Instructor’s Guide for Understanding and
Managing Public Organizations (5th Edition)
Contents
Preface
Section One: Sample Syllabi
Section Two: Key Terms, Discussion Questions, and Writing
Assignments
Part One: The Dynamic Context of Public Organizations
Chapter 1
The Challenge of Effective Public
Organization and Management
Chapter 2
Understanding the Study of Organizations: A
Historical Review
Chapter 3 What Makes Public Organizations Distinctive
Chapter 4 Analyzing the Environment of Public Organizations
Chapter 5 The Impact of Political Power and Public Policy
Part Two: Key Dimensions of Organizing and Managing
Chapter 6
Organizational Goals and Effectiveness
Chapter 7 Formulating and Achieving Purpose: Power,
Decision Making, and Strategy
Chapter 8 Organizational Structure, Design, Technology,
Information Technology, and Social Media
Chapter 9 Understanding People in Public Organizations:
Motivation and Motivation Theory
Chapter 10
Understanding People in Public
Organizations: Values, Incentives, and Work-Related
Attitudes
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Chapter 11
Leadership, Managerial Roles, and
Organizational Culture
Chapter 12
Teamwork: Understanding Communication and
Conflict in Groups
Part Three: Strategies for Managing and Improving Public
Organizations
Chapter 13
Managing Organizational Change and
Development
Chapter 14
Advancing Effective Management in the Public
Sector
Section Three: Class Exercises
1. The Nature of Public Service
2. Power and Influence Role Play
3. Political Power and Policymaking
4. Organizational Structure and Reform
5. Organizational Structure: Identifying the Dimensions
6. Organizational Structure and Its Implications
7. Decision-Making Exercise
8. Considering Fiedler’s Theory of Leadership
9. Considering the Path-Goal Model of Leadership
10.
Analyzing the Environment: Applying and Comparing
Theoretical Perspectives
11.
Contracting-Out and Transaction Costs
12.
Organizational Change and Motivation
Section Four: Case Studies
1.
Moving the Maisenbacher House
2.
The Case of the Vanishing Volunteers
3.
Grandtown’s New Public Library
4.
The Case of the Crummy Contract
5.
The Case of Joe the Jerk (Or, Joe the Very Capable
Jerk)
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6.
A Funeral in the Public Service Center
7.
Habitat for Humanity of Medina: Confronting the
Changing Times
8.
Brookhaven National Laboratory
9.
A Job for Laurie
Section Five: Examination Questions
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Preface
This instructor’s guide accompanies the text Understanding
and Managing Public Organizations (5th ed.), by Hal G.
Rainey. Materials are organized by chapter.
Features to this supplement include the following:





Sample syllabi. Two syllabi are provided. Both are
intended for graduate-level courses, and both are
intended to provide students with a solid grounding in
the concepts, topics, and research in public
management and organization theory.
PowerPoint slides for each chapter. These follow the
organization in the text. They highlight the chapter
themes and main subparts.
Key terms for each chapter. A list of key terms is
provided for each chapter. Some key terms are
introduced early on in the text and then further
developed in later chapters. The instructor’s guide
includes these terms for all relevant chapters.
Discussion questions for each chapter. These questions
can be used in class to prompt discussion on key
themes or assigned to students as homework. The
typical discussion question can be answered in one or
two paragraphs.
Writing assignments and reports. These are intended as
take-home writing assignments, as they require more
thorough consideration of topics and in some instances
additional research. The typical question can be
answered in as few as two pages or developed further
in a more lengthy report.
Additional materials are also integrated in various places,
including the following:

Class Exercises. All class exercises can be completed
in less than forty-five minutes of class time. These
are designed to reinforce chapter lessons while
encouraging collaborative learning among students.
1. The Nature of Public Service
2. Power and Influence Role Play
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3. Political Power and Policymaking
4. Organizational Structure and Reform
5. Organizational Structure: Identifying the
Dimensions
6. Organizational Structure and Its Implications
7. Decision-Making Exercise
8. Considering Fiedler’s Theory of Leadership
9. Considering the Path-Goal Model of Leadership
10.
Analyzing the Environment: Applying and
Comparing Theoretical Perspectives

11.
Contracting-Out and Transaction Costs
12.
Organizational Change and Motivation
Case studies. Nine cases can be found at the end of
this guide with suggestions for their use. The main
themes and learning opportunities are briefly
described below:
1. Moving the Maisenbacher House.
2. The Case of the Vanishing Volunteers. After reading
this case, students consider key challenges of
managing in the public sector context. The case
prompts discussion on a number of topics, including
but not limited to the political environment,
authority, the use of formal rules and policies,
managing for effectiveness, and the relationship
between government and nonprofits. The case also
illuminates the human element of motivating in the
public and nonprofit sectors.
3. Grandtown’s New Public Library.
4. The Case of the Crummy Contract. Students consider the
demand for privatization and contracting-out and learn
to compare tangible and intangible costs and benefits
of performing services in-house as compared to using
outside services.
5
5. The Case of Joe the Jerk (Or, Joe the Very Capable
Jerk). Students assume the role of consultant to a
module manager in a Public Service Center of the
Social Security Administration. They discuss the
organization’s “bureaupathology” and apply the
theories of motivation and leadership.
6. A Funeral in the Public Service Sector. Incidents at
the Social Security Administration prompt students to
consider the concepts of values, motivation, and
leadership.
7. Habitat for Humanity of Medina: Confronting the
Changing Times. This case study is about organization
change. Students consider the various pressures for
change that bear on a nonprofit organization. They
also evaluate the three sets of recommendations for
successful transformations explicated in the chapter,
including Quinn and Cameron; Greiner; and Kotter.
8. Brookhaven National Laboratory. The case requires
students to assess whether the management of the
laboratories should be done by private sector
contractors. They examine the organizational chart and
identify characteristics of centralization,
formalization, and complexity in the structure. The
case also challenges students to find applications for
other structural concepts, such as integrating
devices, and general organizational forms such as
functional, divisional, hybrid, and matrix forms.
9. A Job for Laurie.
6
Section One: Sample Syllabi
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
V502 Public Management
Spring 2009 (Class/Section No. 23149)
This syllabus includes administrative information, answers to a
series of questions you might have about the course, and an
explanation of the ways in which you will be graded. SPEA policies
on academic misconduct are included as an addendum to this
syllabus. The course schedule and your reading list are provided
separately.
Administrative Information
Room:
Room BS 3015, Monday 6:00 p.m. – 8: 40 p.m.
When:
January 12, 2009 – May 4, 2009
Instructor: Deanna Malatesta, PhD
Office:
SPEA: BS 4081, 801 W. Michigan, Indianapolis IN
46202
Office hours:
Monday 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., or by appointment
Email:
dmalates@iupui.edu
Telephone: (317) 274-0876
Fax:
SPEA office
(317) 274-7860
Texts and Readings:
Rainey, H. G. (2014). Understanding and Managing Public
Organizations (5th ed.), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Shafritz, J. M., J. S. Ott, and Y. S. Jang (2005). Classics of
Organization Theory. 6th ed: Wadsworth.
Recommended Readings:
A list of other readings useful to the study of public management,
including many of the field’s primary sources, will be made
available on Oncourse.
Other readings may be assigned during the semester.
Oncourse
Oncourse will be used throughout the semester. Students unfamiliar
with Oncourse should seek support at the Oncourse portal,
available at https://oncourse.iu.edu/portal.
What is Public Management about? What type of course is it?
Course Description: The course involves key readings in the field
and the analysis of cases, concepts, theories, methods, and
7
procedures in managing public organizations. Readings and
lectures will orient students to basic concepts and research that
inform our thinking on public management. Each student is
responsible, through self-study, reading assignments, and class
interaction, to learn relevant public management theory, concepts
and applications.
Another key component of the course involves familiarity with the
processes of public management in Indianapolis, Marion County, and
the state of Indiana in general. Students are responsible for
reading the Indianapolis Star each day. As the course progresses
and students become more familiar with the relevant theory, we
will draw on current events for lecture and discussion. We will
try to identify problems of organization, planning, decision
making, and motivation in real-world public management situations
and discuss the ways in which theory may be used to inform
practice.
Finally, through readings, discussion, and lecture, students will
come to understand important research in the field.
What competencies should I have before starting the course?
 Your writing skills should be polished. If your writing
skills are not at the graduate level, you will have problems
with this course.
 You should be able to synthesize key readings.
 You should be able to organize your thinking and your
writing.
 You should be familiar with the five-paragraph essay form.
 Students should already be familiar with appropriately
citing work within the body of the paper as well in
bibliographic form.
Expectations
Regular and prompt attendance is part of professional behavior and
will be expected. If a student must miss class, he or she should
notify the instructor ahead of time and make arrangements to
obtain missed work from a classmate.
Work is to be completed on time and submitted on Oncourse by
deadlines.
Students should be available to meet in groups outside of class
time.
How will the course be taught, and how is it structured?
The course involves lecture, group work, and class discussion. A
typical evening will include a lecture on theory and general
discussion of readings. We often organize into groups to review
and discuss a specific case study or a contemporary public
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management situation for some portion of class time. The
instructor will then engage the class in a discussion, for
example, challenging students to relate theories to the practical
situation or to recommend managerial prescriptions.
What are the assignments about and how will grades be determined?
Deliverables
During the course of the semester students will be responsible for
writing every week. A typical assignment involves summarizing
assigned readings using the five-paragraph format. Writings are
due before class starts each week and should be no more than oneand-a-half pages double spaced.
A midterm will be given on week nine. Note that this is more than
halfway through the semester. The midterm will require that you
have a command of the literature. You should be familiar with and
be able to compare the various theories.
Students will complete a final project as part of a group.
Grades will be computed as follows:
Assignments
Weekly writing assignments
Mid-term
Final project (group)
Class Participation
Perce
nt of
grade
30 %
30 %
30 %
10 %
**Note that a grade
of an A requires,
at a minimum, that
all assignments are completed on time.
Incompletes (grades of I) are granted only in extraordinary
circumstances. If you think that you will need an incomplete, you
should see me as soon as possible.
Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty
will not be tolerated. The syllabus addendum is a summary of SPEA
policies on academic misconduct. If you have not done so, you
should read the student code of ethics. The code of ethics lists
activities that are unacceptable. The typical penalty for
violation of the code is a grade of F for the class.
What are the course objectives and what competencies will be
acquired?
Specifically, by the end of the semester you should be able to:
Describe the main theories and paradigms associated with the field of
public management.
9
Describe the major developments and eras in organization and management
theory.
Describe what makes public management different from private
management. This means you must have a basic understanding of all three
sectors, and a general understanding of the structure and functions of,
and differences between, the public, private, and nonprofit sectors,
with
particular
emphasis
on how issues
problems
in the
public
Describe
strategies
for formulating
andand
achieving
public
management
domain
are related to the private and nonprofit sectors.
objectives.
Describe theories of organizational change and their application to
public management.
Describe theories of work motivation and their application to public
management.
Describe the relationship between organizational structure and
outcomes.
Describe frameworks for organizational analysis.
Understand how the legal system affects public management within our
constitutional framework as well as the legal constraints affecting the
public and nonprofit sectors.
Understand conceptions and dimensions of organizational culture.
Understand the many dimensions of privatization and describe conditions
for successful contracting out.
Have an understanding of the key forces that drive change and the
flexibility and adaptability that are essential attributes for
implementing change.
Use theories and frameworks in understanding the practical challenges
associated with public management.
Describe the state of research on various public management topics.
Assess the state of research on various public management topics and
evaluate the relative merits.
Present materials both orally and in a written report.
Be able to analyze situations that involve interaction between the
public, private, and nonprofit sectors in solving social problems and
to work collaboratively with those individuals and institutions in
coming up with strategies for financing and managing these social
problems.
10
Identify the factors that motivate the economic and political behavior
of various agents in society (and across the sectors) and use this
information in planning, strategizing, and decision making.
Be able to use information technology in analyzing public policy and
managing organizations.
Have an understanding of how organizations operate and work together to
gain an understanding of the broader organizational environment. This
includes micro and macro organizational issues and topics, as well as
human behavior.
Gain an understanding of alternative perspectives, values, and
worldviews and recognize their significance for effective work
relationships and service to client groups.
Have an understanding of collaborative leadership, leadership styles,
and their impact on organizations and employees.
Be able to work in a team; deal effectively with conflict; and
negotiate, delegate, and communicate effectively across constituencies.
Be able to recognize legal and constitutional constraints on policy
formation, and be able to identify areas in which public policy or
administration crosses permissible boundaries.
Take responsibility for one’s own work and decisions. To complete one’s
work in a professional and ethical manner.
Syllabus Addendum SPEA 2009 Policies
Academic Misconduct
Students are responsible for upholding and maintaining academic
and professional honesty and integrity (IUPUI Code of Student
Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, available at
http://www.iupui.edu/code/, Part II Student Responsibilities, G).
All faculty have the responsibility of fostering the
“intellectual honesty as well as the intellectual development of
students,” and part of this responsibility means that faculty
must investigate cases of potential academic misconduct promptly
and thoroughly. Faculty members also have the responsibility of
taking appropriate action when academic misconduct occurs. The
penalties for academic misconduct include but are not limited to
lowering a grade on an assignment, lowering a course grade, or
failing a student for a course. Significant violations of the
Code can result in expulsion from the university.
SPEA faculty take their responsibilities seriously and do not
tolerate cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic
misconduct. If you have not done so, you should read about your
11
responsibilities in the IUPUI Code of Student Rights,
Responsibilities, and Conduct to ensure that you understand what
these terms mean and what penalties can be issued for academic
misconduct.
Plagiarism is the most common academic misconduct violation, and
some students who have been disciplined for plagiarism have said
they were not aware that they had plagiarized their work. Be
aware that “not knowing” does not excuse academic misconduct—
every student is responsible for knowing the rules. The IU School
of Education’s “How to Recognize Plagiarism” is an online
tutorial that can help you avoid plagiarism. It can be accessed
at http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/. If you have any questions about
what constitutes academic misconduct for a course you are taking,
be sure to ask the instructor for an explanation.
The IUPUI Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct
defines four areas of academic misconduct: cheating, fabrication,
plagiarism, and interference. The prohibited activities and
actions include the following:
1. Cheating. A student must not use or attempt to use
unauthorized assistance, materials, information, or study aids in
any academic exercise, including, but not limited to, the
following:
a. A student must not use external assistance on any “inclass” or “take-home” examination, unless the instructor
specifically has authorized external assistance. This
prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the use of
tutors, books, notes, and calculators.
b. A student must not use another person as a substitute in
the taking of an examination or quiz.
c. A student must not steal examinations or other course
materials.
d. A student must not allow others to conduct research or to
prepare work for him or her without advance authorization from
the instructor to whom the work is being submitted. Under this
prohibition, a student must not make any unauthorized use of
materials obtained from commercial term paper companies or
from files of papers prepared by other persons.
e. A student must not collaborate with other persons on a
particular project and submit a copy of a written report which
is represented explicitly or implicitly as the student’s
individual work.
12
f. A student must not use any unauthorized assistance in a
laboratory, at a computer terminal, or on field work.
g. A student must not submit substantial portions of the same
academic work for credit or honors more than once without
permission of the instructor to whom the work is being
submitted.
h. A student must not alter a grade or score in any way.
2. Fabrication. A student must not falsify or invent any
information or data in an academic exercise including, but not
limited to, records or reports, laboratory results, and citations
to the sources of information.
3. Plagiarism. A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas,
words, or statements of another person without appropriate
acknowledgment. A student must give credit to the originality of
others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever he or she does
any of the following:
a. Quotes another person’s actual words, either oral or
written
b. Paraphrases another person’s words, either oral or written
c. Uses another person’s idea, opinion, or theory
d. Borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material,
unless the information is common knowledge
4. Interference.
a. A student must not steal, change, destroy, or impede
another student’s work. Impeding another student’s work
includes, but is not limited to, the theft, defacement, or
mutilation of resources so as to deprive others of the
information they contain.
b. A student must not give or offer a bribe, promise favors,
or make threats with the intention of affecting a grade or the
evaluation of academic performance.
Whistleblower Policy
President Herbert has recently approved a whistleblower policy
that clarifies the protections available to individuals who in
good faith report suspected wrongdoing. The policy:
 Requires individuals to disclose violations of law or
university policy
13



Informs individuals how allegations of wrongful conduct may
be disclosed
Protects individuals from reprisal as a result of
disclosing wrongful conduct
Provides individuals a complaint process to seek relief
from retaliatory acts
The full policy can be reviewed at:
http://www.hra.iupui.edu/Policy_Manual/policy/5_10.html.
Classroom Etiquette and Disorderly Conduct
SPEA, which is a professional school, expects students to conduct
themselves in a courteous and civil manner in interactions with
professors and fellow students. Examples of discourteous behavior
during class include reading the newspaper, working crossword
puzzles, listening to headphones, talking or laughing with
others, arriving late, using computers to surf the web, allowing
cell phones to ring or sending text messages, or other non-class
activities. These behaviors are distracting to the instructor and
to classmates, and SPEA faculty will address these problems as
they arise either in class or on an individual basis.
Disorderly conduct that interferes with teaching, research,
administration, or other university or university-authorized
activity will not be tolerated and will be reported immediately
to the Office of the Dean of Students for disposition, which may
result in disciplinary action, including possible suspension
and/or expulsion from the university. Students should read the
IUPUI Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct,
which can be accessed at http://www.iupui.edu/~sldweb/dos/ in
order to understand your responsibilities as a student.
Communication Between Faculty and Students
In order to verify the identity of all parties involved,
effective September 1, 2004, all email communication from current
SPEA students to SPEA staff must originate from an Indiana
University email account. For email communication with SPEA
faculty, current SPEA students should refer to course syllabi for
instructors’ preferences (Oncourse, Webmail, etc.). This policy
applies to current students only. Instructions for forwarding
your IUPUI email to another account can be found at
http://uits.iu.edu/scripts/ose.cgi?berh.def.help.
14
Course Withdrawals
Students who stop attending class without properly withdrawing
from the class will receive a grade of F. It is important to
withdraw from a course within specified timeframes (see chart
below). Note that withdrawals after Week 12 of a regular session
or Week 4 of a summer session are rarely granted. Poor
performance in a course is not grounds for a late withdrawal.
Withdrawal forms will not be processed in the Office of the
Registrar after the last day of classes. Any requests for a late
withdrawal after the last day of classes must go through the
grade appeal process, but each student should remember that in
accordance with campus policy, SPEA does not permit a student to
withdraw from a course if he or she has completed the course
requirements. Grade replacement should be used in this case. See
the Office of the Registrar’s website at
http://registrar.iupui.edu/withdraw.html for more information. To
withdraw, obtain a withdrawal slip (DROP/ADD Form) from the SPEA
Student Services window. Instructions for completing it are given
on the form.
Incompletes
A grade of incomplete (I) indicates that a ‘substantial portion’
of the work in a course has been satisfactorily but not entirely
completed by the student as of the end of the semester. The
incomplete can be given to a student facing a hardship such that
that it would be unjust to hold the student to the established
time limits for completing the work. To be eligible for the
incomplete in a SPEA course, the student’s work must be of
passing quality, and the student must have completed 75 percent
of the course requirements. Poor performance in a course is not
grounds for an incomplete. SPEA follows the campus guidelines,
which may be accessed at the Office of the Registrar’s website at
http://registrar.iupui.edu/incomp.html, in awarding incompletes.
Incompletes must be removed within a time period not to exceed
one year after the semester in which the student was enrolled in
the course. The incomplete will revert to an ‘F’ if the work is
not completed within the allotted timeframe established by the
instructor.
Grade Changes
15
Under certain circumstances, students can seek grade changes for
previously taken courses if they believe that a grade has been
calculated or assigned incorrectly. A student who is seeking a
grade change must first contact the instructor and ask for the
grade change. In the event the instructor does not change the
grade, the student can file a Change of Grade Petition with the
Registrar’s Office. In SPEA, a student has ninety days after the
conclusion of a course to appeal a grade. In cases of extenuating
circumstances, SPEA may consider petitions filed after this date.
SPEA will review the request and make a final decision on a caseby-case basis. The Change of Grade petition form is located at
the Office of the Registrar’s website at
http://registrar.iupui.edu/grdfrm.html.
Final Exam Schedule
If a final exam is given, it must be held on the day and time set
in the final exam schedule. If an instructor has changed the
final exam date, the student should first consult with the
instructor. Students who have more than three final exams in one
day or insufficient time to get from one exam to another should
consult with their instructors to resolve these conflicts. Exams
may not be given in the week before the final exam week. If a
student is not able to resolve a final exam problem with the
instructor, the student may report the problem to the Director of
Undergraduate or Graduate programs. See the Office of the
Registrar’s website at http://registrar.iupui.edu/accal.html for
the final exam week schedule.
Students Called to Active Duty
SPEA encourages any student who is in the Indiana Military
Reserves and is called to active duty to finish his or her
coursework if at all possible. Students who cannot complete their
courses have the option of withdrawing with 100 percent fee
refund, but this request must be made within one week of being
called to active duty. Students who are called to active duty may
qualify for an incomplete (provided that all the criteria above
have been met). For further information, please see the Office of
the Registrar’s website at
http://registrar.iupui.edu/activeduty.html.
16
Public Administration and Policy 6960
Public Management:
Organization Design and Management in the Public and
Nonprofit Sectors
Spring Semester, 2009
Miller Learning Center 251
Tuesday, 6:30 – 9:15
Instructor: Hal Rainey
Wednesday, 2 – 4 P.M.
205A Baldwin Hall
706-542-2979
hgrainey@uga.edu
Office hours:
or by appointment.
Email:
This course covers the major topics, issues, and
contributions in the literature on organizations and
management, with emphasis on applications to government and
nonprofit organizations. It will consider problems in
government and nonprofit organizations, because there are
serious ones. The course, however, also emphasizes the many
examples of successful management in these organizations,
including some of the past and most recent reforms and
improvements. The examples and exercises in the course
refer to organizations at federal, state, and local levels
of government and to a variety of nonprofit organizations,
such as hospitals, museums, and social service agencies.
Books and Readings
Daft, Richard L. Organization Theory and Design (11th
edition). Lexington, KY: Cengage Learning, 2013.
Rainey, Hal G., Understanding and Managing Public
Organizations (5th edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
2014.
Stillman, Richard, The American Bureaucracy (3rd edition).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2004.
Additional readings as assigned, not to exceed one or two
additional professional journal articles or book chapters
per class, assigned at least two weeks in advance.
Grades and Assignments
Midterm Exam: 30%
Final Exam: 40%
Course Project Paper: 20%
17
Class attendance, participation, and preparation: 10%
With advance warning, the instructor will assign activities
in addition to those listed on this syllabus, such as
exercises selected from those at the end of the Daft
chapters.
Academic Integrity: Standards of academic integrity will be
strictly enforced. Consult the instructor about any
questions or doubts about the appropriate use of source
materials for class papers.
Attendance Policy: Students in this class display very high
levels of conscientiousness about class attendance and
participation. Due to misunderstandings on the part of a
very few students, however, there is now an attendance
policy. Students’ participation grades will be reduced for
absences from class. Any student who misses more than two
classes should expect to receive a grade no higher than “B”
in this course. Major professional obligations or personal
emergencies will, of course, not be counted against
students under this policy. Students should consult with
the professor about such unavoidable absences. For the
overwhelming majority of our students, this policy can be
regarded as irrelevant and virtually comical, because it
will not apply to them. Students who are frequently late to
class or who leave early should also expect to have their
participation grade reduced.
General University Policies: The University Council has
issued a policy on syllabi. It requires that all syllabi
include the following statements:
All academic work must meet the standards contained in
“A Culture of Honesty.” Students are responsible for
informing themselves about those standards before
performing any academic work. The link to more detailed
information about academic honesty can be found at:
http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm.
The course syllabus is a general plan for the course;
deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be
necessary.
Topics and Reading Schedule
Jan. 13: Introduction and Overview
Daft, Chap. 1. Rainey, Preface, Chap. 1. Stillman,
18
Chap. 1.
Jan. 20: Organizations, Public Organizations, and
Management: Basic Concepts and Issues
Historical Overview of Organization Theory.
Daft, Chap. 1. Rainey, Chap. 2. Stillman, Chap. 2.
Jan. 27: The Environments of Organizations, and of Public
and Nonprofit Organizations
The Management of Privatization and Volunteer Programs
(Introduction).
Daft, Chaps. 4, 5, and 6. Rainey, Chaps. 3, 4, and 5.
Stillman, Chap. 3.
Cases: The Case of the Crummy Contract. The Case of
the Vanishing Volunteers. (Read these two cases for
introductory purposes. We will discuss them later in the
course.
Feb. 3: Organizational Goals and Effectiveness
Daft, Chap. 2. Rainey, Chap. 6. Stillman, Chap. 5.
Case: University Art Museum (Daft, p. 81).
Case: The Audubon Zoo (Daft, p. 552).
Feb. 10: Organizational Structure and Design: Technology
and Information Technology
Daft, Chaps. 7 and 8. Rainey, Chaps. 7 and 8.
Cases: Century Medical (Daft, p. 315);
Case: Brookhaven National Laboratory (Course packet).
Submit proposals for course paper.
Feb. 17: Organizational Structure and Design (continued):
Size, Life Cycle, and Control
Daft, Chap. 9. Rainey, Chap. 8.
Case: Brookhaven National Laboratory (continued).
Submit proposals for course paper.
Feb. 24: Organizational Structure and Design (continued):
Classic Design Strategies Functional, Product, and Matrix
Structures, and Global Strategies
Daft, Chap. 3. Rainey, Chaps. 7 and 8.
Case: C and C Grocery Stores (Daft, p. 126), Aquarius
Advertising Agency (Daft, p. 129), and Shoe Corporation of
Illinois (p. 432).
Mar. 3: Organizational Innovation and Change.
Daft, Chap. 11. Rainey, Chap. 13. Stillman, Chap. 6.
19
Cases and additional readings:
Rainey and Thompson, “Leadership and Transformation of
a Major Institution: Charles Rossotti and the Internal
Revenue Service.” Public Administration Review, JulyAugust, 2006. E-copy to be provided to the class.
Fernandez and Rainey, “Managing Successful
Organizational Change in the Public Sector.” Public
Administration Review, March-April, 2006. E-copy to be
provided to the class.
Takehome mid-term examination handed out. Due Mar. 17.
Mar. 10: Spring Break
Mar. 17: People in Public and Nonprofit Organizations:
Motives, Values, Motivation, and Work- Related
Attitudes
Rainey, Chaps. 9 and 10. Stillman, Chap. 4.
Case: The Case of Joe the Jerk (Course packet)
Submit mid-term examination.
Mar. 24: Leadership
Rainey, Chap. 11.
Case: A Funeral in the Public Service Center.
Mar. 31: Organizational Culture and Ethics
Daft, Chap. 10. Rainey, Chap. 11.
Cases: Implementing Change at National Industrial
Products (Daft, p. 390).
It Isn’t So Simple: Infrastructure Change at Royce
Consulting (Daft, p. 518).
Apr. 7: Strategy and Decision-Making Processes
Daft, Chap. 12. Rainey, Chap. 7.
Case: The Dilemma of Aliesha State College (Daft, p.
477).
Apr. 21: Power, Politics, and Conflict in Organizations
Daft, Chap. 13. Rainey, Chaps. 5, 7, and 12.
Case: The Daily Tribune (Daft, p. 511).
Apr. 28: Recent Trends in Public Management, including TQM,
NPR, REGO, Privatization, Human Capital, the President’s
Management Agenda
Rainey, Chaps. 13 and 14. Stillman, Chap. 7.
20
Cases: The Case of the Crummy Contract. The Case of
the Vanishing Volunteers.
Dec. 5: Final Examination. (Grades due May 11).
Course project paper due.
PADP 6960: Objectives of the Course
Develop a conception of what it means to organize, lead,
and manage well. (Or further develop the conception that
you have).
Develop knowledge of the important components or dimensions
of organization, leadership, and management, and develop a
sense of how one leads and organizes in these areas—leading
change, developing organizational culture, motivating
people, designing organizations, leading strategic
decisions. Learn the state of knowledge and managerial
thinking on these topics and others covered in the course.
Consider the application of these topics in the public and
nonprofit sectors, and learn the state of knowledge about
the implications of location in those sectors.
Learn many important concepts and ideas that these topics
include, both classical and contemporary, such as span of
control, total quality management, organizational culture,
reinventing government, the learning organization, The
President’s Management Agenda, PART scores, the Balanced
Scorecard, and the Human Capital movement in government.
Engage in case discussions and exercises to develop a sense
of how to apply in practice the topics and ideas covered in
the course.
21
PADP 6960
Course Project Paper
By the last week of the course, submit a project paper of
about twenty double-spaced typewritten pages. The objective
of this project is to extend your professional knowledge
about a topic related to this course that you consider of
value and interest to you. (Doctoral students do longer,
more academically oriented projects, and should discuss
their projects with the professor).
Find a topic that you consider valuable and interesting,
and that is reasonably related to the course. Discuss your
topic with the professor if you have any doubts or
questions. Then, work on the topic in a way that helps you
learn about it. You can design any of numerous different
types of projects, as long as you pursue the general
objective stated above.
Some examples:

Read about the topic and prepare a paper that
reports what you learned about it. You should plan to read
about two hundred difficult pages or three to four hundred
less-difficult pages for such a project. For example, cover
about eight to ten twenty-page complex professional journal
articles, or fifteen to twenty twenty-page very accessible,
readable articles, such as a very reader-friendly article
in Governing magazine or The New York Times Magazine. You
can also read books or sections of books.

Do a set of readings such as described above and
prepare an analytical or critical review of them, like a
book review in a professional journal.

Conduct an inquiry into a topic using interviews
that you will conduct or official organizational or
archival documents from an organization. For example, how
are they implementing a new reform or innovation in the
state government? What is the structure and process of a
particular state, federal, or local agency or a particular
government? Describe and analyze the “human capital”
movement in the federal government.

Do readings or other research and apply it to a
particular problem or situation you know about in an
22
agency. For example, there is sharp conflict between my
unit and another; I will read about conflict management and
propose a course of action for resolving the conflict. Or,
the unit in which you work has poor morale; read about
motivation and related topics and analyze the problem.
Sources of Material for Readings
See the bibliographic references in the books assigned for
the course. Also consult the following sources. These are
high-quality publications usually oriented toward
practicing managers and readability: Harvard Business
Review, Sloan Management Review, Business Horizons, Public
Management, The Public Manager, Management Review,
California Management Review/Academy of Management
Executive (recently renamed The Academy of Management
Perspectives), Organizational Dynamics, Public
Administration Review, The Journal of Management, Review of
Public Personnel Administration, Governing (The States and
Localities), Government Executive.
The library has many books on strategy, decision making,
organizational design, motivation, privatization, volunteer
programs, public enterprises and authorities, leadership,
satisfaction, communication, the relations between
government agencies and legislative bodies, and other
topics in organization and management.
At the fifth class session, submit a one-page proposal of
the topic you will cover, and a brief description of your
objectives. You can change these plans, but you need to
have gotten to work on deciding what to do well before this
date.
23
Section Two: Key Terms, Discussion
Questions, and Writing Assignments
Chapter 1: The Challenge of Effective Public
Organization and Management
Chapter 1 Key Terms
Organization
Management
Generic tradition
National Performance Review
President’s Management Agenda
Agency scorecards
Human capital
Goal
Environment
Performance
Leadership
Structures
Processes
Incentives
Chapter 1 Discussion Questions
1.
Why do you think public organizations are prone to
criticism?
2.
From your perspective which criticisms of the public
sector are warranted? Are private companies more or
less prone to criticism? Why or why not?
3.
How might the study of organization theory and public
management help the public manager who is interested
in improving the perception of her agency?
4.
Define the domain of organization theory and
organization behavior.
5.
Discuss some of the challenges to effective public
management and the reform of public organizations.
Chapter 1 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
If you were to writing a book on the general topic of
24
management, what chapters would you include? How would
a book on public management differ?
2.
Chapter 1 briefly discusses the contributions of other
disciplines to organization theory and public
management and notes that political scientists and
economists tend to oversimplify topics such as
structure and motivation. Write an essay considering
this statement in more detail. In the essay, give
examples of how perspectives on the same topics (for
example, motivation, formal environment, interests
groups, rationality, incentives, and so on) differ by
discipline. For example, political scientists view
formal laws and regulations as necessary constraints.
Likewise, a good deal of research in economics focuses
on principal-agent relationships. On the other hand,
researchers and practitioners of public management are
more concerned with how the formal environment might
hinder performance or how the presence of multiple
principals might complicate goals. What implications
might this have to advancing knowledge in organization
theory and public management?
Note to instructor: The assignment can vary in length.
There are three main objectives: (1) to create an
awareness of the contributions that other disciplines
have made to the field; (2) to create an awareness of
how perspectives on the same topic, such as
motivation, formal environment, and interests groups,
differ by discipline; and (3) to encourage
consideration of the limitations of the various
perspectives.
3.
The author notes the dilemma in balancing legitimate
skepticism about public organizations and the
recognition that public organizations are
indispensable. Explain this statement. Provide
examples in the context of a government department or
agency with which you are familiar; discuss its value
to citizens and criticisms that may surround it.
Chapter 2: Understanding the Study of
Organizations: A Historical Review
Chapter 2 Key Terms
Systems theory
25
Closed versus open systems
Inputs
Outputs
Subsystems
Throughput processes
Feedback
Adaptation
Classical approach to the study of organizations
Scientific management
Human relations school
Contingency theory
Bureaupathology
Theory X
Theory Y
Chapter 2 Discussion Questions
1. Identify and describe the following topics and persons:
a. Systems theory and the systems metaphor in
organization theory, and its relation to
contingency theory.
b. Scientific management and Frederick Taylor and
Max Weber.
c. The Administrative Management School (POSDCORB,
“principles”).
d. Hawthorne studies.
e. Chester Barnard and Herbert Simon.
f. Group dynamics movement.
g. Human Relations School/Abraham Maslow/Douglas
McGregor.
h. Sociotechnical School (Trist and Bamforth).
i. General idea or meaning of contingency theory.
2. What did Burns and Stalker contribute to our
understanding of management and organizations?
3. What did Lawrence and Lorsch contribute to our
understanding of management and organizations?
4. What are Theory X and Theory Y? Give examples of Theory X
and Theory Y management styles.
5. What have been the important changes in the way theorists
and many managers view members of organizations and the
nature of effective organization? (Describe the
transition from “closed system” perspectives to more
“open, adaptive systems” perspectives).
6. Provide an example of how historical trends in society
have influenced a development in management and
26
organization theory.
7. How have other disciplines influenced the development in
management and organization theory?
8. What has been the role of increasing complexity and rapid
change in the development of management and organization
theory?
9. The author presents a definition of organization, and a
conceptual framework for analyzing organizations. How do
the components and concepts in these materials reflect
the developments in organization theory we have discussed
and read about?
Chapter 2 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Theories often reflect socioeconomic conditions at the
time. Discuss and explain the basic tenets and
assumptions of the classic school in relation to the
times in which it became widely accepted.
Describe the general evolution in management thought
and organizational theory across this century.
What would a federal agency or department look like if
it were run by Frederick Taylor? Max Weber?
On what grounds did Herbert Simon refute the tenets of
classical organization theory? Do you agree or
disagree with his critique?
Discuss studies in organization that were done in the
1960s and their contribution to adaptive and
contingency theories. How did these studies add to and
refine earlier thought?
You’ve been hired as a consultant to improve the
Department of Motor Vehicles. As a first step, you
have decided to survey the employees, including
management at the local and regional offices. After
reading much literature, you’ve decided that the human
relations school offers the most guidance for
understanding and reforming organizations. What
questions would you ask in your survey if you
anticipate making changes along the lines of the human
relations school?
Chapter 3: What Makes Public Organizations
Distinctive
Chapter 3 Key Terms
Generic tradition
Polyarchy
27
Public goods
Free riders
Externalities
Commonweal organizations
Enterprises
Publicness
Chapter 3 Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is meant by the “blurring” of the sectors? In
what ways does this occur?
What distinction did Dahl and Lindblom make between
markets and polyarchies? What are the strengths and
weaknesses of each? What are the reasons for the
existence of government, from an economic and a
political point of view?
How did Dahl and Lindblom distinguish between agencies
and enterprises?
How do Wamsley and Zald employ ownership and funding
in making a distinction between public and private
organizations?
What does Bozeman mean by publicness, and how does he
employ this concept?
Chapter 3 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
3.
4.
Consider a local public department with which you have
recently interacted. List and discuss the nature of
services they provide. What groups do they serve? Do
you consider the department effective or ineffective?
Explain. To what standards should they be held?
Explain.
Consider any government agency with which you have
interacted. What laws, rules, and regulations are
relevant to the particular services they provide?
Describe the political environment of the agency. How
might the department, its structure, tasks, and
clientele change if the political environment changes?
How does the economic environment affect the
department? What job competencies should be required
of the employees? What type of training should they
have?
What are some major problems and approaches to
analyzing the distinction between public and private
organizations?
What are the common assertions about the distinctive
28
5.
6.
nature of public organizations and management?
Describe two that you consider accurate and two you
consider inaccurate or overblown.
What is the generic tradition in organization and
management theory, and what are its implications for
the public-private distinction? What have been the
research findings supporting this generic position?
How do externalities affect the role of the public
sector?
Chapter 4: Analyzing the Environment of Public
Organizations
Chapter 4 Key Terms
Organization domain
Stakeholder analysis
Environmental capacity
Evolutionary perspective of organizations
Co-optation
Environmental scan
Stakeholder analysis
Mechanistic firms
Organic firms
Contingency theory
Buffering methods
Boundary-spanning units
Environmental stability
Dynamism, change rates
Population ecology
Resource dependency theory
Transaction cost theory
Institution, institutionalization
Isomorphism
Coercive isomorphism
Normative isomorphism
Mimetic isomorphism
Active representation and passive representation
Federalist Papers
Performance criteria
Criterion of competence
Criterion of responsiveness
Criterion of representativeness
Criterion of timeliness
Criterion of reasonableness
Chapter 4 Discussion Questions
29
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Describe the institutionalism perspective.
Define the concepts of organizational environment and
the environmental domain.
What is environmental uncertainty, and what are its
dimensions?
What are the ways in which organizations adapt to
environmental uncertainty (for example, positions and
departments, buffering and boundary spanning)?
What are differentiation and integration?
What are organic and mechanistic forms?
What is the resource dependence perspective, and how
can organizations control environmental resources?
Describe the population ecology perspective on
organization survival.
What does a resource dependency theorist say about
organization survival?
What general effects does uncertainty have on the
organization?
What are the important components and dimensions of
the political and economic environments of public
organizations?
How do general values and institutions of the
political economy, such as provision of the U.S.
Constitution, influence management and organizations
in government?
What are competence and responsiveness values, and
what are their implications for public management?
Chapter 4 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
3.
Using a nonprofit entity and a public agency as
examples, prepare a memo describing their general
environmental conditions along the following lines:
technological, legal, political economic,
environmental, ecological, and cultural.
How do Lawrence and Lorsch define differentiation and
integration in their 1967 paper, which appeared in the
Administrative Science Quarterly? What basic
propositions did they make with respect to how
organizations and organizational sub-units adapt?
Describe their research findings.
Describe the mechanisms for institutional isomorphic
change as posited by DiMaggio and Powell (1983). What
organizational and field-level variables predict
isomorphism according to their claims? Is there
30
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
research evidence to support their claims?
Describe a change in rules or policy that has
occurred where you work or at the university. Where
did the impetus for change come from? How did the
organization respond to pressures for change?
Discuss the concepts of organizational environment and
environmental domain and their use as a framework for
analyzing public organizations. Is this a good
framework?
Describe and contrast two organizations in terms of
their technical core. What conditions may affect the
core? How would you propose to buffer against such
conditions?
Describe a public agency or department and discuss the
“institutions” that define it or characterize it.
Chose a public agency or department and describe the
ways societal values and institutions influence its
operation.
Compare and contrast the assumptions and main claims
according to the resource dependence theory and
transaction cost economic theory. What evidence exists
to support or refute each? What problems or
limitations are associated with these lines of
research?
Chapter 5: The Impact of Political Power and Public
Policy
Chapter 5 Key Terms
Issue networks
Policy subsystems
Iron triangle
Agency Capture
Mass publics
Interest groups
Privatization
Garbage can model of decision making
Attentive publics
Policy instruments
Chapter 5 Discussion Questions
1.
Describe how the following entities can influence
public managers and public organizations. What formal
and informal authority do they have that enables them
to exert such influence?
31
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Public opinion
The media
Interest groups, clients, and constituents
Legislative bodies
Chief executive
The courts
Other agencies and other levels of government
The public policy process
2.
3.
Name and describe two theories of the policy process.
What key authors are associated with literature on the
policy process?
What key authors are associated with the role of
interest groups and other main actors involved in the
policy process?
What is a policy instrument, and how is it used?
4.
5.
Chapter 5 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is meant by the terms hollow state and networks?
How do they complicate the lines of authority and
accountability in a public organization? Give
examples.
Choose a policy example and its associated influences.
What main actors are closely involved with the policy?
Who are the major stakeholders? Which term more
accurately reflects the influences, iron triangle or
issue network? How would you describe the
relationships and influences of all the parties
involved?
Most public agencies have websites that describe their
work. Likewise, many nonprofits have mission
statements that are published. Describe ways in which
formal political authority might affect the goals or
missions of each organization. In which case are
political influences more pervasive?
Chapter 5 makes clear that there is no neat way to
package the policy process. In fact, it can be
complex, nonlinear, and unpredictable. In what ways
does Kingdon’s theory try to make sense of the policy
process? What other theories of the policy process
have currency in public administration and management
literature?
What should a public manager know about policy
instruments?
32
Chapter 6: Organizational Goals and Effectiveness
Chapter 6 Key Terms
Organizational goal
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
Official goals
Operative goals
Goal approach to assessing organizational effectiveness
Systems resource approach
Participant-satisfaction model
Human resource approach
Stakeholder approach
Government Performance Project (GPP)
Network
Performance-based budgeting
Competing values framework
Balanced scorecard
Chapter 6 Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
6.
7.
8.
What is an organizational goal, and in what ways are
they important?
What is an organizational mission?
What is the difference between official and operative
goals, and what is the importance of this distinction?
What is the difference between organizational
efficiency and effectiveness? What dimensions factor
into effectiveness?
What are the uses, strengths, and weaknesses of the
following approaches to organizational effectiveness?
Goal approach to assessing organizational
effectiveness
Systems resource approach
Participant-satisfaction model
Human resource approach
Stakeholder approach
Competing values approach
Is there anything distinctive about the goals of
public organizations?
What suggestions have researchers provided for
measuring the effectiveness of networks?
What is performance-based budgeting
Chapter 6 Writing Assignments and Reports
33
1.
Are public organizations inherently less effective
than private ones?
2.
What makes public and nonprofit organizations
effective, when they are?
3.
How does the Government Performance Project (GPP)
evaluate the capacity of management systems? What
approach to assessing organizational effectiveness is
most similar to the GPP? How are letter grades
assigned? What are the limitations?
4.
Review the website of a federal or state agency to
identify the agency’s goals and comment on the
following: Are the stated goals clear or ambiguous? Do
any of the stated goals conflict? Can the goals be
ranked in terms of agency priority? Which goals are
more important? In what ways do the stated goals
overlap?
5.
Choose a goal listed on the website of a federal or
state agency and discuss how it might be measured.
Comment on any complications that may arise in
developing measures.
6.
Many organizations are required to link goals and
effectiveness. What assumptions underlie such a
directive?
7.
Evaluate the following comment by Osborne and Gaebler:
“. . . governments is tall, sluggish, overcentralized, and preoccupied with rules and
regulations. . . . We designed public agencies to
protect the public against politicians and bureaucrats
gaining too much power or misusing public money. In
making it difficult to steal the public’s money, we
made it virtually impossible to manage the public’s
money. . . . In attempting to control virtually
everything, we became so obsessed with dictating how
things should be done—regulating the process,
controlling the inputs—that we ignored the outcomes,
the results. . . . Government can—and must—compete
with for-profit businesses, non profit agencies, and
other units of government.”
8.
Interview the head of a public agency or government
department about the goals of his or her organization.
Record the interviewee’s responses to the three openended questions below. Relying on the literature
reviewed in the chapter on organizational goals and
effectiveness, write a report describing what you
34
have learned. Are the responses consistent with
comments in the chapter and with the cited literature
on the topic?
a.
In what ways and to what degree do the agency’s stated
goals influence organizational effectiveness?
b.
How is effectiveness measured?
c.
What difficulties have you encountered in assessing
your agency’s performance or effectiveness?
Chapter 7: Formulating and Achieving Purpose:
Power, Decision Making, and Strategy
Chapter 7 Key Terms
Power
Authority
Strategic contingencies
Decision premises
Substitutability
Network centrality
Uncertainty
Empowerment
Rationality
Rational decision-making models
Public choice
Intendedly rational bounded rationality
Satisfice
SWOT analysis
Environmental scan
Contingency approach to decision making
Incremental decision making
Mixed scanning
Logical incrementalism
Garbage can model
Government Performance Results Act (1993)
Loosely coupled
Strategic management
Perspective framework for strategic management
SMG—strategic management group
Strategic negotiations approach
Chapter 7 Discussion Questions
1.
Give some examples of how external power and politics
35
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
influence internal power and politics.
How does the concept of power relate to dependency?
Explain the relationship between substitutability and
power.
What advice does the literature offer for creating,
sustaining, and concentrating power in organizations?
In what ways are rational decision-making processes
similar to the principles of scientific management?
What assumptions underlie rational decision-making
theories?
French and Raven provide five types or forms of power.
On what is their classification based? What are the
effects of these types of power?
What are these classifications and how is power
attained
Chapter 7 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
a.
Name a person that you admire. Analyze the person’s
use of power in terms of the ideas and literature
discussed in this chapter.
Write an essay on the contributions that Herbert Simon
has made to understanding decision making.
How do power, authority, and influence differ?
Explain how power and politics affect decision-making
outcomes.
Power can be used ethically or unethically. How can
you determine if power has been used ethically?
How do the following relate to power: the ability to
cope with uncertainties, network centrality, and
nonsubstitutability.
Find three goals that are formally expressed on
websites: one from a public agency, one from a private
company, and one from a nonprofit entity. Explain how
achieving each goal will be affected by interpersonal
relationships inside and outside the organization.
Does the importance of managing interpersonal
relationships differ depending on the organization
type or sector? Explain your answer.
As a student your goal is to achieve a degree. Your
ability to achieve this goal is based on your own
effort, but also based on factors that you may not
have power over. Using the ideas presented in the
chapter analyze the power and influence relative to
your situation.
List the persons that you depend upon to get your
36
b.
c.
d.
9.
degree. What is the basis for each of these
dependencies? How strong are these dependencies?
Do you view these dependencies as positive, negative,
dysfunctional?
Do you have any influence over each person you depend
upon? How can you maintain a base of influence?
What resources do you need to gain further influence?
Using your local newspaper, find an example of a
recent policy decision. Research the decision to
discover any considerations that may help to explain
how the decision came about. Alternatively, speculate
on factors that led to the decision. Discuss the
usefulness of the rationality model of decision
making, the incrementalism model, and the garbage can
model of decision making in the context of the policy
decision.
Chapter 8: Organizational Structure, Design,
Technology, Information Technology, and Social
Media
Chapter 8 Key Terms
Downs’s “law of hierarchy”
President’s Management Agenda
Centralization
Formalization
Red tape
Complexity
Vertical integration
Lateral relations
e-coordination
reconfigurable organizations
environmental management (in relation to information
processing)
slack resources
hierarchy of authority
span of control
self-contained tasks
virtual corporations
functional organizational structure
product structure
hybrid structure
matrix structure
simple structure
machine bureaucracy
professional bureaucracy
37
divisionalized forms
adhocracy
market and customer structure
geographical organizational design
process structure
module
performance-control system
action-planning system
liaison device
red tape
mediating technologies
pooled interdependence
long-linked interdependence
sequential pattern of interdependence
reciprocal pattern of interdependence
Chapter 8 Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Explain the nature of reforms implemented by the
Internal Revenue System in 2000 and 2001. What was the
objective?
According to mainstream organization theory some
factors may influence organizational structure more
than the private public status. What are these
factors?
What are the design strategies that Galbraith
describes?
What are the design parameters that Mintzberg
describes, and what are the types of organizations in
his typology?
What does research indicate about the structures of
public organizations?
What is the macrostructure of public organizations?
What dimensions have been used to describe an
organization’s structure?
Mintzberg suggests linking operations laterally. What
purpose does this serve, and what means are available?
What major design alternatives were proposed by
Galbraith?
What do organization theorists mean by technology?
What do we know about structural differences between
public and private organizations?
How do different the levels of uncertainty affect the
organizational structure?
Discuss the usefulness of three IT applications used
in organizational decision making.
38
Chapter 8 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What is the link between politics, organization
structure, and reform? Cite examples.
Compare the objectives and approaches of the Winter
Commission, National Performance Review, President
Bush’s Management Agenda. What political values are
reflected in these reforms? What do these reforms have
in common?
According to Mintzberg, the organization’s structure
depends on the organization itself, its members, the
distribution of power, the environment, and the
technical system. What four structural categories does
Mintzberg use to group design decisions? Explain the
nature of each.
How can information systems and IT be used for
internal coordination and external coordination? What
are Intranets, and what is knowledge management?
How does IT influence organization design?
Jay Galbraith (1977) proposed a set of techniques for
designing and coordinating activities based on
information processing. What are these techniques, and
how are they used?
Chapter 9: Understanding People in Public
Organizations: Motivation and Motivation
Theory.
Chapter 9 Key Terms
Motives
Motivation
Related terms: of need, goals, values, incentives
Economies of incentives
Extrinsic incentive
Intrinsic incentive
Content theories
Needs hierarchy
Hygiene factors
Motivators
Need for achievement
Need for power
Need for affiliation
Theory X
Theory Y
Hertzberg’s Two Factor theory
39
Equity theory
Distributive justice
Procedural justice
Expectancy theory
Operant conditioning
Behavior modification
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Operant extinction
Punishment
Schedules of reinforcement
Fixed schedule of reinforcement
Variable schedule of reinforcement
Ratio schedule of reinforcement
Interval schedule of reinforcement
Social learning theory
Goal-setting theory
Intrinsic work motives
Concept of maximizing utility
Public service ethic
human capital movement
Intrinsic work motives
Proxy measures
Utility
Concept of maximizing utility
utilitarianism
Chapter 9 Discussion Questions
1.
Are there stereotypes about motivation of public
employees? What are they? Do you think they are true?
2.
What are some of the assertions about the context for
motivation in public organizations? How valid and
accurate are these assertions, in your view?
3.
What is motivation? What is the origin of the term?
4.
How have people tried to measure motivation? What
difficulties are encountered in measuring?
5.
Is motivation the only determinant of an individual’s
performance? What other factors are important?
6.
Motivation is based on individual needs, values,
motives, and incentives. What do these concepts mean?
7.
Compare the process theories of motivation. How are
they alike and different? Are they complementary or
contradictory? Explain.
8.
Describe three of the methods often used in
organizations to enhance motivation.
40
9.
How have items from expectancy theory been used to
develop proxy measures for work motivation?
Chapter 9 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
Consider your own membership in an organization. Make
three lists: a list of the factors that motivated you
to join, a list of factors that motivate you to
maintain your membership, a list of factors that may
prompt you to disassociate yourself from the
organization. Do the same factors apply to all three
cases? Are your responses (or reasoning for your
responses) consistent with what scholars (Barnard,
1938; March and Simon, 1958) have said on the subject
of motivation and, more specifically, on the factors
relevant to joining organizations and maintaining
memberships?
Note to instructors: As an alternative, require a more
thorough response comparing arguments also found in
Barnard (1938), March and Simon (1958), Peters and
Waterman (1982), DiIlulio (1994).
Using monster.com or a comparable source, compare two
jobs that are similar in their titles and descriptions
except for the designation of sector, for example, an
attorney for a law firm and city attorney or city
solicitor. Report on your findings relative to salary
levels, entry requirements, and benefits. If possible,
seek information on average length of employment and
other factors you believe are relevant to an accurate
comparison. Compare your findings with other research.
3.
Herbert Simon made the following statement with regard
to incentives: “Everything . . . about economic
rewards applies equally to privately owned, nonprofit, and government owned corporations. The
opportunity for, limits on, the use of rewards to
motivate activities towards organizational goals are
precisely the same in all three kinds of
organizations” (1995, p. 283, n. 3). Drawing on key
readings and ideas in this chapter and in previous
chapters, develop a counter argument. If possible use
examples or provide evidentiary support for your
position.
4.
What does collective action theory say on the topic of
joining organizations? Is the theory consistent with
41
your own experiences in joining organizations?
Explain.
5.
According to most economists, how does the absence of
economic markets affect motivation levels and
incentives? What assumptions underlie their arguments?
Do you agree or disagree? If possible, draw from your
own experiences or personal observations.
6.
Economist William Niskanen developed a formal theory
of budget behavior and the bureaucratic supply of
public goods. Describe the theory. What does it have
to say about motivation and incentives in the public
sector? Do you agree or disagree? What evidence can
you find to support or refute Niskanen?
7.
Discuss the connection between the decision-making
processes discussed in previous chapters and the main
ideas on motivation of government employees presented
in this chapter. Use the main tenets of strict
rationality, bounded rationality and incrementalism as
an organizing framework for your discussion. For
example, a strictly rational process requires goal
clarity and known preferences. Employees need to
understand goals and objectives in order to reach
them. Thus the absence of goal clarity is likely to
affect the ability to motivate employees to perform.
Similar connections can be made between other aspects
of decision-making processes and incentives or
motivation. Alternative assignment:
8.
Students in Public Affairs and Public Management
programs often continue to work in government or in a
nonprofit organization while they pursue their degree.
As a result, many students have co-workers who might
be open to giving a personal definition of the “public
interest.” If possible, students should seek comments
from both a recent hire and a veteran of the
organization. Ask for a brief report to the class on
the responses. Do the comments comport with the
typology of public administrators provided by Anthony
Downs (1967)?
9.
Similarly, students who work in government may ask a
few co-workers what motivated them to seek their jobs.
Responses can be compared to research in public
service motivation cited at the end of the chapter.
10.
What is motivation, and what is the origin of the
term?
42
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
How have people tried to measure motivation? What
difficulties are encountered in measuring?
Is motivation the only determinant of an individual’s
performance? What other factors are important?
Motivation is based on individual needs, values,
motives, and incentives. What do these concepts mean?
What have been some of the major efforts to specify
human needs and values? You do not have to describe
them or remember them in detail, but what are some of
the most interesting and important points about them?
Are they helpful to you as a leader and manager?
Do you find any of the listings of incentives provided
in the chapter, or concepts used in these listings, to
be useful? What general conclusions would you draw
about incentives in organizations?
What is the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic
incentives? Provide examples of both in the context of
place of work (or your motivation to perform well at
school).
What do some economists, such as Anthony Downs and
William Niskanen, claim about motives and incentives
in public organizations?
What do research findings tell us about motives and
incentives in public organizations, concerning such
matters as money, security, and other motives?
What is public service motivation? How does Perry
define and measure it ? Do you consider this an
adequate definition and measure?
How does Anthony Downs (1967) classify managers with
regard to their perceptions of the public interest?
How does this perception change how managers’ perceive
their role within the organization?
21.
What does the research have to say about government
employees and their general attitudes toward pay,
security, benefits, challenges of work? Does the same
hold for employees of for profit organizations?
22.
What does the research say about the value of
intrinsic incentives for employees at lower salary
levels compared to their supervisors?
Chapter 10: Understanding People in Public
Organizations: Values, Incentives, and WorkRelated Attitudes
43
Chapter 10 Key Terms
utilitarianism
Public interest
Instrumental motives; norm-based motives
Affective motives
Whistle-blowing
Bureaucratic dysfunction
“patriotism of benevolence”
government workers as zealots, advocates, statesman, and
conservers
Alderfer’s ERG Model
Murray’s List of Basic Needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Rokeach’s Value Survey
Terminal values
Instrumental values
Public service motivation (PSM)
The service ethic
Improved performance appraisal systems
Merit pay
Civil service
Broadbanding or paybanding
Bonus and award systems
Profit-sharing or gain-sharing
Participative management and decision making
Work enhancement
Job design
Job enlargement
Rotation
Quality of work life (QWL)
Quality circles (QCs)
Calculative commitment
Normative commitment
Affiliation commitment
Exchange commitment
n-Ach (need for achievement)
valence
expectancies
Chapter 10 Discussion Questions
1. What do research results indicate about incentives and
rewards in public organizations?
2. What have been some of the major efforts to specify human
needs and values? You do not have to describe them or
44
remember them in detail, but what are some of the most
interesting and important points about them? Are they
helpful to you as a leader and manager?
3. Do you find any of the listings of incentives provided in
the chapter, or concepts used in these listings, to be
useful? What general conclusions would you draw about
incentives in organizations?
4. What is the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic
incentives? Provide examples of both in the context of
place of work (or your motivation to perform well at
school).
5. What do some economists, such as Anthony Downs and
William Niskanen, claim about motives and incentives in
public organizations? What is public service motivation?
How does Perry define and measure it ? Do you consider
this an adequate definition and measure?
6. How does Anthony Downs classify managers with regard to
their perceptions of the public interest? How does this
perception change how managers’ perceive their role
within the organization?
7. What does the research have to say about government
employees and their general attitudes toward pay,
security, benefits, challenges of work? Does the same
hold for employees of for-profit organizations?
8. What does the research say about the value of intrinsic
incentives for employees at lower salary levels compared
to their supervisors?
9. What do research findings tell us about motives and
incentives in public organizations concerning such
matters as money, security, and other motives?
10. Do research results indicate that public employees
show lower levels of motivation and innovativeness
than private sector employees?
11. Define, describe, and discuss these motivation-related
work attitudes, and what the available research shows
about how public employees respond on measures of
these attitudes.
12. What is job satisfaction, what determines if an
individual is satisfied with a job? What are the
consequences of job satisfaction?
13. Discuss the concepts of role conflict and ambiguity
and how they relate to an employee’s level of
motivation.
Chapter 10 Writing Assignments and Reports
45
1.
Is there one best way to design a job? Explain.
2.
What does scientific management teach about job design
that is still useful today?
3.
Based on the readings in this chapter, prepare a memo
detailing the advantages and disadvantages of
establishing a flex-hour work week.
4.
Identify the five core dimensions and three critical
psychological states in the Job Characteristics Model
and explain the causal path suggested by Hackman and
Oldham.
5.
How can knowledge of motivation theory help managers
who are recruiting employees from diverse cultures?
6.
What categories of motivational needs does Maslow
offer? In what ways is the hierarchy of needs relevant
today?
7.
Do you think the most important motivational needs for
public, private, and nonprofit sector employees are
similar?
8.
What are the assumptions behind Theory X and Theory Y?
Which of Maslow’s needs categories would Theory X
individuals be most concerned with?
9.
Which of Maslow’s needs categories would Theory Y
individuals be most concerned with?
10.
What is the difference between a motivation and a
hygiene factor? What can the manager of a public
organization take from McClelland’s theory?
11.
How do perceptions of equity affect employee
motivation?
12.
What are the main tenets of Vroom’s expectancy theory?
Include in your answer an explanation of key concepts
of valences and expectancies. Apply the main ideas
behind rational decision making and bounded
rationality as described in previous chapters to
either support or rebut the usefulness of Vroom’s
expectancy theory.
13.
What key ideas can be found in theories of
distributive justice?
14.
What do expectancy theory and collective action theory
have to say about the motivation to join an
organization? Elaborate on the main points of each. Is
46
the theory consistent with your own experience in
joining an organization?
Chapter 11: Leadership, Managerial Roles, and
Organizational Culture
Chapter 11 Key Terms
Leadership organizational culture
Trait Theory
Blake and Moulton Managerial Grid
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
Least-Preferred Co-Worker (LPC)
High-LPC, low-LPC
Leader-member relations
Leader match procedure
Task structure
Position power of the leader
The Path-Goal Theory
Vroom-Yetton Normative Model
Life-Cycle Theory
Attribution, attribution models
Leader-Member Exchange theory
Operant conditioning
Social learning
Operant Conditioning Leadership Model
Social Learning Leadership Model
POSDCORB
Transformational leadership
Transactional leadership
Charismatic leadership
Attribution theory of charismatic leadership
The self-concept theory of charismatic leadership
Management
Network
Chapter 11 Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
How did the Ohio State studies contribute to our
understanding of leadership?
What are the strengths and limitations of the
managerial grid developed by Blake and Mouton?
What leadership styles are proposed by Robert House?
In what ways does House suggest leadership can affect
the motivation and performance of an organization?
47
4.
5.
6.
What is the nature of attribution models of
leadership? What do they help to explain? What don’t
they explain?
As a leader, how would you direct your organization
that is undergoing significant change? In your answer
recall the discussion on the determinants and
consequences of job satisfaction in the last chapter.
Compare transformational behaviors and transactional
behaviors.
7.
According to the path-goal theory of leadership, on
what should the style of leadership depend?
8.
Discuss transformational and charismatic leadership
styles. Do you think these leadership styles should
depend on the organizational culture?
9.
What actions can leaders take to change the
organizational culture?
10.
Explain leadership styles identified by Hersey and
Blanchard. What is their model of situational
leadership?
11.
What methods and strategies are suggested for leading
cultural development ?
12.
What are the different ways in which culture is
communicated?
13.
Explain the typology of public executive
entrepreneurship developed by Marmor and Fellman
(1986)
14.
According to O’Toole and Meier’s (1999) research, what
factors matter to organizational performance?
What assumptions about hierarchies and networks does
the O’Toole and Meier model make?
How do O’Toole and Meier define management?
15.
16.
Chapter 11 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
Daily newspapers often report problems with public
agencies. For example, the Indianapolis Star recently
reported a host of problems with the Indianapolis bus
system. According to the article, “a review of the
district’s transportation system, commissioned last
year, portrays the transportation department as a
renegade operation, so disorganized that it fails to
respond to the superintendent’s directives, is
inefficient, and wastes taxpayer money.” As an
48
2.
analyst you have to evaluate the performance of this
agency. In what ways are these criticisms
shortsighted? What other criteria might you include in
your analysis?
How might a leader confront the tendency and problems
associated with groupthink?
3.
Explain in general and then provide examples of how
the following organizational characteristics affect
the organization’s culture:
a.
The design of physical spaces
b.
The absence of formal statements, charters, and creeds
c.
A promotion policy that gives preference to
individuals with the most years of service
4.
Find an example of a public agency’s mission statement
or list of priorities. Discuss the connection between
the statements within the mission statement and the
culture it suggests.
5.
How do you detect organizational structure, and how do
you find out if it is productive?
6.
The Vroom-Yetton Normative Model is a framework for
deciding how much to involve subordinates in decision
making. Give an example of a decision that affects an
organization. What factors does the framework suggest
are most important to that decision? What other
factors do you think are important?
7.
Give an example of a decision that affects an
organization. Compare the approach suggested by VroomYetton with the perspective of Mary Parker Follett
(1926). What are the similarities and differences?
8.
Many public organizations undergo significant change
in priorities after elections. In your opinion, what
is the role of a leader in such a situation? Reference
any theory or research findings that inform your
answer.
9.
Describe the characteristics of someone you consider a
leader. In what ways might this person rely on his or
her personal qualities to influence and motivate?
10.
Interview the person you described as a leader and ask
how his or her personal qualities are used to
influence and motivate. Encourage the interviewee to
provide examples. On the basis of your results, write
a memo supporting or refuting the position that
49
11.
12.
13.
“management matters” to organizational results.
Prepare a memo about organizational culture in an
organization with which you are familiar. Describe the
dimensions of culture using any one of the models
described in the chapter. Some examples include:
Wilkins (1990), Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohayv, and Sanders
(1990), and Kotter and Heskett (1992).
Khademian (2002) proposed a cultural roots framework
to describe the basic elements of every public agency
or program: the public task to be done, the resources
available to do it, and the environment in which the
agency or program has to operate. Name an organization
or department that serves the public in some capacity.
Identify and discuss its cultural roots. What are the
managerial implications for the culture you describe?
You are the human resource director of a city
department that provides various social services to
the community. State regulations require that you
develop hiring and retention programs that foster
diversity within the workplace. Similar programs have
been attempted in the past but have met with
resistance. Why do you think this is the case? How
would you go about gaining acceptance for your
proposal?
Chapter 12: Teamwork: Understanding Communication
and Conflict in Groups
Chapter 12 Key Terms
Conflict
Communication
Group
Team-based organization
Team-based management
High-performance work systems
High-performance organizations
Free riders
Communication structure or pattern
Groupthink
Vertical communication
External communication
Gatekeepers
Opinion leaders
Liaison
Madisonian system
Ombudsman
50
Latent conflict
Perceived conflict
Felt conflict
Manifest conflict
The conflict aftermath
T-group procedures
Nominal group techniques
Quality circles
Delphi techniques
Chapter 12 Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Define the terms communication and conflict. How do
they relate to each other?
What norms or roles are likely to develop in groups?
Explain how this occurs.
How do group context and structure affect group
outcomes?
What is a communication structure, and how might it
affect the motivation of an individual? Use examples
in your response.
Is conflict a negative or positive phenomenon?
Explain.
What factors lead to conflict?
In what ways do individuals affect group behavior? In
what ways do groups affect individual behavior?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of groups?
What are Pondy’s five stages of conflict, and why are
they useful to know?
In what ways are effective communication more
challenging to managers of public organizations
compared to their private sector counterparts?
What is the manager’s task with regard to conflict? In
what ways does the public sector context complicate
conflict management?
What are the five conflict management styles? Under
what conditions and circumstances might each be
appropriate?
Should all conflict be avoided? Explain.
What communications distortions are likely to occur in
public bureaus?
Discuss the phenomenon of groupthink. How do you
recognize its symptoms? What are the different ways to
avoid it?
Explain the various approaches to group decision
51
making, including brainstorming, T-Groups, nominal
groups, and the Delphi method.
Chapter 12 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
a.
b.
Recall a work group in which you recently participated
either at school or at your place of employment.
Discuss how the degree of cohesion and culture of the
group affected your motivation to perform. Discuss how
you as an individual may have or could have influenced
the motivation level and performance of the group.
This question presents the details of a recent press
conference and requires that you consider and connect
the concepts of leadership, power and politics,
influence, and group behavior. Please provide a
detailed response to both parts.
Defense Chief Robert Gates is one member of the
president’s small group of advisors. In a recent press
interview, Gates was asked, “What’s the difference
between working under current President Barak Obama
and former President George W. Bush?” Gates commented,
“I think that . . . President Obama is somewhat more
analytical . . . and he makes sure he hears from
everybody in the room on an issue. . . . If they don’t
speak up, he calls on them. . . .” “President Bush was
interested in hearing different points of view but
didn’t go out of his way to make sure everybody spoke
if they hadn’t spoken up before.”
Part One: In what ways and to what degree do you think
these different leadership styles influence groups?
Use the French and Raven (1968) typology of power as a
framework for your response.
Part Two: Researchers suggest that the capacity to
influence changes over time as the group matures. Why
is this the case? Considering President Bush’s record
in retrospect, do you think there is evidence to
support the research? Discuss.
3.
In what ways is contingency theory useful for
understanding group phenomena? In what ways is human
resource theory useful for understanding group
phenomena?
4.
In what ways is contingency theory useful for
understanding conflict management? In what ways is
human resource theory useful for conflict management?
52
5.
Find a current event in which you think groupthink may
have played a role. Discuss the reasons it this may be
the case. Discuss the implications for the outcome.
6.
Work groups are often used in classroom and in
workplace settings to complete projects. Consider a
previous group in which you participated and had to
complete a project. Discuss the communications
channels that you employed. What were the advantages
and disadvantages of the communication process? How
did the choice of communication channels affect the
outcome? Does your experience square with the research
on this topic?
Explain the different ways (effective and ineffective)
that people respond to conflict (Thomas, 1983). Give
an example of a situation in which someone would
respond to one of the ways suggested by Thomas. As a
public manager, what would be your strategy for
dealing with the conflict if you anticipated the
response?
How does a manager use the techniques of
brainstorming, T-groups, nominal groups, and the
Delphi method to (1) manage and channel conflict, and
(2) obtain the benefits of group decision making while
limiting its disadvantages? In what situations or
contexts should these methods be applied?
Find a list of public agency goals or a mission
statement for a nonprofit organization. Discuss how
the problems of goal conflict, multiple goals, and
goal ambiguity might cause or heighten conflict within
a public organization.
7.
8.
9.
Chapter 13: Managing Organizational Change and
Development
Chapter 13 Key Terms
Organization life cycle
Zealots
Advocates
Conservers
Rigidity cycle
Entrepreneurial stage
Collectivity stage
Formalization and control stage
Structural elaboration and adaptation
President’s Management Agenda
53
New Public Management (NPM)
Competitive sourcing
Classical diffusion model
Institution, institutionalized
Organizational ecosystem
Change agent
Alpha change
Beta change
Gamma change
Process consultation
T-groups
Encounter groups
Sensitivity training
Meta-analysis
Organizational transformation
Reinvention
Reengineering
Chapter 13 Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Explain Downs’s three-stage model of the life cycle of
an organization.
Explain the Quinn and Cameron four stage model of the
life cycle of an organization.
What are the most important conclusions about
successful change in public organizations?
In what ways does an organization react to change?
Under what conditions are the members of an
organization likely to embrace and accept change?
Under what conditions are they likely to resist
change?
What tactics might an agency employ in reaction to
budget cutbacks? What tactics might be employed to
resist decline, and what tactics might be employed to
smooth decline?
What are the main reasons why organizations decline?
What are the main ideas and assumptions behind the
reforms associated with the New Public Management
(NPM) label?
Are government agencies immortal? Explain.
What is organizational development (OD)? Can it be
successful in government agencies? Could it have
helped in the State Department’s transformation
efforts?
Describe some of the individual-level techniques and
group-level techniques used by practitioners of OD.
54
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
How does an organizational ecosystem affect sustained
innovation? According to Light (1998), what preferred
states are conducive to innovation?
What types of change does an organization undergo,
according to Daft (2013)?
Explain Golembiewski’s conception of the types of
changes that can occur with respect to individual
responses in organizations.
What does the evidence indicate for OD interventions
and success rates in private and public organizations?
What did Greiner observe about successful patters of
change? What conditions and steps were evidenced?
What common values and assumptions underlie OD
according to French and Bell?
Chapter 13 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Who are the advocates, zealots, and conservers in an
organization, and when in the organization’s life
cycle are each featured? Is the Downs model an
oversimplification? Explain.
Compare the Downs model with the Quinn and Cameron
organization life-cycle models. What are the
differences? What are the similarities?
The Quinn and Cameron life-cycle framework includes a
third stage of organization development involving
formalization and control and a fourth and final stage
involving structural elaboration and adaptation. In an
early part of the class we discussed Max Weber’s
concept of a bureaucracy. Discuss the assumptions and
implications of these stages according to Quinn and
Cameron and also according to Max Weber. What are the
differences? What are the similarities? Which view do
you agree with and why?
A recurring theme in this book is the uniqueness of
the public sector environment. Are the pressures for
organizational change more or less intense for
managers of public organizations or for business
managers? Explain.
Find an article about a public organization that has
recently undergone budget cuts. Prepare a brief
presentation to the class on how the organization
reacted to the cutbacks.
In a previous chapter we discussed the concept of cooptation. Give examples of how the process of cooptation can be employed in response to funding
55
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
cutbacks.
Research evidence suggests that public organizations
can indeed change and innovate. Cite some of the
important research efforts and findings on the topic.
At the end of the chapter, there is a description of
two organizational change efforts in government
agencies, one in the State Department and one in the
Social Security Administration. Assess these two
changes in relation to your conclusions about
successful change. What were the differences in the
two cases in the success of the change efforts, and
what appear to be the reasons for the differences?
What are the characteristics of the classical
diffusion model? What are the implications for
organizational development? What are the implications
for innovation?
What pressures led to the President’s Management
Agenda, which President George W. Bush announced in
2001? What were the main objectives of the initiative?
Contracting out has played a major role in changing
public organizations. Analyze the internal and
external forces that explain this trend.
Choose two motivation theories previously discussed
and explain their implications for change efforts.
Choose two leadership theories previously discussed
and explain their implications for change efforts.
How might techniques for conflict management discussed
in the last chapter be used to diminish resistance to
organizational change?
What role do leaders play in organizational change and
transformation? How might different leadership styles
affect approaches to organizational change?
Chapter 14: Advancing Effective Management in the
Public Sector
Chapter 14 Key Terms
Contracting out
Privatization
Pay-for-performance
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagrams, flowchart, procedures
Reinventing government (REGO)
National Performance Review (NPR)
Procurement
56
Red tape
President’s Management Review
Agency scorecards
Human capital
Governance
Hollow state
Third-party government
Outputs
Outcomes
Chapter 14 Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
What points does Charles Goodsell make in defending
the record of government?
Discuss the complexities involved in determining the
effectiveness of government organizations.
What are the main findings presented by Peters and
Waterman’s In Search of Excellence?
What common characteristics of public and private
organizations are highlighted are the findings of
Peters and Waterman (1982)
What conclusions did Hale make regarding the values of
high-performance organizations?
Who was W. Edward Deming, and what did he contribute
to the literature on management?
What conditions and principles are typically involved
in the TQM approach?
What studies have sought to assess the implementation
of REGO, and what were the main findings?
Who were Osborne and Gaebler, and what strategies did
they propose for effective government?
In what ways has REGO been influential? In what ways
has it been controversial?
What major reform initiative is associated with
President George W. Bush, and what five priorities did
it encompass?
What recommendations were made by the Government
Accounting Office (GAO) for achieving success in
establishing human capital cornerstones?
Explain the different forms of privatization.
Explain the terms contracting out and privatization?
What kinds of problems can arise in contracting?
What are the conditions for successful contracting
out?
What propositions about effective public organizations
are offered by Rainey and Steinbauer?
57
Chapter 14 Writing Assignments and Reports
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
What are some of the main books that contributed to
the topic of corporate and management excellence? What
themes and findings do they share? How do they differ?
In what ways is determining the effectiveness of
government organizations more difficult than
determining effectiveness in the private sector?
What reform efforts have been undertaken by the U.S.
Government since the 1970s? Who initiated each? What
concerns prompted each? Discuss the assumptions and
goals behind each.
In what ways does Total Quality Management (TQM)
differ from the “command and control” approach to
management? What effects do you think leadership and
motivation might have on the success of TQM efforts?
In what ways might the organizational context matter
to TQM efforts?
What considerations are necessary to a well-informed
decision on whether or not to contract out services?
Are the considerations similar in the private and
public sector? In what ways is the decision more
complex in public organizations?
Write an informed essay on why you think the decision
to contract out government services has been made with
more frequency in the past three decades? In your
essay consider effects of the politics and power and
the organizational environment discussed in previous
chapters.
What is “governance,” and how does it differ from
“government”?
What is the central question of governance according
to Lynn, Heinrich, and Hill? What are the main
elements in their model? How is the model intended to
advance knowledge of governance?
How can contingency theory help us understand the
dynamics of contracting out and privatization?
Are there any services that should never be contracted
out in government? Why or Why not?
What considerations are necessary to a well-informed
decision on whether or not to contract out services?
Are the considerations similar in the private and
public sector? In what ways is the decision more
complex in public organizations?
Review the forty-three companies that Peters and
58
Waterman recognized as “excellent” in their book In
Search of Excellence. Choose three and discuss where
they are now. Have they maintained their reputations
for excellence?
59
Section Three: Class Exercises
Class Exercise 1: The Nature of Public Service
Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapters 1–3
discuss the nature and distinctiveness of the public
sector. In addition, the first chapters mention a number of
other topics that will be considered in more detail in
later parts of the book, including but not limited to the
organization environment, challenges for effectiveness,
goals ambiguity, and goal conflict. This exercise provides
an opportunity to consider these topics in relation to an
actual public organization, the Connecticut Department of
Transportation.
Group Exercise: Divide the class into groups of four to six
individuals. Ask that they read about the structure,
authority, and mission of the agency and then answer the
questions that follow. Reconvene in approximately thirty
minutes and ask for a spokesperson from each group to
present details on the group’s responses.
Overview: The Connecticut Department of Transportation
At a Glance
James F. Byrnes Jr., Commissioner
James A. Adams, Deputy Commissioner
Established—1969
Statutory authority—C.G.S. P.A. 69-768
Authorized number of full-time employees—3,751
Recurring operating expenses—$363.5 million
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Capital budget—$723.7 million
Organizational structure—Office of the Commissioner, Bureau
of Aviation and Ports, Bureau of Finance and
Administration, Bureau of Engineering and Highway
Operations, Bureau of Policy and Planning, Bureau of Public
Transportation, State Traffic Commission
Mission
To provide a safe, efficient and cost-effective
transportation system that meets the mobility needs of its
users.
Statutory Responsibility
The agency shall be responsible for all aspects of the
planning, development, maintenance, and improvement of
transportation in the state (Section 13b-3 C.G.S.). The
agency serves its customers by providing safe and efficient
systems for the movement of people and goods within, to, or
from the state, whether by highway, air, water, rail, or
other means (Section 13b-2(I)).
Information Reported as Required by State Statute
The agency shall develop and revise, biennially, a
comprehensive long-range transportation plan designed to
fulfill the present and future needs of the state and to
ensure the development and maintenance of an adequate,
safe, and efficient transportation system (Section 13b-15
C.G.S). The purpose of the Master Transportation Plan is to
provide its customers, the Administration, the General
Assembly, local elected officials, and the general public
with a comprehensive understanding of the transportation
projects and programs that the agency will be pursuing over
the next ten years. The strategic goals of the agency are
to ensure safety, maintain the existing system, increase
system productivity, promote economic development, and
provide required capacity.
Affirmative Action Policy
It is the established policy of the Department to guarantee
equal employment opportunity and to implement affirmative
61
action programs.
Improvements and Achievements 2002–03
Bradley International Airport’s terminal improvement
program focused on completion of the new Unified Terminal.
The Bureau of Aviation and Ports worked with Bradley’s
Board of Directors to implement new marketing programs,
including a redesigned website and refined media ads.
Through a public-private partnership, a new control tower
was opened at Waterbury-Oxford Airport staffed by the FAA.
The Department continued to manage all programs and
projects to maximize federal funds allocated to Connecticut
for improvements to all transportation facilities.
Significant completed projects include reconstruction of I95 in Stamford and construction of a 50,000-square-foot
warehouse designed for heavy cargo at the Admiral Harold E.
Shear State Pier in New London.
The Bureau of Engineering and Highway Operations continued
to manage all programs and projects to maximize federal
funds allocated to Connecticut for improvements to all
transportation facilities. Significant completed projects
include replacement of the Tomlinson Bridge in New Haven;
reconstruction of I-95 interchange 56 in Branford;
resurfacing of I-91 in Windsor Locks, and resurfacing of I84 in West Hartford.
The largest capital program within the Department’s current
plan is the I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Corridor
Improvement Program. The program includes both roadway and
transit improvements to increase capacity and reduce
congestion between New Haven and Branford.
A new commuter railroad station at State Street in New
Haven was opened last year, and the Branford portion of the
highway reconstruction is well under way. Additional
contracts will proceed to construction in East Haven and
New Haven in the coming year. The entire program will occur
in stages through 2012.
62
The Department is also developing a preliminary design for
a new transit system, the New Britain-Hartford Busway. Upon
completion of the preliminary design and securing the
necessary funding, a design-build contract will be
advertised and awarded to complete the final design and
construct the busway.
The Bureau of Policy and Planning completed major planning
studies for I-84 (from the New York state line to Waterbury
and Hartford); Truck Stop and Rest Area Parking; Feeder
Barge Feasibility; and Intrastate Passenger Ferry Service
Feasibility. The Bureau also initiated studies for
Statewide Airport Systems; the I-95 Southeast Corridor; and
the New Haven to Springfield Commuter Rail Service
Feasibility.
The Bureau of Policy and Planning provided extensive
support for the Transportation Strategy Board (TSB) program
initiatives, studies, and projects.
The Bureau of Public Transportation developed an
Implementation Plan for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System
for the capital area from New Britain to Hartford.
The Bureau of Policy and Planning conducts planning
activities for transit, highways, goods movement, commuter
parking, bicycle and recreation, and airports, and performs
environmental analysis for all projects. The Bureau also
coordinates statewide transportation planning activities
with the Regional Planning Agencies.
The Bureau of Policy and Planning administered programs for
commuter parking facilities and pedestrian and bicyclist
needs. Continuing major studies include Statewide Airport
Systems Plan; I-95 Branford to Rhode Island; New HavenSpringfield Commuter Rail Service; Rail Station and Parking
Governance; I-95 Commuter Shoulder, and Hartford East Bus
Rapid Transit. Major studies initiated include Danbury
Branch Electrification; I-84/Route 8 Interchange; Oxford
Airport Master Plan.
The Bureau of Policy and Planning published the 2003 Master
Transportation Plan and provided extensive support for the
Transportation Strategy Board (TSB) program initiatives,
studies, and projects.
63
The Bureau of Public Transportation’s mission is to provide
mobility to the residents of the state and to enhance
economic development, access to jobs, and the environment
by providing safe, efficient, economical, and reliable
transportation alternatives. Significant improvements and
achievements include







Development and maintenance of a fiscally constrained
Transit Capital Plan that fully programs all state and
federal funds expected to be made available over a
twenty-year horizon.
Development of condition studies and structural
improvement plans for the state’s railroad bridges.
Rehabilitation of a significant portion of the state’s
rail rolling stock to maintain reliable service
schedules.
Continuation of a major study to determine the next
generation of rail rolling stock needed.
Completion of the New Haven Interlocking project, a
major reconfiguration of the tracks serving the New
Haven Terminal to allow for improved commuter
operations and for Northeast Corridor express trains.
Purchase of replacement buses for the Connecticut
Transit System and Southeast Area Transit.
Investigation of opportunities for innovative
financing programs such as design/build.
Class Exercise 1: Questions for Group Consideration
After reading about the Connecticut DOT, answer the
following:
1.
2.
Define the scope of the organization.
The DOT organization structure includes several other
entities, namely, Office of the Commissioner; Bureau
of Aviation and Ports; Bureau of Finance and
Administration; Bureau of Engineering and Highway
Operations; Bureau of Policy and Planning; Bureau of
Public Transportation; and the State Traffic
Commission. Information on the purpose and function of
these other agencies is included in the text. Are the
lines of authority and relationships clear? If
possible draw an organization chart showing the
relationships. Would you describe the DOT as a closed
or open organization? Explain.
64
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Who heads the agency?
What are the main functions of the DOT?
What are the main functions of the associated agencies
(see organization structure).
What private entities might rely on the agency?
Is the mission statement clear or ambiguous? Explain.
Consider the mission of each associated entity. In
your opinion, do any missions conflict? Can you
determine the importance of the agencies
What projects in the state are most important?
Who are the agency’s main stakeholders?
The mission statement reads, “The agency shall be
responsible for all aspects of the planning,
development, maintenance, and improvement of
transportation in the state.” How do you think the
agency determines the relative importance of different
modes of transportation? For example, is bus
transportation more important than rail
transportation?
From the text, list the main tasks of leaders within
the main organization.
Is there a strong “chain of command” ?
In what ways is “flexibility” built into the
organization? Do priorities change year to year?
Would “one best way” work in this organization?
Do the different subunits face the same environment or
different environments?
What oversight mechanisms can you find within the
information on the agency?
What principles of “sound management” can you identify
within the information?
What, if anything, can you determine about the culture
of the agency?
What, if anything, can you determine about the values
of the organization?
65
Class Exercise 2: Power and Influence Role Play
Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 7 considers
the topic of power and influence and introduces the French
and Raven (1968) taxonomy of power, which is a useful
conceptual tool for thinking about power, influence, and
authority, as well as leadership and motivation. This
experiential exercise actively involves students in
learning about the different ways that power is obtained
and the relative influence of each. The exercise should be
introduced at the end of the lecture BEFORE students are
required to read the chapter on formulating and achieving
purpose, power, decision making, and strategy. As students
read the assigned chapter they will think about the class
exercise and consider more fully the concepts of power,
authority, and influence. The exercise can be continued the
following class, AFTER they have read the chapter covering
the topics.
Goals of the Exercise: There are four goals to the
exercise: (1) Have the class focus on the way different
forms of power affect decisions, (2) Give the students a
way to connect the different forms of power to people and
personalities, providing a link they are more likely to
remember, (3) Get students to think about the most
effective means of influence, (4) Get students to consider
the most acceptable and ethical bases of power.
Instructions: Ask for six volunteers to assume the
following roles and to read a brief statement or directive
to the class.
 Dean of School (male)
 Actor name (when I asked my class to name an
actor they admired they chose Brad Pitt)
 Actress name (when I asked my class to name an
actress they admired they named Eva Longoria)
 Professor instructor’s name
 Instructor’s research assistant
 Publisher
Statements: Each statement is to be read to the class by a
role player.
66

Dean of School (male): I am the dean of the school of
_______________at _____________. I have read samples
of your writing and I am very impressed. I would like
you to write a five-hundred-page essay on the topic of
power and politics for me by the end of next week.
 Actor Brad Pitt: I am Brad Pitt. I would like you
to write a five-hundred-page essay on the topic
of power and politics for me by the end of next
week.
 Actress Eva Longoria: I am Eva Longoria, and I
would like you to write a five-hundred-page essay
on the topic of power and politics for me by the
end of next week.
 Professor instructor’s name: I am
_______________. I would like you to write a
five-hundred-page essay on the topic of power and
politics for me by the end of next week. If you
don’t write the essay, your final grade for the
course will likely drop by a full grade. (An “A”
will become a “B,” “B” will be a “C,” and so on.)
 Instructor’s research assistant: I am the
research assistant for _____________ instructor’s
name. I take notes during each lecture and
prepare a summary at the end of class for the
instructor. My notes are usually used as the
basis for the final exam. I am permitted to give
a copy of my notes to any student that agrees to
write a five-hundred-page essay on the topic of
power and politics for me by the end of next
week.
 Publishing company executive : I work as an
executive at Jossey-Bass publishers and have a
good deal of influence in the company to get work
published. While I cannot guarantee that I can
get your work noticed before I see it, I would
like you to write a five-hundred-page essay on
the topic of power and politics for me by the end
of next week.
After all the statements have been read, ask the remaining
members of the class to take a few moments to consider the
source of the request or directive, and the content of the
67
request or directive. Then ask the class to score each on
the basis of influence by giving the score 1–6. For
example, if the student is most likely to write the essay
based on the actresse’s statement (and because the request
came from the actress), give her the score of 1. Score the
least influential with a 6. The chart below can be copied
for students to score. It is not necessary that the
students put their names on the scoring sheet.
The score below reflects the
likelihood that I will write the
essay . A “1” means I am most
likely to write the essay (based
on who gave request and the
content of the request). A “6”
means this person is least likely
to influence whether I write the
essay.
Dean
Brad Pitt
Eva Longoria
Instructor
Instructor’s
assistant
Publishing
company
68
executive
Ask for one or two volunteers to collect and summarize the
scores and to be prepared to report the results to the
class next week.
The next week, students will have read the chapter on power
and influence, including the details on French and Raven’s
taxonomy of five bases of power. Start the class by putting
the following chart on the board.
Reward Coercive Legitimate Referent Expert
Dean
Brad Pitt
Eva Longoria
Instructor
Instructor’s
Assistant
Publishing
company
executive
Using the chart as a guide, ask the class to identify each
role player using French and Raven’s taxonomy. (It is
likely that some will fit in more than one category. For
example, the instructor’s directive reflects legitimate
power, but the statement may also be perceived as
69
coercive.) Discuss.
Next, ask for the scoring results from the prior week.
Which person was the most likely to influence? Which person
was the least likely to influence? Encourage discussion of
the results. Were they as expected?
Outcomes:
The data allow the generation of tentative answers to
several interesting questions:
1. What kind of influence is most likely to result in the
desired behavior?
2. What kind of influence is least likely to result in
the desired behavior?
3. Do results depend on the person requesting or giving
the directive, or on the content or directive itself?
4. Do you think the gender of the person mattered? Why or
why not?
5. Were all requests ethical? On what basis is a
directive ethical or unethical?
6. Under what conditions will a particular form of
influence be most effective?
7. Under what conditions will a particular kind of
request be acceptable or unacceptable?
70
Class Exercise 3: Political Power and Policymaking
Note to Instructor: The exercise challenges students to
think about the policymaking process and the political
forces that shape or curtail various policy opportunities.
Students will apply the terms and concepts from chapters
five and seven to salient policy issues. The students will
also find the PowerPoint slides summarizing the garbage can
model of decision making and the slides on Kingdon’s
streams model useful for this exercise.
Students are asked to think about policy in terms of the
actors, the agenda-setting process, and windows of
opportunity. The exercise also challenges students to
consider the interface between politics and public
management and the ways in which public managers must
skillfully manage their relationships with external
authorities, actors, and networks.
The instructor can assign policy topics to each group, or
the students can choose their own topics. However, the
students are likely to show more interest in the exercise
if the policy topics are current and “in the news,” for
example, gun ownership, immigration, or abortion rights.
Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of
four or five students; thirty minutes for the groups to
discuss the relevant policy and answer questions; thirty to
forty minutes for groups to present answers to the
questions and for class discussion.
Topic Introduction and Instructions: This exercise is about
the political forces that shape policy in its earliest
stages of formulation, but also long after, when policy is
in the hands of agencies and public managers. As you are
completing the exercise think about the terms and concepts
from Chapters 5 and 7, as well as the PowerPoint slides on
the garbage can model of decision making and Kingdon’s
streams model.
Organize into groups of four or five. Choose a policy
topic, preferably one that is current and receiving media
attention. Answer the questions in relation to the policy
topic you have chosen. We will reconvene in about thirty
minutes.
71
Class Exercise 3: Handout
1.
In a few sentences, describe the policy and the policy
stage. Is it a policy just now being discussed? Has it
passed the legislature? Is it in its implementation phase?
2.
How has the media covered
you think the media has had on
media created opportunities or
think the media will affect or
implementation?
this issue? What impact do
this public policy? Have the
hindered them? How do you
has affected policy
3.
Describe the relevant actors for this policy. Who are
the major stakeholders? What interest groups will be
involved and how? What government agencies will be involved
and how? What other outside actors might also have a role?
What different groups might join together for this policy?
What groups may oppose the policy?
4.
According to John Kingdon, a number of events must
occur for any policy to have a chance of making it to the
policy agenda, that is, to even have a chance at becoming
legislation. Describe these events or factors in the
context of your policy. (What has to happen or what had to
have happened?)
5.
Using Kingdon’s model, develop an action plan to
prevent passage of the legislation or to facilitate the
passing of the legislation (your choice). If your policy
has already passed the legislature, you can apply Kingdon
to hypothetical rule-making situations that may follow from
the legislation. Be sure to involve the media and
government agencies in your plan.
6.
Public agencies and public managers are ultimately
involved in implementing every policy. Explain their
involvement in the context of your policy.
7.
What role(s) might Congress play after the policy is
in the hands of the agency?
8.
You head the agency tasked with important
implementation of this policy. What challenges do you
expect, and how will you deal with them? Describe at least
72
three challenges and give at least one recommendation for
each challenge. (Your challenges and recommendations will
vary based on the policy, its current stage, the agency,
and other factors. Consider the possibility of political
intrusions into agency work, media opposition, interagency
collaborations, continued media scrutiny, budget
shortfalls, and vague goals).
73
Class Exercise 4: Organizational Structure and
Reform
Linking Exercise to Chapter Materials: Chapter 8 is about
organization structure, design, technology, and information
technology. This chart reflects the relationship between
various organizations before the formation of an umbrella
Homeland Security Department. Divide the class into small
groups to consider the organizational structure and to
discuss the following questions. Reconvene the class in
approximately twenty minutes to discuss the groups’
responses.
74
Class Exercise 4: Questions on Organizational Structures
1. How might we measure complexity in this chart?
2. How would we measure centralization?
3. What parts of the organization appear to be organized
by function?
4. Do any parts of the organization appear to be
“customer focused”?
5. What complexities can you identify with regard to
chain of command?
6. Does the structure or any of its parts suggest
resources sharing?
7. Do you think the complexities justify a new Homeland
Security Department?
8. What are the challenges in reforming and redesigning
these organizations?
75
9. What do we know about structural forms such as matrix,
functional, divisional, and other types that might
help with reorganization decisions?
10.
How is knowledge of different integration devices
useful?
76
Class Exercise 5 : Organizational Structure:
Identifying the Dimensions
Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 8 focuses
on organizational structure, design, technology,
information technology, and social media. This exercise
provides an opportunity to consider the organization
structure of a public agency in detail and to discuss its
implications. This exercise can take anywhere from twenty
minutes to an hour, depending on class and group sizes and
the amount of time allotted for presenting responses to the
class. When dividing questions among groups, questions 3,
4, 7, 8, and 9 are likely to require the most time.
Group Exercise: The organizational chart of the Indiana
Professional Licensing Agency (PLA) is illustrated below.
Its mission, as stated on the agency’s website, is “To
provide efficient and effective administrative support
services to Indiana’s professional licensing boards and
commissions in order to facilitate the delivery of
competent consumer services by regulated professionals to
the citizens of Indiana . . . and further to provide an
expedient licensing process for regulated professionals by
maintaining a climate that fosters the growth of commerce
while ensuring the health, safety and welfare of the
citizens of our great state.”
Discuss the following questions as a group and prepare
brief responses or comments to present to the class.
1. Whom does the PLA serve? Whom does the PLA’s main
clientele serve? Is this evident in the organizational
chart?
2. What structural types can be identified within the
chart (functional, product or service, hybrid, matrix,
market or customer, and so on)?
3. Are there clear chains of command? Where?
4. What environmental stimuli might you expect in this
type of organization? How could the structure be
adjusted to rapidly respond to changes in regulations
that guide the agency or its main clients?
77
5. What are the benefits of the design characteristics?
What are the disadvantages?
6. Do you think the structure of the organization is
consistent with its mission? Is the mission or part of
the mission reflected in the chart? What structural
reforms, if any, would you suggest to align the
organizational structure with its mission?
7. How could the structure be adjusted to reflect a
regional focus?
8. Using the chapter on organizational goals and
effectiveness as a guide, do you see any problems with
the organization’s goals (as stated)? How could the
structure be adjusted so that a client group possesses
its own expertise in the areas of accounting or other
major functions?
9. If the PLA decided to monitor consumer complaints for
each group, how might its structure be adjusted? What
structural changes would you suggest for direct
monitoring of complaints? What structural changes
would you suggest for indirect monitoring of
complaints? What resistance to these types of reforms
could you expect ? How would you address the
resistance?
10.
Can you identify interdependencies in the
organization chart? Use the chart and the types and
definitions of interdependencies to explain
alternatives for processing complaints.
Indiana Professional Licensing Agency
78
79
Class Exercise 6: Organizational Structure and Its
Implications
Note to Instructor: This exercise has two parts, Section I
and Section II. Both sections challenge students to think
about organizational structure and its implications for
communicating, controlling, and coordinating activities.
Students will apply the terms and concepts from Chapter 8.
They will also integrate some of the discussions about
environmental influences from chapter four.
In Section II of the exercise, students link theories and
ideas discussed in class to real-life managerial
challenges.
Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of
four or five students; thirty to forty-five minutes for the
groups to discuss and answer questions; twenty to thirty
minutes for groups to present answers to the questions and
for class discussion. If the exercise is completed entirely
in class, student group time is estimated at forty-five
minutes. As an alternative, students can start the exercise
at home individually and then complete as a group in class.
If students start the exercise at home, student group time
is estimated at thirty minutes.
Topic Introduction and Instructions: Organize into groups
of four or five. Read the scenario and then answer the
questions as a group. We will reconvene in about
_____minutes.
Class Exercise 6: Handout
Scenario: You are the regional manager of a housing
assistance agency, and you have decided to break up each
regional office into departments that specialize by job
function. The new organizational structure will be highly
differentiated, and you want to consider the implications
your design will have for communicating, exercising
authority, and coordinating activities.
Section I
1.
Give your agency a name and a mission. (Your mission
should be no more than a few sentences.) Be specific about
80
the main purpose for the agency and the clientele you
serve.
2.
Draw a before and after hypothetical organizational
chart. Remember that your new design is more differentiated
compared to the older version.
3.
Describe your new structure in the following terms:
a.
Is it a functional structure, a hybrid structure,
or a matrix? Why have you chosen this form? How will
the structure you have chosen facilitate your mission?
Why is it preferable to other structures?
b.
How centralized is the authority? Will this be a
problem or an opportunity, given your organization’s
main goals?
c.
How complex is your organization? Will this be a
problem or an opportunity, given your organization’s
main goals?
4.
What units will be mainly responsible for working with
the public?
5.
What technology do you expect to use for work
processes? How might this affect the structure?
6.
What environmental influences do you expect to affect
your agency most? (Recall dimensions of the environment
discussed in Chapter 4)
7.
All organizations rely on information for critical
tasks. What information will be most important to your
agency? Explain how information will be processed,
vertically and laterally within your organization.
Section II
81
Fortunately, you have some good consultants to guide you in
your restructuring. What suggestions or advice might the
following consultants provide?
Write a brief paragraph explaining the tenets or key
principles espoused by the theorist(s) and then apply to
your organization.
Burns and Stalker:
Lawrence and Lorsch:
Mintzberg:
82
Class Exercise 7: Decision-Making Exercise
Linking Exercise to Chapter Materials: Chapter 7 explicates
decision-making techniques and the problems with
assumptions of the fully rational model. Chapter 12
discusses group dynamics, communication, and conflict, and
briefly notes several decision-making techniques, including
the Delphi method, brainstorming, and the nominal group
technique. This exercise is designed to familiarize
students with different group decision-making techniques
and to expose their advantages and disadvantages.
Instructions: Divide the class into groups of five or six
students. Groups are assigned different decision-making
techniques. One technique may be assigned to more than one
group depending on the size of the class. The class
reconvenes in approximately twenty minutes and a
spokesperson from each group explains the technique used
and the decision outcome. Next, a chart (see below) is used
to check off the attributes of each technique. The chart
can be recreated on the blackboard or provided as a
handout. The instructor then leads a class discussion on
the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of the
various techniques. The relevant boxes are checked. In the
end, students experience the techniques firsthand and have
a framework for considering the relevance of each under
various circumstances.
The Decision Under Consideration
Your university is deciding whether or not to require an
advanced statistical course as part of the Masters of
Public Administration degree. Only one statistical course
or research methods course is already required.
Group 1: Use the brainstorming technique to generate
as many arguments as possible in favor of the new
requirement.
Group 2: Use the brainstorming technique to generate
as many arguments as possible against the proposal.
Group 3: The Delphi Group will consider different
types or backgrounds of experts to hire and that may
be useful in informing the decision. The group will
decide on three experts and assign the role of each
83
expert to a member of the group. Each expert will give
a recommendation, justifying his or her reasoning in a
few sentences. For example, if the decision was about
building a sports facility on campus instead of adding
a course, a financial expert may recommend against the
decision and justify the recommendation with a
statement such as this: “After a thorough
consideration of the existing university budget and
after considering other possible sources of funding,
and the possible revenue generated from the facility,
the facility will not break even and will further
deplete funds that the university desperately needs.”
A fourth person will act as coordinator of the group.
The coordinator will summarize the recommendations and
decide which offers the most convincing argument.
Group 4: This group will use the Nominal Group
Technique. This is a refinement of brainstorming that
generates alternatives and then chooses one. In this
case, the group would first agree on all important
considerations that will matter to a decision. For
example, if the decision was about whether or not to
build a new sports facility on campus, one
consideration might be the total amount of funds
needed for the project, another consideration might be
whether the existing facilities were still adequate.
The group then lists the considerations. Each member
individually ranks the considerations in order of
importance. (another way to think of this is that each
member gets to nominate a consideration as most
important and nominate other considerations as ranked
in importance) . Each member then ranks the
considerations in order of importance (in their
opinion). A “1” indicates the decision of most
importance, a “2” the second most important, and so
on. The scores are totaled. The consideration with the
lowest overall total (most important) is determined to
be most important.
Group 5 is not assigned a technique but simply asked
to decide in their own way whether it is wise to add
the requirement to the MPA program.
Group 6 is asked to use a strictly rational technique
to arrive at a decision.
84
Encourages
creative
decision making
Has the
advantage of
making each
person feel
important in a
Can
tend to
decision
produce a group
think answer
Produces a
tendency for
polarizationshifts towards
the more
extreme
attitudes
or
Not
very useful
personalities
when
many facts
of
aremembers
unknown
Assumes
decision makers
can be fully
rational
Works when
there are high
levels of
uncertainty
Allows equal
participation
by all
Minimizes
digression
Works when a
decision is
needed quickly
Works in a
highly
politically
charged
environment
with
controversial
issues or
strong opinions
Ration
al
Model
Unstructu
red Model
Delp
hi
Nomina
l
Brainstor
ming
85
Class Exercise 8: Considering Fiedler’s Theory of
Leadership
Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 11
discusses several leadership models. This helps students
understand the particulars of Fiedler’s LPC situational
model. Six short narratives are provided. The questions
that follow the narratives aid students in understanding
the main tenets of each theory and also provide a basis for
an assessment of the theory’s usefulness. In the process
students also consider the factors that may be important
for developing their own style of leadership.
Instructions: Divide the class into groups of three to five
students. Read the following narratives and the overview of
Fiedler’s theory. Then answer the questions below. The
class will reconvene in thirty to thirty-five minutes, at
which time someone from your group will explain your
group’s conclusions.
A. You have just been transferred from the Department of
Transportation (DOT) to the Division of Economic
Development (DED) within a large city. Your new
position places you at the top of the department. Many
employees at the DED are concerned that an “outsider”
is not the best person for the position; some of whom
had applied for the position themselves. Your first
priority is to develop a procedural manual to
formalize all the existing policies.
B. You manage a regional office at the Internal Revenue
Service. Your busiest time is from January through the
end of April each year. To deal with the increase in
activity, you hire several temporary workers. The
temporary workers need a good deal of training to be
brought up to speed.
C. You have been named the interim agency head of the
Montana Licensing Board, a state agency that oversees
the regulation of occupational licenses. A permanent
agency head will be appointed in four months when the
newly elected governor is installed. The licensing
agency was formed only last year; most of its work was
previously under the jurisdiction of other state86
level agencies. Due to budget cuts your office has
just lost five key employees. Your task is to make up
for the loss of staff by assigning additional work to
existing personnel.
D. You manage a group of workers charged with the task of
opening envelopes and recording payments all day. You
have been in this same position for five years. The
job of your subordinates can become monotonous, and
most consider it not very challenging.
E. You are a middle manager in a city planning
department, and your boss is very overbearing. She
makes most decisions on her own and rarely considers
the opinions of others within the organization before
implementing major changes. Many of your colleagues
who are also middle managers resent your boss. You are
sympathetic to your colleagues but also see value in
some of the decisions made by your boss. You must
contact known private developers to vote on a housing
project.
F. You manage the R & D department in a two-year-old
technology company in which everyone knows everyone
else and everyone seems friendly. The company has over
a thousand employees with offices in the northeast and
midwest parts of the country. The company has recently
lost a significant portion of its business to
competition in India. You have an idea that involves
extending the consulting part of the business to
regain market share lost to your global competitors.
The new services require installing a complicated
communications system to coordinate activities with
other companies spread across Europe and Asia.
Overview of Fiedler’s Theory
Fiedler’s theory holds that different leadership styles can
be effective depending on whether a style properly matches
the contingencies facing the leader.
Let us assume that the individual leaders in the cases just
listed recently took a test administered by Fiedler. They
answered questions and described their least preferred coworkers (LPC), that is, the people with whom they have
87
worked least well. According to Fiedler, this instrument
measures an individual’s leadership orientation. Low scores
indicate task-oriented individuals and high scores indicate
ranked-relationship-oriented individuals. The test includes
a scale something like this:
Unfriendly
Friendly
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Uncooperative
Cooperative
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Unsupportive
Supportive
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The leaders in scenarios A, B, and E scored high on the LPC
scale. The leaders in scenarios C, D, and F scored low in
the LPC scale.
Fiedler’s theory holds that either leadership style can be
effective depending on the situation. The key is to match
the leadership style to the situation. Fiedler argued that
personality is not easy to change, but task is; therefore,
effectiveness requires “job engineering”—changing the
situation to fit the leader.
Three situational characteristics are important:
1. Leader-Member Relations, referring to the degree of
mutual trust, respect, and confidence between the
leader and the subordinates.
2. Task Structure, referring to the extent to which group
tasks are clear and structured.
3. Leader Position Power, referring to the power inherent
in the leader’s position itself.
When all three situations are good, the leader enjoys the
most favorable situation. When all three are bad, the
leader enjoys the least favorable situation. Situations can
88
also be a mix of good and bad.
Fiedler found that low-LPC leaders are more effective in
extremely favorable or unfavorable situations, whereas
high-LPC leaders perform best in situations with
intermediate favorability.
Assignment
1. Discuss the situational characteristics in scenarios A
through F.
2. Decide as a group if the situations are favorable,
unfavorable, or mixed.
3. Decide if, on the basis of Fiedler’s theory, the
leader is likely to be effective or ineffective.
4. In what ways might you modify the situational
characteristics to improve effectiveness?
5. Do you think Fiedler’s theory holds weight? Explain.
89
Class Exercise 9: Considering the Path-Goal Model
of Leadership
Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 11
discusses several leadership models. This exercise uses the
same six narratives as those provided in the Fiedler
leadership exercise. It is intended to help students
understand the particulars of the path-goal model of
leadership. The questions that follow the narratives aid
students in understanding the main tenets of the theory and
also provide a basis for an assessment of its usefulness.
In the process, students also consider the factors that may
be important for developing their own style of leadership.
Instructions: Divide the class into groups of three to five
students. Read the narratives and the overview of the pathgoal theory. Then answer the questions that follow. The
class will reconvene in thirty to thirty-five minutes, at
which time someone from your group will explain your
groups’ conclusions.
According to the path-goal theory of leadership,
leadership effectiveness involves satisfying and motivating
subordinates. The job of a leader is to (1) offer rewards,
(2) clarify paths to effectiveness, and (3) remove
obstacles to effectiveness. However, the effectiveness of
the leader depends on situational factors that fall into
two main categories:


Environmental factors include outside authority
structure and task structure. For example, is the task
highly structured? Is there a formal authority system
in place?
Follower characteristics include locus of control and
perceptions of experience and ability. If a person has
an internal locus of control, he or she believes that
effort and hard work lead to success, whereas a person
with an external locus of control tends to believe
that success is as much due to chance and random
events as much as anything else. These factors
determine how the environment and leader behavior are
interpreted. How competent an individual believes he
or she is also matters.
90
According to the path-goal theory, these two main
contingencies—environment and follower characteristics—
determine the leader behavior-outcome relationship.
Four leadership styles are considered by House and
Mitchell:
1. Directive leadership refers to situations in
which the leader lets subordinates know exactly
what is expected of them and how to go about
reaching expectations. This style enhances
satisfaction and expectancies if the task is
ambiguous. The theory argues that this style is
most effective when the subordinates’ roles and
task demands are ambiguous and intrinsically
satisfying. Directive style is applied when the
subordinate has an external locus of control.
However, a directive style is not appropriate
when subordinates perceive themselves as highly
competent. Outside authority reduces the need for
a directive style.
2. Supportive leaders show concern for the
psychological well-being of subordinates. This
style is most needed lead when tasks and
relationships are likely to cause a high degree
of stress or when tasks are frustrating.
Supportive style is less effective and less
needed when there is a team environment.
3. The achievement-oriented leader behavior refers
to situations inwhich the leader sets high goals
and expects subordinates to perform at their
highest level. This style is best for ambiguous
tasks, which allow or require ambitious goals.
4. The participative leader encourages suggestions
and opinions. This style is predominant when
subordinates are very involved and attached to
their work. Ambiguous tasks call for a
participative style, especially when self-esteem
is at stake. Participative style is also most
appropriate when a subordinate has an internal
locus of control.
In contrast to the Fiedler, the path-goal model states that
the leader is flexible and that leaders can adopt any of
the four styles as the situation dictates.
91
Assignment
1. Read scenarios A through F in Class Exercise 8.
2. Recommend a leadership style based on path-goal
theory. Do you agree with the logic put forward by the
path-goal model? Explain.
3. Are there any situations that call for a mixed
approach?
4. Are there situations in which you can’t determine a
leadership style on the basis of the path-goal model?
What would be your personal choice of leadership
style? Explain.
5. What situational factors do you believe are most
important to determining the appropriate leadership
approach?
92
Class Exercise 10: Analyzing the Environment:
Applying and Comparing Theoretical Perspectives
Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 4 includes
several pages of discussion under the heading “Recent
Trends in Research on Organizational Environments.” In this
section, the author discusses resource dependence,
ecological perspectives, institutional perspectives, and
transaction cost economics. This assignment is designed to
help students compare and contrast the theories and their
applications. There is a handout that goes with the
assignment. The instructor can give students the handout
just prior to the assignment or as a take-home the week
before the assignment.
Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of
four to five students; thirty to forty minutes for group
work. Twenty minutes for groups to present their work and
for class discussion.
Topic Introduction and Instructions: Chapter 4 includes
several pages of discussion under the heading “Recent
Trends in Research on Organizational Environments.” In this
section the author discusses resource dependence,
ecological perspectives, institutional perspectives, and
transaction cost economics. This assignment is designed to
help you compare and contrast the theories and their
applications.
Organize in your groups. Review the handout and then answer
the questions. We will reconvene to discuss in abut thirty
minutes.
Class Exercise 10: Handout
1.
Which theory emphasizes that relationships have
implications for power and influence? What does this mean
for the public manager considering whether or not to enter
into a long-term contract? What does this mean for the
public manager contemplating a contract when there is only
one bidder? What does the theory imply for contracting
critical services, such as national security?
2.
Which theory do you think emphasizes the role of the
public manager in decision making? Which theory tends to
underemphasize the role of the manager?
93
3.
Which theory posits that the culture and rules of an
organization are a main driver of organizational form?
Explain how an “institution” might affect organizational
outcomes? Explain how different organizational forms come
about according to the institutional perspective?
4.
Explain how one organization might do very well and
expand while another may not survive according to the
ecological perspective. How might the political environment
shape the organization according to institutionalism? Why
do organizations evolve to look like other organizations,
according to the institutional perspective?
5.
Give an example of isomorphism.
6.
Using the resource dependence perspective, explain why
an organization might decide to merge with another
organization. Also explain why an organization might avoid
merging with another organization.
7.
Public managers often make decisions about whether or
not to enter into long-term contracts with suppliers. What
are the main considerations for entering into such a
contract according to the transaction cost economics
perspective? How do these considerations differ from the
resource dependence perspective?
94
Class Exercise 11: Contracting-Out and Transaction
Costs
Note to Instructor: This exercise challenges students to
think about the contracting out decision from the
perspective of transaction cost economics.
Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of
four to five students; thirty to forty minutes for group
work. Twenty minutes for groups to present their work and
for class discussion.
Topic Introduction and Instructions: The decision on
whether or not to contract out is one of the most important
and most difficult decisions for public managers.
Oliver Williamson examined the contracting decision or, as
he called it, the “make- buy” decision, from the
perspective of transaction cost economics. Transaction
costs include costs related to gathering information about
potential vendors and pricing, managing the bidding
process, negotiating the contract, specifying the contract,
controlling the quality of deliverables, renegotiating
costs, and resolving potential disputes. Williamson
concludes that some modes of governance (markets, firms,
and hybrids) are better suited to some transactions and
poorly suited to others. For example, more complex services
are better matched to hierarchies rather than the market.
According to Williamson, hierarchies (or internalizing) are
superior to market modes for handling transactions that
involve high degrees of coordination or high degrees of
uncertainty. Williamson also advises that the terms of the
contract should be matched to the circumstances. For
example, longer contracts are better when uncertainty
levels are low. Managers should also carefully think about
the level of control and incentive schemes to achieve
expectations.
In the context of public services, the public manager must
also consider potential affects on employee morale, civil
service regulations, political implications, and potential
losses in production and management capacity, as well as
the cost to bring the service back “in-house” if the
contract does not work out. These are also potential
transaction costs.
95
Organize into groups of four or five. As a group, describe
one service that you know government has contracted out. If
possible, use an example that is controversial, perhaps one
that you have read about in the news. Your example can be
from any level of government—city, county, state, or
federal.
Discuss the contracting decision as a group. Design a chart
comparing or considering all possible transaction costs for
at least three modes of delivery. When you have completed
your assessment, make a recommendation for the best mode of
delivery. We will reconvene in about thirty minutes for
further discussion.
96
Class Exercise 12: Organizational Change and
Motivation
Note to Instructor: This exercise challenges students to
link theories and ideas discussed in class to real-life
managerial challenges. The scenario used for the exercise
will be familiar to the students, as it was used in the
exercise on organization structure (Class Exercise 6).
However, in the present exercise students are asked to
think about the implications for employee satisfaction and
motivation. They will apply the terms and concepts from
Chapters 9 and 10.
Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of
four to five students; thirty to forty-five minutes for the
groups to discuss and answer questions; thirty minutes for
groups to present answers to the questions and for class
discussion. If the exercise is completed entirely in class,
student group time is estimated at forty-five minutes. As
an alternative, students can start the exercise at home
individually and then complete as a group in class. If
students start the exercise at home, student group time is
estimated at thirty minutes.
Topic Introduction and Instructions: Organize into groups
of four or five. Read the scenario and then answer the
questions as a group. We will reconvene in about fifteen
minutes. You may remember the scenario from our exercise on
organization structure. Although the scenario is the same,
in this exercise you will focus on the implications of your
restructuring for employee satisfaction and motivation.
Class Exercise 12: Handout
Scenario: You are the regional manager of a housing
assistance agency and you have decided to break up each
regional office into departments that specialize by job
function. The new organizational structure will be highly
differentiated, and you will have to make some tough
decisions about the employee’s positions and task
reassignments. You know that changes do not come easily to
most employees, but you will have to motivate the employees
to get behind the changes.
97
Fortunately, you have the resources to hire the very best
consultants to guide you. What suggestions or advice might
the following consultants provide?
Write a brief paragraph explaining the tenets or key
principles espoused by the theorist(s) and then apply to
the situation. When applying the theories to the current
situation, feel free to build on the facts from your
previous exercise (organization structure). The more
specific you are in the application, the more likely you
will be to remember the theories and how to apply them.
Chester Barnard:
J. Stacy Adams:
Frederick Hertzberg:
Douglas McGregor:
David McClelland:
B.F. Skinner:
98
Section Four: Case Studies
Moving the Maisenbacher House
Linking Case Study to Chapter Materials: In this case
students are introduced to the nature and complexities of
public management. The questions that follow the case
provide an opportunity to discuss the topics in Chapters 1
and 2.
In 2007 Springfield Clinic of Springfield, Illinois,
purchased the Lincoln-era Maisenbacher House located at
1028 South Seventh St. The Maisenbacher house was built
between 1855 and 1865. As the story goes, the original
owner, Isaac Lindsay, completed the house with $650 he
borrowed from Abraham Lincoln. But Springfield Clinic had
other concerns besides the history of the house. It was in
the midst of an expansion and the grand residence stood on
property slated for a new parking lot. Within a few weeks,
contractors were allowed to remove the plumbing, wiring and
other fixtures in preparation for the demolition. Shortly
thereafter, two citizens began an effort to preserve what
was one of fewer than one hundred remaining structures in
the city that predated the Civil War. Clinic officials
granted the activists until April to organize a move for
the 3,700-square-foot two-story Italianate brick building:
if no plan could be organized, the building would be razed,
but if their efforts were successful, they would have until
November 2008 to complete the move.
Lacking funding, a buyer, or even a lot for relocation of
the house, the pair embarked on a six-month odyssey of
meetings with developers, historic societies, city and
state officials, and dozens of other individuals and
organizations in hopes of finding a solution to the
dilemma. In early May, a private developer offered to move
the structure to a lot just five blocks away to the corner
of Seventh and Jackson Streets, across from the Lincoln
Home National Historic Site. The move would also require
the demolition of a structure on the new property deemed
not worthy of saving. A complex transfer of ownership was
arranged, and the Springfield Clinic itself committed to
pay 80 percent of the cost of the move. In October, the
city agreed to cover the remaining $55,000 for the move
99
with federal grant money and spend $60,000 of city
development funds for demolition of the other building. The
local paper quoted Mayor Tim Davlin on the project: “I am
pleased that everyone cooperated and worked together to
make this happen, and I am looking forward to seeing the
house begin a new life at a new location.”
In mid-November, with much fanfare, the Maisenbacher was
rolled five blocks—where it was parked on a side street for
thirty days. At that time, it became apparent that not only
was there was no permanent foundation for the building,
there was no design and none in development. As could be
expected, much criticism followed in the local press. The
city council balked at the mayor’s request for an
additional $822,000 to design and build a foundation to
begin restoration. A temporary rock pad was constructed and
the house was lowered onto a temporary foundation of
railroad ties. In February, the council approved a muchreduced request of just under $280,000. Finally, a new
foundation was constructed under the building during the
summer of 2009. But all was not done: future renovation
costs were estimated at more than $1 million, perhaps as
much as $2 million.
Source: This case was written by Jeffrey Paine, School of
Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Purdue
University-Indianapolis
Discussion Questions
1. What went wrong in moving the Maisenbacher?
2.
Who are the stakeholders?
3. What is the role of Springfield in the Maisenbacher
case? What are the goals of the city? How will you know if
government is effective?
4. From the perspective of a city manager, what
complexities are inherent in the case?
In what ways might the environment shape the public
manager’s job in this case?
5. What competencies would best prepare a public manager to
be effective in the Maisenbacher case?
100
The Case of the Vanishing Volunteers
Hal G. Rainey
In a suburban county outside a large city, the Parks and
Recreation Department has been run for decades by a
friendly, popular director who has run the volunteer
program for the department by himself. He had a network of
friends throughout the county that served as volunteer
coaches, as teachers in recreational programs (art, music,
dance, exercise), and in other roles. In turn, these
volunteers drew in other volunteers to serve as timers,
scorers, and assistants, and in the other necessary roles.
The director loved working with this network of friends
that he had developed over the years, and the volunteer
program virtually ran itself, with the director’s
administrative assistant simply filling a roster with the
names of people who called in, chatted with the director,
and then chose a role.
The director has now retired, after a large banquet with
numerous warm testimonials and expressions of appreciation.
The new director is younger and new to the county. The
county commissioners and county administrator hired her in
part out of respect for her administrative training (a
master’s degree and various training programs) and
administrative skills that she displayed in her previous
position as assistant director in the Parks and Recreation
department of a medium-sized city. They have asked her to
work on shaping up the department’s budgeting and financial
procedures, its communications and accountability to the
commission and the county administrator’s office, and its
internal organization. Several of them have quietly
mentioned to her that as much as they loved the former
director, “Old Ed” was wonderful but wanted to do things
his way, and “it was hard to know what was going on over
there sometimes.” The county was under increasing financial
pressure, and it would be harder and harder to grant the
budget increases that Old Ed asked for, especially without
the popular support he could always bring to help the
commissioners justify the increase. In addition, auditors
were becoming increasingly critical of the budgets and
accounts of the department. No one suspected any
wrongdoing, but organization and management clearly needed
improvement.
101
The new director feels concerned about the loose
organization of the volunteer program. Drawing on some of
the policies at her previous organization, she initiates
the requirement that volunteers will need to sign a waiver
of liability, and to sign statements that they will follow
a drug-free policy and avoid sexual harassment. She also
begins considering setting up a training program for
volunteers, through the National Youth Sports Coaches
Association, and may ask the coaches to pay for their
training. The word of these changes and possible changes
spreads rapidly among the volunteers.
In getting to work on her various priorities, the new
director finds the constant phone calls from volunteers to
be too disruptive to her other work. Knowing that it is not
a satisfactory long-term solution, she asks her
administrative assistant to handle the conversations and
assignments of the volunteers himself, as best he can.
Within two weeks, problems arise. Soccer season is
starting, and there is a shortage of coaches for the first
time ever. The new director asks the administrative
assistant to find more volunteers to serve as coaches. The
assistant finds a few. He also reports back that some
former coaches are refusing, saying they get the sense that
their contributions are not really valued, and without Old
Ed as center of the activity, it is just not the same any
more. Some comment that the new requirements imply distrust
and are demeaning, and involve too much red tape. The new
director has to stop all other activity, get on the phone,
and talk some of these reluctant volunteers into
continuing. She shores up the soccer program for the time
being. Some of these old-timers tell her that the problem
will get worse when t-ball and baseball season starts. She
also hears that the exercise and dance instructors have
told the administrative assistant that they may not
continue.
The new director has called in your group to assist her in
improving the volunteer program. She asks that you advise
her on what to do about the volunteers. She can only offer
you a small consulting fee and lunch, but you have agreed
to try to help because you are so good-hearted and
professional.
Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni
Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public
102
Administration and Policy, University of Georgia
Discussion Questions
1.
Where does the new director stand now? What are the
first questions you would ask about her current situation,
or the first key observations, that are pertinent to
assessing her volunteer program and what should be done
with it? Please list at least five key points or questions.
Be able to discuss how these points relate to concepts and
frameworks covered in the course.
2.
What should the new director do? What are key points
and priorities for a well-managed volunteer program? What
conditions, arrangements, policies, and procedures should
she definitely try to establish? Please list at least five
key points or priorities. Discuss how these relate to
concepts and frameworks covered in the course.
3.
How does the case reflect the challenges of managing
in a public sector context?
4.
What should other authorities do to help her? What
could other levels of administration and government do to
support her volunteer efforts?
103
Grandtown’s New Public Library
In a 6-4 vote the city council of Grandtown has decided to
renovate and relocate its library. The library is currently
located in a rural area near the edge of town. The facility
is over sixty years old and has been in need of renovation
for years, but as in many cities, fiscal constraints have
stood in the way of any improvements. The planned location
is a commercial property adjacent to a frequently visited
strip mall. Walmart is planning to build a store on the
same lot. The library and Walmart will share one large
parking lot. Residents of Grandtown will be able to combine
their trip to the grocery store with a trip to the library.
The plans have not been finalized, but the city and Walmart
have entered into an “Agreement of Intent to Co-locate.”
The city has been negotiating the details with Walmart
executives for about a year. Grandtown’s goal is to obtain
a contract similar to an agreement between the City of
Dallas and Kroeger, which has received a lot of press
lately. By all accounts the relationship between Dallas and
Kroeger has been a big hit. The building design there is so
impressive that it won an award from the Texas Society of
Architects, and usage of the library has increased every
year since the city and Kroeger began their working
relationship. Grandtown’s list of objectives for the
partnership is consistent with the contract executed in
Dallas. The important details are as follows:
Replace the old 6,500 square foot facility with a new, more
modern 9,000 square foot facility. The library will occupy
one corner of the building, which will be connected to a
new Walmart store.
The property will be owned jointly by the city and Walmart.
Walmart will design and construct the library. The
corporation will complete the site planning, conduct
environmental testing, install lighting, and landscape the
property.
The city will approve Walmart’s zoning applications, which
are currently the subject of much controversy. As is the
case with many Walmart stores, the local residents are not
all convinced that having a Walmart is in their best
interest.
104
A committee appointed by the city council will work with
library staff and Walmart’s architects on designs for the
modern facility. The design will meet or exceed city
requirements for approved building materials, disability
access, and other specifications required by various
ordinance and codes.
Walmart will hire the construction crew and oversee the
workmanship. Once the library and store are constructed,
Walmart will designate a small area within its store to
issue library cards.
The library will designate a children’s area and maintain
qualified staff to watch children while their parents shop.
From Walmart’s perspective, the plan will draw more
customers. From the city’s perspective, more children will
be exposed to reading.
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think of the city’s plan? What are the
advantages and disadvantages to the co-location?
2. After the co-location, will the library still be a
“public organization”? Explain how you arrived at your
answer. Will it lose any of its “publicness”?
3. In what ways might the objectives of Grandtown and
Walmart conflict? Is the plan in the best interest of the
citizens of Grandtown?
4. With respect to operations in the library, in what ways
might the lines of authority be compromised?
5.
Where do you think the impetus for the plan came from?
6. What forces do you think have influenced the city
council debate and in what way?
7. According to accounts in Dallas, the agreement between
the library and Kroeger “saved the library”? Do you think
this is true?
8. Are any aspects of the plan more or less acceptable?
Discuss your reasoning.
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9.
How will the city council know if the plan is a success?
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The Case of the Crummy Contract
Hal G. Rainey
The new director described in the “vanishing volunteers” case
has also received another charge from the county administrator
and commissioners. Due to budgetary pressures and tax
resistance, the county must emphasize financial stringency. Two
new county commissioners have just been elected after campaigns
emphasizing that they would seek to cut the county’s budget and
find more efficient ways of managing programs and departments.
Among other proposals, they are calling for more “privatization”
and “contracting-out” to improve the efficiency of county
operations. They and others have emphasized this priority in
discussions with the new Parks and Recreation director.
These pressures already existed before the new director and new
commissioners arrived, and the former commissioner had responded
to some degree. He had contracted with a local operator of fast
food franchises to take over the food concessions at the three
county parks and two county recreation centers. The county had
previously operated these food service outlets, but normally
broke even on them. The new operator contracted to run them and
pay the county a small fee. When the contract was let, the
former director told the commissioners that this fee would allow
the county to actually make a little money instead of breaking
even on the food concessions.
The contract is coming up for renewal soon. The new director
receives word that one of the concessions in one of the parks
has essentially shut down. They are only offering candy and
cokes and similar food items, and not the hot dogs, hamburgers,
and cooked items that they had previously offered. The
contractor informs the new director that the stoves and
refrigerator have broken down, and that the county must repair
them for the cooked food service to resume. The contract did not
specify who was to be responsible for maintaining the equipment,
and the operator is arguing that it is the county’s
responsibility. The expenses involved in performing the
maintenance will erase the county’s small gain through the fee
from the contractor.
In addition, the new director is receiving reports of complaints
about the quality of the food, and of accumulating litter and
trash near the food service outlets. In talks with the
contractor, she finds that he takes the position that
cleanliness outside the food service outlets is not his
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responsibility. He says she needs to assign more maintenance
personnel to clean up.
Some people have called to complain that they used to plan
picnics based on using the food from the outlets, but the food
and service had deteriorated and they would not do so any
longer. The new director increasingly forms the impression that
the contractor, experienced in running fast food franchises
supervised and supported by national corporations, was not
prepared for some of the new conditions in the county food
services (for example, no central supply of foods and other
supplies, or central support on equipment maintenance). From her
conversations with the contractor, she worries that he may
renege on the fee to the county, since he has hinted that if he
loses money he does not have to pay the fee. The contract is
loosely drawn, and she intends to talk to the county attorney
about whether the contractor could get away with this action.
The county attorney is also a private contractor with the
county, and is not very responsive to requests for his time.
Talking with the attorney, moreover, will not really solve the
problem. Even if the food services contractor did not have sound
legal grounds, she is loathe to get into a legal and public
dispute with him, since he is a prominent local businessman with
connections to the new county administrators and other members
of the business community.
In addition to these headaches with food services, the new
director finds that the two new county commissioners and some of
their friends in the business community are leading a push for
more privatization. They have issued a policy statement from
their Association of Brilliantly Efficient and Effective
Business Entrepreneurs that calls for such steps, and their
association president has appeared at a county commission
meeting to promote the report and its main priorities. The
statement asserts that county business organizations can provide
services more efficiently and effectively than governmentoperated services, and that government operation of services
that local businesses could perform represents unfair
competition. Lauding the successful privatization of some county
food services activities, they call for further initiatives in
such areas as grounds maintenance, equipment maintenance and
operation, and the operation of other facilities such as parks,
swimming pools, and recreation centers. The county has a puttputt golf range at one of the parks and the report specifically
targets that activity for privatization.
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Again, the new director finds that the county’s contracting
process has been run rather informally and personally by the
beloved former director. There is no evidence of any illegality,
but the process needs better management.
Again, also, your group, good-hearted professional public
servants that you are, has agreed to serve as a poorly
compensated advisory group to try to help out a fellow
professional and public servant.
Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni
Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public
Administration and Policy, University of Georgia
Discussion Questions
1.
What does the new director know or need to know? Prepare a
list of key questions or points of information about the current
situation that you and she need to consider, in assessing the
current situation and preparing a response to it. Please list at
least five key questions or points and explain how they relate
to ideas and concepts covered in the course.
2.
Where does the new director need to go? What should she
strive to achieve, in the organization and processes for
contracting in the department? What conditions, arrangements,
policies, and procedures should she definitely try to establish?
Please list at least five priorities and explain how they relate
to matters covered in the course.
3.
How does the case involve the implications of managing in a
public sector environment?
4.
What could other levels of government and authority do to
support her management of privatization and contracting?
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The Case of Joe the Jerk (Or, the Very Capable Jerk)
Hal G. Rainey
Instructions: As you read and think about the motivation
theories and work-related attitudes that we will cover, consider
the following case, and the following questions:
1. What different perspectives on the case would the different
theories take? What would they emphasize and point to as most
important? What kinds of solutions or alternatives would they
suggest?
2.
Can you see gaps or weaknesses in the different theories,
that come out in trying to apply them to the case? Are some of
the concepts and theories more useful for this case than others?
3.
What would you advise Joan to do about Joe? Can you ground
any of your advice in the theories or ideas about motivation
that we cover in the readings and class discussion?
You have been asked to consult with a module manager in a public
service center of the Social Security Administration. A module
is a group of about forty workers who work together in
processing claims for social security coverage (that is,
requests for the beginning of payments, or other services such
as changes and information). A module has all the specialists
needed to process a claim from beginning to end—claims
authorizers, benefits authorizers, file clerks, and typists or
word processors. Each module has a module manager (hereafter,
MM) and two assistant module managers (AMMs), who lead and
manage the team of workers in the module.
The MM, Joan, has a serious concern about one of the AMMs, Joe.
Joe is very intelligent, talented, and younger than most AMMs.
As far as his knowledge of the work and technical details is
concerned, he is extremely promising and has excellent prospects
to move up to become MM and then move on up beyond that. Joe,
however, is arrogant in his dealings with the workers in the
module. He talks down to people and treats them curtly and
rudely. He behaves as if he deserves more special treatment and
attention than the module members because he is an AMM. On the
other hand, Joe also takes some stands and actions that are not
necessarily bad or unjustified.
Following are some incidents that have occurred:
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One of the file clerks arrives late fairly often. Joe has begun
to confront her very aggressively, in front of the other members
of the module, criticizing her for arriving late. He has
initiated disciplinary action against her. Some other members of
the module have pointed out to Joe and Joan that the file clerk
is a young single mother with a lot of personal problems. Her
brother was recently shot to death in a street fight, apparently
drug related. Her child is sick a lot and she has problems
getting good child care. Joe, however, insists on going forward
with the disciplinary action, saying he cannot let a person
arrive late regularly without being unfair to those who do
arrive on time. Besides, he says, it is essentially illegal for
him not to take action. Joan has to decide whether to intervene
in the disciplinary action or let it go through.
Joan is concerned about Joe’s effect on motivation and work
satisfaction in the module. He speaks very condescendingly to
module members who make mistakes, acting as if he is a lot
smarter than they are—which is often true, in a sense. Joan
arranged for a weekend retreat, during which the group went
through some team development exercises with a consultant.
Throughout the retreat and the exercises, Joe had a sneer on his
face, and made sarcastic comments about the time the group was
wasting on “touchy-feely nonsense.”
The members of the module have group meetings to discuss
problems and changes. Joe has gotten up and walked out of a
couple of these meetings, acting impatient with the discussion.
He often frowns and rolls his eyes as members of the group are
speaking. After the most recent of these incidents, the other
AMM, who is excellent as a person and a manager, has told Joan
that she is considering asking to transfer to another module or
position because Joe is so unpleasant to work with, and because
she feels that Joe is damaging morale in the module so badly
that it is disrupting the work of the module.
Joan needs to make decisions about Joe:
Joan has to prepare a performance evaluation for Joe, of course.
This will strongly affect his chances to move to higher
positions. Also, the director of the center is forming a task
force to plan and carry out an important change in work
processes for the entire center. He has heard that Joe really
knows his stuff, and has asked Joan what she thinks of having
Joe appointed as either head of this task force or assistant
head. (Joe minds his manners and behaves well in meetings when
111
superiors from outside the module are present).
Joan is very impressed with Joe’s intelligence and ability. Joe
does have a likeable side that often shows. She also knows that
Joe’s wife has a long-term serious illness and is facing a
series of operations at present, and that one of his children
was seriously disabled in an accident two years ago. Joe often
talks about being bored in his present position and wanting to
move up or to somewhere where he can have more variety and
responsibility. Joan wants to support and help Joe, and loathes
the idea of having to confront him now with a bad evaluation and
with the news that she has not supported his appointment to the
task force. She has had a number of talks with Joe about his
undesirable behavior and attitudes. She has tried to be very
positive, praising his capabilities, telling him she really
wants him to succeed, and pointing out that he has opportunities
to move up. She urges him to show the good side she sees in him,
but says that he needs to change. She has never really come down
on him with a bad evaluation. In these discussions, Joe sits
quietly with a slight smirk on his face, leaves the discussion
without saying anything, and pouts for a day or so. The
discussions have shown no effect on his behaviors. She is trying
to decide what to do next. One possibility in addition to a bad
evaluation is to begin the process of trying to have Joe demoted
from AMM.
Please return to the questions at the beginning of the case and
prepare responses to them.
Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni
Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public
Administration and Policy, University of Georgia
112
A Funeral in the Public Service Center
Hal G. Rainey
For many years, the Social Security Administration (SSA)
followed a very bureaucratized process for handling claims. A
“claim” is a request for services, such as a retiree’s
application for SSA to begin paying his or her social security
benefits (that is, to start sending monthly checks to him or
her). Claims handling also involves many different functions,
such as updating records, adding and deleting dependents and
relatives from records, handling changes in the requests, and
other matters.
For years, the claims would be handled like this: a client (a
citizen making a claim) would apply at a local Social Security
Administration office, or by mail. The local office would
forward the claim to one of eight public service centers (PSCs)
in eight different regions of the country. At the PSC, a
different unit would handle each different phase of handling the
claim. One unit would receive the claim and route it to the
others. Another unit had specialists, called claims authorizers,
who would rule on the legality of the claim—did the person have
a legitimate claim? Then a claim would be shipped, with a large
batch of other claims, to a next unit that contained benefits
authorizers, or specialists who would calculate how much the
client should receive in social security payments. Then the
claim would move to another unit for disbursement or payment of
claims, and to another for filing and retention. This process
was like a big assembly line, with the claim moving from one
phase of the work to another.
Congress added many programs and specifications to social
security and related programs. At the same time, the nation’s
population grew and became more complex. The claims-handling
process got much more complicated, and this assembly-line system
began to have problems, such as many delays in handling claims
and many lost claims. As an example of the problems with the
system, when a benefits authorizer would find that a claims
authorizer had not provided all the information about a claim
that the benefits authorizer needed, the claim had to be
delivered back to the claims authorization unit that had
previously handled it. Often, the returned claim went back to a
different person from the one who worked on it to begin with.
This resulted in slow processing and frequent mistakes.
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SSA went through a long period of trying to figure out how to
resolve the problems, and finally decided to adopt a modular
design in the PSCs. They put together in units, called modules,
all the different specialists needed to process a claim—claims
authorizers, benefits authorizers, typists, file clerks, and
others. These groups worked together like teams. They would take
a client’s claim and work it through to completion, so that they
actually had the person as the client of their module—they could
identify the clients as theirs. They could also communicate more
readily with each other about any problems that came up. There
were some tough problems in implementing this new system, but it
worked out very well, and has become the standard design in the
PSCs.
Time passes and brings changes that require adjustments by all
people and organizations. Advances in information technology—
computers and communications technology—brought changes for the
SSA. The processing of claims became more computerized. Local
offices handle many claims by entering the data directly into
the main SSA computers in Baltimore, and getting answers back
directly. This reduced the load of claims coming to the PSCs. In
addition, the work in the PSCs became more computerized and
automated through higher technologies. Claims authorizers and
benefits authorizers handled more correspondence by simply
hitting a key on the computer terminal that caused the needed
correspondence to print out. This reduced the need for typists.
More information was going directly into the computer, and
requiring less paperwork, and this reduced the need for file
clerks to file the papers. The modules needed fewer and fewer
typists and file clerks. This created problems, because if a
module needed only a couple of file clerks, and was only
assigned two, the module became more dependent upon their work
habits. If both file clerks were absent, the module managers had
to do the filing to keep the module’s work going.
Social Relations Among Specialists. In the old system, a social
and educational hierarchy existed among the specialists.
Benefits authorizers were the most highly paid and highly
trained, followed by claims authorizers, and then by typists and
filing clerks. The filing clerks were often single mothers with
low incomes and low educational levels. They often struggled
with serious personal challenges in their lives outside of work.
They would sometimes miss work or arrive late because of child
care problems. When SSA moved to the modules, the move helped to
break down social distance between these groups. The file clerks
would work directly with the others, usually as friends and
114
coworkers. Also, SSA tried to move file clerks up the ranks
through training and development processes.
In one of the PSCs in the midwestern United States, the
assistant director (A.D.) of the PSC had an idea for responding
to the problem of the declining need for file clerks. He started
a new organizational design, in which file clerks were assigned
to special units, from which they would be farmed out, as
needed, to the modules. The design was something like the old
idea of a typing pool or secretarial pool. The problem was that
the file clerks felt isolated and demoted by being taken out of
their modules.
The A.D. learned of the file clerks’ unhappiness in a fairly
dramatic way. In his office one day, he received a request from
the members of the file clerks’ unit to come down to their
office area. When he arrived, he found the office draped with
black crepe and black balloons. A large black casket lay on a
desk in the middle of the room. The file clerks, dressed in
funeral clothing, began singing funeral hymns. A spokesperson
for the group came forward to tell him that they were there to
hold a funeral for the file clerks unit, to mourn the death of
the file clerks.
The A.D. was stunned. He had heard that the file clerks were
unhappy with the change he had made, but had not expected such a
development. He was not sure how to proceed. He was not really
sure what the “funeral” was supposed to mean or to communicate,
except that the file clerks were unhappy. Questions were running
through his mind. What should he do right now, as he faced the
file clerks and their funeral? What should he do in the longer
term? Should he discipline them? He knew that people in other
units would be very aware of how he treated these file clerks
and some would complain if he “let them get away” with such
disruption and insubordination. Because of the problems
mentioned earlier, that file clerks often had with late arrival
or absences, the discipline and work habits of the file clerks
were sensitive issues in the PSC.
Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni
Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public
Administration and Policy, University of Georgia
Discussion Questions
1.
Analyze the incident in relation to questions of values.
115
1a. What values was the A.D. promoting with the change?
1b. What values were the file clerks emphasizing through their
behavior?
2.
What motivation concepts and theories help you to analyze
the case?
3.
What leadership concepts and theories help you to analyze
the case?
4.
On the basis of your answers to the preceding questions,
make suggestions to the A.D. about actions he should take.
4a. What should he say and do, as he stands before the file
clerks at their “funeral?”
4b. Once he leaves the room and returns to his office, what
should he plan to do in the longer term?
4c. In advising him on actions to take, try to express the
relations between your advice and important issues about values,
motivation, and leadership.
116
Habitat for Humanity of Medina: Confronting the Changing Times
Linking Case Study to Chapter Materials: In this case, students
identify the internal and external pressures for change and then
consider how they would lead an organizational change effort in
a nonprofit organization. The case questions also link to
Chapter 13 frameworks for change.
Julie Young is the executive director of the Habitat for
Humanity affiliate located in Medina, Wisconsin. She oversees
forty employees who work in various administrative, fundraising,
and operations capacities to build fifty new homes per year in
Medina and the surrounding areas. Twenty-three board members
govern Habitat of Medina, including local business owners, city
officials, major donors, and two Habitat homeowners.
Medina is characterized by high concentrations of poverty in the
southern part of the city, and middle class and wealthy
neighborhoods in the northern part. In an attempt to lessen high
concentrations of low-income housing, Habitat’s board of
directors developed a new strategic plan a few years ago that
focused on building low-income homes in mixed-income
developments. This mission shift came at a time when Medina’s
housing market was booming, and private developers were pushing
new neighborhood zoning approvals through the city council as
fast as they could. With the support of donors, volunteers, and
key city officials who served on its board of directors, Habitat
lobbied for a requirement that new subdivisions include
affordable housing. However, property values had fallen sharply
nationwide over the past year, and Medina, like many other
cities, was facing a high rate of foreclosures and a decrease in
new home construction.
The foreclosure crisis prompted many private and government
agency grant-makers to offer short-term loans for families in
danger of defaulting, instead of providing funding to affordable
housing organizations such as Habitat. In addition, banks were
no longer buying Habitat mortgages, ending what had been a
reliable income stream for Habitat over the past few years. Two
for-profit home developers that had supported Habitat with
financial and in-kind donations and volunteer labor had to lay
off hundreds of employees and could no longer justify charitable
donations.
An economic downturn caused a one-third decrease in individual
donations to Habitat of Medina compared to the previous year.
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Habitat usually receives a large grant from the local United
Way, but this year United Way decreased funding for community
development organizations such as Habitat in order to give more
funds to food banks and homeless shelters that were facing
increased demand for services as the economic situation in the
city worsened.
Julie reviewed the organization’s financials and realized they
would have to cut back the planned fifty new homes for this year
to just fifteen. Even with these cuts, she didn’t know if the
organization could meet its payroll. Grant money was contingent
on the completion of new homes; therefore, cutting back
construction meant even fewer dollars would be coming in. The
board advocated for staff reductions and salary cuts, but Julie
knew firing and reducing pay would result in increased burnout
for the employees who did remain on staff. Her staff and
volunteers, meanwhile, were pushing to keep home construction at
the organization’s original target of fifty because the wait
list of families in need of homes was growing.
In response to public pressure for home foreclosure help, the
city council asked Habitat to begin rehabbing homes for families
who couldn’t afford repairs and to use grant money and donations
to help families facing foreclosures. While the organization had
rehabbed homes in the past, they had never offered foreclosure
assistance in the form of loans or counseling, as their mission
was to build homes in partnership with families in need. Neither
of the city council’s recommendations aligned with the
organization’s five-year strategic plan, and staff members were
not trained in foreclosure assistance.
Facing resource shortfalls and a pressure to change the
organization’s mission, Julie knows the organization needs to
make some changes, but isn’t sure how to retain the support of
the organization’s various stakeholders.
Discussion Questions
1.
What are the external and internal pressures for change
facing Habitat of Medina?
2.
What are the possible ways in which this organization could
change? How would the organization make these changes
successfully?
3.
What resistance to change should Julie expect?
118
4.
What steps would Quinn and Cameron recommend Julie follow
as she leads the organization in change?
5.
How should Julie proceed if she wants to follow Greiner’s
steps for successful organizational change?
6.
How should Julie proceed if she wants to follow Kotter’s
steps for successful organizational change?
7.
In what ways does this case align with or differ from the
distinct challenges that public organizations face when they
change?
Source: This case was written by Sarah Schaefer, School of
Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Purdue
University-Indianapolis.
119
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Hal G. Rainey
I am involved in a study under a grant from the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE), a federal agency that, among other duties,
supervises the national scientific and weapons laboratories,
such as Los Alamos, Scandia, Oak Ridge, and Brookhaven. As part
of the team doing this study, I am responsible for Brookhaven
National Laboratory (BNL) on Long Island, New York. We are
assessing the management of the laboratories, which is always
handled by private sector contractors who have contracts from
DOE to provide the management of the labs. The labs are called
GOCOs, for “government-owned, contractor operated.” We have to
assess whether this contracting-out of management is a good
idea.
Brookhaven is a major scientific activity, on a five-thousandacre compound. It has a distinguished history, with several
Nobel laureates who have won their prizes on the basis of their
work at BNL. There is a huge particle accelerator there, called
the RHIC, that is the most important facility in the world for
research by physicists on the nature of matter and of subatomic
particles. The are also some major management and morale issues.
Now, switch to the Democratic National Convention of 2000,
because something very relevant occurred there. Christy
Brinkley, the supermodel, was a convention delegate from New
York. She lives on Long Island, and has been part of a prominent
outcry over nuclear radiation on Long Island. Interviewed on
national television at the convention, she declared to the
nation that her primary goal for becoming involved in politics
is to shut down the nuclear reactors on Long Island.
What does this have to do with BNL? BNL used to have a nuclear
reactor for research purposes, and it has already been shut
down, due to protests and public criticisms from Ms. Brinkley,
other celebrities who live on Long Island such as Alex Baldwin,
national environmental protection activists, and citizens from
the area. The scientists at BNL feel the reactor was safe. They
feel that closing it was a sudden, unjustified response by DOE
executives to the political heat from the public controversy.
In addition, several years ago, there was a small leak of
tritium, a radioactive substance, discovered at BNL. The
scientists feel that it was completely harmless, but when the
news came out, the public—celebrities, activists, and citizens—
120
reacted with a virtual hysteria. Many of the scientists at the
lab were drawn into public meetings and controversies, trying to
explain that conditions were safe at BNL. Their efforts were to
no avail, and the controversy raged. Abruptly, the Secretary of
Energy (the head of DOE) cancelled the contract for management
of BNL that the former management group had held, and after some
bidding brought in a new management group that currently manages
BNL. Again, the scientists were concerned about the suddenness
and lack of clear justification for this decision.
The new management group came in under pressure from DOE to do a
lot to show the public that conditions at the lab are safe and
will remain so. DOE also wanted the new management group to do a
lot to increase attention to environmental protection and to
health and safety at the lab. Examine the two attached
organization charts. Look at the first major horizontal level
below the director, where the associate and assistant directors
are. Can you see changes from 1996 (Director Samios) to 1998
(Director Marburger) in the offices and positions, that reflect
the pressures from the DOE (and the public) on the new
management team? As part of these changes, the new management
team put in a lot of rules and procedures about safety and
environmental protection with which the scientists have to
comply.
Many of the scientists feel very worried and upset about these
changes and the turmoil that led to them. Some feel that they
were already running a safe, secure, environmentally protective
facility, and while they agree with the new rules, they consider
a lot of them unnecessary red tape. Some also worry that many
people at BNL feel insecure about its future, and good
scientists are either leaving or refusing to accept employment
there. Many BNL employees feel that they cannot really trust the
leadership of DOE to make sound decisions about the lab, and
that the future of the lab may be in jeopardy. A major challenge
that the new management team has been trying to address involves
reassuring the scientists and keeping the operations of the lab
running smoothly.
Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni
Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public
Administration and Policy, University of Georgia
Discussion Questions
1.
What changes do you identify on the two organization
121
charts? Just from what you know from the preceding description,
how would you interpret them—why did the new team make these
changes, and what were they trying to do?
2.
The leaders of BNL face the challenge of organizing the
lab. There is already an organization, but they have to try to
better organize it. Thinking about this example, consider what
it means to be “organized” and “better organized.” Make a list
of at least five important characteristics or dimensions of an
organization that managers need to focus on, when trying to
decide how well they are organized and how to get better
organized.
Discussion Questions for Later Chapters
1.
Review the BNL material, and suggest the ways in which
concepts of organizational structure, such as centralization,
formalization, and others, apply to the case. For example, are
formalization, centralization, complexity, and other dimensions
increasing or decreasing, and in what apparent ways? See if you
can find applications for other structural concepts as well,
such as integrating devices, and general organizational forms,
such as functional, divisional, hybrid, and matrix forms.
2.
What concepts of technology and information technology can
you apply?
3.
The background materials that you have been provided do
indicate that structural changes have been occurring at BNL.
Why? How would you explain the influences on the structure from
the environment, the tasks and technology, and other factors
that influence organizational structure? Can you identify
opposing pressures on the structure from some of these sources
that are creating problems?
BNL: Facts and Important Information

The U.S. Department of Energy has authority over Brookhaven
National Laboratory (BNL).

The DOE contracts out the management of BNL.
—BNL is a “GOCO.”
—The DOE contracts with another organization, such as a
university or aerospace firm, to provide management for BNL.
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
There is a public outcry over BNL.
—Celebrities (a supermodel and a popular actor),
environmental groups, and local citizens worry about dangers
from BNL.
—There are concerns over nuclear contamination (for
example, a tritium leak).

The DOE seeks to tighten control over BNL.
—It shuts down the nuclear reactor at BNL.
—It fires management at BNL, then contracts with a new
group for new management.
—It pressures the new contractor to strengthen procedures
for nuclear safety, environmental protection and safety, public
relations, and security of information and access to the lab.

Looking at the two organization charts, can you see the
influence of the changes?

Why are the scientists concerned? What are the challenges
for the new leadership of the lab?

The two organization charts that follow on the next pages
are the chart for 1996 prior to the reorganization, and the
chart for 1998 after the reorganization. How has the structure
changed? Why?
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A Job for Laurie
Laurie Willer has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and has just
graduated with an MPA in public affairs from a top ranked
school. To earn money during her undergraduate years, Laurie
worked part time every summer as a claims processor at the
Department of Workforce Development. She also worked an
internship at Lilly Pharmaceutical Company during her
undergraduate senior year. Both jobs had been interesting, but
Laurie particularly liked working at the Department of Workforce
Development. Although her work there as a claims processor was
monotonous at times, she felt a sense of reward helping people
find jobs. In fact, it was that satisfaction that led Laurie to
start on her master’s degree and to consider a different career
path. With her MPA now in hand, Laurie has to think seriously
about her career. Looking over the jobs posted at the University
Career Center Laurie is still not sure what she is looking for
in a career. On the bulletin board she reads over job
descriptions for openings in three different positions, one in
government, one for a Nonprofit organization, and one large Forprofit company.
Discussion Questions
As you read through the job postings, consider the following:
1. What types of individuals are attracted to each of these
jobs? What types of individuals are ill-suited for each of these
jobs?
2. What motivation-related challenges can you identify for each
job?
3. What motives and incentives do you think are specific to each
organization?
4.
How would you describe the culture of each organization?
5.
Identify dependencies for each organization.
6. In what ways are each of these organizations likely to change
over the next few years?
7. Provide some recommendations to successful organizational
transformation?
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8.
How clear are the mission and goals of each organization?
9. Do the job descriptions adequately clarify the candidate’s
responsibilities?
10. Is there a specific type of leader that you would expect to
be successful in Job 1 (the public service)?
11. What factors are likely to affect a person’s performance in
each job?
Job 1: Public Service
Agency: Dept of Workforce Development Job Title: Supervisor
Claims Taker
Job ID: 5666
Apply Before: 09/23/2009
Location: Harding County
Education Required: Bachelor’s Degree
Full Time
Regular
Salary: $44,500 starting
Job Description: Supervisor will work in Employment Security
Division overseeing representatives receiving and processing
compensation benefits provided by various state and federal
laws. Completed work is spot-checked for technical accuracy.
Duties: Hire and train three new claims takers
Report weekly on productivity of existing office staff of twelve
claims takers. Increase productivity of existing staff by 10
percent over a twelve-month period.
Description of staff responsibilities for employees that will be
under your supervision: works at counter from 8:00 A.M. until
4:30 P.M. and takes initial and continued claims for
unemployment compensation benefits; interviews claimants to
obtain work history necessary to determine the type of claim to
be filed; assists claimants in completing necessary forms
required to file for unemployment compensation benefits; reviews
forms for completeness, questions claimant in order to obtain
information required by law and in order to determine that he
has been available for work; posts claim balances on claimant
record card and purges expired claims from files; prepares a
variety of forms used for processing benefit payments such as
pay authorization forms, change of name, and/ or address forms,
tracer forms for non-receipted checks, and transfer forms for
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claims records between local offices; prepares correspondence
concerning claimant information and compensation status; and
performs related work as required.
Supervisor applies established guidelines that are applicable to
individual situations. Most guidelines are received in written
form, but judgment is required in determining types of claims
that should be filed. Supervisors are also expected to be
available for technical guidance and to spot-check completed
work for technical accuracy. Errors are not easily detected and
will result in delay in the processing of claims, causing
possible incorrect payments and inconvenience to claimant.
Personal Work Relationships: Contacts are with local office
staff, claimants, and employers in order to explain unemployment
insurance programs available in order to effect payment of
claims.
The State of Indiana is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Job 2: Full Time Program Coordinator, Mother-Daughter Program
Program Description: Mother-Daughter is a program designed to
empower Latina girls to continue their education through high
school and beyond by helping them to value the importance of
education, develop self-esteem, foster supportive relationships,
and explore future dreams and goals.
Job Description: Coordinate, manage, implement, and evaluate the
Mother-Daughter program at three to four middle schools.
Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. La
Plaza is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Specific Duties:
Develop annual goals and objectives and update or develop
program materials
Organize, plan, and implement group sessions with students and
monthly meetings with the girls and their mothers
Conduct home visits and maintain contact with participants and
their mothers; offer referrals to community services and
enrichment opportunities
Implement a mentor program (including recruiting, training, and
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supporting mentors)
Develop relationships and communicate with partner schools and
community partners
Monitor academic progress of students
Research and schedule community service activities and
educational field trips
Encourage continuing education support for the mothers, such as
enrollment in English, GED classes, or other courses
Coordinate program recruitment
Maintain records of participants, activities, evaluations and
events
Supervise and mentor college interns
Be available some evenings and at least one Saturday per month
Perform other duties as requested
Qualifications: Bachelors degree in social work, education, or
related field; ability to lead and motivate youth; experience in
facilitating groups. Applicant should be committed, responsible,
enthusiastic, organized, and energetic.
Job 3: Associate Brand Manager-Lilly Pharmaceutical
Location: Indianapolis
Education Required: Bachelors degree
Functional Area: Marketing
Company Description: For more than 130 years, Lilly has been
dedicated to meeting the health care needs of people in the
United States and around the world. We address these needs
primarily by developing innovative medicines—investing a higher
percentage of our sales in research and development than any
other major pharmaceutical company. If you are interested in
being considered for employment with a “Best in Class”
Pharmaceutical company, please review the following opportunity:
Job Description: This position is responsible for Lilly USA
Multicultural Consumer marketing strategy, planning, and
implementation across all brands. Transformational efforts
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include ensuring that diverse populations are appropriately
represented in emotional insights discovery, consumer
segmentation, white card development, campaign development,
media or channel strategy and planning, implementation, and
measurement. This position reports to the Director of Consumer
Transformation, Lilly USA.
Key Objectives or Deliverables:
Redefine the Lilly approach to multicultural marketing from
tactics and translations to holistic strategies and plans that
are a natural extension of brands strategies
Lead development of multicultural consumer strategies and
marketing plans, including insights, segmentation, white card,
campaign, media or channel strategy, and planning
Be accountable for multicultural funding, plan implementation,
and business results
Ensure that all multicultural consumer efforts are insight- and
data-driven, and deliver against specific brand objectives
Foster productive multicultural agency relationships (including
ownership of the AORs) and manage integration among agency
partners
Collaborate in the development of consumer marketing
capabilities within Lilly USA; lead development of the
multicultural marketing capabilities
Ensure that a multicultural consumer perspective is represented
in clinical trials and label development
Develop as appropriate DDMAC pre-clearance strategy and
implementation for multicultural initiatives
Collaborate with market research colleagues to deliver a
meaningful multicultural measurement plan and specific consumer
metrics
Minimum Requirements:
Bachelors degree
Proven track record in marketing strategy and planning,
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advertising and media
Breadth and depth of agency management experience
Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to be employed
in the United States. Lilly does not anticipate providing
sponsorship for employment visa status (for example, H-1B or TN
status) for this employment position.
Additional Skills or Preferences:
Alliance or partnership management experience
Demonstrated leadership
Critical thinking skills (strategic, analytical, creative)
Effective communication skills
Ability to achieve results with others
Relationship management skills
Experience on both client and agency side a plus
MBA preferred
Other Considerations:
Travel: 15 percent.
Lilly credits its exceptional employees for its successes, and
knows that the key to ongoing achievement lies in attracting and
retaining the best people. A company rich in heritage, Lilly
employs individuals, conducts research, and markets products
worldwide. By providing for the unmet needs of our customers
through a continuous stream of innovation, we will outgrow all
competitors.
Lilly earns consistent and wide recognition for creating an
exceptional work environment while maintaining our highly
regarded reputation in the pharmaceutical industry and
community:
Fortune Most Globally Admired Companies
Fortune Top Companies for Leaders in North America
Chronicle of Philanthropy Most Generous Companies in the U.S.
Business Week Magazine Best Places to Launch a Career
Information Week 500 Most Innovative Users of Technology
Science magazine Best Companies for Scientists
The Scientist Best Places to Work in the Industry
Black Enterprise Top 40 Companies for Diversity
Working Mother Best Companies for Working Mothers
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Source: This case was written by William Miller, Center for
Policy Studies, Department of Public Administration and Urban
Studies, The University of Akron
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Section Five: Examination Questions
Part One: Identify the Scholar Associated with Each Concept
Write in the name of the scholar(s) associated with each idea.
(There may be more than one possible answer to some questions).
2 points each.
1. Incrementalism
2. Bounded rationality
3. Functions of the executive
4. Garbage Can Theory
5. “One best way” to perform a task
6. POSDCORB; the work of an executive
7. Hierarchy of Needs
8. Theory X and Theory Y
9. Human Relations School
10. The “Ideal Type” organization
11. Organizations all have a degree of “publicness”
12. Organic and mechanistic organizations
13. Bureaupathology
14. Organizations have a formal and informal component
15. Co-optation
16. Mixed scanning
17. Hawthorne Studies
18. Organizations and oligarchy
19. Identifies the “Place of Power” in Organization Theory
20. Modern structural theory
21. The bases of social power
22. “Power With” not “Power Over”; Giving of orders
23. The Policy Window
24. Zealots and advocates
25. The Wealth of Nations; Invisible Hand
Part Two: Provide Short Answers (one or two paragraphs)
5 points each
1. Provide three symptoms of groupthink and three
recommendations for preventing it.
2. What are French and Raven’s five bases of power, and why are
they important?
3. What is meant by the term hollow state?
Part Three: Linking Readings and Theories to Practice
133
Develop organized essays for 12 points each.
1. Discuss two studies of organization that were done in the
1960s and their contribution to adaptive and contingency
theories. How did these studies add to or refine earlier
thought? Within your answer provide an example of how
contingency theory might be useful to a public manager.
2. Write an essay on some of the main contributions of Chester
Barnard to organization theory. Provide examples of how
Barnard’s thinking can be useful to public managers.
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of structuring an
organization by product and function? Explain in the context of
two different public organizations.
Final Exam Answers
Part One: Identify the Scholar Associate with Each Concept
1. Incrementalism: Charles Lindblom
2. Bounded rationality: Herbert Simon
3. Functions of the executive: Chester Barnard
4. Garbage Can Theory: March, March, and Olsen; Cohen, March,
and Olsen
5. “One best way” to perform a task: Frederick Taylor
6. POSDCORB; the work of an executive: Gulick or Gulick and
Urwick
7. Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow
8. Theory X and Theory Y: McGregor
9. Human Relations School: Maslow, McGregor, McClelland, Kurt
Lewin
10. The “Ideal Type” organization: Max Weber
11. Organizations all have a degree of “publicness”: Bozeman
12. Organic and mechanistic organizations: Burns and Stalker
13. Bureaupathology: Merton, Thompson, Selznick, Kaufman
14. Organizations have a formal and informal component: Blau and
Scott, Barnard
15. Co-optation: Phillip Selznick
16. Mixed scanning: A. Etzioni
17. Hawthorne Studies: Elton Mayo
18. Organizations and oligarchy: Michels, Weber
19. Identifies the “Place of Power” in Organization Theory:
Jeffrey Pfeffer
20. Modern structural theory: Burns and Stalker, Blau and
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Scott, Walker and Lorsch, Mintzberg
21. The bases of social power: French and Raven
22. “Power With” not “Power Over”; Giving of orders: Mary Parker
Follet
23. The Policy Window: John Kingdon
24. Zealots and advocates: Anthony Downs
25. The Wealth of Nations; Invisible Hand: Adam Smith
Part Two: Provide Short Answers (one or two paragraphs)
5 points each
1. Provide three symptoms of groupthink and three
recommendations for preventing it.
Examples of symptoms: invulnerability, rationalizations,
inherent morality, self-censorship, shared illusions of
unanimity, self-appointed mind guards, little interest in facts,
no attempt to gain from experts, limiting alternatives, little
time deliberating.
Prevention/Avoidance: Assign role of critical evaluator,
encourage open inquiry, prevent group insulation, appoint a
devil’s advocate, devote sizeable time to decision making
2. What are French and Raven’s five bases of power and why are
they important?
Reward power (based on the perceived ability to give positive
consequences or remove negative ones)
Coercive power (the perceived ability to punish those who do not
conform with your ideas or demands)
Legitimate power (based on the perception that someone has the
right to prescribe behavior due to election or appointment to a
position of responsibility)
Referent power (through association with others who possess
power)
Expert power (based on having distinctive knowledge, expertness,
ability or skills)
3. What is meant by the term hollow state?
(Explanations on the changing nature of governance and
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contracting)
Part Three: Linking Readings and Theories to Practice
Develop organized essays for 12 points each.
1. Discuss two studies of organization that were done in the
1960s and their contribution to adaptive and contingency
theories. How did these studies add to or refine earlier
thought? Within your answer provide an example of how
contingency theory might be useful to a public manager.
(Lawrence and Lorsch; Burns and Stalker; Joan Woodward; Blau;
Katz and Kahn; James Thompson)
2. Write an essay on some of the main contributions of Chester
Barnard to organization theory. Provide examples of how
Barnard’s thinking can be useful to public managers.
(Theory of incentives, zone of indifference, formal versus
informal organizations)
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of structuring an
organization by product and function? Explain in the context of
two different public organizations.
(See Walker and Lorsch)
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