Course Basics: Instructor: Dr. Luke Fowler Office: West Hall

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1 Instructor: Dr. Luke Fowler Office: West Hall Valdosta State University Department of Political Science Master of Public Administration Program PADM 7300 IA Foundations Seminar in Public Administration Summer 2015 online Course Basics: Text: Frederickson, H.G., K.B. Smith, C.W. Larimer, and M.J. Licari. The Public Administration Theory Primer. 1 st or 2 nd edition. Westview Press. Suggested: Scott, G.M. and S.M. Garrison. The Political Science Student Writer s Manual, 7 th edition. Prentice Hall. Course Description: A survey of the field of public administration, including the research and writing skills needed for successful study in the field. The course is to be taken during the student s first semester of coursework. Students must demonstrate basic computer proficiency as part of this course. Course Purpose: The purpose of this course is to lay the foundation for all future scholarly work and reading in public administration. The readings are designed to provide an overview of all the essential topics in the field. Some of these subjects will be covered in more detail in other courses; however, this course integrates all topics into a seamless discussion of public administration as a field. This course should prepare students to future coursework in this program, as well as work in the public sector. Course Goals: 1. Understand the foundational concepts, ideas, and theories in the field of public administration. 2. Develop research and writing skills necessary to be successful in this graduate program. 3. Become familiar with the evolution of public administration in the United States. 4. Become familiar with the current and emerging trends in the field of public administration affecting the public sector. 5. Understand the role of public administrators in a democratic society and a bureaucratic system. Valdosta State University complies fully with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students requesting classroom accommodations or modifications because of a documented disability must contact the Access Office for Students with Disabilities located in room 1115 Nevins Hall. The phone numbers are (voice) and (TTY). Learn more on the VSU website at: You may also reach them via at access@valdosta.edu. Also, please discuss this with your instructor(s) at the start of each class. Course Requirements: Students are expected to regularly participate and complete all assignments. Students are expected to have access to a computer in which they can access Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Adobe Acrobat files. Additionally, they should have access to and to the course website. All communication should be through D2L/BlazeView or through official Valdosta.edu addresses. Participation: Online work is generally conducted asynchronously and does not require students to be online at scheduled times. There may be occasional synchronous class activities which will be scheduled with advance notice. In addition, group work will require students to schedule meetings for their groups based on the availability of each student. Each student is expected to be engaged in all class activities. Magnitude of participation in discussion and activities does not imply quality; however, the two indicators are often correlated positively. Students are expected to be well prepared and share insightful comments, criticism, and perspective with the class.

2 Assignments: All assignments are due at the beginning of class. All assignments should be typed, printed, and turned in on time. Late and/or incomplete assignments will be accepted, but with severe penalty. All files will be made available in Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, or Adobe Acrobat format. All assignments should include a header including name, assignment, and date. All assignments are due Sunday at midnight, unless otherwise stated. Discussion Participation: Each week discussion boards through BlazeView will be utilized for discussions of the readings. There will be two roles for students to play each week: leader and participant. Discussion leaders will be required to outline notes on the readings for classmates and lead the discussion. Students will be required to sign up as discussion leaders for individual weeks during the first week of class; no more than 2 students will be allowed to discussion leaders during any given week. The outline of notes should cover the important aspects of the readings that week, and should be the starting point of the discussion. These notes should be posted no later than Monday at 5pm on the given week. Discussion leaders will, then, help to facilitate and move the discussion forward throughout the week, by replying to posts of the other discussion participants. The expectation of adequate discussion facilitation will be that the discussion leader makes at least five comments in addition to the posting of the reading notes. All students not serving as discussion leaders will be expected to be discussion participants that week. Discussion participants should focus their comments to analysis, application, and insight into the readings. Discussion participants should NOT simply summarize the readings in their posts. The expectation of adequate participation each week is that each discussion participant make at least two comments. Discussion boards close Sunday at 5pm. Case Studies: All students will be required to write two case studies. Both case studies should be 2 to 3 pages each. The cases for analysis will be made available through BlazeView. The cases should focus on analyzing the issues in the case and applying the course material. Students will be expected to submit their case studies in the dropbox through BlazeView on the appropriate due date. Additionally, a discussion board will be available the week the case is due. Students are expected to post at least one comment concerning the case and their opinion. Book Review: All students will be required to write a 5 to 8 page book review. The list of approved books is below. Students will be required to sign up for a book the first week of class; no more than 2 students will be allowed to review any book. The book review should include a brief summary, but focus more on the students analysis of the text and its implications for public service. Students will be expected to submit their book reviews to the dropbox on the BlazeView on the appropriate due date. Additionally, a discussion board will be available the week the book review is due. Students will be expected to post at least comment concerning how their book relates to the course, its importance to understanding public administration, and any important lessons learned. Goodsell, C.T. The Case for Bureaucracy. 3 rd or 4 th edition. CQ Press. Gore, A. Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less: The Report of the National Performance Review. Plume. Krislov, S. and D.H. Rosenbloom. Representative Bureaucracy. Quid Pro. Light, P.C. The New Public Service. Brookings Institute Press. Light, P.C. The True Size of Government. Brookings Institute Press. Mosher, F.C. Democracy and the Public Service. 1st or 2nd edition. Oxford University Press. Van Riper, P.P. History of the U.S. Civil Service. Greenwood Pub Group. Winter, W.F. Hard Truths/Tough Choices: An Agenda for State and Local Reform. Rockefeller Institute of Government. Final Exam: The final exam will be open book, and made available through BlazeView. Any material covered in class may be included in the final exam. The final exam will be essay format. Students will be expected to submit their final exams to the dropbox on the BlazeView on the appropriate due date.

3 Grading: As outlined in the VSU graduate bulletin, students in this course will be graded on a satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U) basis. In order for a student to receive a grade of S, the student must earn a total average of 80% or higher (at least 80 points out of a total of 100 points) for this course. A student must receive a grade of S in this course in order to continue in the MPA program. This course may be repeated one time. Evaluation/Grading: Discussion Leader: 15 Discussion Participation: 15 Case Study 1: 15 Case Study 2: 15 Book Review: 20 Final Exam: 20 Total: 100 Percentage of Possible Points Above 90% Requirements Grading Rubric: Original work that provides well thought out content based on course material; work enhances the quality of substantive content, and is both detailed and development 70% to 90% Original work that provides relevant content with some reference to course material; work somewhat enhances quality of substantive content, but lacks detail or development 50% to 70% Original work that is not particularly well thought out, is not relevant to course material, lacks important details, and/or fails to add to the content of the course; work lacks significant detail and does not enhance substantive content Below 50% Work is unoriginal, not relevant, or inappropriate; work does not provide any substantive content or distracts from the substantive content of others. Scientific Management Course Schedule: Week of Topic(s) Learning Outcomes Readings May 14 Introduction Students will understand the purpose Syllabus of the course, and the requirements for success. May 18 Origins of Public Administration Students will understand the origins and the development of the field of Smith and Frederickson: Chapter 2 Wilson, W. (1887). The Study of public administration. Administration, Political Science Students will understand the concept and the administrative approach of Scientific Management in the public sector. Quarterly 2(2): Henry, N. (1975). Paradigms of Public Administration, Public Administration Review 35(4):

4 May 25 June 1 The Science of Administration? New Public Administration New Public Management Students will become familiar with the origins of a key intellectual debate in the field. Students will understand the concept and the administrative approach of New Public Administration in the public sector. Students will understand the concept and the administrative approach of New Public Management in the public sector. Smith and Frederickson: Chapter 3 Harmon, M. (1989). The Simon/Waldo Debate: A Review and Update, Public Administration Quarterly 12(4): Smith and Frederickson: Chapters 5 & 9 June 7: Case Study #1 Due June 8 Network Governance Students will understand the concepts of network governance and administrative approaches to managing networks. June 15 The Civil Service Students will become familiar with the major issues affecting the U.S. Civil Service. Osborne, S. (2010). Introduction: The (New) Public Governance: a Suitable Case for Treatment? in The New Public Governance?: Emerging Perspectives on the Theory and Practice of Public Governance, edited by S. Osborne, New York: Routledge. Sorensen, E. (2002). Democratic Theory and Network Governance, Administrative Theory & Praxis 24(4): Provan, K. (2008). Modes of Network Governance: Structure, Management, and Effectiveness, Journal of Public Administration Research Theory 18(2): Book Reviews June 21: Book Review due by midnight June 22 Reforming the Civil Service Students will understand contemporary attempts at reforming the civil service. Thompson, J.R. (2006). The Federal Civil Service: The Demise of an Institution, Public Administration Review 66(4): Battaglio, R.P. and S. Condrey (2006). Civil Service Reform: Examining State and Local Government Cases, Review of Public Personnel 26(2): Condrey, S. and R.P. Battaglio (2007). A Return to Spoils? Revisiting Radical Civil Service Reform in the United States, Public Administration Review 67(3):

5 June 29 July 6 Organizational Context Competition Implementation Administrators as Policymakers Students will understand the effects of organization on the administrative process. Students will understand the role competition plays in the administrative process. Students will understand the major issues of the policy implementation process. Students will understand the role administrators play as policymakers. July 13 Budgeting Students will understand the core issues of the budgeting process. Smith and Frederickson: Chapters 4, 7 8 Fowler, L. (2013). Measuring Organization: Performance in Environmental Agencies, International Journal of Organizational Theory and Behavior 16(3): Tiebout, C. (1956). A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures, Journal of Political Economy 64(5): Winter, S. Implementation, in The Sage Handbook of Public Administration, 2nd edition, edited by B.G. Peters and J. Pierre (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2012). deleon, P. and L. deleon. What Ever Happened to Policy Implementation? An Alternative Approach. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 12 (2002): Maynard-Moody, S., M. Musheno, and D. Palumbo. Street-wise Social Policy: Resolving the Dilemma of Street-level Influence and Successful Implementation. Western Political Quarterly 43 (1990): Hupe, P. and M. Hill. (2007). Street-Level Bureaucracy and Public Accountability, Public Administration 85(2): Key, V.O. (1940). The Lack of Budgetary Theory, American Political Science Review 34(6): Rubin, I. (1990). Budget Theory and Budget Practice: How Good the Fit? Public Administration Review 50(2): Wildavsky, A. (1978). A Budget for All Seasons? Why the Traditional Budget Last, Public Administration Review 38(6): July 19: Case Study #2 due by midnight

6 July 20 Future of Public Administration Students will become familiar with issues that are likely to affect public administration in the future. From Public Administration Review Special Issue on the Future of Public Administration in 2020 (Dec. 2010). o Wolf, D. and A. Amirkhanyan. Demographic Change and Its Public Sector Consequences, s12-s23. o Abonyi, G. and D. Van Slyke. Governing on the Edges: Globalization of Production and the Challenge to Public Administration in the Twenty-First Century, s33 s45. o Donahue, J. The Race: Can Collaboration Outrun Rivalry between American Business and Government? s151-s152. o Perry, J. and N. Buckwalter. The Public Service of the Future, s238- s245. July 26: Final Exam due by midnight