I. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course offers an analysis of the role of public administration within the American political system and of the concordant functions and responsibilities of public sector administrators; discussion of administrative ethics; overview of public sector administrative and managerial processes.
II. REQUIRED TEXTS
Denhardt, R. B., Denhardt, J. V., & Blanc, T. A. (2014). Public administration: An action orientation (7th ed.). New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
Frederickson, H. G. (2010). Social equity and public administration origins, developments, and applications (e-Book). New York, NY: M.E. Sharpe. This edition is available online via the Library ProQuest ebrary database https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csudh/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=501521
Additional materials including government reports, journal articles, news items and case studies may be provided in the course.
III. COURSE OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
The main objective of this course is to introduce the study and practice of public administration.
Upon completion of this course, student should be able to have an understanding of major concepts and processes in public administration and its role in our contemporary society.
Specific course objectives are:
• Explain the leadership challenges faced by public/nonprofit administrators.
• Compare and contrast public/nonprofit and private administration.
• Examine important human resources, financial, political, and global issues impacting public/nonprofit organizations.
• Identify and explain public service values and their role in public/nonprofit administration.
• Apply public/nonprofit administration knowledge to solve problems and make decisions.
• Use information and communication technologies to strengthen public/nonprofit administration knowledge, communicate with others, and complete assignments/activities.
• Develop communication, collaboration, and leadership skills through individual and group assignments/activities.
IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Participation
The class is conducted entirely online. It adopts a student-centered learning approach that expects students to be active and responsible participants in their own learning. Online classes allow flexibility, but also require self-discipline of the students. The course involves a large amount of reading and is fast-paced. To ensure a successful completion of the course, students must be well organized, self-motivated, and possess a high degree of time management skills in order to keep up with the pace of the course. In general, you are expected to spend 9 hours per week on a 3-unit 16-week course. However, your study time may vary depending on your prior preparation. Students should read the assigned texts and materials for each week and complete the required class activities outlined below. Active participation is crucial to the learning process in the course. If a student fails to participate in the first week of the course, i.e. logging into the course, participating in a threaded discussion, etc., the student may be dropped from the course at the discretion of the instructor.
Discussion Activities (8 x 5 points = 40 points)
There are 8 graded discussion activities to reinforce fundamental concepts and enhance student-student learning experience. Each discussion activity is worth 5% of student’s overall grade and consists of an initial post and a set of response posts. During the discussion weeks (see course schedule below), students must respond to the questions or tasks posed by the instructor and submit the answers to the Blackboard site (assignment links will be posted online) no later than 11.59pm, Saturday of the week assigned. In addition, students must provide comments on at least two initial posts of your class members no later than 11.59pm, Sunday of the same week.
Service-Learning Exercises and Reflection (2 x 10 points = 20 points)
There are two service-learning exercises to provide students with experiences of the public and nonprofit sectors, and hence a deeper understanding of the reality of work in those sectors. Each exercise is worth 10% of student’s overall grade. Students will be engaging with public and non-profit organizations, and recording and reflecting on their experiences. Students should follow specific instructions provided on Blackboard for each exercise.
Term Paper (4 parts; total 40 points)
Students are required to complete a term paper that analyzes different aspects of public policy issue relevant to the Los Angeles region. This assignment will be completed in three stages:
1. Policy Issue Identification (5 points)
2. Annotated Bibliography (10 points)
3. Draft Paper (5 points)
4. Final Paper (20 points)
The aim of this Term Paper is to:
a) Develop a deeper knowledge of a particular policy issue of relevance to Los Angeles,
b) Identify who the main players are in the region (i.e. the stakeholders) in terms of citizens, community groups, and nonprofit and government organizations,
c) Explore the academic literature related to this issue, both at the national and local levels, and use this to support your work throughout the paper,
d) Identify and analyze different policy solutions to the problems within the policy issue,
e) And make recommendations based on this analysis.
Policy Issue Identification (5 points)
Identify a policy issue that will serve as your focus for the term paper. This policy issue should be a current public interest topic impacting the Los Angeles region. Examples include: homelessness, traffic congestion, affordable housing shortages, water/drought, police officer-involved violence, terrorist threats, earthquakes, charter schools, immigration issues, health-inequalities, etc…! I recommend reading the Los Angeles Times – especially the California section – to identify news stories of relevance to the Los Angeles region. Searching through the Los Angeles Times website in terms of particular issues (e.g. search for “homelessness” will also help you to see the most recent stories about this issue. Compose a roughly 2 page paper (single spaced / no cover page) clearly stating your policy issue, why it is important to the Los Angeles region, who are the stakeholders (which groups of citizens are impacted by the issue, and which community groups and government agencies are addressing the issue), and how you aim to research and apply this topic of interest throughout the course. Do remember to identify your paper with your name. Students should follow specific instructions provided on Blackboard for submission.
Annotated Bibliography (10 points)
Explore ten (10) scholarly sources in your policy issue area. For this Assignment, use outside sources such as books, academic articles, or scholarly journals, but not course books. It is recommended that you use Google Scholar to search for the sources (you can set up Google Scholar to state which sources are available through the CSUDH Library). Annotations must be submitted in proper APA format with a short synopsis/abstract of the topic, focus, or evaluation of your source using the SAR (summarize, assess, and reflect) method of analysis.
Draft Paper (5 points)
Students are expected to turn in a draft paper which covers all of the elements required in the Final Paper. I will provide detailed feedback on these drafts. Students are expected to make revisions on the basis of this feedback before submitting as a final paper. I require a draft because revised papers (even without feedback) are far superior to papers written in a rush in the final seconds before the submission deadline!
Final Paper (20 points)
The paper should be 10-15 pages (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point, one-inch margins) excluding references. The paper should consist of the following elements:
• Introduction: briefly introduce the policy issue and how you organize the paper (suggested length: 1-2 pages).
• Policy Issue discussion. What is important about this issue both in general (e.g. nationally/globally) and specifically to the region? What problems are is Los Angeles experiencing?
• Stakeholder analysis. Who are the citizens impacted by this issue, and how are they impacted? Which community groups, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies in the region are attempting to address the problems presented by the issue?
• Policy Solutions analysis. What possible policy solutions might help to address the problems raised by this issue? Choose three to compare. Describe how these three policy solutions would be implemented. How much would they cost? How effective would they be? Which stakeholders would they benefit? Which stakeholders would lose out? How popular would they be among different stakeholders?
• Conclusion: offer recommendations for the organization based on theories we covered in the course and the evaluations you made in previous sections. Also indicate the limitations of the study and provide suggestions for future work.
• References: provide at least 10 references from class readings, peer-reviewed journal articles, government reports, and other credible publications.
The final paper is worth 20% of student’s overall grade. Submission of work prepared by you for another class will not be accepted.
All class work should utilize APA formatting. Please refer to Publication Manual of American Psychological Association (6th edition). Students are also encouraged to take the APA style tutorial at http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/index.aspx. Additional information can be found at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.
Detailed instructions and grading rubrics for the assignments are available in the course website. Late submission of any form of class assignments (e.g., discussion posts, theories summaries, case studies, and the paper) will not be accepted.
Communication
The most efficient way to reach me is via email tool. I will respond as soon as I can (usually within 24 business hours – so if you don’t hear from me by then, please re-send your email). To ensure effective email communications, pay attention to appropriate email etiquette, such as including a meaningful subject line (indicating the course number, group number, assignment, etc.), opening your email with a greeting, signing off with your name, and using standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Students are also welcome to schedule appointments with the instructor for face-to-face or online meetings. Students are expected to check Toromail and the course Blackboard website regularly for announcements or course updates.
V. GRADING
Activities Percentage
Discussions (5%*8) 40%
Service-Learning Exercise (10%*2) 20%
Policy Issue Identification 5%
Annotated Bibliography 10%
Draft Paper 5%
Final Paper 20%
Grading Scale
93.0-100 = A 77.0-79.9= C+
90.0-92.9 = A- 73.0-76.9 = C
87.0-89.9= B+ 70.0-72.9 = C-
83.0-86.9 = B 60.0-69.9 = D
80.0-82.9 = B- 59.9 or below = F
Note: Incomplete grades are given in extremely rare and extenuating circumstances. Students must have completed a significant portion of the course and unable to finish due to unforeseen circumstances. Failure to submit work during the session or receiving poor marks are not valid reasons. Students who are granted an incomplete grade must have a realistic timeline of completing missing work. Student must keep currency on required assignments after the course has ended and submit work as agreed upon between instructor and student.
VI. COURSE SCHEDULE (please refer to course website for specific dates)
Module Topics Readings Deliverables
(time/day due)
Module 1
(8/23-8/29) • Introduction to Course Los Angeles Times website
Discussion 1
(1st post Sat 11.59pm; Response Sun 11.59pm)
Module 2
(8/30-9/5) • Personal Action in Public Organizations Denhardt Ch1 Discussion 2
(1st post Sat 11.59pm; Response Sun 11.59pm)
Module 3
(9/6-9/12) • The Political Context of Public Administration Denhardt Ch2 Policy Issue Identification Paper (Sunday 11.59pm)
Module 4
(9/13-9/19) • The Interorganizational Context of Public Administration Denhardt Ch3 Discussion 3
(1st post Sat 11.59pm; Response Sun 11.59pm)
Module 5
(9/20-9/26)
• Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation Denhardt Ch4 Service-Learning Exercise & Reflection 1
(Sunday 11.59pm)
Module 6
(9/27-10/3)
• Budgeting and Financial Management Denhardt Ch5 Discussion 4
(1st post Sat 11.59pm; Response Sun 11.59pm)
Module 7
(10/4-10/10) • The Management of Human Resources Denhardt Ch6 Discussion 5
(1st post Sat 11.59pm; Response Sun 11.59pm)
Module 8
(10/11-10/17) • The Ethics of Public Service Denhardt Ch7 Annotated Bibliography
(Sunday 11.59pm)
Module 9
(10/18-10/24) • Social Equity and Public Administration Frederickson Ch1,2 Service-Learning Exercise & Reflection 2
(Sunday 11.59pm)
Module 10
(10/25-10/31) • The Philosophy of Social Equity Frederickson Ch3,4 Discussion 6
(1st post Sat 11.59pm; Response Sun 11.59pm)
Module 11
(11/1-11/7)
• Social Equity in the US Frederickson Ch5,8 Discussion 7
(1st post Sat 11.59pm; Response Sun 11.59pm)
Module 12
(11/8-11/14) • Designing and Managing Organizations Denhardt Ch8 Nothing due – work on draft!
Module 13
(11/15-11/21) • Leadership and Management Skills in Public Organizations Denhardt Ch9 Paper Draft Due (Sunday 11.59pm)
Module 14
(11/22-11/28) • Administrative Reform, Productivity, and Performance Denhardt Ch10 Discussion 8
(1st post Sat 11.59pm; Response Sun 11.59pm)
Module 15
(11/29-12/5) • Opportunities for the Future: Globalization, Democracy, and the New Public Service Denhardt Ch11 Final Paper Due, (Sunday 11.59pm)
NO EXAM!
VII. OTHER COURSE POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS
Computer/Information Literacy Basic information and computer literacy is required in one of the computer formats (Windows, Macintosh, or GNU/Linux). Students must have a Toromail account and be able to use Blackboard. Students must also be able to:
• Use a word processing program for writing assignments (e.g., Microsoft Word),
• Use Microsoft Excel to create graphs and perform calculations and analysis,
• Create a PowerPoint presentation,
• Choose appropriate library and other scholarly sources of information,
• Search for and find relevant scholarly information effectively through the internet, and
• Utilize and share relevant information without plagiarizing.
Hardware requirements: multimedia capable computer with Internet connection. Fast Internet connection such as broadband Internet (DSL, cable modem, etc.) is recommended. Software requirements: Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2007 or newer; Adobe Acrobat; Web browsing software (e.g., Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox/Mozilla), anti-virus program (e.g., Norton, McAfee). For additional information about computing on campus, including tutorials, go to: http://www.csudh.edu/infotech/labs, and http://www.csudh.edu/infotech/student_index.shtml
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating, fabrication and plagiarism) will NOT be tolerated in this course. Student paper will be submitted through Turnitin.com. Instances of plagiarism and cheating will result in an “F” for the course as well as further disciplinary action in accordance with the University policy. For further information, refer to the University Catalog on academic integrity.
Disabled Student Services CSUDH adheres to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations for students with temporary and permanent disabilities. All disclosures of disabilities will be kept strictly confidential. No accommodation can be made unless you register with the Disabled Student Services (DSS) in WH D-180. For information call (310) 243-3660 or to use the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, call (310) 243-2028.
Professional Comportment CSUDH recognizes the importance of personal and professional competencies in addition to traditional academic skills. As graduate students, all members of the learning community holistically evaluate individual behaviors on standards of professional performance, development, and functioning that include, but are not limited to, their interpersonal and professional competence (e.g. consistently establishing positive interpersonal relationships, demonstrating an active commitment to education and training, communication professionally, demonstrating integrity, affirming individual and cultural differences); their self-awareness and self-reflection (e.g. awareness of own various roles in diverse contexts, recognizing limitations and training/learning needs, awareness of own cultural values); their openness to feedback; and their proactive, engaged resolution of issues that may interfere with their professional development may be evaluated both within and outside of the classroom, and regardless of whether it is specifically tied to a school activity. Concerns about a student’s professional comportment should be directed to the department chair or Director of the MPA Program and the Associate Vice President and Dean of Students. Student Services Department can be reached (310) 243-3784. Students will be alerted to concerns about professional performance, functioning, and development (i.e. professional comportment) and receive advisement, mediation, and support as deemed necessary and appropriate. If there is a question that the student’s problems in the area of professional comportment cannot be resolved in a reasonable time period and/or rises to the level of potential disciplinary action, it will be referred to the Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs.
Use of Computing Resources CSUDH Division of Information Technology provides campus-wide technology services that include instructional and administrative computer, telecommunications, and media services. Computing and network resources are provided to support the mission of the University. These resources may not be used for commercial purposes. All CSUDH computing and network facilities are provided for use by faculty, staff, and students solely for relevant academic, research, or administrative use. Violations of computer regulations and policies should be sent to the Division of Information Technology at (310) 243-3655.
Technical Problems Unless you are notified that there is a University wide systems problem, you are responsible to post on time at all times. Plan to have back-up systems – computers at work, library, or Kinko’s. Call the Department IT support at (310) 243-3513 or bpasupport@csudh.edu for assistance. In addition, for students using Blackboard you may also contact University IT Help Desk at (310) 243-2500 or submit a request online at http://helpweb.csudh.edu/.
Disclaimer Statement Please note this is a tentative syllabus, and the instructor reserves the right to make any changes that may be necessary to meet the objectives of the course.