PANM 402:
Introduction to Nonprofit & Public
Administration
VANESSA LIT TLETON, PHD, RN
Today’s Agenda
Student introductions
Instructor introduction
Syllabus review
Course expectations
Public administration
Nonprofit organizations
Student Introductions
Your name (nickname)
One interesting fact about yourself
Dream job
Share a picture with the professor
Meet the Professor
Your name (nickname)
One interesting fact about yourself
Dream job
Share a picture with the professor
30 Things About Me
My Teaching Philosophy
“The teacher if he is indeed wise does not teach bid you to
enter the house of wisdom but leads you to the threshold of
your own mind. “
Kahlil Gibran, artist
The Prophet
Course Overview (Proposed)
This course is designed to introduce students to the
nonprofit and public sectors by providing students with
foundational knowledge to understand the role and
purpose of nonprofit organizations and government
agencies in contemporary American society. Students are
introduced to the concepts, principles and practices
necessary to effectively function in public agencies,
nonprofit organizations, and collaborative systems. Students
gain basic knowledge and skills in assessing community
needs, developing program descriptions, developing
operating budgets, managing personnel, and serving diverse
populations.
Course Expectations
Start on time; finish on time
Attendance/Missing class
Use of technology during class
Professional writing
Plagiarism
Communicating with the professor
Communicating with the group
Mutual accountability & respect
Check iLearn at least twice per week
Course Textbooks
Course on iLearn
 General questions – use Ask the Professor forum on
iLearn
 Office hours – Wednesday 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
 Ocean Hall, Suite C105
 (831) 582-4043
 My email – Vlittleton@csumb.edu
 Will respond within 24 hours M-F and 48 hours on
weekends and holidays
Nonprofit &
Public
Administration
AN OVERVIEW
Sector Differences
Private
Sector
Public
Sector
Economy
Nonprofit
Sector
Public Administration Defined
 The formation and implementation of public policy (Holzer &
Schwester)
 The management of public affairs and the implementation of public
policy (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick)
 Examples:
 Firefighters
 FDA inspectors
 CIA agents
 Police officers
 Weather service personnel (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration)
 Sewer crawlers
 Seismologist at National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC)
What did President Obama
Mean?
You Didn't Build That
You Didn't Build That In Context
Defining Public Administration
 Political
 Public administration cannot exist outside of its political
context.
 Legal
 Because public administration is what the state does, it is
both created and bound by an instrument of the law.
 Managerial
 Administration is a branch of management often divided
into public, private, and nonprofit.
 Occupational
 Public administration is whatever public employees do.
Political Definitions of Public
Administration
Public administration is both direct and indirect.
◦ Direct – provision of services like mortgage
insurance, mail delivery, and electricity.
◦ Indirect – when the government pays private
contractors to provide goods and services to
citizens (space shuttle, dams).
Political Definitions of Public
Administration
Public administration is a phase in the policymaking cycle.
Political Definitions of Public
Administration
 Public administration is implementing the
public interest.
 Public administration is doing collectively that
which cannot be done so well individually.
GI Bill, Small Business Administration loans,
Federal Housing Administration loans, Amtrak
Legal Definitions of Public
Administration
Because public administration is what a state
does, it is both created and bound by an
instrument of the law.
Public administration is the law in action.
◦ Public administration is inherently the execution of a
public law.
◦ Every application of a general law is necessarily an
act of administration.
◦ In the United States, the Constitution of 1787 is the
law of the land. All legislation must conform.
Legal Definitions of Public
Administration
Public administration is regulation.
◦ It is government telling citizens and businesses
what they may or may not do.
◦ Regulation is one of the oldest functions of
government.
Managerial Definitions of
Public Administration
Public administration is the executive function
of government.
◦ Government agencies put into practice
legislative acts that represent the will of the
people.
Managerial Definitions of
Public Administration
Public administration is a management
specialty.
◦ Top managers make the big decisions and are
responsible for the overall success of the organization.
◦ Public administrators are found in middle
management, the group responsible for the execution
and interpretation of top management policies and the
day-to-day operation of an organizational unit.
Managerial Definitions of
Public Administration
Public administration is art, not science – or
vice versa.
◦ Public administration is actually both.
◦ It requires judgment, panache, and common sense.
◦ It also requires technical skills that allow for the digestion and
transference of information.
◦ Just because you have the academic credentials does
not mean that you can function as a high level
administrator.
Occupational Definitions of
Public Administration
Public administration is an occupational
category.
◦ It is whatever public employees in the world
do.
◦ Most of the 18,000,000 public employees in
the U.S. would not describe themselves as
administrators, but they are.
Occupational Definitions of
Public Administration
Public administration is idealism in action.
◦ Many people enter public service careers
because they are idealists; they believe in and
seek to advance noble principles.
◦ Idealism draws people into public
administration because it provides them with
worthwhile and exciting things to do with
their lives.
Occupational Definitions of
Public Administration
Public administration is an academic field.
◦ The study of the art and science of management
and incorporates as its subject matter all of the
political, social, cultural, and legal environments
that affect the running of public institutions.
◦ Cross-disciplinary – political science, sociology,
business administration, psychology, law,
anthropology, medicine, forestry, and so on.
Occupational Definitions of
Public Administration
Public administration is a profession.
◦ A body of academic and practical knowledge
that is applied to the service of society.
◦ A standard of success theoretically measured by
serving the needs of society rather than seeking
purely personal gain.
◦ A system of control over the professional
practice that regulates the education of new
members and maintains both a code of ethics
and appropriate sanctions.
The Evolution of Public
Administration
The core content
◦ Organization theory
◦ Bureaucratic behavior
◦ Personnel management
◦ Public finance and budgeting
◦ Policy analysis
◦ Program evaluation
◦ Administrative ethics
Four Critical Assumptions of
Public Administration
 Administration is a unitary process that can be
studied uniformly, at the federal, state, and local
levels.
The basis of study is management, not law.
Public administration is art, not science – or vice
versa
Administration “has become, and will continue to be
the heart of the problem of modern government.”
Public or Government
Agencies
 Federal
 State
 Local: Counties and Municipalities (e.g., cities, towns,
townships, villages, boroughs)
 Special Purpose Government: (school districts, air
pollution control districts)
What do local governments do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41wrvGSQem8
Quick Quiz
1. What is one definition of public
administration?
2. What are the four categories (lenses)
through which we will discuss public
administration?
3. What are the four assumptions of public
administration?
Nonprofit
Organizations
Nonprofit Organizations
 The principal purpose is to promote a collective goal that is
perceived to increase the benefit to the collective much
greater in number than the organization’s board
 Decisions are made to increase the benefits to the
constituency rather than to maximize profits
 The third sector
 Serves as a bridge between the individual and government
 Value-generating and value-maintaining
 Have no outside equity interests
 Are not precluded from generating a profit
Characteristics of NPO
Maintain a legal, incorporated status
Private but provide a public service mission
Governed by a voluntary board of directors
Funded primarily through individual and corporate
fees and/or contributions
Operate under a financial system without profit
Possess tax-exempt status from the IRS
Conduct an annual, independent audit
Private and Nonprofit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKugEizYsic
Nonprofit Organizations and
Public Agencies
Public sector (government)
Nonprofit sector
• No individual ownership
• Run by elected or
appointed (i.e., hired)
government officials
• Funded by public funds
• No individual ownership –
run by private individuals,
not government officials
• May be funded by public
funds
The Butterfly Effect
Social Concerns
Why Study Public and
Nonprofit together?
A Public Service
Perspective
Group Formation
A Look Ahead
Read Chapter 1 & 2 in Holzer & Schwester
Read The Study of Administration (iLearn)
Assignment due 2/5 Study of Administration Paper
“A thing moderately good is not so good as it
ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a
virtue, but moderation in principle is always a
vice.”
Thomas Paine