PA 600: Scope of Public Administration Fall 2013
Where and When: Brawley Campus Room 102; T 5:30 – 8:10 p.m.
Professor: Kelley Crockett PhD.
Office: East Faculty Bldg Calexico Campus 109/ E-Mail: kcrockett@mail.sdsu.edu
Office hours: Tuesday ONLINE via Blackboard Collaborate 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm by appointment
Course Description and Purpose
This course introduces public administration as an academic discipline and provides students with an
understanding of the cultural, constitutional, institutional and ethical context of large-scale public
bureaucracies.
Course Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course students will have:
1. Applied managerial, political, sociological, and ethical perspectives to public administration in
theory and in practice
2. Surveyed classical and modern literature that both defines the structural foundation of the
discipline and explored recurring themes in the field
3. Analyzed the current trends and challenges in achieving both efficient and effective service
delivery to the citizenry
4. Utilized critical thinking skills expressed through writing and discussion
Texts
There are two required texts as well as several book chapters and articles that will be made available on
Blackboard
Shafritz, Jay M and Hyde, Albert C. 2012. Classics of Public Administration 7th edition. Boston:
Wadsworth
Goodsell, Charles T. 2003. The Case for Bureaucracy: Public Administration Polemic. Chatham NJ:
Chatham House
Course Grading
Screening Exam
Turn-it-in online essays (3 worth 5% each)
In class essays (2 worth 5% each)
Content quizzes (2 worth 5% each)
Lead discussion question
Participation in discussions/attendance
50%
15%
10%
10%
5%
10%
PA 600 is the screening course for the MPA program. Continuation in the graduate
program is contingent upon your satisfactory completion of all course
assignments, and passing the comprehensive screening examination.
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Course Requirements
Student preparation and participation is mandatory. Excessive absences, late arrivals or leaving early,
lack of reading, lack of participation during in class and online discussions will result in an inability to
satisfactorily master the content of the class. Students are required to write three, no longer than 3 page
papers, and turn them in online. They will also be required to write two, no longer than 3 pages each, inclass essays. Students will also be responsible to lead an in class discussion answering previously
assigned questions on a single reading and will participate in two online discussion forums. There are two
(5 questions open book) content quizzes based on the content assigned for that night. The final is the
comprehensive screening exam.
Papers
Students are required to write three 3 page papers. The first paper is due on September 17th. Your
second and third papers will be prepared in anticipation of the topic being discussed. Students may
choose which question/week to turn in their second and third papers based on the schedule below. This
builds a bit of flexibility in for you and eliminates any papers being late. Papers must be submitted
electronically by 4:00 p.m. on the due date. LATE PAPERS ARE NOT ACCEPTED. You may submit
your papers earlier than the due date, though if you receive a poor grade you may not make it up with
another paper later. Papers will be turned into Blackboard using the turn-it-in plagiarism identification
program. Students are responsible for original writing and must cite source (assigned class readings)
documents at least twice in each paper. Students may not copy from or reference the instructor’s power
point presentations. Students will be responsible for answering the assigned question concisely. In other
words, please answer all parts of the question with some support for your points from the literature
assigned. Do NOT merely summarize the articles. Do NOT overdo the quoted material as you will not
have access to the literature on the exam and the papers are meant to help you practice answering a
typically presented question.
Higher points will be given to those papers that reflect
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Clarity in presenting your insights and understanding of the problem/challenge/issues
How well your question and discussion relates themes presented by different authors
Integration of assigned readings for that week of the assigned question
Adherence to the format of no more than three pages, 12 pt font with 1 inch margins all around
with the question listed at the top in bold. Please use a cover sheet with your name along with
the date submitted e.g. Marjorie Smith, Paper #1, September 17, 2013.
Use of academic language and third person narrative (this means no “I”, “me”, or “my”).
This is a formal paper so no personal stories or references of any kind.
Questions
Due Sept 17th: How are the values of efficiency and effectiveness contrasted in public administration?
(Everyone must do the September 17th paper)
Choose TWO of the following:
Due Sept 24th: Does privatization in the public sector encourage more effective delivery of service to the
public?
Due Oct 15th: What is the role of ethics, including written codes of conduct, in maintaining public trust?
Due Oct 29th: How does Goodsell argue that bureaucracy supports and holds the discretionary actions of
Lipsky’s “street level bureaucrats” accountable in the decision making process?
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Quizzes
There will be two quizzes. The format is open book, open note, online but no collaboration. There are 5
true/false or multiple choice questions and you have 20 minutes in which to finish each quiz.
Plagiarism and Cheating
You must cite (use APA style) the author and the page number of any quotes or any paraphrase of
someone else’s work in all your papers. For authors assigned in the Classics textbook you may merely
reference the author, date and page found in the Classics book (7th edition) e.g. (Wilson 1887 p 26), but
for non textbook citing please include a reference page at the end. Those who do not cite quoted work
may receive a fail on the paper and a warning or referral for possible suspension, probation or expulsion.
Accommodations
Students who need accommodations of their disabilities should contact me privately to discuss specific
accommodations for which they have received prior authorization from the Student Disability Services.
Course Outline and Reading Schedule
Aug 27: Module 1: Introduction to Public Administration
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Syllabus review
Read Classics pp 3-13
Lecture Pwpt: PA: Historical, chronological as a discipline and recurring themes
Lecture PA 600 Background to MPA Course 1
Bring Classics book to class
Sept 03: Module 2: Understanding Public Administration: Politics- Administration Dichotomy
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Read Classics pp 67-77
Read Wilson 1887 The Study of Administration (in Classics pp 16-28)
Lecture Pwpt: Understanding PA and Wilson outline
Begin Administrative Effectiveness and Efficiency Lecture (download note pages to be ready)
Sept 10: Module 3: Administrative Effectiveness and Efficiency: The Role of Democracy and
Empowerment
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Read Taylor 1912 Scientific Management (in Classics pp 37-39)
Read Simon 1946 The Proverbs of Administration (in Classics pp 127-139)
Read Waldo 1948 The Administrative State: Conclusion (in Classics pp 141-143)
Read Kaufman 1969 Administration and Political Power (in Classics pp 264-273)
Read Nye 2001 Information Technology and Democratic Governance (in Classics pp 569-576)
Lead Discussion Question Presentations
Lecture Pwpt: E & E
Sept 17: Module 4: Intellectual Foundations of PA: Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison
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Read Kettle 2002 The Transformation of Governance: Public Administration for Twenty-First
Century America Chapters 2 and 3 (Blackboard)
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Read Rosenbloom 1983 Public Administration Theory and the Separation of Powers (in Classics
pp 442-450)
Read Derthick 1987 American Federalism: Madison’s Middle Ground in the 1980’s (in Classics pp
479-486)
Lead Discussion Question Presentations
Lecture Pwpt: Foundations
First Paper Due Online by 4:00 pm on Sept 17.
Sept 24: Module 5: Private Vs Public Sector Management
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Read Appleby 1945 Government is Different (in Classics pp 122-126)
Read Allison 1979 Public and Private Management: Are They Fundamentally Alike in All
Unimportant Respects? (in Classics pp 395-410)
Read Moe 1987 Exploring the Limits of Privatization (in Classics pp 469-476)
Lead Discussion Questions Presentations
Lecture Pwpt: P Vs P and outline comparing P & P
Optional Paper Due Online by 4:00 p.m.
Oct 1: Module 6: Organizations: Informal/Formal and the role of the individual vs the role of the
organization
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Read Bernard 1938 Informal Organizations and Their Relation to Formal Organizations (in
Classics pp 95-99)
Read Gulick 1937 Notes on the Theory of Organization (in Classics pp 81-89)
Read Follett 1926 The Giving of Orders (in Classics pp 58-65)
Lead Discussion Questions Presentations
Lecture Pwpt: Organizations, Informal and Formal Influences
Oct 08: Module 7: Public Trust and Public Interest **CLASS LECTURE/DISCUSSION IS ONLINE
TONIGHT**
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Read Nye, Zelikow, King 1997 Why People Don’t Trust Government Introduction (Blackboard)
Read Mosher 1974 Watergate: Implications for Responsible Gov (in Classics pp 321-327)
Read Pasquerella, Killilea 2005 The Ethics of Lying in the Public Interest (Blackboard)
Lecture Pwpt: Public Trust/Interest
Online Discussion on The Ethics of Lying in the Public Interest (Blackboard)
Content quiz 1 online due by midnight
Oct 15: Module 8: Ethics in the Public Sector
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Read Adams 2009 Unmasking Administrative Evil (in Classics pp 598-607)
Read Lewis 2009 The Ethics Challenge in Public Service (in Classics pp 514-518
Read Thompson 1985 The Possibility of Administrative Ethics (in Classics pp 460-467)
Lecture Pwpt: Ethics and case study discussion
Optional Paper Due Online by 4:00 p.m.
Oct 22: Module 9: Bureaucracy and Structure: Classical View and Modern
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Read Classics pp 170-185, 370-388
Read Weber 1946 Bureaucracy (in Classics pp 44-49)
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Read Lipsky 1980 Street-Level Bureaucracy: The Critical Role of Street-Level Bureaucrats (in
Classics pp 412-417)
Lecture Pwpt: Bureaucracy
First In Class Essay: Accountability and Bureaucracy
Oct 29: Module 10: Goodsell: Positives of Bureaucracy
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Read Goodsell 2003 The Case for Bureaucracy: Public Administration Polemic Chapters 1-3
Lecture Pwpt: Goodsell’s Polemic and Bureaucracy
Class Discussion
Optional Paper Due Online by 4:00 p.m.
Nov 5: Module 11: New Public Management: Reinventing Government and New Public Service
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Read Classics 563-567
Read National Performance Review From Red Tape to Results: Creating a Government That
Works Better and Costs Less (in Classics pp 541-547)
Read Barzelay 1992 Breaking Through Bureaucracy (in Classics pp 519-231)
Lecture Pwpt: New Public Management and New Public Service
Nov 12: Module 12: Creating Value, Democracy, Citizen Empowerment and Engagement **CLASS
LECTURE/DISCUSSION IS ONLINE TONIGHT**
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Read Moore 1995 Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government (in Classics pp
549-555)
Lecture Pwpt: Friedrich VS Finer
Online discussion on Freidrich vs Finer: How are their positions relevant today?
Content quiz 2 online due by midnight
Nov 19: Review Questions and Second In Class Essay:
 What are democratic values and representation and how do we in public service promote them?
Nov 26: Small Group Review: Selected Public Administration Themes
Dec 3: Student Review for Comprehensive Exam, PA Themes and Concepts
Dec 5: Comprehensive Exam (tentatively scheduled) 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Location Calexico Campus
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