-97; and Chapter 6 Decision-making and Analysis 160-194.
In Managing Urban America
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Class 6 (March 2): Public Management: The Cultural Dimension
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Public Management A Three-Dimensional Approach.
Chapter 6 Public Management: The Cultural Dimension. 189- 223.
• Group case study presentation
ON-LINE CLASS
Class 7 (March 9): Public Management: The Craft Dimension
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Chapter 7 Public Management: The Craft Dimension. In
Public Management A Three-Dimensional Approach. 225-286.
• Morris, Michael (2005). Key Skills in The First-Time Manager, 3rd edition, Kogan
Page: Philadelphia. 201-224.
• Bingham, Lisa Blomgren (2010) Negotiating for the Public Good. In Perry, James L.
(ed.) The Jossey-Bass Reader on Nonprofit and Public Leadership. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass. 378-399. [Negotiation is one approach to handling conflict, but not
always. Know your BATNA (best alternative to negotiated agreement).]
• Leadership
o Morgan et al. (2012).Leadership, 239-246, 336-341. In Managing Urban
America.
o Behn, Robert D. (1998) What Right Do Public Managers Have to Lead?
Public Administration Review, Vol. 58, No. 3, 209-224.
Covered by Thurmond (not required reading)
• Andrews, Rhys and George A. Boyne (210) Capacity, Leadership, and Organizational
Performance: Testing the Black Box Model of Public Management. Public
Administrative Review, 443-453. [Management capacity interacting with leadership
positively affects organizational performance. See Table 1 for indicators of
management capacity in an organization.]
• O’Leary, Rosemary, Yujin Choi, and Catherine M. Gerard (2012) The Skill Set of the
Successful Collaborator. Public Administrative Review, Vol. 72, Special Issue, S70.
March 16 Spring Break
Class 8 (March 23): Managing in Three Dimensions
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Chapter 10. Managing in Three Dimensions. In Public
Management A Three-Dimensional Approach. 381-418.
• Meuleman, Louis. 2008. Public Management and the Metagovernance of
Hierarchies, Networks and Markets – The Feasibility of Designing and Managing
Governance Style Combinations. Physica-Verlag Heidelberg: Leipzig. 1-4. [3
governing management styles = hierarchy, market, and network]
• Meuleman. 2008. Public Management and the Metagovernance of Hierarchies,
Networks and Markets – The Feasibility of Designing and Managing Governance
Style Combinations. 9-12, 66-69, and 75-83.
• Connelly, David R., Jing Zhang, and Sure R. Faerman. (2008) The Paradoxical
Nature of Collaboration. In Bingham and Rosemary O’Leary (Ed.), Big Ideas in
Collaborative Management, Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 17-35.
• McGuire, Michael. 2002. Managing Networks: Propositions on What Managers Do
and Why They Do It, Public Administration Review, 62, 5, 599-609.
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ON-LINE CLASS
Class 9 (March 30): Performance
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Chapter 8 Accountability. In Public Management A ThreeDimensional Approach. 287-332.
• Morgan et al. (2012) Managing Urban America. Chapter 7 Urban Service Delivery.
195-206; and evaluating urban programs, 217-224.
• Schiavo-Campo, Salvatore and Hazel M. McFerson. (2008) C. 10 Managing for
Results: Performance, Monitoring, and Evaluation. In Public Management in Global
Perspective. 293-322.
• Page, Stephen. (2008) Managing for Results Across Agencies Building Collaborative
Capacity in the Human Services. In Bingham and O’Leary (Ed.), Big Ideas in
Collaborative Management, Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 138-161.
Covered by Thurmond (not required reading)
• Behn, Robert D. (2003) Why Measure Performance? Different Purposes Require
Different Measures. Public Administration Review. 63, 5, 586-606. [See Table 1 for
eight purposes for measuring performance.]
• Cohen, Steven A. (1993) Defining and Measuring Effectiveness in Public
Management. Public Productivity & Management Review. 71, 1, 48-57. [Note his
indicators for assessing managerial effectiveness and for determining managers
possess the skills to be effective.]
• Walker, Richard M. et al. (2013) Marching to Different Drummers? The Performance
Effects of Alignment between Political and Managerial Perceptions of Performance
Management. Public Administration Review, Vol. 73, No. 6, 833-844. [Alignment of
views between politicians and senior managers in performance management is
associated with better organizational performance.]
Class 10 (April 6): Public Management’s Backbone – Rule of Law
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Chapter 4. Public Management’s Backbone: The Rule of
Law. In Public Management A Three-Dimensional Approach.89-134.
• Schiavo-Campo, Salvatore and Hazel M. McFerson. (2008) Codes of Conduct. In
Public Management in Global Perspective. 426-435.
• Ethics:
o Bevers, Bart. (2010) Fostering Ethics and Accountability in the Public-Sector
Workplace. In Balanoff and Master (Ed.), Strategic Public Management –
Best Practices from Government and Nonprofit Organizations, 89-98.
o Ethics – Pennington – TCMA (2008).
o ICMA Code of Ethics, ICMA, Washington, D.C.
• Group case study presentation
Covered by Thurmond (not required reading)
• Rosenbloom, David H. 2011. C. 22 Public Administration’s Legal Dimensions. In
The State of Public Administration. ED. Menzel, Donald C. and Harvey L. White.
NY: M.E. Sharpe. 368-387. [Know why law is important to you as a public official
(370).]
• Examples of rule of law constraints
o Texas Public Information 2010 Handbook, Attorney General of Texas
(www.oag.state.tx.us/opinopen/og_resources.shtml)
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o Texas Open Meetings 2010 Handbook, Attorney General of Texas
(www.oag.state.tx.us/opinopen/og_resources.shtml)
ON-LINE CLASS
Class 11(April 13): Public Management Reform
• Hill and Lynn Jr., (2009). Chapter 9 Public Management Reform. In Public
Management A Three-Dimensional Approach. 335-380.
• Kettl, Donald F. (2012) The Politics of the Administrative Process. C. 7
Administrative Reform, Washington D.C.: Sage/CQ Press.195-229.
• Benjamin, Mathew (February24, 2003) U.S. News and World Report. 74-75.
• Schiavo-Campo, Salvatore and Hazel M. McFerson. (2008) The Never Ending
Struggle Against Fashion. In Public Management in Global Perspective. 465-468.
Class 12 (April 20): Human Resources
• Speaker: David Kester, Director – Human Resources & Risk Management, Harris
County, Texas
• Schiavo-Campo, Salvatore and Hazel M. McFerson. (2008) C. 7 Employment and
Wage Policy. In Public Management in Global Perspective. 175-197.
• Morgan et al. (2012) Chapter 9 Managing Human Resources 269-301. In Managing
Urban America.
• Mason, Susan G. and Lana Stein. (2009) Local Government Personnel
Administration – Heritage, Contemporary Practice, and Portents 64 - 78. In Public
Human Resource Management, edited by Hays, Stevens W, et al. Longman: NY.
• Daley, Dennis M. (2009) The Trials and Tribulations of Performance Appraisal –
Problems and Prospects in the Twenty-First Century. In Public Human Resource
Management, edited by Hays, Stevens W, et al. Longman: NY.
Covered by Thurmond (not required reading)
• Pynes, Joan E. (2009) Strategic Human Resources Management. In Public Human
Resource Management, edited by Hays, Stevens W., et al. 95 – 106. Longman: NY.
• French, P. Edward. (2008) Employment Laws and the Public Sector Employers:
Lessons to Be Learned From a Review of Lawsuits Filed against Local Governments.
Public Administration Review. 69, 1, Public Sector Employees and Their Employers
93-95, Table 1, and Conclusion 101. [Handy checklist of what to do in order to avoid
lawsuits in practice.]
ON-LINE CLASS
Class 13 (April 27): Implementation
• Morgan et al. (2012). Chapter 7 Urban Service Delivery; Equity of Services and
Responsiveness 206-211; Alternative Service Delivery 211-217; and Summary 23 &
224. In Managing Urban America.
• Bryson, John M. and Barbara C. Crosby. (2008) Failing into Cross-Sector
Collaboration Successfully. In Bingham and Rosemary O’Leary (Ed.), Big Ideas in
Collaborative Management, Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 55-78.
• Bingham, Lisa Blomgren, et al. (2008) Frameshifting – Lateral Thinking for
Collaborative Public Management. In Bingham and Rosemary O’Leary (Ed.), Big
Ideas in Collaborative Management, Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 3-16.
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Shick, Robert. (2010) Contracting for Services in State and Local Government.
Elements of Government Contracting. In Balanoff and Master (Ed.), Strategic Public
Management – Best Practices from Government and Nonprofit Organizations, 155163.
Covered by Thurmond (not required reading)
• Joaquin, M. Ernita et al. (2012) Contract Management Capacity Breakdown? An
Analysis of U.S. Local Governments. Public Administration Review. 807 – 816.
• Koppenjan, Joop F. M. and Bert Enseriwk. (2009) Public Private Partnerships in
Urban Infrastructures: Reconciling Private Sector Participation and Sustainability.
Public Administration Review. [Understand Tables 1, 2, and 3.]
• Meuleman. 2008. Public Management and the Metagovernance of Hierarchies,
Networks and Markets – The Feasibility of Designing and Managing Governance
Style Combinations. 301-304, 309-313, and 319-324 [Understand the formula Ms =
Ws * Ds * Cs].
•
Class 14 (May 4): Nuts and Bolts and Class Wrap-up
Wrap-up
End of Semester Individual Presentations – Each student will be assigned a week to
summarize in a 10 minute presentation to the class.
Nuts and Bolts
• Media Relations (See “News Media” in Blackboard.):
o Shelton & Caudle Inc. (1994) What Reporters Want to Know. (Class handout)
o Know What to Say (1996, October) County Progress Magazine.
• Meetings:
o Morris, Michael (2005) Key Skills in The First-Time Manager, 3rd edition,
Kogan Page: Philadelphia.
§ Chairing a Meeting, 207-210, and
§ Running a Staff Session, 219-224.
o Stein, Debra (2000) Dealing with an Angry Public. Planning Commissioners
Journal, 37, 8 & 9.
o Baker, William H., H. Lon Addams, and Brian Davis (2005) Critical Factors
for Enhancing Municipal Public Hearings. Public Administration Review, Vol.
65, No. 4, pp. 490-499. [Know the six factors for successful public hearings,
p. 496.]
o Knight: Roberts Rules of Order. Parliamentary Procedure: (July 2005) Being
Aware of the Key Rules [TML presentation]
• Conflict:
o Caudron, Shari (2000 February). Keeping Team Conflict Alive, Public
Management, ICMA, Washington D.C., pp. 5 – 9.
o Lan, Zhiyong (1997). A Conflict Resolution Approach to Public
Administration. Public Administration Review, Vol. 57, No. 1, [understand
Table 1, p. 29]
• Social Media
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•
o Haugen, Tracy. (2010) Web 2.0’s Knowledge Management Potential in the
Public Sector. In Balanoff and Master (Ed.), Strategic Public Management –
Best Practices from Government and Nonprofit Organizations, 141-152.
o Mergel, Ines (2013) Social Media in the Public Sector. San Francisco: JosseyBass
Other Challenges:
o Thomas, Roosevelt (2010) Diversity Management – An Essential Craft for
Leaders. In Perry, James L. (ed.) The Jossey-Bass Reader on Nonprofit and
Public Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 371-377.
FINAL Paper due 5 PM, Wednesday, May 11
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