942: 153g                                                                     Professor Michael J. Licari

Public Organizations                                                     SAB 339 (x36048)

Fall 2008                                                                      LNG 110 (x32748)

michael.licari@uni.edu

                                                                                    Hours: T/H 1-2pm and by appointment

                                                                                    http://www.uni.edu/~licari/classes.html

 

Course Description

 

This course is designed to examine the nature and context of public organizations.  We will analyze the internal and external factors that explain how public organizations operate.  Students in this course will develop an appreciation for the diversity and importance of public organizations in American politics, society, and governance.

 

Required Texts

 

The textbooks below have been ordered and are available for purchase at the university bookstore.  I do not have extra copies to loan out.

 

Meier, Kenneth J., and John Bohte.  Politics and the Bureaucracy, 5th ed.

Wilson, James Q.  Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It.

Kettl, Donald F.  System Under Stress: Homeland Security and American Politics, 2nd ed.

 

Course Requirements

 

General Expectations:  Students are expected to complete the assigned readings before each class period.  Attendance is not mandatory, although it will be difficult to do well in the course if you do not attend class.  I will not hand out my lecture notes to students.  Grades will be based upon performance on four writing assignments. 

 

Graduate Students:  Graduate students will complete extra work, in addition to the normal class assignments.  This extra work will include writing a set of abstracts on 20 scholarly journal articles of your choice.  Normal class assignments will also have additional components for graduate students.  Graduate students should meet with the professor at the start of the semester for more information on these expectations, including guided study/discussion sessions.

 

Written Assignments:  You will be asked to write three short papers and one longer paper.  The  short papers will be based on topics covered in class, and the longer paper will be focused on a government agency of your choice.  Technical requirements will be handed out in class.

 

Short Papers                20% each (15% each for graduate students)

Long Paper                  40%

Article Abstracts           15% (graduate students only)

 

 

 

Grading

 

100-94             A                     83-80               B-                    69-67               D+

93-90               A-                    79-77               C+                   66-64               D

89-87               B+                   76-74               C                     63-60               D-

86-84               B                      73-70               C-                    59-0                 F

 

Class Policies

 

Incompletes are strongly discouraged and will only be given out in extreme circumstances.  Late work is absolutely not accepted, except in the case of a documented medical emergency or participation in a UNI-sponsored event.  In fairness to students who hand their work in on time, no other excuses will be accepted and no exceptions will be made.  Students who do not have a documented excuse will receive a "zero" for a late assignment.  All assignments are due at the start of class on the dates marked below.  There is no extra credit.  Students must follow the rules found in the Catalog regarding Academic Regulations, particularly the section covering academic ethics policies and plagiarism.

 

I accept rough drafts of papers, but they must be turned in at least 7 days prior to the due date of the assignment.  A rough draft need not be complete; even just an outline may be turned in.  Turning in a rough draft does not guarantee an A on the paper, but it will keep students from misinterpreting the assignment, omitting portions of it, or poorly organizing the paper.

 

Students may request that assignments be re-graded, as long as there is a detailed written (typed) response to my comments that clarifies why a different grade is deserved.  Upon re-reading, the grade may be lowered, left unchanged, or increased.  Please be aware that it may take several weeks for me to re-grade an assignment.

 

Cell phones and other electronic communication devices must be turned off in the classroom.

 

Students with Disabilities                                   

 

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) protects qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination. Students needing instructional accommodations due to disability must arrange for them through the Office of Disability Services (ODS). The ODS is located at 103 Student Health Center, and the phone number is 273-2676.  Please do this right away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Course Outline

 

Introducing Public Organizations

 

Week 1                                    Introduction to Public Organizations

Aug 26, 28                               Read: Meier Ch 1 and 2

 

Week 2                                    Thinking Analytically about Public Organizations

Sept 2, 4                                  Read: JQW Ch1 and 2

 

Internal Perspective

 

Week 3                                    Workers in Public Organizations

Sept 9, 11                                Read: JQW Ch 3, 4, and 6

                                                Moynihan and Pandey.  "The Role of Organizations in Fostering

Public Service Motivation"  PAR 67:40-53

 

Week 4                                    Managers in Public Organizations

Sept 16, 18                              Read: JQW Ch 7, 8 and 9

                                                Kane and Patapan.  "In Search of Prudence"  PAR 66:711-724

 

Week 5                                    Leaders of Public Organizations  Paper 1 Due Sept. 25

Sept 23, 25                              Read: JQW Ch 10, 11, 12

                                                Rainey and Thompson.  "Leadership and the Transformation of a

Major Institution"  PAR 66:596-604

 

Bureaucratic Power, Interest Groups and Policymaking

 

Week 6                                    Bureaucratic Power and Its Sources

Sept 30, Oct 2                         Read: Meier Ch 3

 

Week 7                                    Interest Groups and Public Organizations

Oct 7, 9                                   Read: JQW Ch 5

                                                O'Toole and Meier.  "Desperately Seeking Selznick"  PAR 64:681-

94

                                   

Week 8                                    Bureaucracy and Public Policy

Oct 14, 16                               Read: Meier Ch 4

Lewis.  "In Pursuit of the Public Interest"  PAR 66:694-701

Shapiro.  "The Role of Procedural Controls In OSHA's

Ergonomics Rulemaking"  PAR 67:688-701

 

 

 

 

 

Week 9                                    Bureaucracy and the Public's Expectations

Oct 21, 23                               Read: JQW Ch 17 and 18; Meier Ch 5

Macaulay and Lawton.  "From Virtue to Competence" PAR 66:702-710

Rosenbloom.  "Reinventing Administrative Prescriptions"  PAR 67:28-39

 

Week 10                                  Public/Private  Paper 2 Due Oct. 30

Oct 28, 30                               Read: JQW Ch 19

Marvel and Marvel.  "Outsourcing Oversight" PAR 67:521-30.

 

Controlling Public Organizations

 

Week 11                                  External Checks; Legislative and Judicial Branches

Nov 4, 6                                  Read; JQW 13 and 15; Meier Ch 6 (pgs 135-156)

Meier and O'Toole.  "Political Control versus Bureaucratic Values"  PAR 66:177-92

 

Week 12                                  External Checks; Executive Branch and Federalism

Nov 11, 13                              Read: JQW 14; Meier Ch 6 (pgs 156-178)

Light.  "Recommendations Forestalled or Forgotten?"  PAR

67:408-17.

 

Week 13; Nov 15                    Ethics and Participation; Bureaucratic Reform 

Nov 18, 20                              Read: Meier Ch7 and 8; JQW 20

Meier and Nicholson-Crotty.  "Gender, Representative Bureaucracy, and Law Enforcement"  PAR 66:850-60

Yang and Callahan.  "Citizen Involvement Efforts and Bureaucratic Responsiveness"  PAR 67:249-264.

"When Public Participation in Administration Leads to Trust"  PAR 67:265-278.

 

Week 14                                  NO CLASS

Nov 25, 27

 

Week 15                                  Putting it all together: homeland security case study

Paper 3 Due Dec. 4

Dec 2,4                                    Read: Kettl Ch 1-4

 

Week 16                                  Putting it all together: homeland security case study

Dec 9, 11                                 Read: Kettl Ch 5-7

 

Final Paper Due: 1pm Wednesday, December 17th

 

Article Abstracts Due For Graduate Students: 1pm Wednesday, December 17th

 

FORMAT GUIDELINES

 

1. Please use 1 inch margins. Note that Microsoft Word has margins set at 1.5 inches by default. This is too big and wastes paper.

2. Please double space. No more, no less.

3. Please insert page numbers. When I grade papers, I often include references to specific pages in my comments.

4. Please use Times New Roman front. The font size should be 12pt. It is by far the easiest to read.

5. When citing written sources, include the author's last name and the year the source was published in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Then you should have a reference list at the end of the paper. Internet sources in the reference list should include the date and time the material was accessed.

6. Please do not put your paper in a report cover, plastic binder, or folder. These will be removed and thrown away. A single staple in the upper left hand corner is sufficient.

7. If you have a question, please ask me!

8. If you want additional help, visit the Writing Center (ITTC 008).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ten Basic Tips for Writing

1.  Avoid contractions and slang, unless you are quoting someone's speech.  Informal writing (or "writing like you speak") is unprofessional and is less likely to be taken seriously.

2.  Similarly, do not use keystroke shortcuts used for instant messaging or chat-rooms.  It is unprofessional to employ those shortcuts in emails, letters, memos, or papers.

3.  Proofread your work.  Spellchecking is nice, but it will miss mistakes such as "Untied States" instead of "United States."  It also will not correct poorly worded sentences.

4.  A paragraph should have one point that you are trying to make.  Paragraphs that contain more than one idea or theme should be rewritten into multiple paragraphs.

5.  You should cite your source when: you make a direct quote; when you paraphrase a section of someone's work; when you make a declarative statement that is based on someone's research or interpretation.

6.  Direct, concise prose is preferred. Flowery, obtuse prose only annoys your readers.

7.  An apostrophe does not make a noun plural.  Also note that the contraction "it's" is short for "it is" and is not possessive (which is "its").

8.  Use internet sources carefully.  Online sites of reputable print newspapers are acceptable (e.g. New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Des Moines Register), as is scholarly work in professional journals accessed via the internet (e.g. by using the library's electronic journal resources).  Government websites are also acceptable.  Avoid blogs, personal essays, and open-source documents (e.g. Wikipedia) as these are error-ridden, biased, not peer-reviewed, and are usually not written by experts or professionals.  Use material from think tanks (e.g. Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation, Progressive Policy Institute, Twentieth Century Fund) very carefully.  Most think tanks promote a particular viewpoint and "nonprofit" does not necessarily mean "non-biased".

9.  Draw up an outline of your paper before you start writing.  It will help keep you focused.

10.  Your paper should have at least a basic structure.  With an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, you can "tell your readers what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them."  You obviously do not want to be so blunt about it, but your readers should not have to guess what your point is.  Remember, if your readers do not think your paper is clear, then by definition it is not, regardless of what you think about the paper (or your readers).