Instructor:
Sam Yeager

Prerequisite:
None

Course Objectives:

• To develop an understanding of public management theories, behavior, processes and problems.
• To gain an understanding of administrative behavior and the impacts of the political environment on public administration.
• To develop analytic skills through experiential learning opportunities including case analyses, simulations, research assignments, short papers, oral presentations, debates, flowcharting, and the use of video media.
• To develop your analytic skills finding, assessing and utilizing materials in journal and Internet sources
• To develop your written and oral communications skills.

Course Description:
Reviews the scope of the field of public administration, including a survey of key concepts and schools of thought underlying the field, and examines issues shaping the future development of the field.

Major Topics Covered:
Overview & History of Public Administration in the United States
Classical Administrative Theory & Organization Structure
Neoclassical Organization Theory / Hawthorne Studies: Impacts and Critique
Motivation Theories and Critique
Groups, Group Processes, and Group Behavior
Leadership 1 - Functional Studies and Contingency Theories
Leadership 2 – Leadership Cases
Organizational Communication
Power / Influence, Organizational Politics
Values, Professionalism and Ethics, New Public Administration/New Public Management
Analytic Use of Information: Work Processes and Flowcharting
E-Government
IT Management Issues
In Defense of Bureaucracy - Video Presentations

Typical Textbooks and Readings:
Books:
J. Steven Ott, et al., Classic Readings in Organizational Behavior, 3d ed., Wadsworth, 2007.

Dawes, Sharon S. et al. (1997) Tying a Sensible Knot: A Practical Guide to State-Local Information Systems. Albany, NY: Center for Technology in Government. Available on-line.

Articles and other readings:
Other required materials for this class will be provided as handouts (available on BlackBoard) and occasionally students will be asked to find appropriate materials using the sources available through the WSU library and the Internet.  Examples include:

“Active Listening”
“Applying Flowcharts to Improve Service in the Public Sector”
“Bureau Men and Settlement Women”
“[E-Government] Bureaucratic, Fiscal, and Political Contexts”
The Case for Bureaucracy (Selections from)
“Citing Materials from the World Wide Web”
“Classical Organization Theory”
“A Conceptual Model Exploring the Dynamics of Government-Nonprofit Service Delivery”
“The Content of American Government Websites”
“Counselors: Identification of Tech Prep Students”
“Creating an Ethical Work Environment”
“Defensive Communication”
“Denying Public Value: The Role of the Public Sector in Accounts of the Development of the Internet”
“Divide and Conquer: There's No Excuse for Turning a Blind Eye to the Digital Divide”
“Does Professionalism Really Matter?”
“Dysfunctional Consequences of Performance Measurements”
“E-Government Effective Communication”
“Effects of an Employee Volunteering Program on the Work Force”
“Electronic Democracy Diffusion of Municipal Web Pages in California”
“Electronic Government at the Local Level: Progress to Date and Future Issues”
“Emerging Issues in Government Information Management”
“Ethics and Digital Government”
“Ethics Management in Cities and Counties”
“Everyday Ethics”
“Feedback and Administrative Behavior in the Public Sector”
“A Framework for Ethical Decision Making”
“Giving, Volunteering, and Mistrusting Government”
“The GFOA and Professionalism in Local Government”
“Growth, Transformation, and Quiet Revolution in the Nonprofit Sector Over Two Centuries”
“The Hidden Costs of Organizational Dishonesty”
“The Hocus-Pocus of Reengineering”
"ICMA Code of Ethics"
“Informal Organizations and Their Relations to Formal Organizations”
“Information Technology and Organizational Change in the Public Sector”
“The Importance of Pay in Employee Motivation”
“The Internet Revolution”
“Knowledge Management: Gathering, Organizing, and Using Information”
“The Life Cycle of Bureaus”
“The Link Between Organizational Ethics and Job Satisfaction”
“Logic Models: A Systems Tool for Performance Management”
“Making Manufacturing More Effective by Reducing Throughput Time”
“On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B”
“Organization as Overlays”
“The Promise of Digital Government”
“Public Administration and the Paradox of Professionalism”
“Scope, Causes, and Consequences of Electronic Government”
“Managing Information Strategically”
“Motivating Employees in a New Governance Era”
“The Motivational Bases of Public Service”
“The Myth of the Dichotomy”
“Perception and Attribution Biases”
“Professionalism vs. Democracy: Friedrich vs. Finer Revisited”
“There’s Only Ethics”
“Transforming Government with Technology”
“IT in Government: Learning What Works”
"The Need for Strategic Information Systems Planning When Contracting-Out and Privatizing Public Sector Functions”
“The New Public Management”
“Professionalism among Public and Nonprofit Managers”
“The Sounds of Silence”
“Strategic Use of the News Media”
“A Structural Analysis of Behavior in Work Situations Shared By Group Members”
“The Study of Administration”
“The Taboo on Reporting Offers of Bribes”
“Technology, Organizations and People”
“What Do They Know and Whom Do They Hold Accountable? Citizens in the Government-Nonprofit
    Contracting Relationship”
“What’s New about the New Public Administration?”
“When Goals Are Counterproductive”
“Work Flow Charting” (with examples)
“Work Simplification: Flow Process Chart”