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PA 525
Dr. Lisa McNary
Office Hours
–
Just before or after class OR by appointment
Mail
– There is a drop box outside of the Public Administration
main office
– Caldwell 211.
E-Mail – lmcnary@mindspring.com OR lisa_mcnary@ncsu.edu
(Note: I access my mindspring account more than the NCSU account.
Use “PA 525” in the subject line of any e-mail, so it will
receive immediate attention.)
This course provides an introduction to the applied skills and knowledge necessary for helping public and nonprofit organizations and agencies effectively manage change. Students will gain knowledge and skills in organizational assessment, action research, systems change, and the stages of change management. An overview of project management information and best practices used to plan, organize, secure, and manage specific projects in the nonprofit and public sectors.
Change is an unrelenting in organizations today. Well-planned and managed change can give energy to an organization and help it to realize new possibilities.
However, too often change is poorly conceptualized and/or poorly implemented.
This course is designed to give students an introduction to the concepts and tools necessary to be more effective agents of change within organizations or public agencies that are striving to identify and solve problems, comply with new policies, improve effectiveness, increase learning, and keep current with new developments in the external environment. W. Edwards Deming, an icon in quality management and organizational change, stated: “
Experience without theory means nothing .” As such, the course time will be split between theory and application through discussion, cases, and the Course Project.
T he objectives of this course are to assist students in starting their journey toward developing three core competencies required of all change managers:

Understand the organizational development and change management process.

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
Profile an existing organizational system and understand the implications of key organizational characteristics for current organizational functioning.

Use the tools of action research and systems analysis to diagnose issues within an organization and identify drivers for bringing about the desired change.
(available in the campus bookstore)
Brown, D. R. (2011). Experiential Approach to Organization Development . Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Harrison, M. I. (2005). Diagnosing organizations: Methods, models, and processes.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishers, Inc.
NOTE: ISBN Numbers are: Brown = 0-1361-0689-7 and Harrison = 0-7619-2572-4.
Additional Required Readings: Available on the course Moodle web site.
> Executive Brief
– Individual -- “Additional Readings” 25 points
> Team Presentation – “Additional Readings” 25 points
> Final: Of Paradigms and PA 50 points total
. Essay Packet
– Individual
(25 points)
. Roundtable Discussion (25 points)
> Course Project – Organizational Service Learning 100 points
_________________
TOTAL = 200 points
Grading Scale: (on a 100% scale)
90 - 92 = A- 93 - 96 = A 97 - 100 = A+
80 - 82 = B- 83 - 86 = B 87 - 89 = B+
70 - 72 = C- 73 - 76 = C 77 - 79 = C+
60 - 62 = D- 63 - 66 = D 67 - 69 = D+
< - 59 = F

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You will find these topics on following pages:
(Academic Integrity, ADA, Anti-Discrimination)
p. 3
(including electronics usage)
pp. 4-5
p. 5
pp. 5-7
p. 7
p. 7
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
Students are expected to follow all the rules and regulations of the university as outlined in the North Carolina State University Graduate
Catalog as well as any other relevant publications.

Policy on Academic Integrity: Students are expected to adhere to the
Code of Student Conduct. It is the responsibility of students to fully understand the policy on academic integrity as defined by the Code of
Student Conduct located at: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_discipline/POL11.35.1.php
In this class, each piece of coursework completed (e.g., assignments, exams, cases, projects, presentations, etc.) and all communications reaffirms each student’s commitment to the Code of Student Conduct.

As such, any form of an academic integrity violation on any course activity
(e.g., assignment, exams, exercise, presentation, essay/paper) will result in failure of the course and will be prosecuted by reporting the violation per the procedures outlined in the policy . It’s best to keep in mind the voice-over from the ad campaign on academic integrity run one academic year: “
Do the work, take the test, listen to the ref in your head
.”

This course follows NCSU’s ADA COMPLIANCE and
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION policies. Students may access these at these web sites: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/courses_undergrad/REG02.20.1.php http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/campus_environ OR http://www.ncsu.edu/equal_op

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

Regular attendance is expected of all students.
. Missing more than two classes may put you in academic jeopardy.
. Since it is your responsibility to attend class, if you are late or miss a class
meeting for any reason, you are responsible for all material covered and
any announcements made in your absence – information that you must get
from one of your classmates .
. Extended absences due to special circumstances will require verification
through the Graduate School.

This class is partially highly-participative to make the material more interesting and understandable. In class participation means that you have read the material before the class meeting, completed all of the assigned material listed on the course schedule or assigned in class, take part in the class discussions on occasion, and hand in ( when called for
– not at a later time) completed assignments.

When in-class discussions or assignments take place, students should be working from prepared written or typed notes (not mental notes or notes on a computer screen) -- and NOT doing the assignment in class!

ELECTRONICS POLICY: While in class, students should “be in the moment” with their coursework, NOT distracted by outside matters.
> Chronic issues with electronic devices abound in academics. Students
may use their laptop computer to access course materials ONLY –
meaning no other web sites, e-mail, etc. If this privilege is abused, I will \ send out a note to the entire class, stating: “
No more laptops
.”
> Other electronic devices (e.g., phones, Blackberry, etc.) should NOT be
used, go off, or be responded to during class, and headsets/ear
pieces cannot be worn at any time. This means that all electronics
should be OFF once class has started and stowed OUT of sight while
class is in session.
Final grades may be reduced in increments due to the lack of
attendance, electronics usage, or unscholarly behaviors.

Students must check their NCSU e-mail account regularly, as course communications will go out via e-mail.

Voicemail and e-mail allow students to be in greater touch with their professors. However, technology often gives students a false sense of availability 24/7. I check e-mail throughout the day but rarely after 6 p.m. and less frequently on weekends!
Thus, students should NOT wait until the

5 evening before an assignment is due to inquire about specifics. Further, judgment should be exercised on when a face-to-face meeting might be more appropriate for a given situation than using technology.
When responding to an e-mail that I have sent, students should use the
REPLY button to create an e-mail string , rather than composing an entirely new e-mail to reply. The e-mail string allows for more efficient e-mail filing.


The material for each week i s listed out “Course Schedule.” Unless otherwise noted, the assignments are due the DAY WE COVER THE
MATERIAL IN CLASS!

Late coursework will NOT be accepted. If you are absent from class for
ANY reason, it is your responsibility to have your coursework turned in either in advance (in person, e-mail, regular mail) or by a classmate when class meets ( not afterward ). Any document submitted must be in a WORD or a PDF file. (NO zip files!)


Details on the specific requirements for the all coursework can be found in the MAKING THE GRADE section posted in Moodle .
 All of the “Assigned Readings” and ”Additional Readings” are posted as a courtesy in Moodle (alphabetically by title). If the link is broken, use the author and article title information listed in the Course
Schedule to find the article in the NC State library database.

The breakdown of grading for written work is as follows:
.
20% Technical: The basic mechanics of grammar, spelling, punctuation.
.
30% Structure: Clear writing, organized material or use of creative/innovative
format work with the topic, correct sourcing/referencing in the
APA editorial style (provided there is no “Fatal Flaw” in
referencing materials).
.
50% Analysis: Topics are addressed and concepts are integrated; argument is
rigorous; supporting materials provide solid evidence; original
ideas/concepts/models are developed; conclusions are sound
(even if you conclude by posing questions). In general, obvious
critical thought has gone into the work, etc.

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
Students MUST read the WRITING CENTER section in Moodle in preparing their written coursework requirements, as this section contains extensive information on properly citing reference material. (See the two documents labeled “APA Documents” and “Notes for Writing.”)
 Students should closely study what constitutes a “
Fatal Flaw,
” very serious errors in sourcing reference materials, which will yield a greatly reduced score. The Fatal Flaws (and penalties) are det ailed in the “Notes for
Writing” document posted in the WRITING CENTER section in
Moodle .
 There is also a page in the “Notes for Writing” document entitled, “Editorial
Marks for Written Work,” which details the editorial marks used in grading written work. The four items above the dashed line are serious grammar and punctuation errors. “The Line”: If there are numerous errors, a line will be drawn across the page to denote that after that point, only content is being graded. Anyone with “The Line” across their work should see me.

There are examples of solid Course Project papers posted in the MAKING
THE GRADE section in Moodle . Students are urged to look at these examples to better understand what constitutes “A” level work.

NOTE: While I am most willing to provide assistance on specific aspects of writing for the first draft of the Course Project (such as where to include a certain chart or sensitive wording issues), I do NOT check over the
References list for its accuracy or check over written work to provide feedback or suggest revisions in advance of the due date. This is graduate school, and students are expected to know how to write according to scholarly standards or seek out the necessary resources to assist you.

The primary goal of the written assignments is to improve your writing as scholars. As such, students should study the comments and markings on their previous work to note potential areas of improvement that should be incorporated into future work.

A secondary goal of the Course Project is to produce a document for a client organization. This document must be top quality as it represents the program, the college, and the university. Student teams should be able to produce a document with only one edit cycle with the professor. Multiple edit cycles will result in a reduced score.

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
As with the world of work, some of the coursework is completed in teams. A caveat about teams:
It is not a matter of “IF” but “WHEN.” Teams are urged to work out their problems to the greatest extent possible. However, please note that team members may invoke the “
Mutiny on the Bounty
” rule, which is a motion to “expel” another team member who is not adequately participating. This situation can occur up to 48 hours in advance of the due date, leaving the expelled team member to complete a project entirely alone on a different topic than that of the team. Team members should see me to present their case, and I am the final jury and judge. The level of participation in the team can result in the adjustment of an individual student’s grade, which is up to the professor’s discretion.
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
PowerPoint slides (arranged by author and chapter number) are posted in the
POWERPOINTS section in Moodle . Please note that my PowerPoints contain more information than the student PowerPoints as well as supplemental information, some of it not found in the text.


More info will be given on the final exam in November per the Course
Schedule. No make-up will be given late without written notice or a call from
Student Services or the Dean’s office of an accident, serious illness, death, or unforeseeable event (e.g., emergency travel, jury duty, etc.) IN
ADVANCE OF THE FINAL .

Given the nature of this final, the timing and type of make-up exam given is at the sole discretion of the professor. However, since one section of the final exam is scheduled to be completed in a group, any make-up exam will be completed entirely by the individual student.
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NOTE: This syllabus is subject to change based on class needs.
Any change will be given with notice.