MPA 500 Theories in Public Administration and Democratic Governance Class Syllabus

Faculty	Dr. Sandra M. Emerson
Office hours	Mondays 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Thursday 4:00 – 5:00 a.m. Saturday 1:00-3:00 p.m. or by appointment
Email	smemerson@csupomona.edu
Phone	909 869-3879

Course Objectives:

The goals of this course are as follows:

• To introduce students to the political context, social and ethical values that define the role of the public administrator. Students will explore theories and practices derived from scholarly disciplines such as political science, economics, sociology and management. This overview should enable the student to understand the fundamentals of democratic governance and accountability.
• To provide an overview of the MPA program at CPP with regards to scholarly and ethical standards.
• To prepare students to identify and define an appropriate topic in public administration and/or public policy.
• To prepare students to draft a literature review that represents scholarship and practical concerns for improving public sector administration.
• To provide students with an opportunity to hone skills in leadership and team collaboration
• To provide students with an opportunity to improve presentation skills.

Required Texts and Materials:

Emerson, S., R. Menkus, K.Van Ness and G. Streeter, 2010. Public Administration Companion: A Practical Guide. Washington D. C.: CQ Press. Copies of the text are available from the Bronco Copy Center for approximately $25.

Galvan, J. 2006. Writing Literature Reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences. Glendale CA: Pyrczak Publishing

Shafriz, J. and A. Hyde 2007. Classics of Public Administration, 6th edition. Boston, MA. Thomson.

Articles (Handout Week 1)

Henry, N., American Administrative Tradition in Shafritz, J. 2000, Defining Public Administration. Boulder CO: Westview Press, 17-29.

Marini, F., Public Administration in Shafritz, J. 2000, Defining Public Administration. Boulder CO: Westview Press, 3-16.

Course Requirements

Students will be evaluated on the basis of:

• Mid-term30 percent of the grade:
  Please bring a 100 item Scantron for part A and a blue book for part B
  
• Pop quiz 10 percent of the grade.

• Literature Review Paper 30 percent of the grade. This includes an 8 page paper with citations.

 

• Presentation 10 percent of the grade. Prepare a brief 5 minute presentation of the issue context, the scholarly debate, and conclusions. Be prepared with either class handouts or a Power Point presentation.
  
• Progress on paper 20 percent of the grade.
• This is comprised of a draft context statement that demonstrates the student can correctly cite references, use popular and scholarly references and prepare a brief well written statement. The context draft is 10 points.
  
• The second progress assignment is to present 1-2 page discussion of themes in the literature based on Galvan’s instructions on pre-reading for content. This assignment is 10 points.
  

Course Policies

• To attend classes having read all materials. To be timely in submissions and attendance.
• To treat faculty and colleagues with respect by listening attentively and participating in class activities. Cell phones, beepers, text messaging will be considered a violation of ethical class behavior and will result in a full deduction in the final grade.
• To present all writing assignments in Standard English that is consistent with scholarly and professional standards. To correctly cite all references. Papers will not be graded if the following is found:
• More than 2 English grammar and/or spelling errors
• Citations are incorrect
• Materials are plagiarized, extensively quoted and or cut/pasted together.
  With the exception of plagiarism papers that receive NO GRADE may be resubmitted once. The second submission will be graded and if not correctly cited and/or poor grammar persists, the student will receive a failing grade.
• There are no make-up exams, extra credit, or other supplemental arrangements. Students are graded based on having materials submitted as scheduled below. No late papers, tests or assignments. Late work is a failing grade.

GRADING

A = 95 and above  A- = 90 to 94  B+ = 87 to 89 B = 84 to 86 B- = 80 to 83  C+ = 77 to 79 C = 74 to 76 C- = 70 to 73  D+ = 67 to 69 D = 64 to 66 D- = 60 to 63  Plagiarism or any value less than 60 is F

Plagiarism, the presenting of other’s work as your own, is an F in this course. There are no exceptions. Plagiarized papers will be forwarded to Judicial Affairs Office for adjudication.

Course Schedule is noted below.

	Date	Topic		Readings	Assignment
1	January 4	Introduction to Public Administration Who we are and our interest in public administration. MPA Program at CPP Scholarship requirements: 1. Scholarly writing 2. Citations: APA The history, discipline and profession of public administration		Shafritz, J. 2000 Defining Public Administration. Chapters 1 and 2 [Handout] Galvan: pages 1-12 optional; Chapters 3 and 11 are required.	None
2	January 11 Georgianna Streeter	The context of public administration The identification of themes and scholarly discussions as hallmark of discipline and professionalism. themes dominate the field of public administration. Ethics The policies and practices of ethics in public organizations. Power Point Presentation ETHICS CASES		EMVN- Chapters 1 -2 Shafritz, Classics in Public Administration, articles identified on page v, the Political Context of Public Administration. EMVN, Chapter 3 Shafritz , Classics in Public Administration, articles identified on page vi, Public Service Ethics   Galvan Chapter 4-7,
3	January 18		Martin Luther King Holiday No class. Proceed with topic discussion draft.		Topic discussion draft with correct English usage and citations.
4	January 25 Royce Menkus		Human Relations Bring Copy of Firefighter Case Study For Class	EMVN Chapters 10 and 11, Appendix A. Shafritz , Classics in Public Administration, articles identified on page v,Human Resource Management (all but Krislov)	Submit Topic discussion draft   (10 points)
5	February 1		Public Management The tools (surveys, focus groups, MAUT, PERT and flowcharts) of public administrators. Public Management theory. What are management issues and how do key authors view the debate?	EMNV Chapters 7-9 Galvan, Chapter 8. Shafritz , Classics in Public Administration, articles identified on page vi, Public Management specifically Gulick, Landau, Allison, Moe and Hood.	1-2 page discussion of themes in topic of student’s choice (10 points) Example of themes' discussion
6	February 8		Mid Term Examination Discussion of Literature Review and Power Point Presentations.	All materials covered during weeks 1-4 Bring 100 item Scantron Bring Galvan text.	(30 points)
7	February 15		President's Day University holiday
8	February 22 Special Guest Speaker: Maria Tesoro		The Public and Strategic Thinking Including the public in self governance: informing and involving See Neighborhood Empowerment PLANNING DEPT. LOS ANGELES and POMONA	EMVN Chapters 4, 5 and 6 Shafriz, Classic in Public Administration, articles by Fredrickson (begins on 296) and Kettl (begins on 577)	---
9	March 1 Ron Clark, Finance Director City of La Verne		Budgeting The CA. Budget The Gap The Process The Myths	EMVN Chapters 12 -13. Shafritz , Classics in Public Administration, articles identified on page v, Budgetary Process.	---
10	March 8		Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement Early presenters of literature reviews (10% bonus points) presentation guide	EMVN Chapter 17 Shafritz , Classics in Public Administration, articles identified on page vi, Program Evaluation all. Galvan, Chapter 9 -10 and 13.	Pop Quiz 10 points
Finals	March 15		Student Presentations	Literature review AND presentation to guide authors (5-8 minutes/ student)	(30 points) (10 points)

Literature Review:

The literature review is comprised of two sections: an introduction that defines the question, issue and topic and a discussion of the debate among scholars regarding the issue.

The outline for part 1 is as follows:

• Begin with an overview of the topic. In brief, what is the issue and how would an exploration of the literature contribute to our understanding?
  

• Explain the issue or problem:

• who thinks it’s a problem,
• where is it a problem,
• when did the problem emerge,
• how is the problem/ issue defined or what do key terms mean,
• what is the significance of the issue
• How might a literature review improve our understanding?

The outline for part 2 is:

• Provide a clear concise overview of what the literature discussion will be about.
• Use subheadings to identify where topics in the overview are expounded. What is debate in literature?
• Make transitions from one theme or category to another
• Summarize and make concluding remarks. For specifics see Galvan’s Chapters 10 and 13.
  One objective of literature reviews is to identify viable hypotheses for future study.

 

Space for this page is provided by California State Polytechnic University Pomona. Although it is intended to further educational mission of the university, the opinions expressed here are those of Dr. S. M. Emerson and do not reflect official policy of the University. Send email to smemerson@csupomona.edu