PA 310 Management of Urban Government
Fall Online 2014
Instructor Contact Information:
Professor: Kelley Crockett PhD.
Phone: 619.730.9658
Email: Skype kelley.crockett or E-Mail: kcrockett@mail.sdsu.edu
Office hours: Online via email or M 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm on Skype by appointment
Course Description:
This course introduces the public administration student to the challenges facing urban administrators in
governing local cities and agencies in a time of fiscal scarcity. Management and leadership labor under a
complex mix of citizen expectation for urban service delivery, intergovernmental mandates for program
implementation and planning for urban development while making decisions influenced by conflicting
political forces. We will consider how size, fragmentation by race, ethnicity, or income and type of city
affect management decisions.
Course Learning Outcomes:
Upon successfully completing this course students will have a broader view of:
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Urban development and political structures of local governance
The influence of federalism and interlocal relations on urban decision making
The influence of social groups on public administrator’s strategies toward citizen inclusiveness
Management processes and leadership strategies
Measuring efficiency and effectiveness in urban service delivery
How to manage the politics in organizational relationships
Course Materials:
There is one required text.
England, Robert, Pelissero, John, and Morgan, David, Managing Urban America, 7th Edition, CQ Press
2012
Course Requirements in an Online Learning Environment:
Student preparation is mandatory. Generally the class content is organized into week-long modules that
start on Tuesdays and end on Mondays. There are three important exams, a research paper, a blog, an
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interview discussion or HR Paper and a management paper assignment that complete the assessment
aspect of the course. Late assignments are not accepted. If you have a problem with your computer
during an exam contact me immediately as any reset of an exam due to technical reasons is at the
discretion of the instructor. Do not wait until after the due date and then try to take an exam or upload a
paper or discussion. Because this class does not meet in a traditional classroom and modules last a week
or longer, there are no reasonable reasons for missing classwork. During the first week you will have a no
credit syllabus quiz due on Blackboard to help you become familiar with how exams work online but
please note that familiarity using Blackboard technology is your responsibility. Each module will contain
instructions for the week, lectures and exams, and paper assignment turn-it-in tabs when appropriate.
Assessments and Grading:
Interview Discussion or Chapter Nine HR Discussion Paper
10% of Final Grade
You have a choice of assignment in this category. If you choose to do the interview discussion then you
will be expected to sign up to call either the city manager (assistant city manager is fine if the city is big
enough to have one) or the finance manager of a city within the greater Los Angeles Metropolis to
conduct a 10 question interview about their practices of contracting out services. The basic interview
questions are provided for you in module 1 but you certainly may ask more questions on the topic if the
government official you are interviewing has time. You will then write up your findings (no more than
about a page please) in the discussion section of Blackboard including your own conclusion of how the
interview went along with any additional information you discovered in your interview. Or, if you prefer you
can read Chapter 9 Managing Human Resources and write a 3-page discussion of the importance of HR
to city management. Whichever assignment you choose to complete is due November 17, 2014.
Management Paper
5% of Final Grade
On page 262 of your textbook in Appendix 8-A are listed 18 core areas in which local government
management should be effective. You will pick any local government entity with which you are familiar
with and focus in on a chosen service delivery that they have done well (could be garbage pick up in a
city, a well run school in a school district, a county health program, a police department, water delivery, a
mosquito abatement program run by a county etc.). In your paper discuss as many of the 18 core areas
as you can in relation to this government entity. Be sure and describe how the government entity fits into
the community. On page 338 of your textbook Robert Katz separates good administration into three
distinct areas; technical skills, human skills or conceptual skills. Use part of your paper to discuss which
core areas fall into each of these areas. This is a two to three page double spaced paper and is due
December 1, 2014.
Exams
There are 3 open book but not collaborative exams in Blackboard. Sharing answers with other students
will result in a fail on the exam for both students and possible expulsion from the course.
Exam 1: Covers Modules 1-5
20% of Final Grade
In exam 1 you will have 1 hour and a half to answer 20 true/false or multiple-choice questions.
Exam 2: Covers Modules 7-9
15% of Final Grade
Exam 3: Covers Modules 11, 13 and 14
15% of Final Grade
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In each of exams 2 and 3 you will have 1 hour to answer 15 true/false or multiple-choice questions. The
window to take an exam will be open for 12 hours on the designated exam days.
Movie Blog Project Blog
15% of Final Grade
There will be a sign up in the discussion section in Blackboard where you will pick a movie to blog about
that depicts, either in a particular scene, or throughout the entire movie, a challenge to city management.
You will analyze how decision-making in city management is affected by the event or existence of a
social, political, physical or economic problem displayed in the film. Describe the problem. Discuss
whether this issue or challenge to local management is really a problem started at a different government
level and passed down to the city or is a local problem. How does local policy change in this movie or
does it? How universal is the problem? Do many cities face dealing with it? How do citizens and the
media cope with it, do they demand services from the local government or that they “fix” the problem or
are they apathetic? You may put clips of your movie up and/or pictures to help give us the idea. Please
do not choose any foreign films (and NO nudity in your clip) and if you choose a film set in a different
country then relate it back to an American city in terms of management challenges. Students in the past
have chosen issues like homelessness or mental health in movies like “The Soloist” or homelessness,
child welfare or job creation in “The Pursuit of Happiness” or child welfare and education in “Precious”, or
residential segregation based on race, immigration surges to large urban cities in “Slumdog Millionaire
(you would have to relate the issues to a city in the USA and use examples from the movie), etc. You are
welcome to put in a link to a YouTube video or movie trailer if that helps explain your points. Be sure and
discuss how the local government dealt with the problem or if they don’t then tell us your suggestions as if
the problem really happened to a city in California. Try to avoid apocalyptic movies like “Independence
Day” though a student did do a credible job with “District 9” discussing the aspect of how a city would
cope with temporary housing put up by a sudden increase in homelessness (he converted the aliens to
homeless people). Due October 27, 2014.
Final Research Paper
20% of Final Grade
Students will be responsible for a six-page paper (including cover page and reference page) that
analyzes an aspect of city management like urban planning. Students must reference a peer reviewed
academic journal article at least once in their paper. Government reports, newspaper articles and other
source documents may be used as additional resources but may not be used instead of the academic
journal article. The academic journal article must be uploaded to the discussion thread in Blackboard
titled “Research Paper Topics”. You must choose your topic area AND upload a peer-reviewed academic
article by September 16, 2014. Do not just upload a link to the library or provide just the abstract but
actually attach a copy of the entire article that you downloaded. The paper itself is due December 9,
2014.
Use APA style and cite references at the end of the sentence like (England et al, 2012 p 27). Be sure to
cite every quote and paraphrased information and be careful not to use too much quoted material. This is
not a summary of either the book or the journal article but a research paper that addresses some topic of
city management you find interesting. An examination of a topic relevant to city management should
include: a discussion of the literature regarding the topic and whether this is either an ongoing problem or
a new emerging issue along with projections of what future challenges may come out of the problem if not
addressed. Further conversation may include how federal or state policies affect your topic, problem or
issue and who is or should be responsible for correcting the problem.
Higher points will be given to those papers that reflect:
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An analysis of the problem, issue or topic with examples that support and justify your points.
Discussion that integrates a researched journal article and the textbook.
Adherence to the format of no more than five to seven pages long, double spaced using 12 pt
font with 1 inch margins all around.
Less than 30% of the paper is quoted or paraphrased from source information.
Use of academic language, grammar, vocabulary and third person narrative (NO use of
“I”), this is a research paper NOT a personal narrative.
Grading Scale:
93-100=A
73-76=C
90-92=A70-72=C-
87-89=B+
67-69=D+
83-86=B
63-66=D
80-82=B60-62=D-
77-79=C+
Below 60=F
Plagiarism and cheating:
There should not be any ambiguity as to what constitutes plagiarism or cheating with the consequence of
assignment and possibly course failure but if you have questions please refer to SDSU’s site
http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/htc/plagiarism.pdf.
Student Services:
If you have a disability requiring specific accommodations please contact me after you have contacted the
Student Disability Services at 760.768.5509. Please be aware, however, that this is an online course and
as such, some traditional accommodations may not apply.
Course Outline and Schedule
Aug 26 to Sept 2: Module 1: Perspectives on the American City
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No Reading Assignment
Discussion Online: Introduce yourself Due by August 30
Professor Lecture
Syllabus Quiz Due by 3 pm on August 30
Sept 3 to Sept 8: Module 2: Cities, Suburbs and Metropolitan Areas
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Read text Chapter 1
Professor Lecture
Sign up for your interview or HR paper in the discussion section: Due by 3 pm on September 7
Sept 9 to Sept 15: Module 3: Racial and Ethnic Fragmentation and Equity
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Read text Chapter 1
Professor Lecture
Sign up for the Movie Blog Project: Due by September 10 at 3 pm
Sept 16 to Sept 22: Module 4: Intergovernmental Relations
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Read text Chapter 2
Professor Lecture
Sign up for your Research Paper Topic: Due by Sept 16 at 3 pm
Upload a Peer Reviewed Journal Article under Research Paper topic: Due by 3 pm on Nov 8
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Sept 23 to Sept 29: Module 5: Federal Urban Policy
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Read text Chapter 2
Professor Lecture
Sept 30 to Oct 6: Module 6: Exam
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Exam 1 on October 6 open access 9 am to 9 pm
Exam 1 covers Modules 1-5
Work on your Movie Blog and your Discussion Interview or HR Paper this week
Oct 7 to Oct 13: Module 7: Urban Political Structures
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Read text Chapter 3
Professor Lecture
Oct 14 to Oct 20: Module 8: Managing Urban Unrest
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Read text Chapter 4 pp 97 to 122 and Chapter 11 pp 336 to 346
Professor Lecture
Oct 21 to Oct 27 Module 9: Urban Planning and Development
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Read text Chapter 5
Professor Lecture
Movie Blog Project: Due October 27 at 3 pm
Oct 28 to Nov 3: Module 10: Exam
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Exam 2 on November 3 open access 9 am to 9 pm
Exam 2 covers Modules 7-9
Work on your Discussion Interview or HR Paper and your Research Paper this week
Nov 4 to Nov 10: Module 11: Urban Service Delivery
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Read text Chapter 7
Professor Lecture
Nov 12 to Nov 17: Module 12: Applying Research
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Work on your research paper this week
Discussion Interview or HR Paper: Due by 3 pm on Nov 17
Nov 18 to Nov 24: Module 13: Management Processes
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Read text Chapter 8
Professor Lecture
Work on your Management Paper and your Research Paper this week
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Nov 25 to Dec 1: Module 14: Local Government and Finances
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Read text Chapter 10 pp 308 - 318
Professor Lecture
Management Paper: Due by 3 pm on Dec 1
Dec 2 to Dec 9: Module 15: Exam
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Exam 3 on Dec 2 open access 9 am to 9 pm
Exam 3 covers Modules 11, 13 and 14
Research paper Due by 3 pm on Dec 9
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