PAD 652: PUBLIC MANAGEMENT: DOCTORAL SEMINAR
5/10
v.51
Credit Hours: 4
Spring 2010
Dates: Tuesdays: 6:00 – 9:30 PM. Location: UHB 1008
Faculty:
Office:
Phone:
Email:
Dr. Alexis A. Halley
PAC 424
217-206-8327
ahall30@uis.edu (best way to reach me)
CONTEXT and FRAMEWORK
“In the past two decades, in nations around the world, the topic of public
management has taken on an increased significance in the theory and practice of
public administration.”1
Public Management encompasses an interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and international
literature drawn from public administration, political science, economics, public policy,
sociology, psychology, and business management to name a few. Its domains include: the
big questions facing the field; what government does; societal values; the role of the
individual public manager; what knowledge is; organizations as instruments of collective
action; management improvement, reform and change; public management policies and
the organizations and processes related to them; and more.
Proficiency in Public Management at the doctoral level consists of understanding origins,
issues, controversies, and theories, with strong conceptual, analytical, explanatory, and
communication skills. To those ends, this DPA doctoral seminar will pursue the following
questions:
1

How do we understand current and emerging boundaries, theory, scholarship and
practice of American (U.S.) Public Management within a 21st century context?

What do managers do, how do they do it, and how might they do it better?

What is the role of organization theory in Public Management? What conceptual
maps can we construct to show connections?

What understanding can we create among the theory and practice of Public
Management, your organizations, and your scholarship goals?

What is the nature and role of knowledge and knowledge management in Public
Management given the 21st century context?
Hal G. Rainey (2003). Public Management: Old and New: Introduction. In B. Guy Peters and Jon
Pierre. Handbook of Public Administration. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, p.11.
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FORMAT
As a doctoral seminar, PAD 652 aims for depth and appreciation of complexity. The
seminar approach is a scholarly discussion, dialogue and inquiry, both collectively (as a
class), and individually (related to particular interests). The seminar is writing and reading
intensive. It is also designed to surface questions of the kind usually found in qualifying
examinations, and to support, as applicable, the development of the doctoral dissertation.
Students enrolled in the class carry major responsibility for their learning. Students lead
class discussions, initiate ideas, share applications, and express uncertainties. In addition
to individual outside-of-class preparation and inside-class participation, those enrolled in
the course will benefit from work in study groups, sharing of resources, and other
legitimate forms of collaboration, which are encouraged.
SPECIAL NEEDS
Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability.
Please notify the instructor during the first week of class of any accommodations needed
for the course. Late notification may cause the requested accommodations to be
unavailable. All accommodations must be approved through the Office of Disability
Services (ODS) (217-206-6666) in the Human Resource Building Room 80.
REQUIRED BOOKS
Henry Mintzberg (2009). Managing. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. ISBN: 978-1-57675340-8
Derek Pugh and David Hickson (2007). Writers on Organizations, 6th edition. Thousand
Oaks: Sage. ISBN: 978-1-4129-4103-7
Tom Christensen, Per Laegreid, Paul Roness, and Kjell Rovik (2007). Organization Theory
and the Public Sector: Instrument, Culture, Myth. NY: Routledge. ISBN: 0-415-43381-9
David E. McNabb (2007). Knowledge Management in the Public Sector: A Blueprint for
Innovation in Government. NY: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN: 0-7656-1727-7.
Jeffrey Brudney, Laurence O’Toole, Hal Rainey (2000). Advancing Public Management: New
Developments in Theory, Methods, and Practice. Washington DC: Georgetown University
Press. ISBN: 0-87840-760-X
Other readings as assigned.
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ASSIGNMENTS and RELATIVE GRADING WEIGHTS
Seminar Assignments are of four types for each student: (1) brief analytical essays that
form the base of some of our discussions, (2) leadership in presenting and/or guiding two
in-class discussions, (3) a two part final exam, and (4) ongoing participation and
preparation for each session. The first three assignment areas are described below.
Your values, perspectives, and experiences are relevant to how you approach the study of
Public Management. Ability to mobilize and express your personal insights in ways that
build upon and communicate with others in this challenging field is critical to your success
in this doctoral program and elsewhere. Developing skills required of an individual
contributor in a community of scholar-practitioners is one objective of this course. To this
end, pay attention to grounding your analyses and any prescriptions firmly in specific
theoretical frameworks and institutional contexts.
Analytical
Essays
(50% of
Grade)
Essay 1: Definitions and Agendas
Your initial definition of the scope, boundaries, and challenges of Public
Management and what conceptual / practical areas or questions comprise
your initial learning agenda. Use January 19 and 26 assigned readings and
your own knowledge and interests. (5 to 7 pages, double-spaced, with
references. DUE January 26).
Essay 2: Critical Analysis of Mintzberg on Managing
Write a 5 page critical analysis of the book by Mintzberg. Include the one
idea you found most puzzling, and identify what applications you make from
Mintzberg’s arguments and claims to your practice and your study of public
management. (double-spaced, DUE February 2nd).
Essay 3: Public Management Journal Scan and Analysis
Summary and high-level analysis of two years (any two years between 2005
and 2009) of one scholarly journal from those listed in Attachment A.
Examine the articles (not editorials or book reviews). Then answer the
following questions: (1) What is the mission or purpose of the journal? (2)
What kinds of topics are covered in the journal for the two years you
examined (use a cluster or thematic analysis)? Do any topics seem more
important than others? (3) What are your initial observations about either
the narrative or research methods used in the articles based on the
abstracts of those articles? (4) Choose one article and write a brief summary
and critique of its thesis, methodology, findings, and questions it raises for
you including relevance or contribution to understanding and practicing
public management. (approximately 5 pages, double-spaced, DUE February
9th). Students will sign up in advance.
Essay 4: Theory-Informed Organizational Profile
Choose a public sector organization you know something about. Create a
theory-informed profile of this organization by writing your answers to the
questions identified in Attachment B. Your theory-informed profile will be
due in four parts as specified for Feb 23, March 2, 9, March 23 class sessions
(each approximately 4 pages, double-spaced, for each of the four parts).
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Lead
Discussant
(20% of
Grade)
Presentation/Discussion 1: Knowledge Management Concept and Case
Teams
As a member of one of the three Knowledge Management (KM) conceptcase teams, guide the class in a critical appreciation of your assigned KM
case at the April 6 and April 13 class sessions. Assume your team has 45 to
50 minutes to engage the class according to learning objectives and format
you specify. (Same grade to all members of each KM case team)
Presentation/Discussion 2: Panels Evaluating New Developments
Each student will orally present highlights of one chapter in Brudney et al
Advancing Public Management. This will include providing the class with a
handout of no more than 3 single-spaced, bullet-point format pages that (1)
identifies the central thesis of the assigned chapter, (2) summarizes the
argument that supports it, (3) offers your assessment of the quality of the
argument and the significance of the contribution to Public Management,
and (4) proposes the issues you would like the class to discuss. You may
augment your assigned chapter with other sources. You should assume that
you are serving on a panel at a professional conference, and that you have
not more than 15 minutes for your presentation with no questions during
your presentation. The instructor will serve as the panel moderator. The
class, or designated discussants, will be asked to respond to issues you raise
and questions you propose. Students will sign up in advance. DUE April
20 or April 27.
Final
Exam
(30% of
Grade)
Blackboard
The final exam will have two parts each due by 5:00pm Tuesday May 11,
2010.

Part One should be your scholarly report of the results you obtained
by exploring the scholarly literature with respect to one of the topics
you identified as comprising your January 26 Public Management
Learning Agenda. This might be an annotated bibliography you
create with an overview, or it might be the results of your deep
reading and synthesis of a few key references, etc. You work on this
throughout the semester after submitting a brief proposal to the
professor for approval by no later than February 16.

Part Two will be your written answers to take-home essay
question(s) distributed during the last class.
Each student is required to sign up to the Blackboard site for this course.
Class communication between sessions, updates to class assignments, and
your responses to selected class assignments will be posted here. An online
discussion board will be set up for each week of the seminar, and it will be
clear when the student use of that discussion board is discretionary or
required. Unless otherwise indicated, posts students make to the
Blackboard discussion boards are ungraded.
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SCHEDULE:
Articles are found in the course Blackboard site (either Library Resources or
Course Documents).
Module 1: STARTING POINTS
JANUARY 19: Orientation & Course Overview
Reading:
 Ellen Schall (1995). Learning to Love the Swamp: Reshaping Education for Public
Service. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, v.14, n.2: 202-220.
 Jonathon Gosling and Henry Mintzberg (2003). Five Minds of a Manager. Harvard
Business Review, v.81, n.11: 54-63
 Breakthrough Ideas for 2010. Harvard Business Review, v.88, n.1: 41-57.
 Peter Drucker (1994). Age of Social Transformation. The Atlantic Monthly,
November
JANUARY 26: Public Management: Constructing a Definitional Framework
DUE: Essay 1
Reading:
 Brudney, et. al. (2000). Chapter 1, Public Management in an Era of Complexity and
Challenge, in Advancing Public Management book (p.1-12)
 Lawrence E. Lynn, Jr (2003). Public Management. In Peters & Pierre, Handbook of
Public Administration. Sage: 14-24
 Robert D. Behn (1995), The Big Questions of Public Management. Public
Administration Review (July/August), v.55, n.4: 313-324
 John J. Kirlin (1996). The Big Questions of Public Administration in a Democracy.
Public Administration Review (Sept/Oct), v.56, n.5: 416-423
 Carol Lewis (2006). In Search of the Public Interest. Public Administration Review,
v.66, n.5: 694-701
 Robert Klitgaard and Paul C. Light (2005). Introduction. Santa Monica: RAND: 1-7
FEBRUARY 2: Nature of Managerial Work DUE: Essay 2
Reading:
 Henry Mintzberg (2009). Managing (all chapters)
 John Kotter (2001). What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business Review, v.79, n.11:
85-96.
 Robert Behn (1998). What Right Do Public Managers Have to Lead? Public
Administration Review, v.61, n.1: 111-115.
 Robert Klitgaard and Paul C. Light (2005). Chapter 4 (High Performance
Government in an Uncertain World). Santa Monica: RAND: 113-138.
FEBRUARY 9: Symposium: Knowledge in Public Management. Topics in Public
Management Journals. DUE: Essay 3
Reading:
 Jay D. White (1986). On the Growth of Knowledge in Public Administration. Public
Administration Review (Jan/Feb), v.46, n.1: 15-23
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


John P. Forrester and Sheilah Watson (1994). An Assessment of Public
Administration Journals: The Perspective of Editors and Editorial Board Members.
Public Administration Review, v.54: 474-482.
Robert E. Cleary (2000). The Public Administration Doctoral Dissertation
Reexamined: An Evaluation of the Dissertations of 1998. Public Administration
Review, v.60, n.5: 446-455.
Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton (2006). Evidence-Based Management. Harvard
Business Review, (January) v.84, n.1: 62-74.
FEBRUARY 16: Interim Conclusions re: Nature and Dimensions of Public
Management.
DUE: One page re: your focus and approach for Part 1 of the Final Exam
 Review all reading to date and all analytic essays written to date.
 Each student shares the focus and approach you plan to take for Part One of the
Final Exam.
 This session synthesizes the learning so far. The instructor may provide a case for
the class to analyze as a way to support that integration.
Module 2: ORGANIZATION THEORY (Christensen book (OT); Pugh book – Writers)
FEBRUARY 23: Public Organizations as Tools for Leaders: Instrumental Perspective.
DUE: Essay 4-Part 1
Reading:
 OT-C1: Org Theory for the Public Sector
 OT-C2: Instrumental Perspective
 OT-C5: Goals and Values
 Writers: Structure (Weber, Pugh, Chandler, Handy, Bartlett & Ghoshal)
MARCH 2: Public Organizations as Independent Influences: Institutional
Perspectives. DUE: Essay 4-Part 2
Reading:
 OT-C3: Cultural Perspective
 OT-C4: Myth Perspectives
 Writers: People (Mayo, Schein, Trist, Kanter)
 Writers: Organization and Environment (Burns, Lawrence & Lorsch, Pfeffer &
Salancik, Miles & Snow, Hofstede)
MARCH 9: Leadership and Steering: Instrumental and Institutional Perspectives
DUE: Essay 4-Part 3
Reading:
 OT-C6: Leadership and Steering
 Writers: Management and Decision Making (Fayol, Taylor, Drucker, Simon, Weick)
 Robert Klitgaard and Paul C. Light (2005). Chapter 10: Broadening Public
Leadership in a Globalized World. Santa Monica: RAND: 281-308.
 Scan the two leadership articles in the January 2010 issue of Public Administration
Review (one by Anderson (p.131-141), the other by Khademian (p.142-150)
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MARCH 16: Spring Recess
MARCH 23: Reform and Change: Instrumental and Institutional Perspectives
DUE: Essay 4-Part 4
Reading:
 OT-C7: Reform and Change
 OT-C8: Effects and Implications
 Writers: Org Change and Learning (Pettigrew, Argyris, Senge, Eisenhardt, Morgan)
Module 3: PUBLIC MANAGEMENT POLICIES
MARCH 30: Management Policies and Administrative Management of a
Representative Constitutional Democracy
DUE: Post the following two written assignments to the Blackboard Discussion Board by
midnight March 29.
(1) Essay 4 Conclusion: Two pages wherein you (a) draw some conclusions about your
organization's principal management theory, approach, or system, and you (b) bullet point,
based on your analyses, some key organization and management issues you think your
organization faces today. (This analysis/synthesis/inference draws from your essay 4
writings and the accompanying readings.) (In developing your conclusions, perhaps
imagine you are a leader-statesman/woman in that organization - and/or perhaps imagine
you are making remarks to the organization's executive team or some related body to
stimulate them to reflect on the nature of the organization and the challenges it confronts
today.)
(2) Federal Management Publication: One page synopsis and critique of a governmental
publication related to the questions/themes we are examining in this doctoral seminar in
public management. This publication must be from one of the following sources: U.S.
Government Accountability Office; Executive Office of the U.S. President,
particularly the White House Office of Management and Budget; Congressional
Budget Office; U.S. Office of Personnel Management; or the National Academy of
Public Administration.
Reading:
 Organization Theory: Critique, Understanding, Design (Christensen et al, C1, C9)
 Donald Stone (1990). Administrative Management: Reflections on Origins and
Accomplishments. Public Administration Review, (Jan/Feb), v.50, n.1: 3-20
 Herbert Kaufman (2007). Administrative Management: Does Its Strong Executive
Thesis Still Merit Our Attention? Public Administration Review, v.67, n.6: 1041-48
 Robert Klitgaard and Paul C. Light (2005). Chapter 2: Urgent Business for America.
Santa Monica: RAND: 9-88
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Module 4: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (KM) (McNabb book)
APRIL 6: Knowledge Management Concepts
DUE: Presentation/Discussion1-A
Reading:
 Foundations of KM (C1, C2)
 Transforming Government with KM (C3, C4, C5, C6, C7)
 KM Systems in the Public Sector (C8, C9, C10)
APRIL 13: Knowledge Management Stories
DUE: Presentation/Discussion1-B
Reading:
 C11: NASA
 C12: Army’s Communications-Electronics Command
 C13: Virginia Department of Transportation
 C14: KM’s Role in the Drive to Transform Government
Recommended:
 Rob Briner, David Denyer, Denise Rousseau (2009). Evidence-Based Management:
Concept Cleanup Time?” Academy of Management Perspectives, Nov: 19-32.
Module 5: SYMPOSIUM:
ASSESSING NEW DEVELOPMENTS (Brudney, O’Toole, Rainey book)
APRIL 20: Critical Review of Chapters in Advancing Public Management
DUE: Presentation/Discussion2
Reading:
 In Government, Does Management Matter? (2,3,4)
 Methodological Frontiers in Understanding Public Management (5,6,7)
APRIL 27: Critical Review of Chapters in Advancing Public Management
DUE: Presentation/Discussion2
Reading:
 Reform, Reinvention, Innovation, and Change (8,9,10,11)
 Models and Frameworks: New Approaches in Public Management (12,13,14)
MAY 4
 No class. Work on take-home final exam.
By 5:00 PM, May 11:
INDIVIDUAL FINAL EXAMS ARE DUE
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10
COURSE POLICIES
Your responsibilities as a seminar member include completing all assignments on time,
participating in and leading discussions, being prepared for each session with
demonstrated evidence you have done the reading, offering thoughts on topics and
discussion points, and contributing to understanding we develop as we explore the focal
seminar questions.
1) The Syllabus: This syllabus is a guide to the course for the student. Sound educational
practice requires flexibility and the instructor may therefore, at her discretion, change
content and requirements during the semester. Should this occur, all students will
receive the updated syllabus and the impact of any changes will be considered in
grading.
2) Attendance: Weekly attendance is expected. You are expected to notify me in advance
if you have to miss class (phone: 206-8327 or email: ahall30@uis.edu). Absence
without prior notification and/or more than one unexcused absence will reduce your
grade for the course. Under special circumstances (e.g. a family emergency) you may
make up excess absences by means of additional written work.
3) Submission of Written Work Products:
a. Policy on Late Work (after due date): All work must be turned in by the assigned
due date in order to receive full credit for that assignment, unless an exception is
expressly made by the instructor.
b. Writing: Enrollment in doctoral education assumes a commitment to scholarship,
demonstrated through written material that reflects logical analytical reasoning,
creativity, succinctness, and evidence from the academic literature. Proper
grammar, punctuation, spelling and a writing style befitting someone earning a
doctorate are expected. All writing assignments should be typed; double-spaced;
12 point Times Roman font or equivalent; one-inch margins; and make use of an
accepted, consistent and complete citation scheme (e.g., American Psychological
Association style guide or the Chicago Manual of Style). Title pages and the
reference or bibliography pages are not counted as part of stated page limits.
Points will be deducted for papers not meeting these requirements.
c. Submission of Written Work Products Outside of the Classroom: It is the
responsibility of the student to ensure that the instructor receives each written
assignment.
3) Academic Integrity. The UIS community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni are
committed to academic excellence, which thrives on honesty, trust, and mutual respect.
Academic integrity is at the heart of this commitment. Students are responsible for
being aware of the Academic Integrity Policy
http://www.uis.edu/campussenate/AcademicIntegrity.html and for demonstrating
honest and ethical behavior in their academic work. Violations of the Academic
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Integrity Policy may result in sanctions including failing the assignment, failing the
course, transcript notation, or referral for Academic Hearing.
4) Evaluation: Course grades will be developed based on the approximate grading weights
identified above and using the criteria below:
A:
Exceptional work for a doctoral student: Exceeds expectations for
seminar requirements and assignments. Work is unusually thorough,
well-reasoned, creative, methodologically sophisticated, well written.
Student is self-initiating; has insightful grasp of subject matter.
A-:
Very Good: Very strong work. Work at this level shows signs of
creativity, is thorough, well reasoned, indicates strong understanding of
appropriate methodological or analytical approaches.
B+:
Good: Strong work, well-reasoned and thorough, methodologically
sound. Student fully meets expectations for seminar requirements and
assignments. May be excellent in one area(s) offset by satisfactory in
other area(s).
B:
Adequate: Competent work for a doctoral student even though some
weaknesses are evident (e.g., understanding of some important
concepts is less than complete; analytical approaches are adequate but
student has not been thorough or shows other weaknesses).
B-:
Borderline: Meets the minimal expectations for the course (e.g.,
analytical work is minimally adequate and performance needs
improvement).
C+/C/C-:
Deficient: Inadequate work for a doctoral student; does not meet
minimal expectations for the course.
F:
Fail. Work fails to meet even minimal expectations and performance is
consistently weak in many areas. Unofficial withdrawal.
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ATTACHMENT A. EXAMPLE OF CANDIDATE JOURNALS for ESSAY 3
Sign-up will be discussed in class.
Organization
(sponsor)
Academy of
Management:
Association for
Public Policy
Analysis and
Management:
American Society
of Public
Administration:
Public
Management
Research
Association
International
Research Society
for Public
Management:
University:
Other Sponsors:
JOURNAL
1) Academy of Management Learning
and Education
UIS LIBRARY
SHOULD HAVE:
Available from 2002
2) Academy of Management
Perspectives
3) Academy of Management Review
Available from 2006
4) Academy of Management Journal
Available from 1963
5) Journal of Policy Analysis and
Management
Available from 1981
6)Public Administration Review
Available from 1940
7)American Review of Public
Administration
Available from 1967
8) Journal of Public Administration
Research and Theory
Available from 1991
9) Public Management Review
Available from 1976
Available from 2001
(most recent year(s) not
available)
10) Harvard Business Review
(Harvard)
Available from 1922
11) Administrative Science Quarterly
(Cornell)
Available from 1956
12) Administration and Society
Available from 1969
13) Journal of Management Inquiry
(Western Academy of Management)
Available from 1992
14) International Journal of Public
Administration
Available from 2001 (most
recent 1 year not avail)
15) Organization Science
Available from 1990
(most recent two years not
available)
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ATTACHMENT B. GUIDELINES FOR Theory-Informed Profile (Essay 4)
Choose a public sector organization you know something about. Create a theory-informed
profile of this organization by writing your answers to the questions identified below. Your
theory-informed profile will be due in four parts as specified at February 16, 23, March 2, 9.
Note: Conceptual references for answering these questions, and many of the questions
themselves, are in the books by Christensen et al, Organization Theory and the Public Sector,
and Pugh et al, Writers on Organizations.
Organization to be Profiled is:______________________________
Note: if you find you want to change your focal organization for different parts of the essay,
please so indicate in that particular essay. If you want to team up with a colleague to
complete these essays focusing on the same organization, please discuss with the instructor.
Essay 4-Part 1: DUE February 23
Public Organizations as Tools for Leaders-Instrumental Perspective
1) Identify how and to what extent the chosen organization is based on certain
principles of specialization and coordination.
2) Discuss some consequences of its formal organizational structure.
3) Identify its type of technical environment and task environment and discuss how
and to what extent its formal organizational structure is contingent on these factors.
4) Discuss what is typical for goals and values in this organization.
5) Take a concept from any one of the identified “writers on structure” (i.e., Weber,
Pugh, Chandler, Handy, or Bartlett & Ghoshal) and relate it to your identified
organization.
Essay 4-Part 2: DUE March 2
Public Organizations as Independent Influences: Institutional Perspectives
1) Identify some of your chosen organization’s main cultural values and norms, and
discuss different ways to identify these cultural features.
2) Imagine that you are a leader in this organization. Discuss the cultural constraints
you may have in acting appropriately.
3) Identify which popular organizational recipes your organization has adopted in the
last five years. Describe factors that helped or hindered putting these recipes into
practice.
4) Take a concept from one identified writer on “people” (i.e., Mayo, Schein, Trist, or
Kanter) and relate it to your identified organization.
5) Take a concept from one identified writer on “organization and environment” (i.e.,
Burns, Lawrence & Lorsch, Pfeffer & Salancik, Miles & Snow, or Hofstede) and relate
it to your identified organization.
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Essay 4-Part 3: DUE March 9
Leadership and Steering: Instrumental and Institutional Perspectives
1) Identify some major ways that leadership and steering are conducted in this
organization, based on instrumental, cultural, and myth perspectives.
2) Discuss some of the main contextual constraints to which leaders in this
organization are subjected, internal and external.
3) Discuss whether you find elements of what Selznick defines as “statesmanship” in
this organization.
4) Take a concept from one identified writer on “management and decision making”
(i.e., Fayol, Taylor, Drucker, Simon, Weick) and relate it to your identified
organization.
Essay 4-Part 4: DUE March 23
Reform and Change: Instrumental and Institutional Perspectives
1) Identify some recent reforms and changes in structural and cultural features of the
organization.
2) Discuss one of these reforms and changes from the instrumental, cultural, and myth
perspectives.
3) Discuss the relationship between one or more of these reforms and the national or
other higher level administrative policy in your country.
4) Take a concept from one identified writer on “organizational change and learning”
(i.e., Pettigrew, Argyris, Senge, Eisenhardt, or Morgan) and relate it to your
identified organization.