ORGANIZATION THEORY: PA 6320: MASTER’S

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

SCHOOL OF ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND POLICY SCIENCES
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS

FALL 2006
GREEN HALL 4.301
THURSDAYS 7:00 – 9:45 P.M.

Instructor: Stephanie P. Newbold

Email:
Phone: 972.883.5341
Office: Westec Building 1.212
Office Hours: Tuesdays 9:00-12 & By Appointment

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the theoretical and practical
underpinnings of organization theory and how it relates to the broader field of public
administration. Public organizations differ from private and non-profit organizations
because of their relationship to the state, its constitutional heritage, democratic
institutions, and its citizenry. The separation of powers system of American
government has a profound impact on how public organizations serve the state and
work to advance its constitutional tradition. Public agencies are responsible to the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government – an observation that has
led several scholars within the Constitutional School of American public
administration to argue that U.S. public servants serve “three masters”. This
environment can create tension within and among public organizations, particularly in
terms of balancing democratic values like responsibility, responsiveness, and
representativeness with economic values like economy, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Although a significant portion of the literature you will read for this course could be
applied easily to private and/or non-profit organizations, we will be primarily focused
on how it relates to public agencies.

Public organizations provide a wide range of essential services at all levels of

government, including, but not limited to: public education; health and human
services; housing and urban development; energy and public utilities; the
environment; homeland security; water treatment; and transportation. It is, therefore,
essential for students of public administration to understand how organizations are
structured. More specifically, a comprehensive understanding of the literature that
comprises the study of complex public organizations; organization behavior and
change; and organization theory provides us with a greater knowledge base to evaluate
the successes and failures of organizations. In addition, it enhances our understanding
for finding ways to improve or enhance organizations that are failing to achieve some
aspect of their mission; meeting the demands of policy implementation as it relates to
the goals and objectives of their agency; or difficulties affecting behavioral dynamics.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Rainey, Hal G. (2003, 3rd ed.). Understanding and Managing Public

Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
(From this point on will be referred to as HGR).

Shafritz, Jay M., J. Steven Ott, and Yong Suk Jang. (2005, 6th ed.). Classics
of Organization Theory. Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.
(From this point on will be referred to as S&O).

Selected Journal Articles at the Professor’s Discretion.

Optional – Book Review Selection.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS & EXPECTATIONS

Examinations:
There will be two examinations for this course: a mid-term and a final. The mid-term
will cover material up to that point in the course; the final will cover all subsequent
material. Both exams will be take home essays, consisting of three questions each.
Students will have one week from the time the exam is distributed to complete the
mid-term and slightly longer for the final due to Thanksgiving break.

Reaction Journal:
Students are required to keep a reaction journal based on the assigned reading for each
week. Journal entries should not consist of more than two pages, single-spaced per
week. Students should use this opportunity to prepare for class discussion by
addressing what they found interesting in the reading assignments; what they agreed
with – what they disagreed with; how ideas presented in certain readings conflict with
others they have read; and/or any questions that emerge as a result of the ideas
presented in the readings. The professor will collect the reaction journal at several
points during the semester.

Book Review and Presentation:

The class will be divided into six groups, each of which will be responsible for reading
an important work within organization theory. On the first class, students will select
their top two choices. The professor will assign students to groups on Class II.

Each group will be required to make an oral presentation of the intellectual

significance to the field of organization theory for the work they reviewed; why it

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remains important to the field; and how it relates to organization theory and
organization behavior and change. In addition, each student must submit a ten-page,
minimum, analysis of their individual reaction to the work. This will be due on the
day of the oral presentation.

Students may choose from the following options:

Brownlow, Louis, Chair, Charles E. Merriam, and Luther Gulick.

(1937). “The President’s Committee on Administrative
Management.” 5 Accompanying Studies by Reeves and David;
Buck and Mansfield; Cushman; MacMahon, Fesler and
Emmerich; and Hart and Witte. U.S. Government Printing
Office.

Kaufman, Herbert. (1991, 2nd ed.). Time, Change, and Organizations:

Natural Selection in a Perilous Environment. Chatham, NJ: Chatham
House.

Kuhn, Thomas S. (1996, 3rd ed.). The Structure of Scientific

Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Light, Paul C. (1999). The New Public Service. Washington, D.C.:

Brookings Institution Press.

Perrow, Charles. (1986, 3rd ed.). Complex Organizations: A Critical

Essay. New York: McGraw Hill.

Weick, Karl E. (1995). Sensemaking in Organizations. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage.

Class Attendance & Participation:

Students are expected to attend class and to participate in discussions. If you cannot
attend class, please inform me as soon as possible. Excessive absences will affect your
grade.

Academic Integrity:
Students are expected to uphold the University honor code at all times.

GRADING

The evaluation for this course is based on the following percentages:

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 Mid-Term Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%
Book Review 30%**
Reaction Journal 10%
Class Participation 10%

**Oral Presentation will count 15% & Individual Reaction count 15% each.

COURSE CALENDAR

CLASS I – AUGUST 17TH COURSE INTRODUCTION

CLASS II – AUGUST 24TH CLASSICAL FOUNDATIONS OF ORGANIZATION

THEORY

S&O: Introduction & Chapters 2, 5, 6, 7, 8

HGR: pp. 22-33
Book Review Groups Announced

CLASS III – AUGUST 31ST NEO-CLASSICAL PERSPECTIVES OF

ORGANIZATION THEORY

S&O: Chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

HGR: pp. 33-36

CLASS IV – SEPTEMBER 7TH HUMAN RESOURCE THEORY I

S&O: Chapters 14, 15

HGR: pp. 32-33; 36-54
Chapter 11

**Barnard, Chester I. (1938). “Informal Organizations and

Their Relation to Formal Organizations.” From The
Functions of the Executive. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
(Professor will distribute this selection to students).

CLASS V – SEPTEMBER 14TH HUMAN RESOURCE THEORY II

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 S&O: Chapters 16, 17, 18
HGR: Chapters 9, 10, 12

CLASS VI – SEPTEMBER 21ST MODERN STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION THEORY

& DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF PUBLIC
ORGANIZATIONS

S&O: Chapters 20, 23, 24

HGR: Chapters 3 & 4

**Appleby, Paul. (1945, 1973). “Government is Different.”

From Big Democracy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
(Professor will distribute this selection to students).

MID-TERM EXAM DISTRIBUTED

CLASS VII – SEPTEMBER 28TH ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE I

S&O: Chapters 35, 36, 38

HGR: Chapter 6

MID-TERM EXAM DUE

CLASS VIII – OCTOBER 5TH ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE II

S&O: Chapters 42, 43, 44

HGR: pp. 405-414; 417-423

**Light, Paul C. (2006). “The Tides of Reform Revisited:

Patterns in Making Government Work, 1945-2002.”
Public Administration Review. 66:1, 6-19.

**Selden, Sally C. and Frank Selden. (2001). “Rethinking

Diversity in Public Organizations for the 21st
Century.” Administration and Society. 33:3, 303-29.

REACTION JOURNALS DUE

CLASS IX – OCTOBER 12TH SYSTEMS THEORY

S&O: Chapters 25, 26, 27

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 **Katz, Daniel and Robert L Kahn. (1966). “Organizations and
the System Concept.” From The Social Psychology of
Organizations. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
(Professor will distribute this selection to students).

**Stern, Robert N. and Stephen R. Barley. (1996). “Organizations

and Social Systems: Organization Theory’s Neglected
Mandate.” Administrative Science Quarterly. 41:1, 146-
162.

CLASS X – OCTOBER 19TH POWER AND POLITICS

S&O: Chapters 29, 31, 33, 34

**Lindbloom, Charles. (1959). “The Science of Muddling

Through.” Public Administration Review. 19:2, 79-88.

**Long, Norton. (1949). “Power and Administration.” Public

Administration Review. 9:4, 257-64.

CLASS XI – OCTOBER 26TH ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP, INNOVATION,

& CHANGE I

S&O: Chapter 46

**Denhardt, Robert B. and Janet Vinzant Denhardt. (2000).

“The New Public Service: Serving Rather than
Steering.” Public Administration Review 60:6, 549-59.

**Gulick, Luther. (1937). “Notes on the Theory of Organization.”

Papers on the Science of Administration. New York:
Institute of Public Administration.
(Professor will distribute this selection to students).

**Mumford, Michael D. et al. (2000). “Leadership Skills For A

Changing World: Solving Complex Social Problems.”
Leadership Quarterly 11:1, 11-35.

CLASS XII – NOVEMBER 2ND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP, INNOVATION,

& CHANGE II:

“MANAGING COMPLEX PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS IN TIMES OF CRISES”

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 **Cohen, Steven, et al. (2002, Special Issue). “Catastrophe
and the Public Service: A Case Study of the
Government Response to the Destruction of the
World Trade Center.” Public Administration Review.
62, 24-32.

**Kettl, Donald F. (2003). “Contingent Coordination:

Practical and Theoretical Puzzles for Homeland
Security.” American Review of Public Administration.
33:3, 253-57.

**Wise, Charles R. (2002). “Organizing for Homeland

Security.” Public Administration Review. 62:2, 131-44.

**Wise, Charles R. (2006). “Organizing for Homeland

Security after Katrina: Is Adaptive Management
What’s Missing?” Public Administration Review.
66:3, 302-18.

CLASS XIII – NOVEMBER 9TH GROUP PRESENTATIONS

INDIVIDUAL REACTION PAPERS DUE, IF
PRESENTING

REACTION JOURNALS DUE

CLASS XIV – NOVEMBER 16 TH
GROUP PRESENTATIONS
INDIVIDUAL REACTION PAPERS DUE, IF
PRESENTING

FINAL EXAM DISTRIBUTED

DUE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH BY COB