University of Colorado at Denver
Graduate School of Public Affairs
PAD 5002
ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT & CHANGE
Summer 2007
E. Ann Moore, PhD
Phone 303.638.6667
Email: eann15@yahoo.com
OBJECTIVES
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The course is designed to increase the student’s fund of knowledge about the
theoretical and practical issues involved in managing public organizations.
It is also intended to help students improve their ability to reason critically and
analytically about these issues, identifying and evaluating basic assumptions,
underlying values, logic, empirical evidence and generalizability.
The course is intended to give students practice in working in groups to solve
shared problems and thus to increase their network of collegial relationships.
Finally, the course is geared toward helping students increase their selfknowledge, especially with respect to the skills needed for effective public
management.
TEXTS
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Robert Denhardt, et al.
Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations, Sage
Publications, 2001
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Patrick Lencioni
The five Dysfunctions of a Team, Jossey-bass, 2002
ASSIGNED ACTIVITIES
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Participation in class activities and discussion. Each and every class meeting,
you should be prepared to suggest questions for class discussion, relevant
examples from your own experience or other reading, and thoughtful, critical
evaluation of the assigned reading and activities. (20%)
Statement of Personal Goals. (based on your response to the Knowledge
Survey). At the second meeting, please turn in a brief (1-2 pages, double-spaced)
statement of your personal goals for the course. What knowledge or skill areas are
you most concerned to target? Why are they important to you? (5%)
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team Exercise. During class on July
24th, there will be a brief review of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which is a
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required reading. The remainder of class on July 24th and all of class on July 25th
will consist of team exercises based on the follow up book Overcoming the Five
Dysfunctions of a Team, which is not a required reading. This book will be
reviewed in class prior to breaking into teams and completing the exercises. The
book is a nice addition to the concepts presented in The Five Dysfunctions of a
Team, but is not vastly different and is a way to build on the knowledge from the
first book. NOTE: The exercises, presentations, and discussion for this
assignment will all be done in class. (30%)
An essay on a topic of your choice. For this essay, you may choose the topic.
You may use any resources to write a succinct, interesting essay. Resources could
include: the assigned reading, your notes from lectures, outside readings, Internet
sources, journal articles, etc. The total length of the text (not counting the
references) must not exceed 7 double-spaced pages in 11 or 12 point type. (40%)
Self-Evaluation. Prepare a one-page statement (this can be single-space if you
wish) assessing how well you achieved your own personal goals for this course.
You do not need to give yourself a grade, just tell me how your goals look nowdid you achieve them? Revise them? How did the course fit with the other work
you have done at GSPA. What goals do you have for future work here?
SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
June 19th: Introductions, Review Syllabus, Discussion of Chapters 1 and 2 of
Denhardt text
June 20th: Discussion of Chapters 3 and 4 of Denhardt text, Personal Goals
Statement due
June 26th: Discussion of Chapters 5 and 6 of Denhardt text
June 27th: Discussion of Chapters 7 and 8 of Denhardt text
July 10th: Discussion of Chapters 9, 10, and 11 of Denhardt text
July 11th: Discussion of Chapters 12, 13, and 14 of Denhardt text
July 17th: Human Resources Presentation and group exercises
July 18th: Human Resources Continued
July 24th: