Public Organizations Paper Assignment 4. Michael J. Licari Fall 2004

Due Wednesday, December 15 by 1pm

Pick an agency of interest to you. It is probably a good idea to use the agency that you picked for Paper #2, since some of the required information will already be collected. Using this agency, address the following:

What is the goal of the agency? In meeting this goal, what clientele does the agency serve? Is there more than one goal? If so, which one seems to be most emphasized and why? Do the goals conflict, or do they reinforce each other? Explain how. Explain how the agency goes about meeting its goal(s) (i.e. discuss how the agency creates and/or implements policy).

As you address these issues, be sure to discuss what type of agency it is (production, coping, etc) and what type of relationship exists with the clientele (interest group, client, entrepreneur, majoritarian). This will also steer you towards identifying what the policy subsystem that the agency is in looks like. What sort of relationship does the agency have with other government institutions (is there control from Congress, the President, or the Courts)? How does all of this influence what the agency is doing?

Finally, assess the performance of the agency. Is it meeting its goal(s)? If not, why not?

The paper should be about 15 pages long, double-spaced, using normal font and margins. If you need more space, that is not a problem.