Course Syllabus

Policies-V185 Management of Public Problems and Solutions.pdf

Instructor: Profesor Claudia N. Avellaneda                                                

Office: SPEA 453

Class instruction: class meets in person SPEA V167

Tuesday and Thursday: 2:20- 3:35 pm.  Be punctual, please

Dr. Avellaneda’s office hours: Thursday 4-5 pm in persona or via Zoom or by appointment

Zoom address https://iu.zoom.us/my/claudia.zoom

Professor Avellaneda’s email: cavellan@iu.edu: please write a greeting sentence

Teaching assistants’ office hours:TBD

 I. COURSE DESCRIPTION

Worldwide governments face different problems and unexpected challenges. While some governments fare well in responding to these challenges, others fail to do so. For instance, some cities seem to be well prepared to respond to natural disasters while others, such a Flint, MI, responded poorly to the water crisis. This variation in government response can be explained in terms of management.  This course will introduce you to the major concepts of management across three sectors: public, private and non-profit sector.  The course will help you understand (i) the ways in which organizations in these sectors are different; (ii) the ways in which these three sectors collaborate to solve public problems, (iii) and the skills necessary to manage these collaborations.  The course will use a problem-focused approach, where students will see how management choices, both good and bad, affect real world solutions and outcomes for citizens.

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the semester, students will be able to: 

  • Correctly apply basic concepts in public management to real-world problems and solutions in conversation and writing. 
  • Compare and contrast the key similarities and differences in management in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. 
  • Describe the ways in which the public, private, and nonprofit sectors collaborate to solve problems. 
  • Conduct an introductory analysis of ethical issues that arise in the provision of public goods and services. 
  • Understand opportunities and barriers to equity, representation, and diversity in public programs and related implications for citizens. 
  • Distinguish between normative and empirical arguments and evaluate evidence presented to support claims made by policy proposals. 
  • Establish a mindset of openness and tolerance while learning different perspectives about the design and implementation of policy.  
  • Better evaluate the validity of sources/references of information as applied to research on management problems and solution. 
  • Briefly summarize key findings from government or think tank reports. 
  • Make recommendations on a major real-world management problem, after first identifying major actors, decisions, outcomes, and timelines.  
  1. Professor Avellaneda’s TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Throughout my academic career, I have been motivated by several instructors. Hence, I believe that the quality of a class is determined not only by the content of the material but also by the instructor’s enthusiasm, commitment, and capacity to convey information. For this reason, my role as an educator goes beyond providing basic knowledge to inspiring students to be both analytical thinkers and self-directed learners. These skills should contribute to students’ academic and personal enrichment. My task then includes knowing the facts, being able to communicate them efficiently, and providing students with “spaces” to pursue further knowledge.  I create these spaces by emphasizing critical thinking through class discussions, individual presentations, and writing assignments. The measure of my effort is students’ learning and further interest.  If students comprehend the material and find personal interest in the foundations I offer, then I will be gratified as an educator.

  1. SUGGESTED TEXT

 Kettl, Donald F. 2017. The Politics of the Administrative Process. Seventh Edition. Washington, DC: CQ Press (ISBN: 978-1506357096). 

The remaining readings will be available on Canvas under the respective module.  

 DESCRIPTION OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Grading  

To pass the course, students must demonstrate at least minimum attainment of the learning objectives. Your performance should reflect critical thinking, intellectual effort, and attention to detail.  Grading will be based on the following:

70% - Three individual exams: 

            First in-class exam on 9/22 

            Second in-class exam on 10/29

           Third in-class exam on 12/03

15% - Management problem analysis. Group Project (2 students)

            Outline due on 10/13 via Canvas (midnight)

            Rough draft due on 11/05 via Canvas and Turnitin (midnight)

            Final paper due on 12/10 via Canvas and Turnitin (midnight)

15% - Daily Quizzes, Case Studies, and Other In-and Out-class Assignments  

Final Grade Range 

Letter Grade 

>= 97% 

A+ 

97% > x >= 93% 

A 

93%> x >= 90% 

A- 

90%> x > 87% 

B+ 

87%> x >= 83% 

B 

83%> x >= 80% 

B- 

80%> x > 77% 

C+ 

77%> x >= 73% 

C 

73%> x >= 70% 

C- 

70%> x >= 67% 

D+ 

67%> x >= 63% 

D 

63%> x >= 60% 

D- 

60%> x 

F 

Exams: 70% of final grade (3 exams, 23.33% each) 

This course will have three exams that will be composed of multiple choice as well as 1 or 2 short answer/ essay questions. Exams will cover materials presented in lectures and in the assigned readings. Each exam is worth 23.33% for a total of 70% of the final grade. The dates for each exam are listed in the course outline below. 

Management Analysis Paper: 15% of final grade 

Whether you are working for a government agency, a private firm, or a nonprofit organization you will depend on information produced by others in order to make decisions. You will also be expected to analyze such information for your employer to help them make decisions. This assignment will give you practice in developing these skills. You will choose from a list of topics and will then write a research paper analyzing your chosen topic. Papers should be 3-4 pages (not including works cited page), should include at least 10 sources from legitimate and trustworthy outlets, and provide the specific links (such as peer-reviewed journal articles, university press books, and national newspapers such as the New York Times or Washington Post). Papers must use Times New Roman 12-point font, with double spacing and 1-inch margins on all sides. More details will be discussed in the third week of classes but note that there will be three due dates for the Analysis Paper including 1) rough draft of introduction, 2) detailed outline of the paper, and 3) submission of the final paper. The due dates for each part of the assignment are listed in the course outline below.  

Daily Quizzes, Case Study Discussion Posts and In-and Out-class Assignments: 10% of final grade

You are expected to read the assigned text(s), including cases and exercise materials prior to attending the relevant class.  This course requires extensive discussions.  You are expected to read the assigned text(s), including cases and exercise materials prior to attending the relevant class.  Lecture quizzes require reading the assigned material for the respective topic.

Daily quizzes and case study discussion posts are used to track engagement with the course. Each day of lecture material will have an associated short quiz (between 5 and 10 questions) that must be completed by midnight (EST) on the day of the class on Canvas. These quizzes will cover readings, lectures, and additional videos. Readings and case studies already are posted on Canvas. Lecture material for your daily quiz will be posted right after class is over.  This means you have flexibility to access the lecture material, required readings, videos, case studies, etc. at any time, for you to complete the attendance quiz by midnight due date. If, for some reason, you are unable to access the material for a given day, please contact me or one of our TAs or me via email or Canvas message as soon as possible. 

On the days with an assigned case study, I will provide specific questions to be answered as well as the deadlines.

The three lowest grades from the quizzes and case studies will be dropped. Please think of this as the equivalent of a “free absence” policy during a traditional residential course, which is designed cover items such as colds, stomach viruses and/or other illnesses, medical appointments, funerals, and any other miscellaneous events. These things will inevitably come during the semester, so you do not need to provide any reason or explanation for missing an attendance activity. Note that this also means that you should save your “drops” for those days when you really need to use it. If you are experiencing an extenuating circumstance such as prolonged serious illness, extended technology problems that prevent you from being able to access the course materials, or a serious family emergency, please contact me as soon as possible.  

Communication between Faculty and Students: In order to verify the identity of all parties involved, all email communication from current O’Neill students to O’Neill staff must originate from an Indiana University email account. Email messages must have O’Neill V185 Management of Public Problems in the message subject line, must be sent from the IUB email account, and must have a greeting sentence. Otherwise, the messages may be treated as spam and deleted unread. I guarantee to respond to your email as soon as I have access to it. However, I want you to be aware that I attend conferences, and I may not have constant access to the Internet. Therefore, be patient regarding email responses. For email communication with O’Neill faculty, current O’Neill students should refer to course syllabi for instructors’ preferences (Canvas, Webmail, etc.).

Revision of the Syllabus: I may modify the course schedule or reading assignments at any time. If so, I will announce them through the Canvas announcements. Please read the Canvas announcements.