PAD
6108
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION THEORY
Fall,
2012
David Hedge
Office: 218 Anderson
Phone: 273-2367
Course Web Page: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/dhedge/patheory.htm
E-Mail: dhedge@ufl.edu
Office Hours: M, F 8:30-10:00 and by appt.
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.
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)
15% -- Group Project
15% -- 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 22-- Introduction to the Course
August 29 - The Case for (against) Bureaucracy
Charles Goodsell. 2004. The Case for Bureaucracy. ALL
September 5-- 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. 2008. "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. 2008. "Max Weber." Mastering
Public
Administration . pp. 15-46. ®
September 12 -- 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.
2008. "Herbert
Simon: A Decision Making Perspective." Mastering
Public
Administration. pp.
181-217. (®
September 19 -- The Individual and the Organization
Selden, Sally. 1997. Chapter 1, pp 3-9 and Chapter 3 in The Promise of Representative Bureaucracy. Armonk NY: ME Sharpe.Michael Lipsky. 1976. "Toward a Street-Level Bureaucracy." in Hawley et al., Theoretical Perspectives on Urban Politics . (Prentice-Hall). ®
Harold Gortner
etal. 1997. Chapter 8, "Work Motivations."
in Organization Theory, Wadsworth.
Sanford
Schram, Joe Soss, Richard Fording, and Linda Houser. 2009
"Race,
Choice, and Punishment at the Frontlines of Welfare." American Sociology Review.
74:
398-422.
September 26 -- 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 3 -- 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 10 -- 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
Donald
M. Van Slyke. 2003. "The Mythology of Privatization in
Contracting
for Social Services," Public
Administration
Review,
(May/June) 63:
296-315. JSTOR
RECOMMENDED:
Frederica Kramer et al. 2005. "Federal Policy on
the
Ground." Urban
Institutehttp://www.urban.org/publications/311197.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, December 2008,
"Ensuring Quality in Contracted Child Welfare
Services."
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/CWPI/quality/index.shtml
Gortner et al. Chapter 7, "Organizational Decision Making." Organization Theory. ®
excerpts from Irving Janis. 1972. Victims of Groupthink (Houghton Mifflin). ®
October
24
--
Midterm Due
BUREAUCRACIES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS (3 Weeks)
October 31-- Bureaucratic
Responsibility: An Overview
Michael Nelson. 1982. "A Short Ironic
History of
American National Bureaucracy." Journal
of Politics .
44:747-778.
JSTOR
November 7 -- Legislative, Interest Group and Citizen Control of the Bureaucracy
William Gormley.
1989.
Chapter 3, "Interest
Representation," in Taming
the
Bureaucracy
(Princeton University Press). @