Last update: 08/09/2021
Institute of Public Administration
Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs
2021 - 2022
Syllabus – Introduction to Public Administration
Table of content
1.
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
2.
Course aims ..................................................................................................................................... 2
3.
Course structure ............................................................................................................................... 3
4.
Sessions............................................................................................................................................ 4
Week 1 – Introduction & What is meant with Public? The Characteristics of Public Organizations and
Public Administration .......................................................................................................................... 4
Week 2 – Rationality, Bureaucracy and Organizational Structures ........................................................ 5
Week 3 – Leadership and Management in Public Organizations .......................................................... 5
Week 4 – No course (Mid-term exam) ................................................................................................. 5
Week 5 – Policy Making in Public Organizations ................................................................................. 5
Week 6 – The Ethics of Public Service ................................................................................................ 6
Week 7 – The Characteristics of Dutch Public Administration ............................................................ 6
5.
Assessment method ......................................................................................................................... 7
6.
Final paper ....................................................................................................................................... 9
a)
Structure of the final paper ....................................................................................................... 9
b)
Evaluation grid ........................................................................................................................ 10
c)
Format of the final paper ........................................................................................................ 11
7.
Calendar ......................................................................................................................................... 12
8.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) ................................................................................................. 13
9.
Instructor ....................................................................................................................................... 15
1. Introduction
Public administration is concerned with policy making, public management and the political–
administrative relations. In this introductory course we will discuss the basic issues and concepts
of public administration, such as:
-
The characteristics of public organisations;
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The policy cycle and the factors that influence the effectiveness and transparency of public
policy programmes;
-
The leadership styles of public administrators and the legal, political, social and
administrative context of public organisations;
-
The most important management doctrines;
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The accountability of public administrators and the possibility of administrative ethics;
-
The institutional characteristics of public administration in the Netherlands and the EU.
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2. Course aims
-
Students should acquire a profound understanding of the most important doctrines of
public management.
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Students should acquire knowledge of the most important public institutions of the
Netherlands and the EU.
-
Students must be able to apply the concepts of Public Administration to analyse current
policy issues and the performing of public organizations.
-
Students must be able to reflect on ethical issues of public administration.
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3. Course structure
This course consists of six offline lectures. Due to the current covid-19 measures, the lectures
will also be livestreamed and recorded for the students who cannot physically attend the lectures.
The links to the livestreams and the recorded lectures will be made available via Brightspace.
More information on how to register for the lectures will be communicated via Brightspace. The
lectures are organized in two parts.
During the first part of the lecture, we will discuss the weekly assignment students have to
prepare before the lecture. In these weekly assignments, students have to discuss the literature
and apply the theoretical concepts to current issues of public administration. More information
about the weekly assignments can be found under the sub-section ‘Sessions’ in this syllabus.
During the second part of the lecture, we will discuss the theoretical concepts of the readings.
The lectures aim at being as interactive as possible. So, do not hesitate to ask your questions
during the lecture.
Students are expected to regularly check Brightspace as the platform will serve as main
communication tool with the students. Brightspace will also be the platform where students need
to upload their final paper.
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4. Sessions
Week 1 – Introduction & What is meant with Public? The Characteristics of Public
Organizations and Public Administration
-
Mandatory readings:
•
De Vries, M. (2016). Chapter 1: Introduction: Understanding Public Administration. In
Understanding Public Administration.
•
De Vries, M. (2016). Chapter 2: Why do governments exist and why study them? In
Understanding Public Administration.
•
-
Wilson, W. (1887). The study of administration. Political Science Quarterly, 2(2), 197-222.
Assignment for week 2: Based on the criteria outlined in the table below, assess the degree of
publicness of (1) the Student association B.I.L., (2) this Faculty (FGGA), (3) the Hague
Security Delta, (4) the Football club ADO Den Haag, and (5) the Clingendael Institute.
Criteria
Public
Private
Funding
Taxes or profits of natural
resources owned by the
government
Profits from non-collective
(rivalrous & excludable)
goods or services
Accountability
Someone / or group
accountable to the public or
government
Organization in private
hands accountable to
shareholders
Output
Collective goods or service
non-rivalrous and nonexcludable
The goods or services
provided are rivalrous
and/or excludable
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Week 2 – Rationality, Bureaucracy and Organizational Structures
-
Mandatory readings:
•
De Vries, M. (2016). Chapter 3: What does a typical government structure look like. In
Understanding Public Administration.
•
De Vries, M. (2016). Chapter 4: What is the role of a bureaucracy? In Understanding Public
Administration.
-
Assignment for week 3: Imagine that you are the Head of your state and a member of the
European Commission stresses the need for further decentralization in your country. Being
familiar with the particularities of your country, to what extent do you think that
decentralization can work in your country and why?
Week 3 – Leadership and Management in Public Organizations
-
Mandatory readings:
•
De Vries, M. (2016). Chapter 5: Who works in government? In Understanding Public
Administration.
•
De Vries, M. (2016). Chapter 6: What motivates government officials? In Understanding
Public Administration.
Week 4 – No course (Mid-term exam)
Week 5 – Policy Making in Public Organizations
-
Mandatory readings:
•
De Vries, M. (2016). Chapter 7: When do public decisions result in optimal outcomes? In
Understanding Public Administration.
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•
De Vries, M. (2016). Chapter 8: How can public policies solve social problems? In
Understanding Public Administration.
-
Assignment for week 6: Discuss the policy process (agenda setting, policy formulation, policy
legitimation, policy implementation, policy evaluation) of a public policy of your choice.
Week 6 – The Ethics of Public Service
-
Mandatory readings:
•
Thompson, D. (1985). The Possibility of Administrative Ethics. Public
Administration Review, 45, (5). 555-561
-
Assignment for week 7: Compare the characteristics of Dutch public administration with the
features of public administration in another country of your choice.
Week 7 – The Characteristics of Dutch Public Administration
-
Mandatory readings:
Government of the Netherlands. (2016). The Dutch Public Service.
https://www.government.nl/documents/reports/2016/01/19/the-dutch-public-service
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5. Assessment method
The assessment of this course consists of two partial evaluations:
-
Mid-term exam (50 percent)
-
Final paper (50 percent)
The mid-term exam consists of open-ended and closed questions. The exam will take
place offline on September 29th (13:00-16:00). The questions will relate to the material
discussed up and until the mid-term. Students have to be able to reflect on the theoretical
concepts discussed during the lectures and the literature. The material to review for the exam
consists of the lecture slides and the literature.
For the final paper, students have to report on a small research:
-
Student must report on a research about a public administration issue. So the student may
analyse in depth a public policy process, the performance of a public organization or integrity
issues, compare several political-administrative systems, write an essay on the writings of a
famous scholar of public administration such as Weber or Simon, ...
-
Students need to apply a concept discussed during the course (e.g., path dependence,
decentralization, public versus private organisations, New Public Management, Rationality,
Bounded rationality, …).
-
The final paper must have a word count of 4.000 – 4.500, excluding references and appendices.
-
Students are fully responsible for submitting papers free of fraud and plagiarism and are
requested to comply with the Faculty’s relevant regulations.
-
The deadline for submitting the paper is Friday October 29th, not later than 18:00. The
student must submit a digital copy (via Turnitin).
-
In order to pass the course the final grade must be at least 5.5. Besides, the grades for the midterm exam as well as the paper must be both up to the mark (5.5 or higher). If a student fails
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the course, s/he is allowed a second chance to retake the exam and/or to hand in the final
paper. For the topic of the retake the student has to consult the lecturer. The resit for the
exam is on January 12, 2022 (13:00-16:00). The resit for submitting the final paper is on
the same date at 18:00. For rules of compensation and retakes, please refer to the website of
the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Public Administration. From 2020-2021 onwards,
partial grades will not remain valid after the exam and the resit of the course.
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6. Final paper
a) Structure of the final paper
Introduction
-What is the topic you want to work on?
-Why is it important (and to whom)?
-What is the exact problem you want to understand (research question)?
What is the particular case/aspect of the problem?
-How will you approach this topic? What concept(s) will you use, what
sources will you use and how will you structure your paper?
Literature review
-How have other people dealt with this issue? This can be either about
and theoretical
the topic or about the concept. It is up to you.
framework
-Why is your own study particular vis-à-vis the previous works?
Research
-What kind of sources will you use? Primary (regulations, media sources
Design: data
indices, policy reports) /Secondary (books, academic articles, conference
collection and
papers)?
analysis
-Why are these helpful?
-How will you search for the concepts in these sources? (not in detail)
Analysis
-Answer your research question
-If you use quantitative data: do you see correlation? If no, which other
factors should be taken into consideration?
-If you use qualitative data: how can the concepts you used explain the
outcome under investigation? Develop your story.
Which other factors besides the one you analysed could have influenced
the outcome?
Conclusions
-Summarize what you did
-Deliver key message
References
-Use the APA style. More information on citing can be found here.
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b) Evaluation grid
Criteria
0 percent
50 percent
100 percent
Introduction
3 or more
elements are
missing.
1 or 2 elements are missing or
ill-executed/ introduction too long or too
short
In no more than 400-450 words, you set the stage by:
a. clarify the context and outcome under investigation
b. introduce a clear-cut, parsimonious research question
c. briefly mention the concepts you will use in your analysis
d. outline the remainder of the paper
Literature review
and theoretical
concepts
All elements
are missing.
1 or 2 elements are missing/ the
structure is problematic/ too long or too
short/ (<5 authors in the literature)
In 1000-1500 words you clearly stipulate
a. what is the societal & academic relevance of your case
b. what is the key concept you are using and how
c. what has been written either about the case or about the
concepts to be used (>5 authors
for the literature)
Research design:
data collection and
analysis
All elements
are missing.
1 element is missing/ the
structure is problematic/ too short or too
long
In 300-500 words you establish in a structured way:
a. what kind of data will you use and why are these data
useful for your framework
b. establish how you will reflect on the data based on the
concepts (key words)
Analysis
The concept is not
correctly used.
The role of the concept is
not clearly established/ too long or
too short.
In 1000 words you clearly establish how the concept you
selected influenced the outcome under investigation.
Conclusions
All elements are missing.
One or two elements are missing.
In around 400-500 words you (a) summarize your approach
towards the topic, (b) briefly mention the extent to which
your research question was addressed and (c) layout the
limitations of your paper.
References
All elements are
problematically
implemented.
One or two elements are problematically
applied in your paper.
You correctly (a) cite the authors and you (b) have a proper
bibliography list at the end of the paper. You (c) consistently
use one citation style (APA).
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c) Format of the final paper
•
The final paper needs to include a cover page which should contain the students’ first
and last name, the title, the date, the course name, and the word count.
•
The font should be Times New Roman with a size of 12 and a line spacing of 2 in an
A4 format. Pages should be numbered.
•
The final paper should be submitted in a word format.
•
Students should carefully revise the final paper for spelling mistakes before submitting
it.
•
We recommend students to submit their final papers at least 30 minutes before the
deadline. As some technical issues might occur; this could prevent student to meet the
deadline.
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7. Calendar
Date
Content
Hour
Room
Link
Week 1
08/09
Introduction & What is meant
with Public? The Characteristics
of Public Organizations and
Public Administration
13:1515:00
CDHSCHOUW /
A0.06
Livestream
link
Week 2
15/09
Rationality, Bureaucracy and
Organizational Structures
13:1515:00
CDHSCHOUW /
A0.06
Livestream
link
Week 3
22/09
Leadership and Management in
Public Organizations
13:1515:00
CDHSCHOUW /
A0.06
Livestream
link
Mid-term exam
13:0016:00
CDHOPERA /
RODEZAAL
CDHSCHOUW /
A0.06
Week 4 29/09
Week 5
06/10
Policy Making in Public
Organizations
13:1515:00
Week 6
13/10
The Ethics of Public Service
13:1515:00
CDHSCHOUW /
A0.06
Livestream
link
Week 7
22/10
The Characteristics of Dutch
Public Administration
13:1515:00
CDHSCHOUW /
A0.06
Livestream
link
Week 8 29/10
Final Paper Submission at 18:00
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Livestream
link
8. Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
I do not have a background in Public Administration/Political Science/International
Relations. How do you expect me to conduct a whole research on a PA issue?
•
My criterion is different from what you may think.
•
What I am considering is:
•
How you structure a paper; intro, theory, methods, analysis, conclusions?
•
Do you know how to structure an argument?
•
Can you think critically and see which of the theories is applicable to your research?
•
Can you clearly articulate your thoughts and make a point?
I have never written a paper before and I feel nervous about this. Do you take this into
account?
•
Yes, I take this into account. I am evaluating students’ papers, not research papers ready
to be published in academic articles.
What do you mean by “public administration” issue?
•
I mean every topic that is of interest for the society. I could frame it as a policy issue. It
can include questions of efficiency in administrative organizations in different contexts,
migration, security, education, energy, environment, foreign policy, combatting COVID19 or economic policy. The list is not exhaustive.
Does it have to be a contemporary issue?
•
No. If you want to reflect on a historical decision in the past, you are able to do so. For
instance, how did the Netherlands deal with the 1953 North Sea Flood? However, what I
want from you is to use some concepts that we have discussed in the class.
I have a background in a different field, let’s say, psychology or sociology. Can I deal
with a topic from my field?
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•
Yes, you can, as long as you use some concepts that are found in both fields (path
dependency, institutions, bounded rationality, incrementalism)
Shall I use quantitative or qualitative analysis?
•
It is up to you.
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9. Instructor
Students can communicate with the instructor via email. If the communication or question is
regarding the content discussed in class, I strongly encourage students to post their questions on
the Discussion board that can be found in Brightspace. In this way, students can collaborate
with each other and knowledge can be shared with the entire class. With regards to individual
appointments, students should make them at least three days in advance. The appointment will
preferably take place on Wednesday afternoon after the lecture.
Amandine Lerusse
Institute of Public Administration
Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs
E-mail: a.v.lerusse@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
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