Syllabus

Public Management and Leadership – PUAF711

Professor Kenneth Apfel

Fall 2014

Office: 1125Van Munching Hall

Class Time: Monday 4:15-6:45

Office Telephone: (301) 314-2485

E-Mail:

Course Description:

The purpose of this course isto help equip students with knowledge of management and leadership concepts that are essential to performing successfully and responsibly in public organizations. We will begin with discussion on the nature of public administration and move an examination of organizational structure issues, public sector innovation strategies and mechanisms to lead organizational change. We will also examine the “people” side of government organizations as well as management and leadership roles within organizations. Many case studies are examined in depth to provide real life context for the course content.

The course is designed to go beyond a conceptual framework of public management and leadership by helping students develop the knowledge, insights and skills necessary to manage and to lead public organizations.

The course requires extensive reading and class preparation as well as a high level of participation in class. Student assessment is based on class participation, short memos, a paper, a final examination and team presentations.

Course Readings:

Two books are required:

  • The Politics of the Administrative Process by Donald Kettl, CQ Press, sixth edition, 2014. This book is referred to as “K:” throughout the syllabus.
  • The Heart of Change Field Guideby Dan Cohen (with John Kotter), Harvard Business School, 2005. This book is referred to as “C:” throughoutthe syllabus.

Most of the other readings for the course will be available on the course website. In addition, we will be reading a number of case studies, and most of the cases are available through the Harvard Business School. TO PURCHASE THE COURSE CASE STUDIES AT THE DISCOUNTED STUDENT RATE, GO TO THE HBS COURSE WEBSITE AT:

Student Responsibilities and Assessment:

My assessment will be based on class participation, short and long written assignments, an in-class exam and oral presentations. I will be using the +/- grade system. FYI, the late delivery of an assignment will lead to downward grade adjustments.

One-page memos: Individuals will develop short memos on management and leadership topics. The purpose of the memos is to sharpen both writing and management skills. Memos will analyze management concepts or problems as well as simulate real life situations in organizations.

Team exercises: The class will be divided into several teams to lead class discussions on case studies. Each team that leads a discussion of a case study will also submit a two page written case analysis as well as a one page memo on team recommendations. Team members will be graded on the content of the presentation and the degree of class involvement in the topic.

Administrative agency study: each student will write an assessment of a federal, state or local agency or bureau or a non-profit organization. A short write-up of your topic for the administrative agency study is to be submitted to me half way through the semester.

Final exam: this will cover the content of the course and will include short essays, one lengthy essay assessing a particular agency’s management problems and a few multiple-choice questions.

Class participation: Overall class participation will be part of the assessment. Students must prepare for class and actively participate during class. A downward adjustment in grades will be made if a student misses a significant number of classes or does not actively participate in discussion.

Assessment:

  • One-page Memos20%
  • Team Case Study*20%
  • Administrative Agency Study 25%
  • Final Exam25%
  • Overall Class Participation10%

*Team case study to be assessed half for oral presentation and half for written presentation.

Details on Team Presentations:

Teams of students will make presentations and lead discussions on real life public agency case studies.The goals of the activity are to develop skills in abstracting complex material into a short document, to build briefing excellence, to workas a team and to help all of us think more clearly about public management and leadership challenges and solutions.The team will receive one grade for its work. All members of the team will share in that grade.

The syllabus identifies the topics to be covered by each team. Each of the teams will lead the discussion of their assignment in front of the whole class. At least an hour will be reserved for the topic – including presentations and the class discussion engendered by the presentations. Definitely no more than about a third of the time should be taken up with team presentations, with the balance of the time reserved for small group “break-out” sessions as well as full class discussion.Teams should use power point, but total slides should be limited to a maximum of no more than about 20 per presentation.Discussion should focus on what has been effective and/or what managers and leaders should have done differently -- and how and why.

Within each team, division of labor is encouraged and individual team members may cover pieces of the assignment in order to cover the entire assignment, but, for the purpose of presenting and leading the discussion, the team will have to integrate the individual work of its members so that the overall analysis presented to the class is a seamless whole which will allow the class to see the managementand leadership issues involved in the case.

The team presentation should focus on the following items:

  • Summary— very briefly describe the case and the key issues raised in the case.
  • Decisions—what were the key decisions that the decision-makers had to make? What worked and what didn’t seem to work?
  • Options—what are the possible courses of action?
  • Recommendations—what do you (the class) believe should be done, how and why?

The team will also prepare two memos for the presentation: a 2 page single spaced memo provided to the class and a one-page memo to me. Use the UMD/SPP memo writing guidelines for memo preparation.

The memoto the class should summarize and critique agency actions and show how the case relates to the concepts covered in the course. The written memo should conclude with two to four key questions to be used to elicit class discussion. These questions should focus on the management and leadership issues presented by the readings.The two-page memo is to be emailed directly to the class and to me through the course web siteat least 24 hours prior to our class session.

The team will also send just to me a one-page memo at least 24 hours prior to our class session. This memo will include the team’s management/leadership recommendations for agency improvement – what management and leadership should do, how and why.

Note that team presentations are a shared responsibility:

1) The team has the responsibility to think through the issues and to identify the significant discussion questions and issues that are raised by the cases. The team ultimately has responsibility for class learning.

2) The class has the responsibility to be fully prepared to engage in meaningful discussion with the team about the major issues, options and questions raised by the team. All students in the class are required to carefully read the cases, the other class readings and the team memo before class, and to be open to exploring the relevance of the case to course content. Everyone in the class will come to class with a command of the material developed by the teams so that the teams can lead discussions on the topics raised by each reading. This will allow everyone to be part of the class discussions that will be led by the various student teams.

Details on Administrative Agency Study:

This assignment is designed to increase student understanding of public management and leadership issues through study in a field setting. The study will identify the key management issues facing the organization, assess the structure, organizational culture and environment of the agency and make recommendations for change. It is very important that the paper relate the paper content to the topics, concepts, and issues that we consider in the course.

You may choose any federal, state or local agency or bureau or a nonprofit organization, including one where you are now working. Direct contact with the agency is certainly desirable, but it is not required.

The paper should be a readable, concise document about 5-6 single-spaced pages in length. The piece should be written in memo form addressed to the head of the agency, bureau or officefrom you, his or her Deputy. No footnotes needed.

At a minimum, the agency analysis should include the following: (the questions suggested are illustrative only, and are not meant to be the only questions you should consider addressing in your analysis):

  • Current Issues. What are the most important managementand leadership issues that face the organization? Why are these the most important issues and how did these issues emerge? What are the obstacles to change that exist in both the external environment and the internal organizational structure and culture? To what extent are the issues identified affected by the external environment (oversight bodies, executives, outside interests)? To what extent are the issues identified influenced by the culture of the organization?
  • Recommendations for Change. What steps do you recommend be taken by agency leadership and management to address the issues you have identified? What are the pros and cons of alternative strategies? What are the implementation issues to be addressed? Why is your recommended course of action politically and realistically feasible? HOW would you deploy your strategies to overcome external and internal obstacles to facilitate changes? HOW will your recommendations help the organization better meet its mission? HOW would you assure that changes are institutionalized?

The study will be evaluated on the content of the analysis (the clarity of presentation of the issues, the feasibility and practicality of the recommendations, the attention to course topics, etc.) as well as its general presentation (grammar, spelling, writing style, etc.).

University Policies:

Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty: The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating,fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. See the Code of Academic Integrity:.

Be sure to understand and to follow these policies, and be aware that I check papers electronically if I suspect plagiarism.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: The University is legally obligated to provide appropriate accommodations for students with documented disabilities. In order to ascertain what accommodations may need to be provided, students with disabilities should inform us of your needs before the beginning of the semester.

Policy on Medically Necessitated Absences: Please contact me by email prior to class if you are going to miss class. U/MD policy requires that course syllabi include policies on medically necessitated absences. See the following:

Class Schedule and Assignments

1)9/8: Overview of Course

General introductions, overview of course and discussion of syllabus and grading. Identification of team assignments. Discussion of the reading materials below (read all before this first class!). Please bring a copy of the syllabus to all classes.

We will spend a significant part of class #1 in active discussion of the Katrina case, so be sure to read it carefully. The case tells the story of the lead-up to the hurricane, detailing the plans that officials would draw on to prepare for the onslaught, and describing the communications among different agencies and levels of government as the storm drew near. It shows officials relatively confident that their preparations were commensurate with the challenges that Katrina would pose. Please come to class prepared to discuss the following questions with your classmates:

Did government agency staff adequately plan for Katrina (both the State & Local Emergency Response Plan and the National Response Plan)?

What went wrong at the federal level – in terms of policy, management and leadership (discuss all three)?

If you were placed in an influential senior leadership position today in the federal government, what management changes in FEMA would you propose to allow for better preparation in the future?

Are the players in this case “innovative and entrepreneurial” public managers, as described by Eimicke and Cohen (see reading below)?

Readings (all available on the course website except the case):

  • Eimicke and Cohen: “Defining Effective Public Management”, from The Effective Public Manager, Perry Boss, 2002
  • Kettl: “The Global Public Management Revolution”, pp 1-6
  • Kennedy School Case: ”Hurricane Katrina (Part A): Preparing For the Big One in New Orleans” Case #1914.3 - abridged.Harvard Business School Case HKS192.

TO PURCHASE THIS AND OTHER COURSE CASES AT THE DISCOUNTED STUDENT RATE, GO TO THE HBS COURSE WEBSITE AT:

2) 9/15: The Nature of Public Administration

Overview of the field of public administration, including the historical development of the field and the tools that government uses to accomplish agency objectives. Discussion of similarities and differences in managing and leading public, private and non-profit organizations. Please complete your MBTI form and return it to me in class today.

Readings:

  • MBTI: complete the survey and bring it to class.
  • K: Chapters 1and 3 -- andjust skim Chapter 2, (and read case 2.1: Pennsylvania Homeland Security)
  • Drucker: “Management as Social Function and Liberal Art”, from The Essential Drucker
  • Wilson: “The Study of Administration”, excerpts
  • Augustine: “Managing to Survive in Washington’, pp 1-12, CSIS, November, 2000
  • Behn: Manager’s Choice #9 - “Coping with Political Pressure”
  • Mosher: “The Issues”, from “Democracy and the Public Service”, excerpts (optional)
  • Stillman: “The Search for the Scope & Purpose of Public Administration”, pp 1-4. Public Administration, 2000 (optional)
  • Lynn: “Education for Public Policy and Management”, excerpts from draft presentation at LBJ Centennial Symposium, December, 2008 (optional)

3) 9/22: Organizational Structure and Related Problems

Discussion on how organizational structure – no matter what the structure–always seems to create organizational problems in administrative agencies. A focus on early organizational issues facing the Department of Homeland Security. Discussion of case study of State Department of Social Services.

Readings:

  • K: Chapter 6 (and read case 6.1: California Executive Branch Restructuring).
  • Milakovich and Gordon: “The Politics of Organizational Structure” 2004, pages 90-93
  • “Case Study: “Department of Social Services”
  • Homeland Security reading packet

4) 9/29:(1) Management Rule # 1: Know Thyself; (2) Theories of Organization

Discussion on the importance of developing solid management and leadership skills. Exercise on Myers-Briggs. An examination of alternative organizational theories.

Readings:

  • Drucker, Peter: “Managing Oneself” Harvard business Review March, 1999.
  • Whetten and Cameron: “The Critical Role of Management Skills”, pp 1-11 (quick skim).
  • Myers-Briggs: Gifts Differing, pp 1-15.
  • K: Chapter 4, including case 4.1 (FBI vs. CIA Organizational Culture) and skim Chapter 5.
  • Gulick: “Notes on the Theory of Organization” S&H, pp 81-89, (optional)
  • Milakovich &Gordon: pp 160-169 “Human Relations” 2004 (optional)
  • Rosenbloom: “A Political Approach to Public Organization, pp 92-198,Public Administration, 2002 (optional)
  • Stillman: ”Public Sector Deregulation”, including James Q. Wilson excerpts,) pp 473-484, Public Administration, 2002, (optional)
  • Myers-Briggs: Gifts Differing, pp 83-116 and Keirsey: “Leading and Intelligence” pp 286-331, from Please Understand Me (both optional reads – and best to read onlyafter the class session).

5) 10/6: (1) Making and Implementing Decisions; (2) Budgeting as a Central Decision-Making Mechanism; and (3) Administration in a Democracy

Decision-making in organizations is hard, and implementation even harder! Case studies on USDA’s Civil Rights Reform and possibly on NASA. The bureaucracy’s relationship with the larger political system—the legislature and the courts.

Readings:

  • K:Chapters 10 (Decision Making – particularly the section on the limits of decision making), and reread “Organizational Culture” on pp. 94-6. Chapter 12 (Implementation), only pp.332-48 (and read case 12.1: Obamacare).
  • K: Chapter11: “Budgeting.”
  • Milakovich & Gordon: “Decision Making in Organizations”, pp 205-21 (optional)
  • Dickey ”NASA’s Next Step”, Government Executive, April 2005. Quick skim.
  • Kennedy School Case: “USDA Civil Rights Reform” Parts 1 & 2. On course website (made available for free download by permission of the Kennedy School).
  • JUST A QUICK SKIM OF ALL BELOW:
  • K: Chapter 14: “Executive Power and Political Accountability” (pp. 402 – 414, all else optional)
  • Szypszak: “Administrative Law and Procedure”, from Understanding Law for Public Administration, 2009, pp 223-30, all else optional.
  • K: Chapter 13: “Regulation and the Courts” (pp. 371-3 and pp. 382-95).

6) 10/13: Administrative Reform and Public Sector Innovation Strategies (Part 1 – Overview and a focus on Reengineering)

Historical development of management reform initiatives. Discussion of alternative management reforms. Team presentation #1: case study of the Washington State Workers Compensation Administration. One page memo due on “Busted DMV”.

Readings:

  • K: Chapter 7 Administrative Reform
  • Cohen & Eimicke: “Reengineering”, Tools for Innovators, pp 31-48
  • Kennedy School Case: “The Washington State Workers Compensation Administration: Reforming a Culture of Despair.” Parts A & B. On course website for download.
  • Breul: “Presidential Management Reform Initiatives,” Getting Results: A Guide for Federal Leaders & Managers, Chapter 4
  • Behn: Manager’s Choice #3 - “Busted DMV”

7) 10/20: Administrative Reform and Public Sector Innovation Strategies(Part 2 - Privatization)