PLSC 510- Modern Public Administration
Fall 2015
Wednesday 6-8:40 pm
Pray Harrold Rm #420
Dr. Barbara Patrick
Office: Department of Political Science, Pray Harrold Hall
Office Hours: T 12:30-4 pm, W 3:30-5 pm or by appointment
Phone: (734) 487-1453
E-Mail: bpatric1@emich.edu
REQUIRED TEXT:
J. Steven Ott and EW Russell (2001). Introduction to Public Administration: A Book of
Readings. New York: Longman Press
SUGGESTED TEXT:
Jay Shafritz, J. Steven Ott, and Yong Suk Jang. 2011. Classics of Organization Theory, 7th
Edition. Massachusetts: Wadsworth.
We will also make use of handouts and other reading material to supplement the text.
COURSE OBJECTIVE:
This course is designed to provide students with an in depth understanding of the intellectual
origins of modern or contemporary public administration. Its goal is to provide students with
information on current issues being examined by scholars in the discipline, expose students to
important questions in the subfields of public administration, and to educate students on
classical, neoclassical and more recent market approaches to the theory and practice of public
administration. Emphasis throughout the semester will be on critical analysis and reading, as
well as class discussion. A major theme of the course is current trends and issues in modern
American public administration.
Class Attendance and Etiquette:
Class attendance is very important. You have 2 absences, after the second absence your grade
may be lowered. Repetitive late arrivals can also result in an absence. If you arrive late or must
leave early it is your responsibility to inform me. Also it is very important that you arrive on
time on exam days. If you arrive after the first student completing the exam has left the room,
you will not be allowed to complete the exam. Make-up exams are only given with adequate
documentation at the end of the semester. Failure to appear on present days without an excused
absence will result in a grade deduction. Late arrivals on presentation days will also affect your
presentation grade.
Grading
Midterm 20%
Final Exam 20%
Class Participation/Article Critiques 20%
Current Issues Assessment 20%
Semester Paper 20%
Examination:
Students must take the midterm exam when it is given in class; make ups will only be scheduled
for extraordinary circumstances. You must notify me in advance. If you miss the exam I will
assume that you have chosen to receive a “0” for your grade on that exam. The final exam will
be a take home exam for which students will be given one week to complete.
Class Participation and Article Critique:
Because this class is structured as graduate level seminar, a significant portion of your grade will
be based on your level of contribution to class discussions. Therefore it is imperative that you
come to class prepared to discuss the reading.
Each student will review and present two articles that are assigned for class reading. On the
evening of your presentation day, you should submit a 1 to 2 page written critique of the week’s
reading. You should also provide a brief handout for your classmates and the instructor.
Assignments for presentation will be made during the first class session.
Current Issues in Public Administration:
As future leaders in the field of public administration it is important that you posse the skills to
think critically and offer solutions to issues or problems that will occur in the field. The ability
to critically analysis materials and issues will be especially important to those of you who may
continue on to a doctoral program. Given the significance of this skillset students will work in
pairs in and out of class to assess a current issue in the field of public administration.
The assessment will require students to identify central questions or administrative issue, why
it’s important to the field of public administration (which theories or readings apply), key
stakeholders impacted by the issue, and viable alternatives on how the issue may be adequately
addressed by administrators and policymakers.
The issue/topic to be discussed will be given during the latter part of class. The students will
work as a unit to address the issue. The following week the class will discuss the topic and the
students will highlight their findings and proposals as it relates to the material covered in the
course. Each student group will select four topics among the list to provide a short summary of
their findings. The summary will be due the night the topic is discussed in class.
Issue/Topics Include:
*The Occupy Wall Street Movement and Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60?
Similarities/Difference? How does structure and leadership influence the process?
*Attracting & Retaining the Best and Brightest in the Public Sector
*E-Government Expansion: What is the cost and benefits; should the movement be expanded or
constricted?
*Race and Mistrust of Government: The Black Lives Matter Movement-How Do We Build Trust
and Relationships?
*Contracting Out Government Services: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
*Emergency Managers In Michigan: The Positive Reforms and Unintended Consequence
*The PN State Scandal and Legal/Ethical Accountability: From the President to the Graduate
Student and Janitor-What are the Implications for Organizational Ethics and Accountability?
*The NCLB Teacher Cheating Scandal: Is Meaningful Performance Management Reforms
Possible? How Can Employees Be Motivated and Appropriately Sanctions?
Semester Paper:
Each student is required to complete a 10 to 12 page research paper that relates to material from
the course. The paper should be analytical and written in a professional manner. Grammar and
spelling will be considered in determining the grade of the paper. Professional journals should
be used. You should use a minimum of 8 peer review journal articles in your paper. Sources
that may be helpful in locating journal articles include EBSCO HOST, JSTOR and other indexes
available through EMU Library. The final product should double spaced in 12 point Times New
Roman format using APA style format.
Your proposed topic must be submitted to the professor for approval by October 7, 2015. It
should be typed, clearly explaining what topic you plan to investigate and why. You will present
your final research paper to the class.
University Policies:
Students With Disabilities: If you wish to be accommodated for your disability, EMU Board of
Regents policy #8.3 requires that you first register with the Access Services Office (ASO) in
room 203 King Hall. You may contact ASO by telephone at (734) 487-2470. Students with
disabilities are encouraged to register with ASO promptly as you will only be accommodated
from the date you register with them forward. No retroactive accommodations are possible.
Notice to all foreign students (F and J visa): To comply will all federal regulations, please
contact the EMU office of International Students (OIS), 244 EMU Student Center, 734.487.3116
Academic Honesty:
Each student in class is expected to adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty.
Cheating and plagiarism violate the rules of the University and the ethical standards of
professional public administration. Cheating and plagiarism will be punished to the full extent
allowed by University rules and regulations. Plagiarism is generally defined in your student
handbook as presenting as your own work that done by someone else, even if only an idea and/or
not quoted directly. Cite, quote, and when in doubt, ask the instructor. Those caught cheating
will be given a zero for the work in which the cheating occurred. Possible plagiarism will be
dealt with on a case by case basis. In addition, you may be referred to the Office of Student
Judicial Services for discipline that can result in either a suspension or permanent dismissal. The
/Student Conduct Code/ contains detailed definitions of what constitutes academic dishonesty,
and it can be accessed online at http://www.emich.edu/studentconduct/
Observance of Religious Holidays
University Policy: Eastern Michigan University recognizes the rights of students to observe
religious holidays without penalty to the student.
University Practice: Students will provide advance notice to their instructors in order to make
up work, including examinations that they miss as a result of their absence from class due to
observance of religious holidays. If satisfactory arrangements cannot be made with the
appropriate instructor(s), students may appeal to the head(s) of the department(s) in which the
course(s) is/are offered.
There are many resources on line regarding the observance of religious holidays; here is one site
with an extensive listing of holiday dates: http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/2013.htm
COURSE OUTLINE:
Week One Introduction to Public Administration
Introduction to the Course
Week Two Understanding Public Organizations: From Classical Theories to Modern Day
Market Reforms
Required
Schachter, Hindy Lauer. 2007. “Does Frederick Taylor’s Ghost Still Haunt the Halls of
Government? A Look at the Concept of Governmental Efficiency in Our Time.” Public
Administration Review, 67 (5): 800-810.
Rosenbloom, David. 2008. “The Politics-Administration Dichotomy in US Historical Context.”
Public Administration Review, 68(1):57-60.
Kelly, Janet. 2005. The Dilemma of the Unsatisfied Customer in a Market Model of
Public Administration. Public Administration Review, 65 (1): 76-84.
Light, Paul. 2006. The Tides of Reform Revisited: Patterns in Making
Government Work, 1945-2002. Public Administration Review, 66 (1): 6-19.
Suggested
Ott and Russell Chapter 1
Shafritz and Ott Chapters 1 Classical and Neoclassical Theories
Moynihan, Daniel. 2006. Managing for Results in State Government: Evaluating a Decade of
Reform. Public Administration Review, 66 (1): 77-89.
Breul, Jonathan and John M. Kamensky. 2008. “Federal Government Reform: Lessons from
Clinton’s ‘Reinventing Government’ and Bush’s ‘Management Agenda’ Initiatives.”
Public Administration Review, 68 (6): 1009-1026.
Breul, Jonathan. 2007. “Three Bush Administration Management Reform Initiatives: The
President’s Management Agenda, Freedom to Manage Legislative Proposals, and the
Program Assessment Rating Tool.” Public Administration Review, 67 (1): 21-26.
Week Three Leadership and Decision-making in Public Administration
Required
Ott and Russell Chapter 10 Leadership and Accountability
Keiser, Lael. 2010. “Understanding Street-Level Bureaucrats' Decision Making: Determining
Eligibility in the Social Security Disability Program.” Public Administration Review,
70(2): 247-57.
Suggested
Shafritz and Ott Chapter 6 Power and Politics Organizational Theory
Kim, Hyunjung, Roderick MacDonald, and David Andersen. 2013. “Simulation and Managerial
Decision Making: A Double-Loop Learning Framework.” Public Administration Review,
73(2): 291–300.
O’Neil, Julie. 2004. “Effects of Gender and Power on PR Managers' Upward Influence”.
Journal of Managerial Issues. 16 (1):127-45
Lambright, W. Henry and Madison Quinn. 2011. “Understanding Leadership in Public
Administration.” Public Administration Review, 71(5):782-90.
Yukl, Gary. 2008. “How leaders influence organizational effectiveness.” Leadership Quarterly,
19(6): 708
Week Four The Significance of Organization Culture in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
Required
Scott, Jung, HTO Davies, Bower, P., Whalley, D., McNally, R. and Mannion, R. 2009.
“Instruments for Exploring Organizational Culture: A Review of the Literature.” Public
Administration Review, 69(6): 1087–1096.
John Deckop and Carol Cirka. 2000. “The Risk and Reward of a Double-Edgedsword: Effects
of a Merit Pay Program on Intrinsic Motivation.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector
Quarterly, 29(3): 400-418.
Gregory, Brian, Stanley G Harris, Achilles Armenakis, and Christopher L Shook. 2009.
“Organizational culture and effectiveness: A study of values, attitudes, and
organizational outcomes.” Journal of Business Research, 62(7): 673-79.
Suggested
Nygren, Katarina, Karin Axelsson, and Ulf Melin. 2013. “Technology Adoption and
Organizational Culture In Public Organizations.” International Journal of Organization
Theory and Behavior, 13(2):125-141.
Trish Ruebottom. 2006. “Creating an Innovative Organization.” Journal for Nonprofit
Management, 10(1):18-25.
Peter Smergut. 2007. “Minimizing Turnover Among Support Counselors Through a Value
Based Culture.” Journal for Nonprofit Management, 11, 28-39.
Donalf Fann. 2006. “Organizational Healing: New Hope for Nonprofits in Crisis.” Journal of
Nonprofit Management, 10, 26-30.
Shafritz and Ott Chapters 7 and 8 Theories of Organizational Culture and Change; Theories of
Organizations and Environments
Week Five Human Resources/Personnel Issues in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
Required
Burns, Prue and Jan Schapper. 2008. “The Ethical Case for Affirmative Action.” Journal of
Business Ethics, 83(3): 369-379.
Wadsworth, Lori and Rex Facer, and Chyleen Arbon. 2010. “Alternative Work Schedules in
Local Government: Cui Bono?” Review of Public Personnel Administration, 30(3): 322340.
Jacobson, Willow and Shannon Tuft. 2013. “To Post or Not to Post: Employee Rights and
Social Media.” Review of Public Personnel Administration, 33(2):84-107.
Suggested
Shafritz and Ott Chapter 3 Human Resource Theory
Denison, Dwight. 2007. “Using Baby Boomers to Expand Nonprofit Capacity.” Journal for
Nonprofit Management, 11(1): 55-62.
Week Six Human Resources/Personnel Issues in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
continued…
Required
Crocker, Jillian and Dan Clawson. 2012. “Buying Time: Gendered Patterns in Union
Contracts.” Social Problems, 59(4): 459-40.
Guy, Mary and Meredith Newman. 2004. “Women’s Jobs, Men’s Jobs: Sex Segregation and
Emotional Labor.” Public Administration Review, 64(3): 290-98.
Kearney, Richard. 2010. “Public Sector Labor-Management Relations: Change or Status Quo?”
Review of Public Personnel Administration, 30(1): 89-111.
Nesbit, Rebecca, Tina Nabatchi, and Lisa Bingham. 2012. “Employees, Supervisors, and
Workplace Mediation: Experiences of Justice and Settlement.” Review of Public
Personnel Administration, 32(3):260-287.
Suggestion
Methe, David and James Perry. 1980. “The Impact of Collective Bargaining on Local
Government Services: A Review of Research.” Public Administration Review, 40(4):
359-371.
French, P. Edward and Doug Goodman. 2009. “The New Mental Health Parity Law: Issues and
Concerns for Public and Private Sector Employers.” Review of Public Personnel
Administration, 29(1): 189-196.
Week Seven
Midterm Exam
Week Eight
Research Day
Week Nine Intergovernmental Relations and Budgeting in the Public and Nonprofit
Sectors
Required
Wong, Kenneth K. 2008. “Federalism Revised: The Promise and Challenge of the No Child Left
Behind Act.” Public Administration Review, 68 (1): S175-S185.
Landy, Marc. 2008. “Mega-Disasters and Federalism.” Public Administration Review, 68(1):
S186-S198.
Thompson, Frank J. 2008. “State and Local Governance Fifteen Years Later.
Enduring and New Challenges. Public Administration Review, 68 (1):S8-S19.
Suggested
Ott and Russell Chapter 5 Intergovernmental Relations
Tolbert, Caroline J., et al. 2008. “Institutions, Policy Innovation, and E-Government in the
American States.” Public Administration Review, 68 (3): 549-563.
Thompson, Frank J. 2008. “State and Local Governance Fifteen Years Later.
Enduring and New Challenges. Public Administration Review, 68 (1):S8-S19.
Rubin, Irene. 2007. “The Great Unraveling: Federal Budgeting, 1998-2006.” Public
Administration Review, 67(4):608-617.
Posner, Paul. 2007. “The Continuity of Change: Public Budgeting and Finance Reforms over 70
Years.” Public Administration Review, 67(6):1018-1029.
Gazley, Beth and Jeffrey Brudney. 2007. “The Purpose (and Perils) of Government-Nonprofit
Partnership.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(3): 389-415.
Gittell, Ross and Edinaldo Tebaldi. 2006. “Charitable Giving: Factors Influencing Giving in the
US States.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(4):721-736.
Herman, Robert and David Renz. 1997. “Multiple Constituencies and the Social Construction of
Nonprofit Organization Effectiveness.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly,
26(2): 185-206.
Research Paper Discussion
Week Ten Ethics in Government and Nonprofit Organizations
Required
Otts and Russell Chapter 15 Ethics
Bowman, James S., and Claire Connolly Knox. 2008. “Ethics in Government: No Matter How
Long and Dark the Night.” Public Administration Review, 68 (4): 627-639.
West, Jonathan, Loo See Beh, and Meghna Sabharwal. 2013. “Charting Ethics in Asia-Pacific
HRM: Does East Meet West, Ethically?” Review of Public Personnel Administration,
33(2):185-204.
De Graaf, G. and LWJC Hubert. 2008. “Portraying the Nature of Corruption Using an
Explorative Case Study Design.” Public Administration Review, 68(4): 640–653.
Suggested
Bowman, James S., and Jonathan P. West. 2009. “To ‘Re-Hatch’ Public Employees or Not? An
Ethical Analysis of the Relaxation of Restrictions on Political Activities in Civil
Service.” Public Administration Review, 69 (1): 52-63.
Raile, E.D. 2013. “Building Ethical Capital: Perceptions of Ethical Climate in the Public
Sector.” Public Administration Review, 73(2): 253–262.
MacLean, Tammy. 2008. “Framing and Organizational Misconduct: A Symbolic Interactionist
Study.” Journal of Business Ethic, 78(1/2):3-16.
Conner, Alana. 2009. “At a Loss for Ethics.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, 7(3):7-14.
Rhode, Deborah and Amanda Packel. 2009. “Ethics and Nonprofits.” Stanford Social
Innovation Review, 7(3):29-36.
Greenlee, Janet. 2007. “An Investigation of Fraud in Nonprofit Organizations: Occurrences and
Deterrents.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(4): 676-694.
Week Eleven Race, Gender, and Equity in Public Administration
Required
Bradbury, Mark, and R. Paul Battaglio, Jr. John Crum. 2010. “Continuity Amid Discontinuity?
George W. Bush, Federal Employment Discrimination, and Big Government
Conservatism.” Review of Public Personnel Administration, 30(4): 445-466.
Dolan, Julie. 2004. “Gender Equity: Illusion or Reality for Women in the Federal Executive
Service?” Public Administration Review, 64(3): 300-08.
Reese, Laura and Karen Lindenberg. 2003. “The Importance of Training on Sexual Harassment
Policy Outcomes.” Review of Personnel Administration, 23(3): 175-91.
Stivers, Camille. 2007. “So Poor and So Black: Hurricane Katrina, Public Administration and
the Issue of Race.” Public Administration Review, 67(1): 48-56.
Suggested
Reese, Catherine and Barbara Warner. 2012. “Pay Equity in the States: An analysis of the
Gender Pay Gap in the Public Sector. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 32(4):
312-331.
Burns, Prue and Jan Schapper. 2008. “The Ethical Case for Affirmative Action.” Journal of
Business Ethics, 83(3): 369-379.
Ott and Russell Chapter 12
Week Twelve Administrative Response to Modern Day Natural Disaster
In Class Video “If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise”
Week Thirteen
Required
Schneider, Saundra. 2005. “Administrative Breakdowns in the Governmental Response to
Hurricane Katrina.” Public Administration Review, 65(5): 515-516.
Jurkiewicz, Carole. 2007. “Louisiana’s Ethical Culture and Its Effect on the Administrative
Failures Following Katrina.” Public Administration Review, 67(s1): 57-63.
Menzel, Donald. 2006. “The Aftermath: A Failure of Federalism or Leadership?” Public
Administration Review, 67(4):808-812.
Suggested
Donahue, Amy and Sean O’Keefe. 2007. “Universal Lessons from Unique Events: Perspectives
from Columbia and Katrina.” Public Administration Review, 67(1):77-81.
Farazmand, Ali. 2007. “Learning from the Katrina Crisis: A Global and International
Perspective with Implications for Future Crisis Management.” Public Administration
Review, 67(s1):149-159.
Week Fourteen
Research Presentation Day
Week Fifteen
Wrap up session and discussion of final exam