Public Administration Field – May 2016 – p. 1

SPGIA Political Science PhD Comprehensive Examination

May 2016

Public Administration

Please answer one question from each part of the exam, for a total of three. Please clearly indicate which question you are answering. In each answer, you should develop a coherent argument in response to the question; your answer should critically engage and analyze, rather than simply review the literature. Use this as an opportunity to demonstrate the breadth and depth of your understanding of multiple literatures, as well as of major theoretical issues, scholars, and methodological approaches. In all your answers, please be sure to reference specific scholars as appropriate.

Part I: Methodology

  1. Experimental methods, which involve the random assignment of sample units to two or more treatment groups, have become increasingly common in the social sciences. Public administration is no exception to this trend. Discuss strengths and weaknesses of experimental methods as applied to public administration, providing examples of published work to illustrate these strengths and weaknesses. Also, compare experimental methods to non-experimental methods (e.g., regression with statistical controls, interviews). Do experimental methods offer more promise for answering pressing questions in public administration than non-experimental methods, or vice versa? Again, be sure to provide examples of published work to support your arguments.
  1. Begin with a descriptive or causal research question that can be located within the field of public administration. How would you answer this question using existing social science methods? Describe the elements of a research design that you would use to pursue an answer. These elements should include (but not be limited to) the following: a description of the population to which you intend to generalize; a method of sampling units from the population; and a description of how you will measure your key theoretical constructs. As part of your answer, it will be important to defend your design's external validity, internal validity (if applicable), and measurement validity. Also, it will be important to explain why your question is important and how your research would contribute to the advancement of public administration theory.

Part II: Management/Organization Theory/Evolution of Public Administration

  1. In his 1983 Public Administration Review article titled “Public Administrative Theory and the Separation of Powers,” scholar David Rosenbloom argued that the field of Public Administration has three principal intellectual traditions: management, politics, and law. What key values, according to Rosenbloom, are emphasized in each of the three intellectual traditions; who are some of the principal contributors to each (scholars’ names, key publications, and summaries of contributions); and in what ways do the three traditions fit (or collide) with the constitutional design of the U.S. governmental system? What is your assessment of Rosenbloom’s analysis and argument?
  1. Max Weber took the position that bureaucracy is the most effective, efficient, and economical form of organization. Some scholars, however, contend that bureaucracy is a highly dysfunctional form of organization that is neither effective nor efficient. Other scholars contend that in the American government system bureaucracies (executive branch organizations and the leaders of those organizations) are highly constrained and thus unlikely to be effective or efficient.

What, according to Weber, are the key characteristics of a bureaucracy? What, according to other scholars such as Robert K. Merton, Anthony Downs, and Michel Crozier make bureaucracy dysfunctional? What, according to James Q Wilson and/or Norton Long, are some of the key constraints on bureaucracies in the U.S. governmental system?

  1. The origins of the study of public administration in the United States can be traced to Woodrow Wilson and his 1887 article titled "The Study of Administration." In that article Wilson called on Political Scientists to develop a “science of administration.” Why did Wilson take the position that a science of administration was needed? How did that science evolve over the next 50 years? Who were the major contributors to it and what were their key ideas? Between 1887 and 1937, the “science” was used to improve the organization and method of the executive branch at the national and state levels. What results were achieved by the application of the science at the national and/or state levels?

Part III: Public Policy Process, Policy Implementation, and Third Party Governance

  1. What are three models/theories of the policy process? Please discuss whether there is any way to reconcile the different models: Does one of the models seem more valid than the others? Do the models apply in different contexts? Is more research needed to assess the different models? If yes, what kind of research would lead you to subscribe to one model over the others?
  1. What is “third-party governance?” What are the most significant historical and more recent roots of third-party governance in the U.S.? Discuss some of the most important consequences/impacts of third-party governance: Who wins and who loses in third-party governance? What management skills are especially needed in third-party governance? What accountability challenges accompany third-party governance?
  1. The concept of “networks” is a relatively new addition to theories of policy formation and policy implementation. How does this concept show up in theories of policy formation and policy implementation? How does examining the activities and roles of networks help us understand the relationship between policy formation and policy implementation?