PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
833:571
Overview
This course will serve as an introduction to public administration and management in the United
States. We will explore the institutional setting and political relationships in administration;
leadership, decision making, personnel and budgeting functions; administrative law and
regulation; and the problem of responsibility. A major goal of the course is to improve our
understanding of the many aspects of public administration and management, in general, and
American bureaucracy in particular. Equally important will be to gain a substantive understanding
of some of the critical differences between policy and administration, and how each can and does
affect the other. Throughout the course, we will analyze current news by relating them to the
materials covered in class, i.e. – we will apply a public administration “lens” to everyday public
events. The concept of “clashing values” will serve as a central thematic framework for the
course.
Course Organization:
The course will be divided into three parts:
I – Political Management
II – Program Management
III – Resources Management
In the first section of the course, we will learn the basic definitions, concepts and the overall
context of public administration in the United States. Second, we will explore public organizations
– the institutional setting and political relationships. In this context, we will also explore relevant
theoretical frameworks and issues of management and communication flows. In the third section
of the course, we will focus on the core functions of public organizations, such as: decision
making, leadership, public personnel administration, and budgeting and finance. Lastly, we will
conclude by focusing on administrative law, clientele pressure and evaluation of public policy.
eCompanion-Hybrid:
This is a hybrid course: our class meetings are supplemented with a course website that will allow
you to access important information and study tools - handouts, announcements, readings, online
class discussions, self-tests, exam reviews, etc. To access the website, log in
via http://www.rutgersonline.net. Further details are provided on our “Pearson Learning Suite”
instructions handout.
News Sharing
For each class, you should be prepared to share current political/public administration news. We
will analyze the news by relating them to the materials we cover in class. Your news will be used
for class discussions and will count as participation.
Online Discussions
Each week, one or more discussion topic(s) will be posted on our course website. You are
expected to participate substantively in each of these discussions. Discussions for each week will
be active only for that week. For example, discussion for week 1 will be active from the end of our
week 1 class until the day of our next class.
Papers and Presentations
Each student will be responsible for several smaller papers - typically analyses of a particular
topic or issue as well as a substantive exploration (paper and presentation) of a management
issue. to be explored in depth. You will be asked to apply what we learned in class to your
analysis and to present your research in class. More information will be provided in class and
online.
Quizzes
The course will have a short quiz each week based primarily on the readings and text. Each quiz
is typically worth 25 points and generally consists of 15 points in multiple choice, true false,
and/or "fill in" format, and one or two short answer questions worth 5 or 10 points.
I will provide the short answer question prior to the quiz start date so you may construct your
essay in a more leisurely manner in word (or whatever) and simply copy and paste the final essay
into the exam where appropriate.
Plagiarism:
Please make sure to clearly acknowledge exact sources of information whenever using others’
ideas and words. Any student suspected of plagiarism will be reported to the Dean of Students
and, if found guilty, will be punished (suspended/expelled) by the university. An educational video
module on plagiarism is available
at:http://www.library.camden.rutgers.edu/educationalmodule/plagiarism
Please read Rutgers Policy on Academic Integrity at the Rutgers Academic
Integrity Website
This syllabus presents a general “road map” for this course. Some aspects of the syllabus may
change during the course of the semester to accommodate the dynamics and needs of the class.
Any changes will be announced in advance.
TEXT BOOKS
Required Textbook: Grover Starling, Managing the Public Sector, Thomson-Wadsworth, Ninth
Edition,
ISBN#10 0-495-83319-3
ISBN#13 978-0-495-83319-2
The required textbook should be available during the first week of class.
Additional required readings will be available on our course website including selected
chapters from:
Michael C. LeMay, Public Administration: Clashing Values in the Administration of Public
Policy, Wadsworth Publishing, 2006. ISBN# 0-534-60137-5
David H. Rosenbloom and Robert S. Kravchuk, Public Administration: Understanding
Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector, McGraw Hill, 2005
Jay M. Shafritz and Albert C. Hyde, Eds., Classics of Public Administration, Fourth Edition,
Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1997
SCHEDULE
I - DEFINITIONS, CONCEPTS, AND SETTING
Week 1
Thursday, Jan 23
Discussion of
In-Person
Welcome!  Introductions & Course Overview, eCompanion,
Policy, Administration, Introducing some differences
Reading for Week 1
Textbook
Starling, Chapter 1
“The Nature of Public Administration”
Water Case study (Doc Sharing)
Week 2
Thursday, Jan 30
Administration
HYBRID -- Online Session
Key Concepts and Approaches to Study of Public
Readings for Week 2:
Textbook:
Starling, Ch. 2, “The Political-Legal Environment of Administration"
Online:



Rosenbloom, Ch. 1, “The Practice and Discipline of Public Administration: Competing
Concerns”
Fox, "Understanding Administrative Law," Chapter 1
Woodrow Wilson, “The Study of Administration” in Shafritz and Hyde, Eds.
Optional




Marver H. Bernstein, “The Scope of Public Administration”, The Western Political
Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 1., Mar., 1952
Dwight Waldo, “Public Administration”, The Journal of Politics, Vol. 30, No. 2., May, 1968
H. George Frederickson, “The Repositioning of American Public Administration”, Political
Science and Politics, Vol. 32, No. 4., Dec., 1999
LeMay, Ch. 1, “Balancing Values in the Administration of Public Policy”
Short quiz from Chapter 1
Short quiz from Chapter 2
Federalism Water Case Study and Threaded Discussion
Week 3
Thursday, Feb 6
In-Person
Public Organizations: Responsibility and Ethics
Guest lecture - Ethics - Alan Zalkind, Director, Rutgers University Center for
Government Services
Readings for Week 3 (we will reversing units 4 and 3 - so Week 3 will be Unit 4, Week 4 will be
Unit 3):
Textbook:

Starling, Ch. 4, “Administrative Responsibility and Ethics”
Online Reading Assessment



Herbert A. Simon, “Public Administration in Today's World of Organizations and
Markets”, Political Science and Politics, Vol. 33, No. 4, Dec., 2000
LeMay, Ch.2, “The Social, Political, Economic, and Environmental Context of
Administration”
LeMay, Ch. 4, “Administration in the Federal System: Intergovernmental Relations and
Constitutional Sources of Values”
Week 4
HYBRID -- Online
Thursday, Feb. 13
Overall Context, Administration in a federal system
Readings for Week 4:
Textbook:


Starling, Ch.3, “Intergovernmental Relations”
Online Reading Assessment
Online:


LeMay, Ch. 3, “The Anatomy of Public Organizations: Bureaucratic Power and Politics”
Max Weber, “Bureaucracy” in Shafritz and Hyde, Eds.
Optional




Helen Constas, “Max Weber's Two Conceptions of Bureaucracy”, The American Journal
of Sociology, Vol. 63, No. 4, Jan., 1958
B. Guy Peters, “The Problem of Bureaucratic Government”, The Journal of Politics, Vol.
43, No. 1, Feb., 1981
Francis E. Rourke, “The 1993 John Gaus Lecture: Whose Bureaucracy Is This, Anyway?”
Congress, the President and Public Administration”, Political Science and Politics, Vol.
26, No. 4, Dec., 1993
Dan Farrell; James C. Petersen, “Patterns of Political Behavior in Organizations”, The
Academy of Management Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, Jul., 1982
Week 5
In-Person
Thursday, Feb 20
Program Management Phase Begins with Chapter 5, Planning
Guest Lecturer
Intelligence
Bil Leipold, Introduction to Management Tools, Emotional
Readings for Week 5:
Textbook:


Starling, Ch. 5, “Planning”
Online reading assessment
Online:

Current budget exercise to be announced in preparation for Week 6 guest
lecture
Week 6
In Person
Thursday, Feb 27
Guest Lecture
Decision Making
Professor Henry Coleman
Readings for Week 6:
Textbook:


Starling, Ch. 6, “Decision Making”
Online reading assessment
Online:


Graham T. Allison, “Public and Private Management: Are They Fundamentally Alike in All
Unimportant Respects?” in Shafritz and Hyde, Eds.
LeMay, Ch. 7, “Management of Bureaucratic Organizations: The Strategic Use of Values
in Policy Making and Administration”
Week 7
HYBRID - Online
Thursday, Mar. 6
Organizing
Readings for Week 7:
Textbook:


Starling, Chapter 7, "Organizing"
Online assessment of readings
Group project assignment
Online:

Eric M. Eisenberg; Marsha G. Witten, “Reconsidering Openness in Organizational
Communication”, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 12, No. 3, Jul., 1987



John T. Dorsey, Jr., “A Communication Model for Administration”, Administrative Science
Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 3, Dec., 1957
LeMay, Ch. 11, “Communication Flows in Administration: The Fuzzing of Values”
Janet Fulk; Gerardine DeSanctis, “Electronic Communication and Changing
Organizational Forms”, Organization Science, Vol. 6, No. 4, Jul. - Aug., 1995
Week 8
In-Person
Thursday, Mar 13
Research and paper development
Textbook:

Starling, Chapter 8, "Leading"
RECESS Week
Thursday, Mar 20
Week 9
SPRING BREAK
In-person
Thursday, Mar 27
Leading and Leadership
Readings for Week 9:
Textbook:
Starling, Ch. 9, “Implementation”
Online:


LeMay, Ch. 6, “Decision-making in the Administration of Public Policy”
LeMay, Ch. 10, “Leadership: The Chief Executive, the Bureaucracy, and the Search for
Accountability”
Week 10
Thursday, April 3
HYBRID -- Online
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Readings for Week 10:
Textbook:

Starling, Ch. 10, “Human Resources Management”
Online:

Lewis Meriam, “Public Service--Occupation or Industry?”, The American
Political Science Review, Vol. 32, No. 4, Aug., 1938

John M. Pfiffner, “Trends in Public Personnel Organization”, The American Political
Science Review, Vol. 26, No. 2, Apr., 1932
Week 11
In-Person
Thursday, April 10
Financial Management, Budgeting
Readings for Week 11:
Textbook:

Starling, Chapter 11 “Public Financial Management”
Week 12
Thursday, April 17
HYBRID -- Online
Information Management
Preparation for Student Presentations
Readings for week 12:
Textbook:


Starling, Ch. 12, "Information Management”
Online reading assessment
Online:
To be determined
Week 13
In-Person
Thursday, April 24
Clientele Pressure, Evaluation of Public Policy
Online Readings:

Arnold J. Meltsner, “The Seven Deadly Sins of Policy Analysis” in Shafritz and Hyde,
Eds.
Week 14:
In-Person
Thursday, May 1
CLASS
Conclusions/Class Overview, Class Evaluations, LAST
ANALYSIS PAPERS DUE
GRADING
Grading will be based on the following work effort distribution and assessment of quality
(you may explore the gradbook for a detailed alignment of assessments and weights):
Attendance and participation*
Short papers
Quizzes
Final Analysis paper
Presentation
20%
25%
25%
15%
15%
Attendance
Attendance is required, both in person and in the on-line portions of the course. Absence and
non-participation will adversely affect your grade.
*Participation (in-class participation, news-sharing, online discussions):