PAD 6108
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION THEORY
Fall,
2008
David Hedge
Office: 218 Anderson
Phone: 392-0262, ext. 287
Course Web Page: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/dhedge/patheory.htm
E-Mail: dhedge@polisci.ufl.edu
Office Hours: TH 1-3:30
Course Objectives
PAD
6108 is an introduction to public bureaucracies and the people who study them.
Over the next few weeks, we will examine many of the major writings and
analyses on bureaucracy, primarily as it operates in the U.S.
Students should leave the course with a sense of a) some of the ethical, political, and administrative issues faced by public administrators and their superiors; b) how (and why) bureaucracies operate in America; and c) how bureaucracies interact with the larger political and private environments in which they serve.
Course Premises
The course proceeds off a number of assumptions concerning the role of the administrative sector in society. In Democracy and the Public Service (1968: 1), Frederick C. Mosher maintains that:
1. governmental decisions and behavior have tremendous influence upon the nature and development of our society, our economy, and our policy;
2. the great bulk of decisions and actions taken by governments are determined or heavily influenced by bureaucratic officials, most of whom are appointed, not elected;
3. the kinds of decisions and actions these officials take depend upon their capabilities, their orientations, and their values; and
4. these attributes depend heavily upon their backgrounds, their training and education, and their current associations.
In addition, recent research and analysis suggest a fifth premise:
5. the actions and behaviors of administrators and bureaucracies are also conditioned (albeit imperfectly) by their larger political and economic environment.
Expectations/Grading
Class time will be spent reviewing the week's readings. While the readings are often extensive, I expect them to be read (and on time) and I expect you to be prepared to summarize, critique, and draw implications from each of the assigned readings (you will be asked to write a brief 1-2 page reaction paper most weeks). My role will simply be to guide the discussion. I do not intend to lecture.
Both the midterm and final paper require you to synthesize some of the major analysis in the field (more on this later). In addition, you will participate in a group project that examines a particular policy/administration situation. Each student will also participate in a classroom debate. Both of the latter exercises entail a written and oral component.
Grades are apportioned as follows:
35% --
Final Paper
35% -- Midterm (take home)
20% -- Group Project
10% -- Class Discussion (including reaction papers) and Debate
Late papers/assignments are accepted only in rare and deserving cases, at the discretion of the instructor, and subject to a grading penalty. I normally do not give incompletes.
Students are expected to comply with UF's Academic Honesty Guidelines .
Students who commit an act of academic dishonesty will suffer the
appropriate sanction.
The Course Web Page
I have created a web page for this course at the address listed above. It includes this syllabus and other information about the course.
Texts
Charles T. Goodsell, The Case for Bureaucracy Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham House, 4th edition, 2004.
Herbert Kaufman, The Forest Ranger Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 1960.
Marissa Golden. What Motivates Bureaucrats? Politics and Administration During the ReaganYears. New York:Columbia University Press, 2000.
Additional readings have been placed on reserve ® in the graduate student room on the 3rd floor of Anderson Hall and others are available through JSTOR.
Course
Outline, Schedule, and Readings
OVERVIEW (4 weeks)
August
27 -- Introduction to the Course
September
3- The Case for (against) Bureaucracy
Charles Goodsell. 2004. The Case for Bureaucracy. ALL
September 10-- Theories of Organizations: The Classics
David H. Rosenbloom. 1983. "Public Administration Theory and the Separation of Powers." Public Administration Review. (May, June): 219-227. JSTOR
Brian R. Fry. 1989. "Introduction." Mastering Public Administration. (Chatham House) pp. 1-14. ®
Nicholas Henry. 1989. "The Threads of Organization Theory." in Public Administration and Public Affairs . ®
Brian R. Fry. "Max Weber." Mastering Public Administration . pp. 15-46. ®
Laurence Lynn, Jr. 2001. "The Myth of the Bureaucratic Paradigm: What Traditional Public Administration Really Stood For," Public Administration Review. (March/April) 61:144-160. JSTOR
September 17 -- Theories of Organizations: Recent Classics
Terry M. Moe. 1984. "The New Economics of
Organization." American Journal of
Political Science.
28:739-777. JSTOR
Brian Fry, "Herbert
Simon: A Decision Making Perspective." Mastering Public
Administration. pp.
181-217. (®
INSIDE BUREAUCRACY (5 Weeks)
September 24 -- The Individual and the Organization
Harold Gortner et al.. 1997. Chapter 8, "Work
Motivation." Organization Theory: A Public Perspective.
(Wadsworth) ®
David M. Hedge, Donald C. Menzel, and George Williams.
1988. "Regulatory Attitudes and Behavior:
The Case of Surface Mining Regulation." Western Political Quarterly. 44:
323-340. ® & JSTOR
Michael Lipsky. 1976. "Toward a Street-Level Bureaucracy." in Hawley et al., Theoretical Perspectives on Urban Politics . (Prentice-Hall). ®
William Gormley. 1998. "Regulatory
Enforcement Styles." Political
Research Quarterly . 51:
363-383. ® &
JSTOR
October 1 -- The Individual and the Organization
Herbert Kaufman. 1960. The Forest Ranger . ALL.
Terry J. Tipple and J. Douglas Wellman. 1991.
"Herbert Kaufman's Forest Ranger 30 Years Later: From
Simplicity and Homogeneity to Complexity and
Diversity." Public
AdministrationReview. pp. 421+. JSTOR
October 8 -- The Structure of Organizations: Hierarchy and it Alternatives
Gortner et al. Chapter 4, "Organizational Structure and Design." Organization Theory. ®
Karen M. Hult and Charles Walcott. 1989.
"Organizational Design as Policy Analysis." Policy Studies
Journal. pp.
469-494. JSTOR
October 15 -- The Structure of Organizations: Going Outside the Public Sector
John E. Chubb and Terry M. Moe. 1988. "Politics, Markets, and the
Organization of Schools." American
Political Science Review
. 82:1065-1089. JSTOR
Demetra Nightingale and Nancy Pindus. 1997. "Privatization
of Public Social Services." Urban Institute.
http://www.urban.org/publications/407023.html
Carol Da Vito and Sarah Wilson. 2001. "Faith-Based Initiatives:
Sacred Deeds and Secular Dollars." Urban Institute
http://www.urban.org/publications/310351.html
Frederica Kramer et al. 2005. "Federal Policy on the
Ground." Urban Institute
http://www.urban.org/publications/311197.html
Donald M. Van Slyke. 2003. "The Mythology of Privatization in Contracting for Social Services," Public Administration Review, (May/June) 63: 296-315. JSTOR
October 22-- Decision Making in Organizations
Gortner et al. Chapter 7, "Organizational Decision Making." Organization Theory. ®
excerpts from Irving Janis. 1972. Victims of Groupthink (Houghton Mifflin). ®
October 29-- Midterm Due
BUREAUCRACIES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS (3 Weeks)
November 5 -- Bureaucratic Responsibility: An Overview
William Gormley, Taming the Bureaucracy, Chapter Two. ®
Barbara S. Romzek and Melvin Dubnik. 1987. "Accountability in
the Public Sector: Lessons from the
Challenger Disaster."
Public Administration Review. pp. 227-238. JSTOR
Richard Kearney and Chandan Sinha. 1988. "Professionalism
and Bureaucratic Responsibility: Conflict or
Compatibility?"
Public Administration Review. pp. 571-579. JSTOR
Michael Nelson. 1982. "A Short Ironic History of
American National Bureaucracy." Journal
of Politics .
44:747-778. JSTOR
November
12-- Executive and Legislative Control of the Bureaucracy
Golden. What Motivates Bureaucrats? Politics and
Administration During the ReaganYears. ALL
.
Matthew D. McCubbins and Thomas Schwartz. 1984.
"Congressional Oversight Overlooked: Police
Patrols Versus Fire Alarms." American Journal of Political Science.
28:165-79. JSTOR
David Hedge and Renee Johnson.2002. “The Plot that Failed:The Republican Revolution and Political Control of the Bureaucracy.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory .JSTOR
November 19 -- Citizens, Interest Groups, the Courts, and Bureaucracy
Terry Moe. 1989. "The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure." in Chubb and Peterson, ed. Can The Government Govern? (Brookings). ®
Gormley. Taming the Bureaucracy. Chapter 4. ®
Renee Irvin and John Stansbury. 2004. "Citizen Participation in Decision Making: Is It Worth the Effort?" Public Administration Review. (January/February) 64: 55-65. JSTOR
November 26 -- No Class, Thanksgiving Break
December
10 Group Presentations
December 12 -- Term Papers Due