Course Syllabus

Class Room: SPEA (PV) 167

Time: TuTh 11:10AM - 12:25PM

 Office Hours and Contact Information

Instructor: Courtney L. Hahm                                                

Office: SPEA(PV) 167                                                                      

Office hours: M/W 9:00 am-10:30 am by appointment scheduled via email

Email: clhahm@iu.edu

When new material is added to the site, I will notify you by Canvas announcement and Canvas Inbox. Please watch your messages.

To ensure you receive notifications, please refer to: How do I set my Canvas notification preferences as a student?

Overview

            Ever wonder why some public programs seem to work so well in some cases but so poorly in others? One of the most important answers is management. This course will focus on introducing you to the major concepts of management in the public sector but will also touch on cases in the private and non-profit sectors. It will help you understand the ways in which organizations in these sectors are different, the ways in which they collaborate with one another to solve public problems, and the unique skills required by managers to oversee those collaborations.  It will provide this content in a problems-focused approach, where students can see how management choices, both good and bad, affect real world outcomes for citizens.

            The focus of this course is to provide a broad overview of theories, concepts, and literature related to public management.  Within that focus, I have selected class materials that present a variety of topics and arguments, including the following: differences between public and private organizations, the pros and cons of privatization and contracting in a variety of policy areas (such as prisons, schools, etc..), collaboration and coproduction of public services, challenges related to effective oversight of government agencies, psychological and cognitive biases and limitations, competing definitions and approaches to equity in administrating public policies, ethical dilemmas related to whistleblowing as well as conflicting moral codes, administrative burdens that impact citizen interactions with government such as voting, paying taxes, and accessing a variety of public services, planning for emergencies caused by natural disasters and/or mass violence, the role of technology and AI in the public sector, approaches to motivating employees, the process of administrative rulemaking within federal agencies, the use of performance management and accountability systems and potential unintended consequences resulting from their use. Students will also be assigned a research project on one of many problems that modern governments face today (discussed in more detail below).

            It is likely that connections between our course and current and/or historical events outside the classroom will come up in lectures, class discussions, and assignments.  Those connections may require careful thought rather than being immediately obvious, but the ability to understand and analyze connections among ideas and events is a core skill in professional career and will stand you in good stead in your life beyond IU.

 

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.
  • 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.
  • Make recommendations on a major real-world management problem, after first identifying major actors, decisions, outcomes, and timelines.
  • Develop their ability to understand and analyze current and/or historical events through the lens of concepts from this course.

 

How much time should you be spending on this class: You are expected to spend an average of 6 or more hours outside of class per week on reading, studying, assignments, etc.

 

Course Methodology

Each topic in the sections below will be introduced via an interactive lecture and emphasized through an interactive class exercise. Various methods of interactive teaching will used in this course such as small groups, role plays, case studies, and experimental exercises to ensure the retention of material.

 

Required Text

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