College of Professional Studies
Department of Professional
& Community Leadership
Public Administration Professional
PAD 6053: Online Course
Wm. Paulchek.
850 315-0417
Office Hours
By Appointment
Course Overview
Course Requirements and Grading
Midterm Examination - 30%
Applied Research Paper - 30%
Online Threaded Discussion Participation - 20%
Case Analyses/Other Written Assignments - 20%
Expectations for Academic Conduct
As members of the University of West Florida academic community, we commit
ourselves to honesty. As we strive for excellence in performance, integrity (both personal and
institutional) is our most precious asset. Honesty in our academic work is vital, and we will not
knowingly act in ways that erode that integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat, nor to
tolerate cheating, nor to plagiarize the work of others. We pledge to share community resources
in ways that are responsible and that comply with established policies of fairness. Cooperation
and competition are means to high achievement and are encouraged. Indeed, cooperation is
expected unless our directive is to individual performance. We will compete constructively and
professionally for the purpose of stimulating high performance and standards. Finally, we accept
adherence to this set of expectations for academic conduct as a condition of membership in the
UWF academic community.
Standards for Written Assignments
Students are expected to read, understand, and comply with the requirements of the Fifth
Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for all
assignments and manuscripts. This includes the "Ethical Standards for the Reporting and
Publishing of Scientific Information" included therein. All work submitted for this course must
be the student's own and may not have been used whole and/or in part for any other purpose
without the professor's prior written permission (if in doubt you must ask the professor).
Assistance
Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other courserelated accommodations should contact the Director of Disabled Student Services (DSS),
dss@uwf.edu (850) 474-2387. DSS will provide the student with a letter for the instructor that
will specify any recommended accommodations.
Required Texts
a. Managing the Public Sector, 8 ed, by Grover Starling, Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008;
b. The American Bureaucracy: The Core of Modern Government, 3ed, by Richard J.
Stillman
II, Thomson/Wadsworth, 2004; and
c. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5ed. Washington
DC:
American Psychological Association, 2001.
Schedule of Assignments
Week 1:
(Part I)Building an Online Community (Online Learner Orientation)



Week 1:
Review and complete the Online Orientation, student D2L training, and
complete your student biography in the D2L “Classlist” link.
Participate in the group threaded discussion under the “Discussion” link.
Review the HRM Syllabus, Research Paper Guidelines and Requirements,
Motivation Humor, instructor’s vita, and the several HRM articles in the
“Important Course Information” link.
(Part II)What is PublicAdministration?
Grover Starling Text,Chapter 1, The Nature of Public Administration.
StillmanText, Chapter 1, The American PublicBureaucracy.
eReserve Readings: WoodrowWilson
ThreadedDiscussion
Dropbox Assignment
Week 2:The American Bureaucracy
StillmanText, Chapter 2, The Rise of American Bureaucracy.
Stillman Text, Chapter 3, External Forces Shaping ModernBureaucracy.
Dropbox Assignment
Week3:The Political-Legal Environment of PublicAdministration
Starling, Chapter Two, The Political-Legal Environmentof Administration
Starling, Case 2.1, Cleaning the Airat the WestCarolinaEnvironmental
Protection Agency;Starling Case 2.2, The Prince.
eReserveReading
ThreadedDiscussion
Week 4:
Inside Public Bureaucracy
Stillman, Chapter Four: Inside Public Bureaucracy
Dropbox Assignment
Week 5:
Intergovernmental Relations
Starling, Chapter 3, Intergovernmental Relations
Starling, Case 3.1, Wichita Confronts Contamination
eReserve Readings:
Hoene, C. W. and Pagano, M. A. "Fend-for-yourself federalism:
the impact of federal and state deficits on America's cities."
Goverment Finance Review, Oct. 2003, v19 i5 p. 36(7).
Use the SFX Citation Linker on the John C. Pace Library Web site to
obtain this article. Contact the library for assistance if you have
trouble with the SFX Citation Linker.
Threaded Discussion
Week 6:
Leadership in Public Administration
Starling, Chapter 7, Organizing.
Starling, Chapter 8, Leading
eReserve Readings:
Kramer, Fred A. Perspectives on Public Bureaucracy, 2nd edition.
(ISBN: 0-87629-668-5).
Chapter Two, Bureaucracy. Max Weber.
Chapter Four, The Economy of Incentives, Chester I. Barnard.
Chapter Five, The Human Side of Enterprise, Douglas McGregor.
Threaded Discussion
Week 7:
Midterm Examination (to dropbox)
Week 8:
Organization Theory
eReserve Readings:
Lerner, A. W. and Wanat, John. Public Administration: A Realistic
Reinterpretation of Contemporary Public Management. Prentice-Hall, 1992.
Chapter Three, The Organization as the Context of Administration.
http://lib4000.lib.uwf.edu/d2l/tankersley/pad6053/44th/fulltext.pdf (part 1 of
reading)
http://lib4000.lib.uwf.edu/d2l/tankersley/pad6053/45th/fulltext.pdf (part 2 of
reading)
Chapter Four, The Human Factor: From Cog in the Wheel to Human
Resource.
http://lib4000.lib.uwf.edu/d2l/tankersley/pad6053/46th/fulltext.pdf (part 1 of
reading)
http://lib4000.lib.uwf.edu/d2l/tankersley/pad6053/47th/fulltext.pdf (part 2 of
reading)
http://lib4000.lib.uwf.edu/d2l/tankersley/pad6053/48th/fulltext.pdf (
part 3 of reading)
Threaded Discussion
Week 9:
(Part I) Planning and Decision Making
Starling, Chapter 5, Planning
Starling, Chapter 6, Decision Making
Starling, case 5.1, Robin Hood, p. 256.
eReserve Reading:
Charles Lindblom article: "The Science of Muddling Through" (reading
begins at the
bottom of page 238; this is noted as page 4 in Acrobat Reader).
Dropbox Assignment
Threaded Discussion
Week 9:
(Part II) Bureaucratic Outputs and Outcomes
Stillman, chapter 5, Outputs of American Bureaucracy.
eReserve Readings:
Kingdon, J. W. Agendas, Alternative, and public Policies. Boston: Little,
Brown, c1984.: The Federal Government and Garbage Cans, pages 8894 and Chapter 9, Wrapping Things Up, pp. 205-218.
http://lib4000.lib.uwf.edu/d2l/tankersley/pad6053/49th/fulltext.pdf (pp. 88-
94)
http://lib4000.lib.uwf.edu/d2l/tankersley/pad6053/50th/fulltext.pdf (pp. 215218)
Dropbox Assignment
Threaded Discussion
Week 10:
Human Capital: Human Resource Management
Starling, Chapter 9, Implementation
Starling, Chapter 10, Human Resource Management
Web Assignment
Threaded Discussion
Week 11:
Open Systems Feedback Loop
Stillman, chapter 6, The Feedback Loop in the Bureaucratic System
Web Assignment
Threaded Discussion
Dropbox Assignment
Week 12:
Public Administration Ethics
Starling, chapter 4, Administrative Responsibility and Ethics
eReserve Readings
Theaded Discussion
Week 13:
Information Technology in Public Administration
Stillman, chapter 7, The Future of the American Bureaucratic System
Starling, chapter 12, Information Management
Threaded Discussion
Dropbox Assignment (Applied Research Paper due)
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RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES
The major intellectual project of the course that students are expected to complete is the
formal research paper. The paper must be written in APA format/style. To that end, students are
expected to read, understand, and comply with the requirements of the fifth edition of the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for all assignments and
manuscripts. This includes the "Ethical Standards for the Reporting and Publishing of Scientific
Information" included therein. All work submitted for this course must be the student's own and
may not have been used whole and/or in part for any other purpose without the professor's prior
written permission (if in doubt you must ask the instructor).
The student should select a paper topic consistent with her/his personal interests and
intellectual curiosity that can be well managed within semester time parameters, based upon
academic and other workloads. Thus, it is important to keep the focus of the research paper
narrow by defining an "angle on" or "dimension of" public administration. The instructor is
available to assist you in this effort. Please note that your paper topic must be approved in
advance by the instructor.
It is expected that the formal paper will be carefully researched and well-written. To that
goal, the paper must use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The completed paper shall
be a minimum of 15 pages in length and not exceed 20 pages (excluding cover, endnotes,
appendices, and references/ bibliography). Papers must be electronically submitted to the
instructor (via drop box) no later than the last day of classes. Students are encouraged to
complete and submit papers earlier if practicable. Late papers will be substantially discounted in
grade, unless the delay is caused by a documented illness and/or personal emergency.
A. Research papers will be graded based upon the following criteria:
2. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation (proofread and spell check).
3. Knowledge and understanding of the assigned readings and classroom
discussions.
3.
The ability to integrate knowledge from different sources (texts, library
research, class discussions, and real life situations.
4.
Analysis of materials to reach conclusions and support them in an
organized, coherent manner.
5.
Compliance
requirements.
with
minimum/maximum
length
and
submission