Sample Syllubus I- Introductory Public Administration

Public Administration and Democracy

Instructor: Chansu Jung

Course Description
Public administration can be simply defined as the process of developing and
implementing government policies. Compared with the private sector, government should
pursue both efficiency and democratic values, such as equity and accountability. This course
will focus on the unavoidable strain and value conflicts that exist between public officials and
stakeholders including politicians, constituents, and interest groups.
The main goal of this study is to help students understand the principles of public
administration, the political environment of public administration, and the conflicts between
administration and politics through the development and implementation of policies. To that end,
this course will provide an overview of the history of public administration, a body of prominent
theories and research, and the relationship between public administration and politics.

Required Books
Stillman, Richard J. 2005. Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, 8th ed. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin.
Gormley and Balla. 2007. Bureaucracy and Democracy: Accountability and Performance, 2nd
edition. Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press.
Additional readings as assigned. Acquisition of these readings will be discussed in class.

Class Format
● One or one-and-a-half hour lecture will be given at the beginning of every class.
● Students will participate in group discussion about case study and each group will give a short
presentation.
● Students will present their summaries of assigned articles or book chapters and discuss the
articles.

Assignments
●Students will choose two or three articles or book chapters in the list below to summarize in
two single-space pages and present them.
●Students will read articles and books on one out of the topics in this course and write a
literature review paper in ten single-space pages. The topic will be decided after talking with
the instructor.

Evaluation
Participation: 15% (including attendance and participation in group discussions)
Two Summaries of Articles or Book Chapters: 10%
Midterm Exam I: 25% (In Class)
Midterm Exam II: 25% (In Class)

 
Final Exam: 25% (In Class)

Attendance Policy
This course will follow an attendance policy. Students’ final participation grades will be reduced
for any unexcused absence. If a student misses more than three classes, he/she receives a grade
no higher than “B” in this course. Personal emergencies and professional obligations can be
excused. Students should talk with the instructor about such absences. Tardiness will also result
in reduction in participation grade.

Late Work and Make-up

Late work without prior approval will lead to reduced grade by 15% for each day it is late.
Make-up exams will be given for only the excused absences from class. The schedule of the
make-up exam will be discussed.

Disability Policy
If a student has any disability that can influence the ability to perform in this course, he/she
should notify the instructor of the disability so that the instructor can make reasonable
accommodations.

General University Policies

Students are required to inform themselves about Academic Honesty Policy of the University
found at the Website for the University Policy. Any violations of the policy will lead to the
strongest penalty.

Class Schedule

Week 1. Introduction and Overview

Week 2. Scope and Purpose of Public Administration

Stillman, Chapter 1.
● Wilson, Woodrow. “The Study of Administration”
● Stillman, Richard J. “The Study of Public Administration in the United States”
● Case Study 1 - “The Blast in Centralia No. 5: A Mine Disaster No One Stopped”

Week 3. The Setting of American Public Administration

Stillman, Chapter 5
● O’Toole, Laurence J. “American Intergovernmental Relations: An Overview”
● Case Study 5 - “Wichita Confronts Contamination

Meier, Kenneth. J. 2000. Politics and the bureaucracy. For Worth, TX: Harcourt College
Publishing company.-Chapter 1 and 2
● “Bureaucracy and Politics”
● “The Structure of American Bureaucracy”

 
Week 4. Bureaucracy
Stillman, Chapter 2 and 7
● Weber, Max. “Bureaucarcy”
● Stillman, Richard J. “Inside Public Bureaucracy”
● Case Study 2 - “How Kristin Died”

Charles T. Goodsell, “The Case for Bureaucracy: A Public Administration Polemic.” 4th
edition. CQ Press, 2004. Chapter 1 and 3.
● “Bureaucracy Despised, Disparaged, and Defended”
● “More Bureaucracy Myths to Delete”

Week 5. Bureaucracy and Democracy

Gormley and Balla Book
● Chapter 1 – “Bureaucracies as Policymaking Organizations”
● Chapter 2 – “Bureaucratic Reasoning”
● Chapter 3 – “The Bureaucracy’s Boss”
● Chapter 4 – “The Bureaucracy’s Clients”
● Chapter 7 – “Why Are Some Bureaucracies Better Than Others?”

Week 6. Midterm Exam I

Week 7. Organization Theory

Hal G. Rainey. “Understanding and Managing Public Organizations,” 3rd edition. San
Francisco: Wiley/ Jossey-Bass, 2003. Chapter 2.
● “Understanding the Study of Organizations: A Historical Review”

Thomas, Craig W. 1993. “Reorganizing Public Organizations: Alternatives, Objectives,

and Evidence,” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 3 (4):
457-486.
Robert K. Merton. 1940. “Bureaucratic Structure and Personality” In Classics of Public
Administration, ed. Jay M. Sharfritz, Albert C. Hyde, and Sandra J. Parkes, 109-
117. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson.

Week 8. Politics and Decision Making

Stillman, Chapter 4 and 8
● Long, Norton E. “Power and Administration”
● Lindblom, Charles E. “The Science of Muddling Through”
● Case Study 8 - “The MOVE Disaster”

Meier, Kenneth J. 1980. Measuring Organizational Power: Resources and Autonomy of

Government agencies. Administration and Society, 12 (3): 357-375.
Jones, Bryan D. 2003. Bounded Rationality and Political Science: Lessons from Public
Administration and Public Policy. Journal of Public Administration Research and

 
 Theory, 13 (4): 395-412.

Week 9. Communication and Effective Management

Stillman, Chapter 9 and 10
● Garnett, James L. “Administrative Communication: The Concept of Its Professional
Centrality”
● Rainey, Hal G., and Paula Steinbauer. “Galloping Elephants: Developing Elements of a
Theory of Effective Government Organizations”
●Case Study 9 - “The Shootings at Columbine High School: The Law Enforcement
Response”

Pandey, Sanjay K., and James L. Garnett. 2006. Exploring public sector communication
performance: Testing a model and drawing implications. Public Administration
Review, 66 (1): 37-51.
Chun, Young Han, and Hal G. Rainey. 2005b. Goal Ambiguity and Organizational
Performance in U.S. Federal Agencies. Journal of Public Administration
Research and Theory, 15 (4): 529-557.

Week 10. Public Personnel Motivation

Hal G. Rainey. “Understanding and Managing Public Organizations,” 3rd edition. San
Francisco: Wiley/ Jossey-Bass, 2003. Chapter 10.
●“Understanding People in Public Organizations: Theories of Work
Motivation and Work-Related Attitudes”

●Case Study 11 - “Who Brought Bernadine Healy Down?”

Perry, James L., and Lois R. Wise. 1990. The Motivational Bases of Public Service.
Public Administration Review, 50 (3): 367-373.
Locke, Edwin A. and Gary P. Latham. 2002. Building a Practically Useful Theory of goal
Setting and Task Motivation: A 35-Year Odyssey.” American Psychologist, 57 (9).

Week 11. Midterm Exam II

Week 12. Public Budgeting and Implementation

Stillman, Chapter 12 and 14
● Rubin, Irene S. “The Politics of Public Budget”
● Matland, Richard E. “Synthesizing the Implementation Literature: The Ambiguity-
Conflict Model of Policy Implementation”
●Case Study 12 - “Wisconsin’s Budget Deficit”
●Case Study 13 - “They Had a Plan”

Pressman, Jeffrey L., and Aaron Wildavsky. “Implementation” In Classics of Public

Administration, ed. Jay M. Sharfritz, Albert C. Hyde, and Sandra J. Parkes, 339-
342. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson.

 
 Caiden, Naomi. “Public Budgeting admist Uncertainty and Instability” In Classics of
Public Administration, ed. Jay M. Sharfritz, Albert C. Hyde, and Sandra J. Parkes,
423-433. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson.

Week 13. Dilemma I: The Relationship between Politics and Administration

Stillman, Chapter 14
● Helco, Hugh. “Issue Networks and the Executive Establishment”
● Case Study 14 - “Reinventing School Lunch: Transforming a Food Policy into a
Nutrition Policy”

Appleby, Paul. “Government is Different” In Classics of Public Administration, ed. Jay

M. Sharfritz, Albert C. Hyde, and Sandra J. Parkes, 131-135. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth/Thompson.
Svara, James H. 1998. “The Politics-Administration Dichotomy Model as Aberration.”
Public Administration Review, 58 (1): 51-58.

Week 14. Dilemma II: The Relationship between Bureaucracy and the Public Interest
Stillman, Chapter 15
●Wilson, James Q. “Bureaucracy and the Public Interest”
●Case Study 15 - “The Human Genome Project”

Meier, Kenneth J. 1997. “Bureaucracy and Democracy: The Case for More Bureaucracy
and Less Democracy.” Public Administration Review, 57 (3): 193-199.
O’Toole, Laurence J. 1997. “Treating Networks Seriously: Practical and Research-Based
Agendas in Public Administration.” Public Administration Review, 57 (1): 45-52.

Week 15. Dilemma III : The Relationship between Ethics and Public Administration
Stillman, Chapter 16
●Waldo, Dwight. “Pubic Administration and Ethics: A Prologue to a Preface”
●Case Study 16 - “The Case of the Butterfly Ballot”

Thompson, Dennis F. 1992. “Paradoxes of Government Ethics” Public Administration

Review, 52 (3): 254-259.
Terry, Cooper. 1990. “Leadership in the Administrative State: The Concept of
Administrative Conservatorship.” Administration and Society, 21 (4): 395-412.

Week 16. Final Exam