PADM 6150

Leadership and Ethics

Dr. Saundra J. RibandoOffice Hours: TTH, 12-2:30,

Phone: 737-1710 or by appointment

E-mail:

Office: Allgood Hall, N310

What is this class about? This course is designed to help students link leadership theory, ethical standards commonly used in the public and nonprofit sectors, to organizational outcomes and standards of best practice.

Learning Outcomes: This course is designed to assist you in mastering specific competencies identified by our accrediting body, the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration and specific learning outcomes we have identified as being essential to your success. This course addresses:

NASPAA Competency / Student learning outcome / Assessment
To lead and manage in public governance / Students will be able to identify problems and select appropriate leadership approaches to improve organizational performance / Case study assessed by instructor and outside (practitioner) evaluator
To articulate and apply a public service perspective / Students will be able to properly identify ethical issues and develop appropriate courses of action / Case study assessed by instructor and outside (practitioner) evaluator
To communicate and interact with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry / Students will be able to identify issues involving diversity and develop a course of action or solution that is based on a solid understanding of ethical standards and leadership / Case study assessed by instructor and outside (practitioner) evaluator

Required texts:

Denhardt, R. B. & Denhardt, J. V. (2006). The dance of leadership: The art of leading in business, government, and society. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.

Johnson, S. (1998). Who moved my cheese? New York, NY: Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Kotter, J. & Rathgeber, H. (2005). Our iceberg is melting: Changing and succeeding under any conditions. New York, NY: St. Martin Press.

Other assigned readings will be made available in a folder under the Welcome tab on D2L. Make sure you complete the assigned readings listed for each given date BEFORE coming to class.

Expectations: The MPA is a professional degree. I expect my students to behave like aspiring professionals.

  • You can expect me to
  • Plan the course and adjust as needed
  • Give you feedback—both written and oral. I take assignments in this class seriously. Giving you timely, quality feedback is a top priority for me.
  • Bring my expertise, my experience, and my stories to the classroom. I encourage you to bring yours.
  • Treat you as an adult learner and aspiring professional—with the related style of respect and expectations about your performance and behavior.
  • I expect you to
  • Participate in online discussion, by speaking up and listening respectfully.
  • Complete your assignments, including the readings
  • Submit your assignments on time
  • Write clear, concise English that is free of grammar and spelling errors and conforms to the instructions provided. In short, I expect to receive from you the type of work you would be proud to hand to your supervisor at work.

Teaching Approach: This is a web course, so I will combine assigned readings with writing assignments to cover the material in this class. You are expected to read the assigned materials, and submit written assignments on time.

Class Policies:

Plagiarism: For democratic government to work, the people must be able to trust government. This is why ethical behavior is so important for public administrators--and precisely why there will be no tolerance in this class for cheating in any form, including plagiarism. If I catch you deliberately plagiarizing in this class, I will assign you a grade of "F" for this class.

Assignment submissions: All assignments in this class will be submitted through D2L, in the appropriate dropbox. All submissions must be in word; use your first and last name as the file name. Graded papers will be returned to you through D2L. Papers that are not submitted in word will not be accepted.

Late assignments: I do not accept late assignments unless you have coordinated it with me in advance.

Contacting me: Please feel free to contact me whenever you run into difficulty with the course material, or just need advice. My office phone and e-mail are listed at the beginning of the syllabus, along with my office hours. Office hours are periods where it is guaranteed you can meet with me in person—just drop in. If those hours are not convenient, contact me so we can set up an appointment. If you stop in at other times, there is no guarantee that I will be in the office or have time to work with you.

All other aspects of this course will follow the Pamplin Course Policies posted online at this URL: Please read them carefully, as they include important information about Academic Honesty, Disruptive Behavior, and Accommodations for Disabilities, Withdrawals, and other topics. By remaining in this course, you agree to abide by these policies.

Grading:

Exams: There will be two exams, on the dates shown in the timeline. All exams in this class are essays; essay questions will be given to you at least two weeks in advance of the due date. They are due at 6:00 PM on the exam data and must be submitted through D2L. In each essay you will be challenged to address important ethical and leadership concepts introduced in the class, and link assigned readings to your own outside research on the topic presented. You are expected to produce a well-researched response—and that includes citations and a bibliography beyond just the assigned reading(s).

Questions for discussion: For each assigned reading, you will be provided a set of discussion questions. Your responses to those questions are due as noted in the timeline. No particular format is required—content is what matters.

Application Exercises: Throughout this semester, you will be asked to complete several short assignments. These vary in terms of content—some are case studies where you are asked to write a memo to suggest to a decision-maker what the best solution might be for the dilemma presented. Others will challenge you to be reflective, to think about your own strengths and weaknesses. Specific information about each application exercise can be found in the application exercises folder, under the welcome tab on D2L.

Case Study: You will be assigned one final case study at the end of the semester. For this, you will be submitting two written products—a memorandum suitable for the workplace (worth 150 points) and a short paper (worth 150 points) that addresses assigned questions. More information on this assignment is provided in the instruction sheet located on D2L.

Item / Points / Total points
Exams / 150 / 300
Application Exercises / 60 / 300
Questions for discussion / 20 / 100
Case study / 150 / 300
Total / 1000
Date / Topic / Assignment
1/9 / Questions for discussion 1 due / Read: Who Moved my Cheese?
1/16 / Application exercise #1 due
1/23 / Questions for discussion 2 due / Read Ch. 1 in DenhardtDenhardt
1/30 / Application exercise #2 due
2/6 / Questions for discussion 3 due / Read Our Iceberg is Melting
2/13 / Application exercise #3 due
2/20 / Questions for discussion 4 due / Read Ch. 2-3 in DenhardtDenhardt
2/27 / Exam #1 due
3/6 / Questions for discussion 5 due / Read Ch. 4 in DenhardtDenhardt
3/13 / Application exercise #4 due
3/20 / Questions for discussion 6 due / Read ICMA Code of Ethics,
3/27 / Application exercise #5 due
4/3 / Spring Break
4/10 / Questions for discussion 7 due / Read Ch. 5 & 6 in DenhardtDenhardt
4/17 / Exam #2 due
5/1 / Case Study due