The Profession of Public Administration PAD 5050, Spring 2007 Course Description and Outline Class: Mondays, 5:15 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Location: Bellamy 003 Professor: Jim Murdaugh, Ph.D. E-mail: jtm06f@fsu.edu Telephone: 201-7001 Office Hours: By appointment Required Texts, Resources, and Readings 1. Shafritz, J. M., Hyde, A. C., and Parkes, S. J. (2004). Classics of Public Administration (5 th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. ISBN: 0-15- 5062260-3. 2. Greene, J. D. (2005). Public Administration in the New Century: A Concise Introduction. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. ISBN: 0-534-55343-5. 3. Handouts and/or other readings as provided. The instructor reserves the right to modify the course syllabus and course assignments during the semester to facilitate achievement of the course objectives. Modifications to the course syllabus and/or assignments will be announced in class at least one class period prior to their effect on student course requirements. Course Description The FSU Graduate Bulletin describes PAD 5050 as an overview of the intellectual heritage of public administration and its central issues. This course may be your first exposure to the profession of public administration. Some of you may in fact be public administrators but unfamiliar with the intellectual tradition of the profession itself. For you, this course will provide a broad overview of the discipline of public administration, the public policy process and the administrator s role within it, the legal constraints under which the administrator operates, and the significant roles and responsibilities of a manager at the local, state, and federal government level.
Some of you may be students from countries other than the U.S. and may find in this course a chance to compare American-style governmental bureaucracy norms and styles with those of your own countries. Most important, this course is primarily designed for graduate students either seeking an advanced degree in public administration or related fields who wish to obtain some grounding the field of public administration. The topics that will be covered are broad, often comprising entire courses or even series of courses that you will take later in your graduate work. Therefore, this course provides an opportunity for you to gain some grasp of the basic components of what is truly an interdisciplinary field, comprising, among others, elements of political science, organization theory, government law, management techniques, and administrative procedures. Course Objectives This course has the following key objectives: 1. To familiarize you with the intellectual history of public administration, its central concerns, and enduring debates in the field; 2. To provide you with an understanding of some of the foundational works in major theoretical areas of interest to public administration scholars; 3. To stimulate your thinking about the roles played by various actors in the profession of public administration and to help you articulate the role you wish to play; 4. To provide you with an overview of the ethical and legal responsibilities of public administrators. 5. To create a broad intellectual foundation for you that you can build upon in your subsequent academic studies. Grading and Evaluation Elements Your grade for this course will be determined by your performance on several distinct elements that comprise your participation in the course. The percentages assigned to the items listed below equate to the maximum number of percentage points they are individually worth toward the final grade point total. Those percentages are as follows: Reaction Paper 10% Profile of a Public Administrator Project 20%
Preparation, Attendance, and Participation 30% Final Examination 40% Total: 100% Reaction Paper This is a quick turnaround, short paper that gives you an opportunity to reflect critically about the intellectual history of the field of public administration. You will be asked to select work from the assigned readings for the intellectual history classes and prepare a paper, no more than three (3) pages in length, which expresses and defends your personal opinion regarding the effect of that work on the field of public administration. The format for the paper will be discussed in class. Additionally, you will be asked to provide an oral report from your paper of approximately five (5) minutes in duration to the class. Profile of a Public Administrator The profile of a public administrator is to be a more formal paper than the reaction paper and it involves the selection of a public administrator by you that you will interview for the paper. You should describe what the person does, the career path your subject followed to arrive where s/he is today, and illuminate the public service values that s/he exemplifies. Essentially, you will be introducing and describing the person and his/her career. Your biography should reveal what the person wants out of life, how his/her career in public service has helped to achieve personal goals, and turning points that have made a difference in the person s career. Select someone who is either retired or actively working for government or a nonprofit agency, preferably in an appointed or career position rather than an elected post. The longer your subject s career, the richer your interview will be. Before you hold the interview, make sure you have done your background work and learned enough to be able to frame thoughtful questions. Jot down questions ahead of time to help your interview stay on track. Focus your questions on the person s background, career goals, challenges, work history, and insights regarding public service. Ask open-ended questions and then listen attentively to the answers. Refrain from taking notes during the interview as much as possible. Immediately following the interview, write down every comment you can remember. These private notes will help you as you reconstruct the interview, sort out the key events in the subject s life and work, and make sense of who this person is and how s/he views public service. The final section of your paper should include what you have learned about public administration and/or public service based on this exercise. Contrast the personal values and skills of your subject with your own values and skills. Discuss how you are similar and how you differ from the person you chose to profile.
The written report should be about five pages, typed, single spaced, 12 point type, with one inch margins. Scoring: Your Profile grade will be derived this way: Description of the person s career and personal attributes Analysis of your subject as it relates to your career goals Style, syntax, format Total = 5 points = 10 points = 5 points 20 points Preparation, Attendance, and Participation You are expected to come to class and to participate in a discussion of the materials assigned for that class session. Class participation should not be interpreted as meaning that you are merely in class, but rather that you contributed meaningfully and regularly to class discussions and exercises while displaying familiarity with the subject matter. Your participation in classroom debates and discussions will help you achieve a deeper, richer understanding of public administration and its opportunities, challenges, and rewards. Absences will lead to a substantive lowering of a student s grade. Final Examination One examination will be given at the end of the course. The examination will be a take home examination which will be due by the end of the allotted examination period on the regularly scheduled examination date for the class. It will be cumulative and will require essay type answers. Students will be provided the take home examination in class on the last night of regularly scheduled class. The following scale will be used in assigning letter grades in this class. A 94+ B- 80-82 F 58 or below A- 90-93 C+ 77-79 B+ 87-89 C 68-76 B 83-86 D 59-67 Dates Topics and activities Assignments and notes January 8 Course introduction and overview
January 15 January 22 January 29 Holiday, no class Intellectual history of public administration Intellectual history of public administration (continued) Greene pp. 48-75 SHP: Wilson p. 22; Goodnow p. 35 SHP: Taylor p. 43; White p. 56; Follett p. 64 February 5 Reaction paper presentations Reaction paper due February 12 Bureaucracy Greene pp. 79-117 SHP: Weber p. 50; Downs p. 258; Lipsky p. 414 February 19 Organization theory Greene pp. 122-180 February 26 Organization theory (continued) SHP: Taylor p. 43; Gulick p. 90; Barnard p. 104; Simon p. 136; Katz & Kahn p. 206 March 5 Spring Break, no class March 12 Public policy Greene pp. 272-310 March 19 Public policy (continued) SHP: Lindblom p. 177; Dror p. 250; Lowi p. 298; Kingdon p. 564 March 26 Ethics in public service Greene, pp. 360-387 SHP: Mosher & others p. 343; Thompson p. 458 April 2 Public administrator profile presentations Public administrator profile paper due April 9 Public budgeting Greene pp. 232-269 SHP: Willoughby p. 46; Key p. 118; Schick p. 217; Wildavsky p. 271 April 16 Course review Take home examination given out in class April 25 Take home final examination due Take home final examination must be turned in before 8:00 p.m. Cell Phones and Other Electronic Devices
Many students have jobs and responsibilities other than those related to taking this class. However, those responsibilities have a way of intruding on the learning experience. You are expected to make sure electronic devices are turned off or are placed in silent or vibrate mode. If you must answer a call, please leave the classroom immediately. Anything else would be disrespectful to the rest of the class. APA Style All written work is to be in APA style. You may secure a copy of the American Psychological Association Style Guide at the bookstore and should refer to it frequently as you prepare written assignments. Failure to follow APA style will result in lost points. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities I am committed to providing the best learning environment possible for you in this course and want to make sure you take full advantage of any resources you may need to succeed in this and other coursework. Should you need assistance, please take advantage of the resources at FSU. In accordance with the FSU Student Handbook, the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) serves as the primary advocate for students with disabilities. Academic support services are provided at no cost to students who meet eligibility requirements. Students with temporary disabilities may also receive services from this office. To register for services, students must present documentation of their disability to SDRC staff and complete a registration form. It is the responsibility of the student to request accommodations and inform SDRC staff each semester of changing needs resulting from new schedules. The SDRC is located in the Student Services Building, 97 Woodward Ave., South; 8AM-5PM; email is sdrc@admin.fsu.edu; phone is 644-9566 (Voice/TDD). Students needing academic accommodations for a disability should contact the instructor at the end of the first class meeting. They also must have registered with and provided documentation to the SRDC. This must be done in sufficient time to permit arrangements for accommodations to be reasonably made. Academic Honor System You are bound by the Academic Honor Policy of the University, the details of which are found in both the Student Handbook and the Graduate Bulletin. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the specific requirements of the code regarding the maintenance of academic integrity. Accordingly, I expect you to do original work for this class. All written assignments are to be your original work written specifically for this course.