PAD
6108
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION THEORY
Fall, 2013
David Hedge
Office: 218 Anderson
Phone: 273-2367
Course Web Page:
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/dhedge/patheory.html
E-Mail: dhedge@ufl.edu
Office Hours: M,W 10:30
-11:30, T 9-11:00
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 26-- Introduction to the Course
September 9- The Case for (against) Bureaucracy
Charles Goodsell. 2004. The Case for Bureaucracy. ALL
September 16-- 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 23 -- 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 30 -- 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.
Debate # 1
(Affirmative Action)
Resolved: State and local governments should be
required to vigorously pursue affirmative action efforts
on behalf of women and minorities
including hiring quotas and minority set asides.
October 7 -- 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
Debate #
2 (Drug Testing in the Workplace)
Resolved: Public
employees should be subject to drug testing as a
condition for the receipt and maintenance of
employment.
October 14 -- 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
Debate # 3 (Public Sector Unions and the Right To Strike)
Resolved: Public sector employees should have the right to collective bargaining, including the right to strike.
October 21 -- 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
Jonathon G.S. Koppell. 2003. Ch.
1-3. The Politics of Quasi-Government Hybrid
Organizations and the Dynamics of Bureaucratic Control.
Cambridge University Press.
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
October 28 -- Decision Making in Organizations
Gortner et al. Chapter 7, "Organizational Decision Making." Organization Theory. ®
excerpts from
Irving Janis. 1972. Victims of Groupthink (Houghton
Mifflin). ®
Debate # 5 (The Role of the States)
Resolved: State governments should assume primary
responsibility for implementing and enforcing the Voting
Rights Act and other federal civil rights legislation.
Noevember 4 -- Midterm Due
BUREAUCRACIES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS (2 Weeks)
November 18 -- Bureaucratic
Responsibility: An Overview
Michael Nelson. 1982. "A Short Ironic
History of American National Bureaucracy." Journal of Politics
.
44:747-778.
JSTOR
November
25 -- Executive and Citizen Control of the
Bureaucraccy