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Instructor’s Guide for Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (5th Edition) Contents Preface Section One: Sample Syllabi Section Two: Key Terms, Discussion Questions, and Writing Assignments Part One: The Dynamic Context of Public Organizations Chapter 1 The Challenge of Effective Public Organization and Management Chapter 2 Understanding the Study of Organizations: A Historical Review Chapter 3 What Makes Public Organizations Distinctive Chapter 4 Analyzing the Environment of Public Organizations Chapter 5 The Impact of Political Power and Public Policy Part Two: Key Dimensions of Organizing and Managing Chapter 6 Organizational Goals and Effectiveness Chapter 7 Formulating and Achieving Purpose: Power, Decision Making, and Strategy Chapter 8 Organizational Structure, Design, Technology, Information Technology, and Social Media 1

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Instructor’s Guide for Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (5th Edition)

Contents

Preface

Section One: Sample Syllabi

Section Two: Key Terms, Discussion Questions, and Writing Assignments

Part One: The Dynamic Context of Public Organizations

Chapter 1 The Challenge of Effective Public Organization and Management

Chapter 2 Understanding the Study of Organizations: A Historical Review

Chapter 3 What Makes Public Organizations Distinctive

Chapter 4 Analyzing the Environment of Public Organizations

Chapter 5 The Impact of Political Power and Public Policy

Part Two: Key Dimensions of Organizing and Managing

Chapter 6 Organizational Goals and Effectiveness

Chapter 7 Formulating and Achieving Purpose: Power, Decision Making, and

Strategy

Chapter 8 Organizational Structure, Design, Technology, Information Technology,

and Social Media

Chapter 9 Understanding People in Public Organizations: Motivation and Motivation

Theory

Chapter 10 Understanding People in Public Organizations: Values, Incentives, and

Work-Related Attitudes

Chapter 11 Leadership, Managerial Roles, and Organizational Culture

Chapter 12 Teamwork: Understanding Communication and Conflict in Groups

Part Three: Strategies for Managing and Improving Public Organizations

Chapter 13 Managing Organizational Change and Development

Chapter 14 Advancing Effective Management in the Public Sector

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Section Three: Class Exercises

1. The Nature of Public Service

2. Power and Influence Role Play

3. Political Power and Policymaking

4. Organizational Structure and Reform

5. Organizational Structure: Identifying the Dimensions

6. Organizational Structure and Its Implications

7. Decision-Making Exercise

8. Considering Fiedler’s Theory of Leadership

9. Considering the Path-Goal Model of Leadership

10. Analyzing the Environment: Applying and Comparing Theoretical Perspectives

11. Contracting-Out and Transaction Costs

12. Organizational Change and Motivation

Section Four: Case Studies

1. Moving the Maisenbacher House

2. The Case of the Vanishing Volunteers

3. Grandtown’s New Public Library

4. The Case of the Crummy Contract

5. The Case of Joe the Jerk (Or, Joe the Very Capable Jerk)

6. A Funeral in the Public Service Center

7. Habitat for Humanity of Medina: Confronting the Changing Times

8. Brookhaven National Laboratory

9. A Job for Laurie

Section Five: Examination Questions

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Preface

This instructor’s guide accompanies the text Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (5th ed.), by Hal G. Rainey. Materials are organized by chapter.

Features to this supplement include the following:

Sample syllabi. Two syllabi are provided. Both are intended for graduate-level courses, and both are intended to provide students with a solid grounding in the concepts, topics, and research in public management and organization theory.

PowerPoint slides for each chapter. These follow the organization in the text. They highlight the chapter themes and main subparts.

Key terms for each chapter. A list of key terms is provided for each chapter. Some key terms are introduced early on in the text and then further developed in later chapters. The instructor’s guide includes these terms for all relevant chapters.

Discussion questions for each chapter. These questions can be used in class to prompt discussion on key themes or assigned to students as homework. The typical discussion question can be answered in one or two paragraphs.

Writing assignments and reports. These are intended as take-home writing assignments, as they require more thorough consideration of topics and in some instances additional research. The typical question can be answered in as few as two pages or developed further in a more lengthy report.

Additional materials are also integrated in various places, including the following:

Class Exercises. All class exercises can be completed in less than forty-five minutes of class time. These are designed to reinforce chapter lessons while encouraging collaborative learning among students.

1. The Nature of Public Service

2. Power and Influence Role Play

3. Political Power and Policymaking

4. Organizational Structure and Reform

5. Organizational Structure: Identifying the Dimensions

6. Organizational Structure and Its Implications

7. Decision-Making Exercise

8. Considering Fiedler’s Theory of Leadership

9. Considering the Path-Goal Model of Leadership

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10. Analyzing the Environment: Applying and Comparing Theoretical

Perspectives

11. Contracting-Out and Transaction Costs

12. Organizational Change and Motivation

Case studies. Nine cases can be found at the end of this guide with suggestions for their use. The main themes and learning opportunities are briefly described below:

1. Moving the Maisenbacher House.

2. The Case of the Vanishing Volunteers. After reading this case, students consider key challenges of managing in the public sector context. The case prompts discussion on a number of topics, including but not limited to the political environment, authority, the use of formal rules and policies, managing for effectiveness, and the relationship between government and nonprofits. The case also illuminates the human element of motivating in the public and nonprofit sectors.

3. Grandtown’s New Public Library.

4. The Case of the Crummy Contract. Students consider the demand for privatization and contracting-out and learn to compare tangible and intangible costs and benefits of performing services in-house as compared to using outside services.

5. The Case of Joe the Jerk (Or, Joe the Very Capable Jerk). Students assume the role of consultant to a module manager in a Public Service Center of the Social Security Administration. They discuss the organization’s “bureaupathology” and apply the theories of motivation and leadership.

6. A Funeral in the Public Service Sector. Incidents at the Social Security Administration prompt students to consider the concepts of values, motivation, and leadership.

7. Habitat for Humanity of Medina: Confronting the Changing Times. This case study is about organization change. Students consider the various pressures for change that bear on a nonprofit organization. They also evaluate the three sets of recommendations for successful transformations explicated in the chapter, including Quinn and Cameron; Greiner; and Kotter.

8. Brookhaven National Laboratory. The case requires students to assess whether the management of the laboratories should be done by private sector contractors.

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They examine the organizational chart and identify characteristics of centralization, formalization, and complexity in the structure. The case also challenges students to find applications for other structural concepts, such as integrating devices, and general organizational forms such as functional, divisional, hybrid, and matrix forms.

9. A Job for Laurie.

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Section One: Sample SyllabiSchool of Public and Environmental Affairs

Indiana University Purdue University IndianapolisV502 Public Management

Spring 2009 (Class/Section No. 23149)

This syllabus includes administrative information, answers to a series of questions you might have about the course, and an explanation of the ways in which you will be graded. SPEA policies on academic misconduct are included as an addendum to this syllabus. The course schedule and your reading list are provided separately.

Administrative InformationRoom: Room BS 3015, Monday 6:00 p.m. – 8: 40 p.m.

When: January 12, 2009 – May 4, 2009

Instructor: Deanna Malatesta, PhD

Office: SPEA: BS 4081, 801 W. Michigan, Indianapolis IN 46202

Office hours: Monday 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., or by appointment

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: (317) 274-0876 SPEA office

Fax: (317) 274-7860

Texts and Readings:Rainey, H. G. (2014). Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (5th ed.), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Shafritz, J. M., J. S. Ott, and Y. S. Jang (2005). Classics of Organization Theory. 6th ed: Wadsworth.Recommended Readings:A list of other readings useful to the study of public management, including many of the field’s primary sources, will be made available on Oncourse.Other readings may be assigned during the semester.OncourseOncourse will be used throughout the semester. Students unfamiliar with Oncourse should seek support at the Oncourse portal, available at https://oncourse.iu.edu/portal.

What is Public Management about? What type of course is it?Course Description: The course involves key readings in the field and the analysis of cases, concepts, theories, methods, and procedures in managing public organizations. Readings and lectures will orient students to basic concepts and research that inform our thinking on public management. Each student is responsible, through self-study, reading assignments, and class interaction, to learn relevant public management theory, concepts and applications.

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Another key component of the course involves familiarity with the processes of public management in Indianapolis, Marion County, and the state of Indiana in general. Students are responsible for reading the Indianapolis Star each day. As the course progresses and students become more familiar with the relevant theory, we will draw on current events for lecture and discussion. We will try to identify problems of organization, planning, decision making, and motivation in real-world public management situations and discuss the ways in which theory may be used to inform practice.

Finally, through readings, discussion, and lecture, students will come to understand important research in the field.

What competencies should I have before starting the course? Your writing skills should be polished. If your writing skills are not at the graduate level,

you will have problems with this course. You should be able to synthesize key readings. You should be able to organize your thinking and your writing. You should be familiar with the five-paragraph essay form. Students should already be familiar with appropriately citing work within the body of the

paper as well in bibliographic form.

ExpectationsRegular and prompt attendance is part of professional behavior and will be expected. If a student must miss class, he or she should notify the instructor ahead of time and make arrangements to obtain missed work from a classmate.

Work is to be completed on time and submitted on Oncourse by deadlines.

Students should be available to meet in groups outside of class time.

How will the course be taught, and how is it structured?The course involves lecture, group work, and class discussion. A typical evening will include a lecture on theory and general discussion of readings. We often organize into groups to review and discuss a specific case study or a contemporary public management situation for some portion of class time. The instructor will then engage the class in a discussion, for example, challenging students to relate theories to the practical situation or to recommend managerial prescriptions.

What are the assignments about and how will grades be determined?DeliverablesDuring the course of the semester students will be responsible for writing every week. A typical assignment involves summarizing assigned readings using the five-paragraph format. Writings are due before class starts each week and should be no more than one-and-a-half pages double spaced.A midterm will be given on week nine. Note that this is more than halfway through the semester. The midterm will require that you have a command of the literature. You should be familiar with and be able to compare the various theories.

Students will complete a final project as part of a group.

Grades will be computed as follows:Assignments Percent

of grade

Weekly writing assignments 30 %Mid-term 30 %Final project (group) 30 %Class Participation 10 %

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**Note that a grade of an A requires, at a minimum, that all assignments are completed on time.Incompletes (grades of I) are granted only in extraordinary circumstances. If you think that you will need an incomplete, you should see me as soon as possible.

Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. The syllabus addendum is a summary of SPEA policies on academic misconduct. If you have not done so, you should read the student code of ethics. The code of ethics lists activities that are unacceptable. The typical penalty for violation of the code is a grade of F for the class.

What are the course objectives and what competencies will be acquired?Specifically, by the end of the semester you should be able to:Describe the main theories and paradigms associated with the field of public management.

Describe the major developments and eras in organization and management theory.

Describe what makes public management different from private management. This means you must have a basic understanding of all three sectors, and a general understanding of the structure and functions of, and differences between, the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, with particular emphasis on how issues and problems in the public domain are related to the private and nonprofit sectors.

Describe strategies for formulating and achieving public management objectives.

Describe theories of organizational change and their application to public management.

Describe theories of work motivation and their application to public management.

Describe the relationship between organizational structure and outcomes.

Describe frameworks for organizational analysis.

Understand how the legal system affects public management within our constitutional framework as well as the legal constraints affecting the public and nonprofit sectors.

Understand conceptions and dimensions of organizational culture.

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Understand the many dimensions of privatization and describe conditions for successful contracting out.

Have an understanding of the key forces that drive change and the flexibility and adaptability that are essential attributes for implementing change.

Use theories and frameworks in understanding the practical challenges associated with public management.

Describe the state of research on various public management topics.

Assess the state of research on various public management topics and evaluate the relative merits.

Present materials both orally and in a written report.

Be able to analyze situations that involve interaction between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in solving social problems and to work collaboratively with those individuals and institutions in coming up with strategies for financing and managing these social problems. Identify the factors that motivate the economic and political behavior of various agents in society (and across the sectors) and use this information in planning, strategizing, and decision making.

Be able to use information technology in analyzing public policy and managing organizations.

Have an understanding of how organizations operate and work together to gain an understanding of the broader organizational environment. This includes micro and macro organizational issues and topics, as well as human behavior.

Gain an understanding of alternative perspectives, values, and worldviews and recognize their significance for effective work relationships and service to client groups.

Have an understanding of collaborative leadership, leadership styles, and their impact on organizations and employees.

Be able to work in a team; deal effectively with conflict; and negotiate, delegate, and communicate effectively across constituencies.

Be able to recognize legal and constitutional constraints on policy formation, and be able to identify areas in which public policy or administration crosses permissible boundaries.

Take responsibility for one’s own work and decisions. To complete one’s work in a professional and ethical manner.

Syllabus Addendum SPEA 2009 Policies

Academic Misconduct

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Students are responsible for upholding and maintaining academic and professional honesty and integrity (IUPUI Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, available at http://www.iupui.edu/code/, Part II Student Responsibilities, G). All faculty have the responsibility of fostering the “intellectual honesty as well as the intellectual development of students,” and part of this responsibility means that faculty must investigate cases of potential academic misconduct promptly and thoroughly. Faculty members also have the responsibility of taking appropriate action when academic misconduct occurs. The penalties for academic misconduct include but are not limited to lowering a grade on an assignment, lowering a course grade, or failing a student for a course. Significant violations of the Code can result in expulsion from the university.

SPEA faculty take their responsibilities seriously and do not tolerate cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic misconduct. If you have not done so, you should read about your responsibilities in the IUPUI Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct to ensure that you understand what these terms mean and what penalties can be issued for academic misconduct.

Plagiarism is the most common academic misconduct violation, and some students who have been disciplined for plagiarism have said they were not aware that they had plagiarized their work. Be aware that “not knowing” does not excuse academic misconduct—every student is responsible for knowing the rules. The IU School of Education’s “How to Recognize Plagiarism” is an online tutorial that can help you avoid plagiarism. It can be accessed at http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/. If you have any questions about what constitutes academic misconduct for a course you are taking, be sure to ask the instructor for an explanation.

The IUPUI Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct defines four areas of academic misconduct: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and interference. The prohibited activities and actions include the following:

1. Cheating. A student must not use or attempt to use unauthorized assistance, materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise, including, but not limited to, the following:

a. A student must not use external assistance on any “in-class” or “take-home” examination, unless the instructor specifically has authorized external assistance. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the use of tutors, books, notes, and calculators.

b. A student must not use another person as a substitute in the taking of an examination or quiz.

c. A student must not steal examinations or other course materials.

d. A student must not allow others to conduct research or to prepare work for him or her without advance authorization from the instructor to whom the work is being submitted. Under this prohibition, a student must not make any unauthorized use of materials obtained from commercial term paper companies or from files of papers prepared by other persons.

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e. A student must not collaborate with other persons on a particular project and submit a copy of a written report which is represented explicitly or implicitly as the student’s individual work.

f. A student must not use any unauthorized assistance in a laboratory, at a computer terminal, or on field work.

g. A student must not submit substantial portions of the same academic work for credit or honors more than once without permission of the instructor to whom the work is being submitted.

h. A student must not alter a grade or score in any way.

2. Fabrication. A student must not falsify or invent any information or data in an academic exercise including, but not limited to, records or reports, laboratory results, and citations to the sources of information.

3. Plagiarism. A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, words, or statements of another person without appropriate acknowledgment. A student must give credit to the originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever he or she does any of the following:

a. Quotes another person’s actual words, either oral or written

b. Paraphrases another person’s words, either oral or written

c. Uses another person’s idea, opinion, or theory

d. Borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material, unless the information is common knowledge

4. Interference.

a. A student must not steal, change, destroy, or impede another student’s work. Impeding another student’s work includes, but is not limited to, the theft, defacement, or mutilation of resources so as to deprive others of the information they contain.

b. A student must not give or offer a bribe, promise favors, or make threats with the intention of affecting a grade or the evaluation of academic performance.

Whistleblower Policy11

President Herbert has recently approved a whistleblower policy that clarifies the protections available to individuals who in good faith report suspected wrongdoing. The policy:

Requires individuals to disclose violations of law or university policy Informs individuals how allegations of wrongful conduct may be disclosed Protects individuals from reprisal as a result of disclosing wrongful conduct Provides individuals a complaint process to seek relief from retaliatory acts

The full policy can be reviewed at: http://www.hra.iupui.edu/Policy_Manual/policy/5_10.html.

Classroom Etiquette and Disorderly Conduct

SPEA, which is a professional school, expects students to conduct themselves in a courteous and civil manner in interactions with professors and fellow students. Examples of discourteous behavior during class include reading the newspaper, working crossword puzzles, listening to headphones, talking or laughing with others, arriving late, using computers to surf the web, allowing cell phones to ring or sending text messages, or other non-class activities. These behaviors are distracting to the instructor and to classmates, and SPEA faculty will address these problems as they arise either in class or on an individual basis.

Disorderly conduct that interferes with teaching, research, administration, or other university or university-authorized activity will not be tolerated and will be reported immediately to the Office of the Dean of Students for disposition, which may result in disciplinary action, including possible suspension and/or expulsion from the university. Students should read the IUPUI Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, which can be accessed at http://www.iupui.edu/~sldweb/dos/ in order to understand your responsibilities as a student.

Communication Between Faculty and Students

In order to verify the identity of all parties involved, effective September 1, 2004, all email communication from current SPEA students to SPEA staff must originate from an Indiana University email account. For email communication with SPEA faculty, current SPEA students should refer to course syllabi for instructors’ preferences (Oncourse, Webmail, etc.). This policy applies to current students only. Instructions for forwarding your IUPUI email to another account can be found at http://uits.iu.edu/scripts/ose.cgi?berh.def.help.

Course Withdrawals

Students who stop attending class without properly withdrawing from the class will receive a grade of F. It is important to withdraw from a course within specified timeframes (see chart below). Note that withdrawals after Week 12 of a regular session or Week 4 of a summer session are rarely granted. Poor performance in a course is not grounds for a late withdrawal.

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Withdrawal forms will not be processed in the Office of the Registrar after the last day of classes. Any requests for a late withdrawal after the last day of classes must go through the grade appeal process, but each student should remember that in accordance with campus policy, SPEA does not permit a student to withdraw from a course if he or she has completed the course requirements. Grade replacement should be used in this case. See the Office of the Registrar’s website at http://registrar.iupui.edu/withdraw.html for more information. To withdraw, obtain a withdrawal slip (DROP/ADD Form) from the SPEA Student Services window. Instructions for completing it are given on the form.

Incompletes

A grade of incomplete (I) indicates that a ‘substantial portion’ of the work in a course has been satisfactorily but not entirely completed by the student as of the end of the semester. The incomplete can be given to a student facing a hardship such that that it would be unjust to hold the student to the established time limits for completing the work. To be eligible for the incomplete in a SPEA course, the student’s work must be of passing quality, and the student must have completed 75 percent of the course requirements. Poor performance in a course is not grounds for an incomplete. SPEA follows the campus guidelines, which may be accessed at the Office of the Registrar’s website at http://registrar.iupui.edu/incomp.html, in awarding incompletes. Incompletes must be removed within a time period not to exceed one year after the semester in which the student was enrolled in the course. The incomplete will revert to an ‘F’ if the work is not completed within the allotted timeframe established by the instructor.

Grade Changes

Under certain circumstances, students can seek grade changes for previously taken courses if they believe that a grade has been calculated or assigned incorrectly. A student who is seeking a grade change must first contact the instructor and ask for the grade change. In the event the instructor does not change the grade, the student can file a Change of Grade Petition with the Registrar’s Office. In SPEA, a student has ninety days after the conclusion of a course to appeal a grade. In cases of extenuating circumstances, SPEA may consider petitions filed after this date. SPEA will review the request and make a final decision on a case-by-case basis. The Change of Grade petition form is located at the Office of the Registrar’s website at http://registrar.iupui.edu/grdfrm.html.

Final Exam Schedule

If a final exam is given, it must be held on the day and time set in the final exam schedule. If an instructor has changed the final exam date, the student should first consult with the instructor. Students who have more than three final exams in one day or insufficient time to get from one exam to another should consult with their instructors to resolve these conflicts. Exams may not be given in the week before the final exam week. If a student is not able to resolve a final exam problem with the instructor, the student may report the problem to the Director of Undergraduate

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or Graduate programs. See the Office of the Registrar’s website at http://registrar.iupui.edu/accal.html for the final exam week schedule.

Students Called to Active Duty

SPEA encourages any student who is in the Indiana Military Reserves and is called to active duty to finish his or her coursework if at all possible. Students who cannot complete their courses have the option of withdrawing with 100 percent fee refund, but this request must be made within one week of being called to active duty. Students who are called to active duty may qualify for an incomplete (provided that all the criteria above have been met). For further information, please see the Office of the Registrar’s website at http://registrar.iupui.edu/activeduty.html.

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Public Administration and Policy 6960Public Management:

Organization Design and Management in the Public and Nonprofit SectorsSpring Semester, 2009

Miller Learning Center 251Tuesday, 6:30 – 9:15

Instructor: Hal Rainey Office hours: Wednesday, 2 – 4 P.M. 205A Baldwin Hall or by appointment.

706-542-2979 Email: [email protected]

This course covers the major topics, issues, and contributions in the literature on organizations and management, with emphasis on applications to government and nonprofit organizations. It will consider problems in government and nonprofit organizations, because there are serious ones. The course, however, also emphasizes the many examples of successful management in these organizations, including some of the past and most recent reforms and improvements. The examples and exercises in the course refer to organizations at federal, state, and local levels of government and to a variety of nonprofit organizations, such as hospitals, museums, and social service agencies.

Books and Readings

Daft, Richard L. Organization Theory and Design (11th edition). Lexington, KY: Cengage Learning, 2013.Rainey, Hal G., Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (5th edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014.Stillman, Richard, The American Bureaucracy (3rd edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2004.

Additional readings as assigned, not to exceed one or two additional professional journal articles or book chapters per class, assigned at least two weeks in advance.

Grades and AssignmentsMidterm Exam: 30%Final Exam: 40%Course Project Paper: 20%Class attendance, participation, and preparation: 10%

With advance warning, the instructor will assign activities in addition to those listed on this syllabus, such as exercises selected from those at the end of the Daft chapters.

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Academic Integrity : Standards of academic integrity will be strictly enforced. Consult the instructor about any questions or doubts about the appropriate use of source materials for class papers.

Attendance Policy: Students in this class display very high levels of conscientiousness about class attendance and participation. Due to misunderstandings on the part of a very few students, however, there is now an attendance policy. Students’ participation grades will be reduced for absences from class. Any student who misses more than two classes should expect to receive a grade no higher than “B” in this course. Major professional obligations or personal emergencies will, of course, not be counted against students under this policy. Students should consult with the professor about such unavoidable absences. For the overwhelming majority of our students, this policy can be regarded as irrelevant and virtually comical, because it will not apply to them. Students who are frequently late to class or who leave early should also expect to have their participation grade reduced.

General University Policies: The University Council has issued a policy on syllabi. It requires that all syllabi include the following statements:

All academic work must meet the standards contained in “A Culture of Honesty.” Students are responsible for informing themselves about those standards before performing any academic work. The link to more detailed information about academic honesty can be found at: http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm.

The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.

Topics and Reading Schedule

Jan. 13: Introduction and OverviewDaft, Chap. 1. Rainey, Preface, Chap. 1. Stillman, Chap. 1.

Jan. 20: Organizations, Public Organizations, and Management: Basic Concepts and Issues

Historical Overview of Organization Theory.Daft, Chap. 1. Rainey, Chap. 2. Stillman, Chap. 2.

Jan. 27: The Environments of Organizations, and of Public and Nonprofit OrganizationsThe Management of Privatization and Volunteer Programs (Introduction).Daft, Chaps. 4, 5, and 6. Rainey, Chaps. 3, 4, and 5. Stillman, Chap. 3.Cases: The Case of the Crummy Contract. The Case of the Vanishing Volunteers.

(Read these two cases for introductory purposes. We will discuss them later in the course.

Feb. 3: Organizational Goals and EffectivenessDaft, Chap. 2. Rainey, Chap. 6. Stillman, Chap. 5.Case: University Art Museum (Daft, p. 81).Case: The Audubon Zoo (Daft, p. 552).

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Feb. 10: Organizational Structure and Design: Technology and Information TechnologyDaft, Chaps. 7 and 8. Rainey, Chaps. 7 and 8.Cases: Century Medical (Daft, p. 315);Case: Brookhaven National Laboratory (Course packet).Submit proposals for course paper.

Feb. 17: Organizational Structure and Design (continued): Size, Life Cycle, and ControlDaft, Chap. 9. Rainey, Chap. 8.Case: Brookhaven National Laboratory (continued).Submit proposals for course paper.

Feb. 24: Organizational Structure and Design (continued): Classic Design Strategies Functional, Product, and Matrix Structures, and Global Strategies

Daft, Chap. 3. Rainey, Chaps. 7 and 8.Case: C and C Grocery Stores (Daft, p. 126), Aquarius Advertising Agency (Daft,

p. 129), and Shoe Corporation of Illinois (p. 432).

Mar. 3: Organizational Innovation and Change.Daft, Chap. 11. Rainey, Chap. 13. Stillman, Chap. 6.Cases and additional readings:Rainey and Thompson, “Leadership and Transformation of a Major Institution: Charles Rossotti and the Internal Revenue Service.” Public Administration Review, July-August, 2006. E-copy to be provided to the class.Fernandez and Rainey, “Managing Successful Organizational Change in the Public Sector.” Public Administration Review, March-April, 2006. E-copy to be provided to the class.Takehome mid-term examination handed out. Due Mar. 17.

Mar. 10: Spring Break

Mar. 17: People in Public and Nonprofit Organizations: Motives, Values, Motivation, and Work- Related Attitudes

Rainey, Chaps. 9 and 10. Stillman, Chap. 4.Case: The Case of Joe the Jerk (Course packet)Submit mid-term examination.

Mar. 24: LeadershipRainey, Chap. 11.Case: A Funeral in the Public Service Center.

Mar. 31: Organizational Culture and EthicsDaft, Chap. 10. Rainey, Chap. 11.Cases: Implementing Change at National Industrial Products (Daft, p. 390).It Isn’t So Simple: Infrastructure Change at Royce Consulting (Daft, p. 518).

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Apr. 7: Strategy and Decision-Making ProcessesDaft, Chap. 12. Rainey, Chap. 7.Case: The Dilemma of Aliesha State College (Daft, p. 477).

Apr. 21: Power, Politics, and Conflict in OrganizationsDaft, Chap. 13. Rainey, Chaps. 5, 7, and 12.Case: The Daily Tribune (Daft, p. 511).

Apr. 28: Recent Trends in Public Management, including TQM, NPR, REGO, Privatization, Human Capital, the President’s Management Agenda

Rainey, Chaps. 13 and 14. Stillman, Chap. 7.Cases: The Case of the Crummy Contract. The Case of the Vanishing Volunteers.

Dec. 5: Final Examination. (Grades due May 11).Course project paper due.

PADP 6960: Objectives of the Course

Develop a conception of what it means to organize, lead, and manage well. (Or further develop the conception that you have).

Develop knowledge of the important components or dimensions of organization, leadership, and management, and develop a sense of how one leads and organizes in these areas—leading change, developing organizational culture, motivating people, designing organizations, leading strategic decisions. Learn the state of knowledge and managerial thinking on these topics and others covered in the course.

Consider the application of these topics in the public and nonprofit sectors, and learn the state of knowledge about the implications of location in those sectors.

Learn many important concepts and ideas that these topics include, both classical and contemporary, such as span of control, total quality management, organizational culture, reinventing government, the learning organization, The President’s Management Agenda, PART scores, the Balanced Scorecard, and the Human Capital movement in government.

Engage in case discussions and exercises to develop a sense of how to apply in practice the topics and ideas covered in the course.

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PADP 6960Course Project Paper

By the last week of the course, submit a project paper of about twenty double-spaced typewritten pages. The objective of this project is to extend your professional knowledge about a topic related to this course that you consider of value and interest to you. (Doctoral students do longer, more academically oriented projects, and should discuss their projects with the professor).

Find a topic that you consider valuable and interesting, and that is reasonably related to the course. Discuss your topic with the professor if you have any doubts or questions. Then, work on the topic in a way that helps you learn about it. You can design any of numerous different types of projects, as long as you pursue the general objective stated above.

Some examples:

Read about the topic and prepare a paper that reports what you learned about it. You should plan to read about two hundred difficult pages or three to four hundred less-difficult pages for such a project. For example, cover about eight to ten twenty-page complex professional journal articles, or fifteen to twenty twenty-page very accessible, readable articles, such as a very reader-friendly article in Governing magazine or The New York Times Magazine. You can also read books or sections of books.

Do a set of readings such as described above and prepare an analytical or critical review of them, like a book review in a professional journal.

Conduct an inquiry into a topic using interviews that you will conduct or official organizational or archival documents from an organization. For example, how are they implementing a new reform or innovation in the state government? What is the structure and process of a particular state, federal, or local agency or a particular government? Describe and analyze the “human capital” movement in the federal government.

Do readings or other research and apply it to a particular problem or situation you know about in an agency. For example, there is sharp conflict between my unit and another; I will read about conflict management and propose a course of action for resolving the conflict. Or, the unit in which you work has poor morale; read about motivation and related topics and analyze the problem.

Sources of Material for Readings

See the bibliographic references in the books assigned for the course. Also consult the following sources. These are high-quality publications usually oriented toward practicing managers and readability: Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Business Horizons, Public Management, The Public Manager, Management Review,

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California Management Review/Academy of Management Executive (recently renamed The Academy of Management Perspectives), Organizational Dynamics, Public Administration Review, The Journal of Management, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Governing (The States and Localities), Government Executive.

The library has many books on strategy, decision making, organizational design, motivation, privatization, volunteer programs, public enterprises and authorities, leadership, satisfaction, communication, the relations between government agencies and legislative bodies, and other topics in organization and management.

At the fifth class session, submit a one-page proposal of the topic you will cover, and a brief description of your objectives. You can change these plans, but you need to have gotten to work on deciding what to do well before this date.

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Section Two: Key Terms, Discussion Questions, and Writing Assignments

Chapter 1: The Challenge of Effective Public Organization and Management

Chapter 1 Key TermsOrganizationManagementGeneric traditionNational Performance ReviewPresident’s Management AgendaAgency scorecardsHuman capitalGoalEnvironmentPerformanceLeadershipStructuresProcessesIncentives

Chapter 1 Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think public organizations are prone to criticism?

2. From your perspective which criticisms of the public sector are warranted? Are private companies more or less prone to criticism? Why or why not?

3. How might the study of organization theory and public management help the public manager who is interested in improving the perception of her agency?

4. Define the domain of organization theory and organization behavior.

5. Discuss some of the challenges to effective public management and the reform of public organizations.

Chapter 1 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. If you were to writing a book on the general topic of management, what chapters would you include? How would a book on public management differ?

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2. Chapter 1 briefly discusses the contributions of other disciplines to organization theory and public management and notes that political scientists and economists tend to oversimplify topics such as structure and motivation. Write an essay considering this statement in more detail. In the essay, give examples of how perspectives on the same topics (for example, motivation, formal environment, interests groups, rationality, incentives, and so on) differ by discipline. For example, political scientists view formal laws and regulations as necessary constraints. Likewise, a good deal of research in economics focuses on principal-agent relationships. On the other hand, researchers and practitioners of public management are more concerned with how the formal environment might hinder performance or how the presence of multiple principals might complicate goals. What implications might this have to advancing knowledge in organization theory and public management?

Note to instructor: The assignment can vary in length. There are three main objectives: (1) to create an awareness of the contributions that other disciplines have made to the field; (2) to create an awareness of how perspectives on the same topic, such as motivation, formal environment, and interests groups, differ by discipline; and (3) to encourage consideration of the limitations of the various perspectives.

3. The author notes the dilemma in balancing legitimate skepticism about public organizations and the recognition that public organizations are indispensable. Explain this statement. Provide examples in the context of a government department or agency with which you are familiar; discuss its value to citizens and criticisms that may surround it.

Chapter 2: Understanding the Study of Organizations: A Historical Review

Chapter 2 Key TermsSystems theoryClosed versus open systemsInputsOutputsSubsystemsThroughput processesFeedbackAdaptationClassical approach to the study of organizationsScientific managementHuman relations schoolContingency theoryBureaupathologyTheory XTheory Y

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Chapter 2 Discussion Questions

1. Identify and describe the following topics and persons:a. Systems theory and the systems metaphor in organization theory, and its

relation to contingency theory.b. Scientific management and Frederick Taylor and Max Weber.c. The Administrative Management School (POSDCORB, “principles”).d. Hawthorne studies.e. Chester Barnard and Herbert Simon.f. Group dynamics movement.g. Human Relations School/Abraham Maslow/Douglas McGregor.h. Sociotechnical School (Trist and Bamforth).i. General idea or meaning of contingency theory.

2. What did Burns and Stalker contribute to our understanding of management and organizations?

3. What did Lawrence and Lorsch contribute to our understanding of management and organizations?

4. What are Theory X and Theory Y? Give examples of Theory X and Theory Y management styles.

5. What have been the important changes in the way theorists and many managers view members of organizations and the nature of effective organization? (Describe the transition from “closed system” perspectives to more “open, adaptive systems” perspectives).

6. Provide an example of how historical trends in society have influenced a development in management and organization theory.

7. How have other disciplines influenced the development in management and organization theory?

8. What has been the role of increasing complexity and rapid change in the development of management and organization theory?

9. The author presents a definition of organization, and a conceptual framework for analyzing organizations. How do the components and concepts in these materials reflect the developments in organization theory we have discussed and read about?

Chapter 2 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Theories often reflect socioeconomic conditions at the time. Discuss and explain the basic tenets and assumptions of the classic school in relation to the times in which it became widely accepted.

2. Describe the general evolution in management thought and organizational theory across this century.

3. What would a federal agency or department look like if it were run by Frederick Taylor? Max Weber?

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4. On what grounds did Herbert Simon refute the tenets of classical organization theory? Do you agree or disagree with his critique?

5. Discuss studies in organization that were done in the 1960s and their contribution to adaptive and contingency theories. How did these studies add to and refine earlier thought?

6. You’ve been hired as a consultant to improve the Department of Motor Vehicles. As a first step, you have decided to survey the employees, including management at the local and regional offices. After reading much literature, you’ve decided that the human relations school offers the most guidance for understanding and reforming organizations. What questions would you ask in your survey if you anticipate making changes along the lines of the human relations school?

Chapter 3: What Makes Public Organizations Distinctive

Chapter 3 Key TermsGeneric traditionPolyarchyPublic goodsFree ridersExternalitiesCommonweal organizationsEnterprisesPublicness

Chapter 3 Discussion Questions

1. What is meant by the “blurring” of the sectors? In what ways does this occur?2. What distinction did Dahl and Lindblom make between markets and polyarchies?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? What are the reasons for the existence of government, from an economic and a political point of view?

3. How did Dahl and Lindblom distinguish between agencies and enterprises?4. How do Wamsley and Zald employ ownership and funding in making a

distinction between public and private organizations?5. What does Bozeman mean by publicness, and how does he employ this concept?

Chapter 3 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Consider a local public department with which you have recently interacted. List and discuss the nature of services they provide. What groups do they serve? Do you consider the department effective or ineffective? Explain. To what standards should they be held? Explain.

2. Consider any government agency with which you have interacted. What laws, rules, and regulations are relevant to the particular services they provide? Describe the political environment of the agency. How might the department, its structure, tasks, and clientele change if the political environment changes? How

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does the economic environment affect the department? What job competencies should be required of the employees? What type of training should they have?

3. What are some major problems and approaches to analyzing the distinction between public and private organizations?

4. What are the common assertions about the distinctive nature of public organizations and management? Describe two that you consider accurate and two you consider inaccurate or overblown.

5. What is the generic tradition in organization and management theory, and what are its implications for the public-private distinction? What have been the research findings supporting this generic position?

6. How do externalities affect the role of the public sector?

Chapter 4: Analyzing the Environment of Public Organizations

Chapter 4 Key TermsOrganization domainStakeholder analysisEnvironmental capacityEvolutionary perspective of organizationsCo-optationEnvironmental scanStakeholder analysisMechanistic firmsOrganic firmsContingency theoryBuffering methodsBoundary-spanning unitsEnvironmental stabilityDynamism, change ratesPopulation ecologyResource dependency theoryTransaction cost theoryInstitution, institutionalizationIsomorphismCoercive isomorphismNormative isomorphismMimetic isomorphismActive representation and passive representationFederalist PapersPerformance criteriaCriterion of competenceCriterion of responsivenessCriterion of representativenessCriterion of timelinessCriterion of reasonableness

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Chapter 4 Discussion Questions

1. Describe the institutionalism perspective.2. Define the concepts of organizational environment and the environmental domain.3. What is environmental uncertainty, and what are its dimensions?4. What are the ways in which organizations adapt to environmental uncertainty (for

example, positions and departments, buffering and boundary spanning)?5. What are differentiation and integration?6. What are organic and mechanistic forms?7. What is the resource dependence perspective, and how can organizations control

environmental resources?8. Describe the population ecology perspective on organization survival.9. What does a resource dependency theorist say about organization survival?10. What general effects does uncertainty have on the organization?11. What are the important components and dimensions of the political and economic

environments of public organizations?12. How do general values and institutions of the political economy, such as

provision of the U.S. Constitution, influence management and organizations in government?

13. What are competence and responsiveness values, and what are their implications for public management?

Chapter 4 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Using a nonprofit entity and a public agency as examples, prepare a memo describing their general environmental conditions along the following lines: technological, legal, political economic, environmental, ecological, and cultural.

2. How do Lawrence and Lorsch define differentiation and integration in their 1967 paper, which appeared in the Administrative Science Quarterly? What basic propositions did they make with respect to how organizations and organizational sub-units adapt? Describe their research findings.

3. Describe the mechanisms for institutional isomorphic change as posited by DiMaggio and Powell (1983). What organizational and field-level variables predict isomorphism according to their claims? Is there research evidence to support their claims?

4. Describe a change in rules or policy that has occurred where you work or at the university. Where did the impetus for change come from? How did the organization respond to pressures for change?

5. Discuss the concepts of organizational environment and environmental domain and their use as a framework for analyzing public organizations. Is this a good framework?

6. Describe and contrast two organizations in terms of their technical core. What conditions may affect the core? How would you propose to buffer against such conditions?

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7. Describe a public agency or department and discuss the “institutions” that define it or characterize it.

8. Chose a public agency or department and describe the ways societal values and institutions influence its operation.

9. Compare and contrast the assumptions and main claims according to the resource dependence theory and transaction cost economic theory. What evidence exists to support or refute each? What problems or limitations are associated with these lines of research?

Chapter 5: The Impact of Political Power and Public Policy

Chapter 5 Key TermsIssue networksPolicy subsystemsIron triangleAgency CaptureMass publicsInterest groupsPrivatizationGarbage can model of decision makingAttentive publicsPolicy instruments

Chapter 5 Discussion Questions

1. Describe how the following entities can influence public managers and public organizations. What formal and informal authority do they have that enables them to exert such influence?

a. Public opinionb. The mediac. Interest groups, clients, and constituentsd. Legislative bodiese. Chief executivef. The courtsg. Other agencies and other levels of governmenth. The public policy process

2. Name and describe two theories of the policy process.3. What key authors are associated with literature on the policy process?4. What key authors are associated with the role of interest groups and other main

actors involved in the policy process?5. What is a policy instrument, and how is it used?

Chapter 5 Writing Assignments and Reports

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1. What is meant by the terms hollow state and networks? How do they complicate the lines of authority and accountability in a public organization? Give examples.

2. Choose a policy example and its associated influences. What main actors are closely involved with the policy? Who are the major stakeholders? Which term more accurately reflects the influences, iron triangle or issue network? How would you describe the relationships and influences of all the parties involved?

3. Most public agencies have websites that describe their work. Likewise, many nonprofits have mission statements that are published. Describe ways in which formal political authority might affect the goals or missions of each organization. In which case are political influences more pervasive?

4. Chapter 5 makes clear that there is no neat way to package the policy process. In fact, it can be complex, nonlinear, and unpredictable. In what ways does Kingdon’s theory try to make sense of the policy process? What other theories of the policy process have currency in public administration and management literature?

5. What should a public manager know about policy instruments?

Chapter 6: Organizational Goals and Effectiveness

Chapter 6 Key TermsOrganizational goalGovernment Performance and Results Act (GPRA)Official goalsOperative goalsGoal approach to assessing organizational effectivenessSystems resource approachParticipant-satisfaction modelHuman resource approachStakeholder approachGovernment Performance Project (GPP)NetworkPerformance-based budgetingCompeting values frameworkBalanced scorecard

Chapter 6 Discussion Questions

1. What is an organizational goal, and in what ways are they important?2. What is an organizational mission?3. What is the difference between official and operative goals, and what is the

importance of this distinction?4. What is the difference between organizational efficiency and effectiveness? What

dimensions factor into effectiveness?5. What are the uses, strengths, and weaknesses of the following approaches to

organizational effectiveness?

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a. Goal approach to assessing organizational effectivenessb. Systems resource approachc. Participant-satisfaction modeld. Human resource approache. Stakeholder approachf. Competing values approach6. Is there anything distinctive about the goals of public organizations?7. What suggestions have researchers provided for measuring the effectiveness of

networks?8. What is performance-based budgeting

Chapter 6 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Are public organizations inherently less effective than private ones?

2. What makes public and nonprofit organizations effective, when they are?

3. How does the Government Performance Project (GPP) evaluate the capacity of management systems? What approach to assessing organizational effectiveness is most similar to the GPP? How are letter grades assigned? What are the limitations?

4. Review the website of a federal or state agency to identify the agency’s goals and comment on the following: Are the stated goals clear or ambiguous? Do any of the stated goals conflict? Can the goals be ranked in terms of agency priority? Which goals are more important? In what ways do the stated goals overlap?

5. Choose a goal listed on the website of a federal or state agency and discuss how it might be measured. Comment on any complications that may arise in developing measures.

6. Many organizations are required to link goals and effectiveness. What assumptions underlie such a directive?

7. Evaluate the following comment by Osborne and Gaebler: “. . . governments is tall, sluggish, over-centralized, and preoccupied with rules and regulations. . . . We designed public agencies to protect the public against politicians and bureaucrats gaining too much power or misusing public money. In making it difficult to steal the public’s money, we made it virtually impossible to manage the public’s money. . . . In attempting to control virtually everything, we became so obsessed with dictating how things should be done—regulating the process, controlling the inputs—that we ignored the outcomes, the results. . . . Government can—and must—compete with for-profit businesses, non profit agencies, and other units of government.”

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8. Interview the head of a public agency or government department about the goals of his or her organization. Record the interviewee’s responses to the three open-ended questions below. Relying on the literature reviewed in the chapter on organizational goals and effectiveness, write a report describing what you have learned. Are the responses consistent with comments in the chapter and with the cited literature on the topic?

a. In what ways and to what degree do the agency’s stated goals influence organizational effectiveness?

b. How is effectiveness measured?

c. What difficulties have you encountered in assessing your agency’s performance or effectiveness?

Chapter 7: Formulating and Achieving Purpose: Power, Decision Making, and Strategy

Chapter 7 Key TermsPowerAuthorityStrategic contingenciesDecision premisesSubstitutabilityNetwork centralityUncertaintyEmpowermentRationalityRational decision-making modelsPublic choiceIntendedly rational bounded rationalitySatisficeSWOT analysisEnvironmental scanContingency approach to decision makingIncremental decision makingMixed scanningLogical incrementalismGarbage can modelGovernment Performance Results Act (1993)Loosely coupled

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Strategic managementPerspective framework for strategic managementSMG—strategic management groupStrategic negotiations approach

Chapter 7 Discussion Questions

1. Give some examples of how external power and politics influence internal power and politics.

2. How does the concept of power relate to dependency?3. Explain the relationship between substitutability and power.4. What advice does the literature offer for creating, sustaining, and concentrating

power in organizations?5. In what ways are rational decision-making processes similar to the principles of

scientific management?6. What assumptions underlie rational decision-making theories?7. French and Raven provide five types or forms of power. On what is their

classification based? What are the effects of these types of power?8. What are these classifications and how is power attained

Chapter 7 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Name a person that you admire. Analyze the person’s use of power in terms of the ideas and literature discussed in this chapter.

2. Write an essay on the contributions that Herbert Simon has made to understanding decision making.

3. How do power, authority, and influence differ?4. Explain how power and politics affect decision-making outcomes.5. Power can be used ethically or unethically. How can you determine if power has

been used ethically?6. How do the following relate to power: the ability to cope with uncertainties,

network centrality, and nonsubstitutability.7. Find three goals that are formally expressed on websites: one from a public

agency, one from a private company, and one from a nonprofit entity. Explain how achieving each goal will be affected by interpersonal relationships inside and outside the organization. Does the importance of managing interpersonal relationships differ depending on the organization type or sector? Explain your answer.

8. As a student your goal is to achieve a degree. Your ability to achieve this goal is based on your own effort, but also based on factors that you may not have power over. Using the ideas presented in the chapter analyze the power and influence relative to your situation.

a. List the persons that you depend upon to get your degree. What is the basis for each of these dependencies? How strong are these dependencies?

b. Do you view these dependencies as positive, negative, dysfunctional?

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c. Do you have any influence over each person you depend upon? How can you maintain a base of influence?

d. What resources do you need to gain further influence?9. Using your local newspaper, find an example of a recent policy decision.

Research the decision to discover any considerations that may help to explain how the decision came about. Alternatively, speculate on factors that led to the decision. Discuss the usefulness of the rationality model of decision making, the incrementalism model, and the garbage can model of decision making in the context of the policy decision.

Chapter 8: Organizational Structure, Design, Technology, Information Technology, and Social Media

Chapter 8 Key TermsDowns’s “law of hierarchy”President’s Management AgendaCentralizationFormalizationRed tapeComplexityVertical integrationLateral relationse-coordinationreconfigurable organizationsenvironmental management (in relation to information processing)slack resourceshierarchy of authorityspan of controlself-contained tasksvirtual corporationsfunctional organizational structureproduct structurehybrid structurematrix structuresimple structuremachine bureaucracyprofessional bureaucracydivisionalized formsadhocracymarket and customer structuregeographical organizational designprocess structuremoduleperformance-control systemaction-planning system

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liaison devicered tapemediating technologiespooled interdependencelong-linked interdependencesequential pattern of interdependencereciprocal pattern of interdependence

Chapter 8 Discussion Questions

1. Explain the nature of reforms implemented by the Internal Revenue System in 2000 and 2001. What was the objective?

2. According to mainstream organization theory some factors may influence organizational structure more than the private public status. What are these factors?

3. What are the design strategies that Galbraith describes?4. What are the design parameters that Mintzberg describes, and what are the types

of organizations in his typology?5. What does research indicate about the structures of public organizations?6. What is the macrostructure of public organizations?7. What dimensions have been used to describe an organization’s structure?8. Mintzberg suggests linking operations laterally. What purpose does this serve, and

what means are available?9. What major design alternatives were proposed by Galbraith?10. What do organization theorists mean by technology?11. What do we know about structural differences between public and private

organizations?12. How do different the levels of uncertainty affect the organizational structure?13. Discuss the usefulness of three IT applications used in organizational decision

making.

Chapter 8 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. What is the link between politics, organization structure, and reform? Cite examples.

2. Compare the objectives and approaches of the Winter Commission, National Performance Review, President Bush’s Management Agenda. What political values are reflected in these reforms? What do these reforms have in common?

3. According to Mintzberg, the organization’s structure depends on the organization itself, its members, the distribution of power, the environment, and the technical system. What four structural categories does Mintzberg use to group design decisions? Explain the nature of each.

4. How can information systems and IT be used for internal coordination and external coordination? What are Intranets, and what is knowledge management?

5. How does IT influence organization design?

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6. Jay Galbraith (1977) proposed a set of techniques for designing and coordinating activities based on information processing. What are these techniques, and how are they used?

Chapter 9: Understanding People in Public Organizations: Motivation and Motivation Theory.

Chapter 9 Key TermsMotivesMotivationRelated terms: of need, goals, values, incentivesEconomies of incentivesExtrinsic incentiveIntrinsic incentiveContent theoriesNeeds hierarchyHygiene factorsMotivatorsNeed for achievementNeed for powerNeed for affiliationTheory XTheory YHertzberg’s Two Factor theoryEquity theoryDistributive justiceProcedural justiceExpectancy theoryOperant conditioningBehavior modificationPositive reinforcementNegative reinforcementOperant extinctionPunishmentSchedules of reinforcementFixed schedule of reinforcementVariable schedule of reinforcementRatio schedule of reinforcementInterval schedule of reinforcementSocial learning theoryGoal-setting theoryIntrinsic work motivesConcept of maximizing utilityPublic service ethichuman capital movement

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Intrinsic work motivesProxy measuresUtilityConcept of maximizing utilityutilitarianism

Chapter 9 Discussion Questions

1. Are there stereotypes about motivation of public employees? What are they? Do you think they are true?

2. What are some of the assertions about the context for motivation in public organizations? How valid and accurate are these assertions, in your view?

3. What is motivation? What is the origin of the term?4. How have people tried to measure motivation? What difficulties are encountered

in measuring?5. Is motivation the only determinant of an individual’s performance? What other

factors are important?6. Motivation is based on individual needs, values, motives, and incentives. What do

these concepts mean?7. Compare the process theories of motivation. How are they alike and different? Are

they complementary or contradictory? Explain.8. Describe three of the methods often used in organizations to enhance motivation.9. How have items from expectancy theory been used to develop proxy measures for

work motivation?

Chapter 9 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Consider your own membership in an organization. Make three lists: a list of the factors that motivated you to join, a list of factors that motivate you to maintain your membership, a list of factors that may prompt you to disassociate yourself from the organization. Do the same factors apply to all three cases? Are your responses (or reasoning for your responses) consistent with what scholars (Barnard, 1938; March and Simon, 1958) have said on the subject of motivation and, more specifically, on the factors relevant to joining organizations and maintaining memberships?

Note to instructors: As an alternative, require a more thorough response comparing arguments also found in Barnard (1938), March and Simon (1958), Peters and Waterman (1982), DiIlulio (1994).

2. Using monster.com or a comparable source, compare two jobs that are similar in their titles and descriptions except for the designation of sector, for example, an attorney for a law firm and city attorney or city solicitor. Report on your findings relative to salary levels, entry requirements, and benefits. If possible, seek information on average length of employment and other factors you believe are relevant to an accurate comparison. Compare your findings with other research.

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3. Herbert Simon made the following statement with regard to incentives: “Everything . . . about economic rewards applies equally to privately owned, non-profit, and government owned corporations. The opportunity for, limits on, the use of rewards to motivate activities towards organizational goals are precisely the same in all three kinds of organizations” (1995, p. 283, n. 3). Drawing on key readings and ideas in this chapter and in previous chapters, develop a counter argument. If possible use examples or provide evidentiary support for your position.

4. What does collective action theory say on the topic of joining organizations? Is the theory consistent with your own experiences in joining organizations? Explain.

5. According to most economists, how does the absence of economic markets affect motivation levels and incentives? What assumptions underlie their arguments? Do you agree or disagree? If possible, draw from your own experiences or personal observations.

6. Economist William Niskanen developed a formal theory of budget behavior and the bureaucratic supply of public goods. Describe the theory. What does it have to say about motivation and incentives in the public sector? Do you agree or disagree? What evidence can you find to support or refute Niskanen?

7. Discuss the connection between the decision-making processes discussed in previous chapters and the main ideas on motivation of government employees presented in this chapter. Use the main tenets of strict rationality, bounded rationality and incrementalism as an organizing framework for your discussion. For example, a strictly rational process requires goal clarity and known preferences. Employees need to understand goals and objectives in order to reach them. Thus the absence of goal clarity is likely to affect the ability to motivate employees to perform. Similar connections can be made between other aspects of decision-making processes and incentives or motivation. Alternative assignment:

8. Students in Public Affairs and Public Management programs often continue to work in government or in a nonprofit organization while they pursue their degree. As a result, many students have co-workers who might be open to giving a personal definition of the “public interest.” If possible, students should seek comments from both a recent hire and a veteran of the organization. Ask for a brief report to the class on the responses. Do the comments comport with the typology of public administrators provided by Anthony Downs (1967)?

9. Similarly, students who work in government may ask a few co-workers what motivated them to seek their jobs. Responses can be compared to research in public service motivation cited at the end of the chapter.

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10. What is motivation, and what is the origin of the term?11. How have people tried to measure motivation? What difficulties are encountered

in measuring?12. Is motivation the only determinant of an individual’s performance? What other

factors are important?13. Motivation is based on individual needs, values, motives, and incentives. What do

these concepts mean?14. What have been some of the major efforts to specify human needs and values?

You do not have to describe them or remember them in detail, but what are some of the most interesting and important points about them? Are they helpful to you as a leader and manager?

15. Do you find any of the listings of incentives provided in the chapter, or concepts used in these listings, to be useful? What general conclusions would you draw about incentives in organizations?

16. What is the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic incentives? Provide examples of both in the context of place of work (or your motivation to perform well at school).

17. What do some economists, such as Anthony Downs and William Niskanen, claim about motives and incentives in public organizations?

18. What do research findings tell us about motives and incentives in public organizations, concerning such matters as money, security, and other motives?

19. What is public service motivation? How does Perry define and measure it ? Do you consider this an adequate definition and measure?

20. How does Anthony Downs (1967) classify managers with regard to their perceptions of the public interest? How does this perception change how managers’ perceive their role within the organization?

21. What does the research have to say about government employees and their general attitudes toward pay, security, benefits, challenges of work? Does the same hold for employees of for profit organizations?

22. What does the research say about the value of intrinsic incentives for employees at lower salary levels compared to their supervisors?

Chapter 10: Understanding People in Public Organizations: Values, Incentives, and Work-Related Attitudes

Chapter 10 Key TermsutilitarianismPublic interestInstrumental motives; norm-based motivesAffective motivesWhistle-blowing

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Bureaucratic dysfunction“patriotism of benevolence”government workers as zealots, advocates, statesman, and conserversAlderfer’s ERG ModelMurray’s List of Basic NeedsMaslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsRokeach’s Value SurveyTerminal valuesInstrumental valuesPublic service motivation (PSM)The service ethicImproved performance appraisal systemsMerit payCivil serviceBroadbanding or paybandingBonus and award systemsProfit-sharing or gain-sharingParticipative management and decision makingWork enhancementJob designJob enlargementRotationQuality of work life (QWL)Quality circles (QCs)Calculative commitmentNormative commitmentAffiliation commitmentExchange commitmentn-Ach (need for achievement)valenceexpectancies

Chapter 10 Discussion Questions

1. What do research results indicate about incentives and rewards in public organizations?

2. What have been some of the major efforts to specify human needs and values? You do not have to describe them or remember them in detail, but what are some of the most interesting and important points about them? Are they helpful to you as a leader and manager?

3. Do you find any of the listings of incentives provided in the chapter, or concepts used in these listings, to be useful? What general conclusions would you draw about incentives in organizations?

4. What is the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic incentives? Provide examples of both in the context of place of work (or your motivation to perform well at school).

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5. What do some economists, such as Anthony Downs and William Niskanen, claim about motives and incentives in public organizations? What is public service motivation? How does Perry define and measure it ? Do you consider this an adequate definition and measure?

6. How does Anthony Downs classify managers with regard to their perceptions of the public interest? How does this perception change how managers’ perceive their role within the organization?

7. What does the research have to say about government employees and their general attitudes toward pay, security, benefits, challenges of work? Does the same hold for employees of for-profit organizations?

8. What does the research say about the value of intrinsic incentives for employees at lower salary levels compared to their supervisors?

9. What do research findings tell us about motives and incentives in public organizations concerning such matters as money, security, and other motives?

10. Do research results indicate that public employees show lower levels of motivation and innovativeness than private sector employees?

11. Define, describe, and discuss these motivation-related work attitudes, and what the available research shows about how public employees respond on measures of these attitudes.

12. What is job satisfaction, what determines if an individual is satisfied with a job? What are the consequences of job satisfaction?

13. Discuss the concepts of role conflict and ambiguity and how they relate to an employee’s level of motivation.

Chapter 10 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Is there one best way to design a job? Explain.

2. What does scientific management teach about job design that is still useful today?

3. Based on the readings in this chapter, prepare a memo detailing the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a flex-hour work week.

4. Identify the five core dimensions and three critical psychological states in the Job Characteristics Model and explain the causal path suggested by Hackman and Oldham.

5. How can knowledge of motivation theory help managers who are recruiting employees from diverse cultures?

6. What categories of motivational needs does Maslow offer? In what ways is the hierarchy of needs relevant today?

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7. Do you think the most important motivational needs for public, private, and nonprofit sector employees are similar?

8. What are the assumptions behind Theory X and Theory Y? Which of Maslow’s needs categories would Theory X individuals be most concerned with?

9. Which of Maslow’s needs categories would Theory Y individuals be most concerned with?

10. What is the difference between a motivation and a hygiene factor? What can the manager of a public organization take from McClelland’s theory?

11. How do perceptions of equity affect employee motivation?

12. What are the main tenets of Vroom’s expectancy theory? Include in your answer an explanation of key concepts of valences and expectancies. Apply the main ideas behind rational decision making and bounded rationality as described in previous chapters to either support or rebut the usefulness of Vroom’s expectancy theory.

13. What key ideas can be found in theories of distributive justice?

14. What do expectancy theory and collective action theory have to say about the motivation to join an organization? Elaborate on the main points of each. Is the theory consistent with your own experience in joining an organization?

Chapter 11: Leadership, Managerial Roles, and Organizational Culture

Chapter 11 Key TermsLeadership organizational cultureTrait TheoryBlake and Moulton Managerial GridFiedler’s Contingency TheoryLeast-Preferred Co-Worker (LPC)High-LPC, low-LPCLeader-member relationsLeader match procedureTask structurePosition power of the leaderThe Path-Goal TheoryVroom-Yetton Normative ModelLife-Cycle TheoryAttribution, attribution models

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Leader-Member Exchange theoryOperant conditioningSocial learningOperant Conditioning Leadership ModelSocial Learning Leadership ModelPOSDCORBTransformational leadershipTransactional leadershipCharismatic leadershipAttribution theory of charismatic leadershipThe self-concept theory of charismatic leadershipManagementNetwork

Chapter 11 Discussion Questions

1. How did the Ohio State studies contribute to our understanding of leadership?2. What are the strengths and limitations of the managerial grid developed by Blake

and Mouton?3. What leadership styles are proposed by Robert House? In what ways does House

suggest leadership can affect the motivation and performance of an organization?

4. What is the nature of attribution models of leadership? What do they help to explain? What don’t they explain?

5. As a leader, how would you direct your organization that is undergoing significant change? In your answer recall the discussion on the determinants and consequences of job satisfaction in the last chapter.

6. Compare transformational behaviors and transactional behaviors.

7. According to the path-goal theory of leadership, on what should the style of leadership depend?

8. Discuss transformational and charismatic leadership styles. Do you think these leadership styles should depend on the organizational culture?

9. What actions can leaders take to change the organizational culture?

10. Explain leadership styles identified by Hersey and Blanchard. What is their model of situational leadership?

11. What methods and strategies are suggested for leading cultural development ?

12. What are the different ways in which culture is communicated?

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13. Explain the typology of public executive entrepreneurship developed by Marmor and Fellman (1986)

14. According to O’Toole and Meier’s (1999) research, what factors matter to organizational performance?

15. What assumptions about hierarchies and networks does the O’Toole and Meier model make?

16. How do O’Toole and Meier define management?

Chapter 11 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Daily newspapers often report problems with public agencies. For example, the Indianapolis Star recently reported a host of problems with the Indianapolis bus system. According to the article, “a review of the district’s transportation system, commissioned last year, portrays the transportation department as a renegade operation, so disorganized that it fails to respond to the superintendent’s directives, is inefficient, and wastes taxpayer money.” As an analyst you have to evaluate the performance of this agency. In what ways are these criticisms shortsighted? What other criteria might you include in your analysis?

2. How might a leader confront the tendency and problems associated with groupthink?

3. Explain in general and then provide examples of how the following organizational characteristics affect the organization’s culture:

a. The design of physical spaces

b. The absence of formal statements, charters, and creeds

c. A promotion policy that gives preference to individuals with the most years of service

4. Find an example of a public agency’s mission statement or list of priorities. Discuss the connection between the statements within the mission statement and the culture it suggests.

5. How do you detect organizational structure, and how do you find out if it is productive?

6. The Vroom-Yetton Normative Model is a framework for deciding how much to involve subordinates in decision making. Give an example of a decision that affects an organization. What factors does the framework suggest are most important to that decision? What other factors do you think are important?

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7. Give an example of a decision that affects an organization. Compare the approach suggested by Vroom-Yetton with the perspective of Mary Parker Follett (1926). What are the similarities and differences?

8. Many public organizations undergo significant change in priorities after elections. In your opinion, what is the role of a leader in such a situation? Reference any theory or research findings that inform your answer.

9. Describe the characteristics of someone you consider a leader. In what ways might this person rely on his or her personal qualities to influence and motivate?

10. Interview the person you described as a leader and ask how his or her personal qualities are used to influence and motivate. Encourage the interviewee to provide examples. On the basis of your results, write a memo supporting or refuting the position that “management matters” to organizational results.

11. Prepare a memo about organizational culture in an organization with which you are familiar. Describe the dimensions of culture using any one of the models described in the chapter. Some examples include: Wilkins (1990), Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohayv, and Sanders (1990), and Kotter and Heskett (1992).

12. Khademian (2002) proposed a cultural roots framework to describe the basic elements of every public agency or program: the public task to be done, the resources available to do it, and the environment in which the agency or program has to operate. Name an organization or department that serves the public in some capacity. Identify and discuss its cultural roots. What are the managerial implications for the culture you describe?

13. You are the human resource director of a city department that provides various social services to the community. State regulations require that you develop hiring and retention programs that foster diversity within the workplace. Similar programs have been attempted in the past but have met with resistance. Why do you think this is the case? How would you go about gaining acceptance for your proposal?

Chapter 12: Teamwork: Understanding Communication and Conflict in Groups

Chapter 12 Key TermsConflictCommunicationGroupTeam-based organizationTeam-based managementHigh-performance work systemsHigh-performance organizationsFree riders

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Communication structure or patternGroupthinkVertical communicationExternal communicationGatekeepersOpinion leadersLiaisonMadisonian systemOmbudsmanLatent conflictPerceived conflictFelt conflictManifest conflictThe conflict aftermathT-group proceduresNominal group techniquesQuality circlesDelphi techniques

Chapter 12 Discussion Questions

1. Define the terms communication and conflict. How do they relate to each other?2. What norms or roles are likely to develop in groups? Explain how this occurs.3. How do group context and structure affect group outcomes?4. What is a communication structure, and how might it affect the motivation of an

individual? Use examples in your response.5. Is conflict a negative or positive phenomenon? Explain.6. What factors lead to conflict?7. In what ways do individuals affect group behavior? In what ways do groups affect

individual behavior?8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of groups?9. What are Pondy’s five stages of conflict, and why are they useful to know?10. In what ways are effective communication more challenging to managers of

public organizations compared to their private sector counterparts?11. What is the manager’s task with regard to conflict? In what ways does the public

sector context complicate conflict management?12. What are the five conflict management styles? Under what conditions and

circumstances might each be appropriate?13. Should all conflict be avoided? Explain.14. What communications distortions are likely to occur in public bureaus?15. Discuss the phenomenon of groupthink. How do you recognize its symptoms?

What are the different ways to avoid it?

16. Explain the various approaches to group decision making, including brainstorming, T-Groups, nominal groups, and the Delphi method.

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Chapter 12 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Recall a work group in which you recently participated either at school or at your place of employment. Discuss how the degree of cohesion and culture of the group affected your motivation to perform. Discuss how you as an individual may have or could have influenced the motivation level and performance of the group.

2. This question presents the details of a recent press conference and requires that you consider and connect the concepts of leadership, power and politics, influence, and group behavior. Please provide a detailed response to both parts.Defense Chief Robert Gates is one member of the president’s small group of advisors. In a recent press interview, Gates was asked, “What’s the difference between working under current President Barak Obama and former President George W. Bush?” Gates commented, “I think that . . . President Obama is somewhat more analytical . . . and he makes sure he hears from everybody in the room on an issue. . . . If they don’t speak up, he calls on them. . . .” “President Bush was interested in hearing different points of view but didn’t go out of his way to make sure everybody spoke if they hadn’t spoken up before.”

a. Part One: In what ways and to what degree do you think these different leadership styles influence groups? Use the French and Raven (1968) typology of power as a framework for your response.

b. Part Two : Researchers suggest that the capacity to influence changes over time as the group matures. Why is this the case? Considering President Bush’s record in retrospect, do you think there is evidence to support the research? Discuss.

3. In what ways is contingency theory useful for understanding group phenomena? In what ways is human resource theory useful for understanding group phenomena?

4. In what ways is contingency theory useful for understanding conflict management? In what ways is human resource theory useful for conflict management?

5. Find a current event in which you think groupthink may have played a role. Discuss the reasons it this may be the case. Discuss the implications for the outcome.

6. Work groups are often used in classroom and in workplace settings to complete projects. Consider a previous group in which you participated and had to complete a project. Discuss the communications channels that you employed. What were the advantages and disadvantages of the communication process? How did the choice of communication channels affect the outcome? Does your experience square with the research on this topic?

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7. Explain the different ways (effective and ineffective) that people respond to conflict (Thomas, 1983). Give an example of a situation in which someone would respond to one of the ways suggested by Thomas. As a public manager, what would be your strategy for dealing with the conflict if you anticipated the response?

8. How does a manager use the techniques of brainstorming, T-groups, nominal groups, and the Delphi method to (1) manage and channel conflict, and (2) obtain the benefits of group decision making while limiting its disadvantages? In what situations or contexts should these methods be applied?

9. Find a list of public agency goals or a mission statement for a nonprofit organization. Discuss how the problems of goal conflict, multiple goals, and goal ambiguity might cause or heighten conflict within a public organization.

Chapter 13: Managing Organizational Change and Development

Chapter 13 Key TermsOrganization life cycleZealotsAdvocatesConserversRigidity cycleEntrepreneurial stageCollectivity stageFormalization and control stageStructural elaboration and adaptationPresident’s Management AgendaNew Public Management (NPM)Competitive sourcingClassical diffusion modelInstitution, institutionalizedOrganizational ecosystemChange agentAlpha changeBeta changeGamma changeProcess consultationT-groupsEncounter groupsSensitivity trainingMeta-analysisOrganizational transformationReinventionReengineering

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Chapter 13 Discussion Questions

1. Explain Downs’s three-stage model of the life cycle of an organization.2. Explain the Quinn and Cameron four stage model of the life cycle of an

organization.3. What are the most important conclusions about successful change in public

organizations?4. In what ways does an organization react to change? Under what conditions are the

members of an organization likely to embrace and accept change? Under what conditions are they likely to resist change?

5. What tactics might an agency employ in reaction to budget cutbacks? What tactics might be employed to resist decline, and what tactics might be employed to smooth decline?

6. What are the main reasons why organizations decline?7. What are the main ideas and assumptions behind the reforms associated with the

New Public Management (NPM) label?8. Are government agencies immortal? Explain.9. What is organizational development (OD)? Can it be successful in government

agencies? Could it have helped in the State Department’s transformation efforts?10. Describe some of the individual-level techniques and group-level techniques used

by practitioners of OD.11. How does an organizational ecosystem affect sustained innovation? According to

Light (1998), what preferred states are conducive to innovation?12. What types of change does an organization undergo, according to Daft (2013)?13. Explain Golembiewski’s conception of the types of changes that can occur with

respect to individual responses in organizations.14. What does the evidence indicate for OD interventions and success rates in private

and public organizations?15. What did Greiner observe about successful patters of change? What conditions

and steps were evidenced?16. What common values and assumptions underlie OD according to French and

Bell?

Chapter 13 Writing Assignments and Reports

1. Who are the advocates, zealots, and conservers in an organization, and when in the organization’s life cycle are each featured? Is the Downs model an oversimplification? Explain.

2. Compare the Downs model with the Quinn and Cameron organization life-cycle models. What are the differences? What are the similarities?

3. The Quinn and Cameron life-cycle framework includes a third stage of organization development involving formalization and control and a fourth and final stage involving structural elaboration and adaptation. In an early part of the class we discussed Max Weber’s concept of a bureaucracy. Discuss the

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assumptions and implications of these stages according to Quinn and Cameron and also according to Max Weber. What are the differences? What are the similarities? Which view do you agree with and why?

4. A recurring theme in this book is the uniqueness of the public sector environment. Are the pressures for organizational change more or less intense for managers of public organizations or for business managers? Explain.

5. Find an article about a public organization that has recently undergone budget cuts. Prepare a brief presentation to the class on how the organization reacted to the cutbacks.

6. In a previous chapter we discussed the concept of co-optation. Give examples of how the process of co-optation can be employed in response to funding cutbacks.

7. Research evidence suggests that public organizations can indeed change and innovate. Cite some of the important research efforts and findings on the topic.

8. At the end of the chapter, there is a description of two organizational change efforts in government agencies, one in the State Department and one in the Social Security Administration. Assess these two changes in relation to your conclusions about successful change. What were the differences in the two cases in the success of the change efforts, and what appear to be the reasons for the differences?

9. What are the characteristics of the classical diffusion model? What are the implications for organizational development? What are the implications for innovation?

10. What pressures led to the President’s Management Agenda, which President George W. Bush announced in 2001? What were the main objectives of the initiative?

11. Contracting out has played a major role in changing public organizations. Analyze the internal and external forces that explain this trend.

12. Choose two motivation theories previously discussed and explain their implications for change efforts.

13. Choose two leadership theories previously discussed and explain their implications for change efforts.

14. How might techniques for conflict management discussed in the last chapter be used to diminish resistance to organizational change?

15. What role do leaders play in organizational change and transformation? How might different leadership styles affect approaches to organizational change?

Chapter 14: Advancing Effective Management in the Public Sector

Chapter 14 Key TermsContracting outPrivatizationPay-for-performanceTotal Quality Management (TQM)Cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagrams, flowchart, procedures

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Reinventing government (REGO)National Performance Review (NPR)ProcurementRed tapePresident’s Management ReviewAgency scorecardsHuman capitalGovernanceHollow stateThird-party governmentOutputsOutcomes

Chapter 14 Discussion Questions

1. What points does Charles Goodsell make in defending the record of government?2. Discuss the complexities involved in determining the effectiveness of government

organizations.3. What are the main findings presented by Peters and Waterman’s In Search of

Excellence?4. What common characteristics of public and private organizations are highlighted

are the findings of Peters and Waterman (1982)5. What conclusions did Hale make regarding the values of high-performance

organizations?6. Who was W. Edward Deming, and what did he contribute to the literature on

management?7. What conditions and principles are typically involved in the TQM approach?8. What studies have sought to assess the implementation of REGO, and what were

the main findings?9. Who were Osborne and Gaebler, and what strategies did they propose for

effective government?10. In what ways has REGO been influential? In what ways has it been controversial?11. What major reform initiative is associated with President George W. Bush, and

what five priorities did it encompass?12. What recommendations were made by the Government Accounting Office (GAO)

for achieving success in establishing human capital cornerstones?13. Explain the different forms of privatization.14. Explain the terms contracting out and privatization?15. What kinds of problems can arise in contracting?16. What are the conditions for successful contracting out?17. What propositions about effective public organizations are offered by Rainey and

Steinbauer?

Chapter 14 Writing Assignments and Reports

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1. What are some of the main books that contributed to the topic of corporate and management excellence? What themes and findings do they share? How do they differ?

2. In what ways is determining the effectiveness of government organizations more difficult than determining effectiveness in the private sector?

3. What reform efforts have been undertaken by the U.S. Government since the 1970s? Who initiated each? What concerns prompted each? Discuss the assumptions and goals behind each.

4. In what ways does Total Quality Management (TQM) differ from the “command and control” approach to management? What effects do you think leadership and motivation might have on the success of TQM efforts? In what ways might the organizational context matter to TQM efforts?

5. What considerations are necessary to a well-informed decision on whether or not to contract out services? Are the considerations similar in the private and public sector? In what ways is the decision more complex in public organizations?

6. Write an informed essay on why you think the decision to contract out government services has been made with more frequency in the past three decades? In your essay consider effects of the politics and power and the organizational environment discussed in previous chapters.

7. What is “governance,” and how does it differ from “government”?8. What is the central question of governance according to Lynn, Heinrich, and Hill?

What are the main elements in their model? How is the model intended to advance knowledge of governance?

9. How can contingency theory help us understand the dynamics of contracting out and privatization?

10. Are there any services that should never be contracted out in government? Why or Why not?

11. What considerations are necessary to a well-informed decision on whether or not to contract out services? Are the considerations similar in the private and public sector? In what ways is the decision more complex in public organizations?

12. Review the forty-three companies that Peters and Waterman recognized as “excellent” in their book In Search of Excellence. Choose three and discuss where they are now. Have they maintained their reputations for excellence?

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Section Three: Class Exercises

Class Exercise 1: The Nature of Public Service

Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapters 1–3 discuss the nature and distinctiveness of the public sector. In addition, the first chapters mention a number of other topics that will be considered in more detail in later parts of the book, including but not limited to the organization environment, challenges for effectiveness, goals ambiguity, and goal conflict. This exercise provides an opportunity to consider these topics in relation to an actual public organization, the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Group Exercise: Divide the class into groups of four to six individuals. Ask that they read about the structure, authority, and mission of the agency and then answer the questions that follow. Reconvene in approximately thirty minutes and ask for a spokesperson from each group to present details on the group’s responses.

Overview: The Connecticut Department of Transportation

At a Glance

James F. Byrnes Jr., Commissioner

James A. Adams, Deputy Commissioner

Established—1969

Statutory authority—C.G.S. P.A. 69-768

Authorized number of full-time employees—3,751

Recurring operating expenses—$363.5 million

Capital budget—$723.7 million

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Organizational structure—Office of the Commissioner, Bureau of Aviation and Ports, Bureau of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Engineering and Highway Operations, Bureau of Policy and Planning, Bureau of Public Transportation, State Traffic Commission

Mission

To provide a safe, efficient and cost-effective transportation system that meets the mobility needs of its users.

Statutory Responsibility

The agency shall be responsible for all aspects of the planning, development, maintenance, and improvement of transportation in the state (Section 13b-3 C.G.S.). The agency serves its customers by providing safe and efficient systems for the movement of people and goods within, to, or from the state, whether by highway, air, water, rail, or other means (Section 13b-2(I)).

Information Reported as Required by State Statute

The agency shall develop and revise, biennially, a comprehensive long-range transportation plan designed to fulfill the present and future needs of the state and to ensure the development and maintenance of an adequate, safe, and efficient transportation system (Section 13b-15 C.G.S). The purpose of the Master Transportation Plan is to provide its customers, the Administration, the General Assembly, local elected officials, and the general public with a comprehensive understanding of the transportation projects and programs that the agency will be pursuing over the next ten years. The strategic goals of the agency are to ensure safety, maintain the existing system, increase system productivity, promote economic development, and provide required capacity.

Affirmative Action Policy

It is the established policy of the Department to guarantee equal employment opportunity and to implement affirmative action programs.

Improvements and Achievements 2002–03

Bradley International Airport’s terminal improvement program focused on completion of the new Unified Terminal.

The Bureau of Aviation and Ports worked with Bradley’s Board of Directors to implement new marketing programs, including a redesigned website and refined media ads.

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Through a public-private partnership, a new control tower was opened at Waterbury-Oxford Airport staffed by the FAA.

The Department continued to manage all programs and projects to maximize federal funds allocated to Connecticut for improvements to all transportation facilities. Significant completed projects include reconstruction of I-95 in Stamford and construction of a 50,000-square-foot warehouse designed for heavy cargo at the Admiral Harold E. Shear State Pier in New London.

The Bureau of Engineering and Highway Operations continued to manage all programs and projects to maximize federal funds allocated to Connecticut for improvements to all transportation facilities. Significant completed projects include replacement of the Tomlinson Bridge in New Haven; reconstruction of I-95 interchange 56 in Branford; resurfacing of I-91 in Windsor Locks, and resurfacing of I-84 in West Hartford.

The largest capital program within the Department’s current plan is the I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Corridor Improvement Program. The program includes both roadway and transit improvements to increase capacity and reduce congestion between New Haven and Branford.A new commuter railroad station at State Street in New Haven was opened last year, and the Branford portion of the highway reconstruction is well under way. Additional contracts will proceed to construction in East Haven and New Haven in the coming year. The entire program will occur in stages through 2012.

The Department is also developing a preliminary design for a new transit system, the New Britain-Hartford Busway. Upon completion of the preliminary design and securing the necessary funding, a design-build contract will be advertised and awarded to complete the final design and construct the busway.

The Bureau of Policy and Planning completed major planning studies for I-84 (from the New York state line to Waterbury and Hartford); Truck Stop and Rest Area Parking; Feeder Barge Feasibility; and Intrastate Passenger Ferry Service Feasibility. The Bureau also initiated studies for Statewide Airport Systems; the I-95 Southeast Corridor; and the New Haven to Springfield Commuter Rail Service Feasibility.

The Bureau of Policy and Planning provided extensive support for the Transportation Strategy Board (TSB) program initiatives, studies, and projects.

The Bureau of Public Transportation developed an Implementation Plan for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System for the capital area from New Britain to Hartford.

The Bureau of Policy and Planning conducts planning activities for transit, highways, goods movement, commuter parking, bicycle and recreation, and airports, and performs environmental analysis for all projects. The Bureau also coordinates statewide transportation planning activities with the Regional Planning Agencies.

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The Bureau of Policy and Planning administered programs for commuter parking facilities and pedestrian and bicyclist needs. Continuing major studies include Statewide Airport Systems Plan; I-95 Branford to Rhode Island; New Haven-Springfield Commuter Rail Service; Rail Station and Parking Governance; I-95 Commuter Shoulder, and Hartford East Bus Rapid Transit. Major studies initiated include Danbury Branch Electrification; I-84/Route 8 Interchange; Oxford Airport Master Plan.

The Bureau of Policy and Planning published the 2003 Master Transportation Plan and provided extensive support for the Transportation Strategy Board (TSB) program initiatives, studies, and projects.

The Bureau of Public Transportation’s mission is to provide mobility to the residents of the state and to enhance economic development, access to jobs, and the environment by providing safe, efficient, economical, and reliable transportation alternatives. Significant improvements and achievements include

Development and maintenance of a fiscally constrained Transit Capital Plan that fully programs all state and federal funds expected to be made available over a twenty-year horizon.

Development of condition studies and structural improvement plans for the state’s railroad bridges.

Rehabilitation of a significant portion of the state’s rail rolling stock to maintain reliable service schedules.

Continuation of a major study to determine the next generation of rail rolling stock needed.

Completion of the New Haven Interlocking project, a major reconfiguration of the tracks serving the New Haven Terminal to allow for improved commuter operations and for Northeast Corridor express trains.

Purchase of replacement buses for the Connecticut Transit System and Southeast Area Transit.

Investigation of opportunities for innovative financing programs such as design/build.

Class Exercise 1: Questions for Group Consideration

After reading about the Connecticut DOT, answer the following:

1. Define the scope of the organization.2. The DOT organization structure includes several other entities, namely, Office of

the Commissioner; Bureau of Aviation and Ports; Bureau of Finance and Administration; Bureau of Engineering and Highway Operations; Bureau of Policy and Planning; Bureau of Public Transportation; and the State Traffic Commission. Information on the purpose and function of these other agencies is included in the text. Are the lines of authority and relationships clear? If possible

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draw an organization chart showing the relationships. Would you describe the DOT as a closed or open organization? Explain.

3. Who heads the agency?

4. What are the main functions of the DOT?5. What are the main functions of the associated agencies (see organization

structure).6. What private entities might rely on the agency?7. Is the mission statement clear or ambiguous? Explain.8. Consider the mission of each associated entity. In your opinion, do any missions

conflict? Can you determine the importance of the agencies

9. What projects in the state are most important?

10. Who are the agency’s main stakeholders?

11. The mission statement reads, “The agency shall be responsible for all aspects of the planning, development, maintenance, and improvement of transportation in the state.” How do you think the agency determines the relative importance of different modes of transportation? For example, is bus transportation more important than rail transportation?

12. From the text, list the main tasks of leaders within the main organization.13. Is there a strong “chain of command” ?14. In what ways is “flexibility” built into the organization? Do priorities change year

to year?15. Would “one best way” work in this organization?16. Do the different subunits face the same environment or different environments?17. What oversight mechanisms can you find within the information on the agency?18. What principles of “sound management” can you identify within the information?19. What, if anything, can you determine about the culture of the agency?20. What, if anything, can you determine about the values of the organization?

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Class Exercise 2: Power and Influence Role Play

Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 7 considers the topic of power and influence and introduces the French and Raven (1968) taxonomy of power, which is a useful conceptual tool for thinking about power, influence, and authority, as well as leadership and motivation. This experiential exercise actively involves students in learning about the different ways that power is obtained and the relative influence of each. The exercise should be introduced at the end of the lecture BEFORE students are required to read the chapter on formulating and achieving purpose, power, decision making, and strategy. As students read the assigned chapter they will think about the class exercise and consider more fully the concepts of power, authority, and influence. The exercise can be continued the following class, AFTER they have read the chapter covering the topics.

Goals of the Exercise: There are four goals to the exercise: (1) Have the class focus on the way different forms of power affect decisions, (2) Give the students a way to connect the different forms of power to people and personalities, providing a link they are more likely to remember, (3) Get students to think about the most effective means of influence, (4) Get students to consider the most acceptable and ethical bases of power.

Instructions: Ask for six volunteers to assume the following roles and to read a brief statement or directive to the class.

Dean of School (male) Actor name (when I asked my class to name an actor they admired they

chose Brad Pitt) Actress name (when I asked my class to name an actress they admired

they named Eva Longoria) Professor instructor’s name Instructor’s research assistant Publisher

Statements: Each statement is to be read to the class by a role player.

Dean of School (male): I am the dean of the school of _______________at _____________. I have read samples of your writing and I am very impressed. I would like you to write a five-hundred-page essay on the topic of power and politics for me by the end of next week.

Actor Brad Pitt: I am Brad Pitt. I would like you to write a five-hundred-page essay on the topic of power and politics for me by the end of next week.

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Actress Eva Longoria: I am Eva Longoria, and I would like you to write a five-hundred-page essay on the topic of power and politics for me by the end of next week.

Professor instructor’s name: I am _______________. I would like you to write a five-hundred-page essay on the topic of power and politics for me by the end of next week. If you don’t write the essay, your final grade for the course will likely drop by a full grade. (An “A” will become a “B,” “B” will be a “C,” and so on.)

Instructor’s research assistant: I am the research assistant for _____________ instructor’s name. I take notes during each lecture and prepare a summary at the end of class for the instructor. My notes are usually used as the basis for the final exam. I am permitted to give a copy of my notes to any student that agrees to write a five-hundred-page essay on the topic of power and politics for me by the end of next week.

Publishing company executive : I work as an executive at Jossey-Bass publishers and have a good deal of influence in the company to get work published. While I cannot guarantee that I can get your work noticed before I see it, I would like you to write a five-hundred-page essay on the topic of power and politics for me by the end of next week.

After all the statements have been read, ask the remaining members of the class to take a few moments to consider the source of the request or directive, and the content of the request or directive. Then ask the class to score each on the basis of influence by giving the score 1–6. For example, if the student is most likely to write the essay based on the actresse’s statement (and because the request came from the actress), give her the score of 1. Score the least influential with a 6. The chart below can be copied for students to score. It is not necessary that the students put their names on the scoring sheet.

The score below reflects the likelihood that I will write the essay . A “1” means I am most likely to write the essay (based on who gave request and the content of the request). A “6” means this person is least likely to influence whether I write the essay.

Dean

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Brad Pitt

Eva Longoria

Instructor

Instructor’s assistant

Publishing company executive

Ask for one or two volunteers to collect and summarize the scores and to be prepared to report the results to the class next week.

The next week, students will have read the chapter on power and influence, including the details on French and Raven’s taxonomy of five bases of power. Start the class by putting the following chart on the board.

Reward Coercive Legitimate Referent Expert

Dean

Brad Pitt

Eva Longoria

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Instructor

Instructor’s Assistant

Publishing company executive

Using the chart as a guide, ask the class to identify each role player using French and Raven’s taxonomy. (It is likely that some will fit in more than one category. For example, the instructor’s directive reflects legitimate power, but the statement may also be perceived as coercive.) Discuss.

Next, ask for the scoring results from the prior week. Which person was the most likely to influence? Which person was the least likely to influence? Encourage discussion of the results. Were they as expected?

Outcomes:

The data allow the generation of tentative answers to several interesting questions:

1. What kind of influence is most likely to result in the desired behavior?2. What kind of influence is least likely to result in the desired behavior?3. Do results depend on the person requesting or giving the directive, or on the

content or directive itself?4. Do you think the gender of the person mattered? Why or why not?5. Were all requests ethical? On what basis is a directive ethical or unethical?6. Under what conditions will a particular form of influence be most effective?7. Under what conditions will a particular kind of request be acceptable or

unacceptable?

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Class Exercise 3: Political Power and Policymaking

Note to Instructor: The exercise challenges students to think about the policymaking process and the political forces that shape or curtail various policy opportunities. Students will apply the terms and concepts from chapters five and seven to salient policy issues. The students will also find the PowerPoint slides summarizing the garbage can model of decision making and the slides on Kingdon’s streams model useful for this exercise.

Students are asked to think about policy in terms of the actors, the agenda-setting process, and windows of opportunity. The exercise also challenges students to consider the interface between politics and public management and the ways in which public managers must skillfully manage their relationships with external authorities, actors, and networks.

The instructor can assign policy topics to each group, or the students can choose their own topics. However, the students are likely to show more interest in the exercise if the policy topics are current and “in the news,” for example, gun ownership, immigration, or abortion rights.

Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of four or five students; thirty minutes for the groups to discuss the relevant policy and answer questions; thirty to forty minutes for groups to present answers to the questions and for class discussion.

Topic Introduction and Instructions: This exercise is about the political forces that shape policy in its earliest stages of formulation, but also long after, when policy is in the hands of agencies and public managers. As you are completing the exercise think about the terms and concepts from Chapters 5 and 7, as well as the PowerPoint slides on the garbage can model of decision making and Kingdon’s streams model.

Organize into groups of four or five. Choose a policy topic, preferably one that is current and receiving media attention. Answer the questions in relation to the policy topic you have chosen. We will reconvene in about thirty minutes.

Class Exercise 3: Handout

1. In a few sentences, describe the policy and the policy stage. Is it a policy just now being discussed? Has it passed the legislature? Is it in its implementation phase?

2. How has the media covered this issue? What impact do you think the media has had on this public policy? Have the media created opportunities or hindered them? How do you think the media will affect or has affected policy implementation?

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3. Describe the relevant actors for this policy. Who are the major stakeholders? What interest groups will be involved and how? What government agencies will be involved and how? What other outside actors might also have a role? What different groups might join together for this policy? What groups may oppose the policy?

4. According to John Kingdon, a number of events must occur for any policy to have a chance of making it to the policy agenda, that is, to even have a chance at becoming legislation. Describe these events or factors in the context of your policy. (What has to happen or what had to have happened?)

5. Using Kingdon’s model, develop an action plan to prevent passage of the legislation or to facilitate the passing of the legislation (your choice). If your policy has already passed the legislature, you can apply Kingdon to hypothetical rule-making situations that may follow from the legislation. Be sure to involve the media and government agencies in your plan.

6. Public agencies and public managers are ultimately involved in implementing every policy. Explain their involvement in the context of your policy.

7. What role(s) might Congress play after the policy is in the hands of the agency?

8. You head the agency tasked with important implementation of this policy. What challenges do you expect, and how will you deal with them? Describe at least three challenges and give at least one recommendation for each challenge. (Your challenges and recommendations will vary based on the policy, its current stage, the agency, and other factors. Consider the possibility of political intrusions into agency work, media opposition, interagency collaborations, continued media scrutiny, budget shortfalls, and vague goals).

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Class Exercise 4: Organizational Structure and Reform

Linking Exercise to Chapter Materials: Chapter 8 is about organization structure, design, technology, and information technology. This chart reflects the relationship between various organizations before the formation of an umbrella Homeland Security Department. Divide the class into small groups to consider the organizational structure and to discuss the following questions. Reconvene the class in approximately twenty minutes to discuss the groups’ responses.

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Class Exercise 4: Questions on Organizational Structures

1. How might we measure complexity in this chart?

2. How would we measure centralization?

3. What parts of the organization appear to be organized by function?

4. Do any parts of the organization appear to be “customer focused”?

5. What complexities can you identify with regard to chain of command?

6. Does the structure or any of its parts suggest resources sharing?

7. Do you think the complexities justify a new Homeland Security Department?

8. What are the challenges in reforming and redesigning these organizations?

9. What do we know about structural forms such as matrix, functional, divisional, and other types that might help with reorganization decisions?

10. How is knowledge of different integration devices useful?

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Class Exercise 5 : Organizational Structure: Identifying the Dimensions

Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 8 focuses on organizational structure, design, technology, information technology, and social media. This exercise provides an opportunity to consider the organization structure of a public agency in detail and to discuss its implications. This exercise can take anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour, depending on class and group sizes and the amount of time allotted for presenting responses to the class. When dividing questions among groups, questions 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 are likely to require the most time.

Group Exercise: The organizational chart of the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (PLA) is illustrated below. Its mission, as stated on the agency’s website, is “To provide efficient and effective administrative support services to Indiana’s professional licensing boards and commissions in order to facilitate the delivery of competent consumer services by regulated professionals to the citizens of Indiana . . . and further to provide an expedient licensing process for regulated professionals by maintaining a climate that fosters the growth of commerce while ensuring the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of our great state.”

Discuss the following questions as a group and prepare brief responses or comments to present to the class.

1. Whom does the PLA serve? Whom does the PLA’s main clientele serve? Is this evident in the organizational chart?

2. What structural types can be identified within the chart (functional, product or service, hybrid, matrix, market or customer, and so on)?

3. Are there clear chains of command? Where?

4. What environmental stimuli might you expect in this type of organization? How could the structure be adjusted to rapidly respond to changes in regulations that guide the agency or its main clients?

5. What are the benefits of the design characteristics? What are the disadvantages?

6. Do you think the structure of the organization is consistent with its mission? Is the mission or part of the mission reflected in the chart? What structural reforms, if any, would you suggest to align the organizational structure with its mission?

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7. How could the structure be adjusted to reflect a regional focus?

8. Using the chapter on organizational goals and effectiveness as a guide, do you see any problems with the organization’s goals (as stated)? How could the structure be adjusted so that a client group possesses its own expertise in the areas of accounting or other major functions?

9. If the PLA decided to monitor consumer complaints for each group, how might its structure be adjusted? What structural changes would you suggest for direct monitoring of complaints? What structural changes would you suggest for indirect monitoring of complaints? What resistance to these types of reforms could you expect ? How would you address the resistance?

10. Can you identify interdependencies in the organization chart? Use the chart and the types and definitions of interdependencies to explain alternatives for processing complaints.

Indiana Professional Licensing Agency

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Class Exercise 6: Organizational Structure and Its Implications

Note to Instructor: This exercise has two parts, Section I and Section II. Both sections challenge students to think about organizational structure and its implications for communicating, controlling, and coordinating activities. Students will apply the terms and concepts from Chapter 8. They will also integrate some of the discussions about environmental influences from chapter four.

In Section II of the exercise, students link theories and ideas discussed in class to real-life managerial challenges.

Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of four or five students; thirty to forty-five minutes for the groups to discuss and answer questions; twenty to thirty minutes for groups to present answers to the questions and for class discussion. If the exercise is completed entirely in class, student group time is estimated at forty-five minutes. As an alternative, students can start the exercise at home individually and then complete as a group in class. If students start the exercise at home, student group time is estimated at thirty minutes.

Topic Introduction and Instructions: Organize into groups of four or five. Read the scenario and then answer the questions as a group. We will reconvene in about _____minutes.

Class Exercise 6: Handout

Scenario: You are the regional manager of a housing assistance agency, and you have decided to break up each regional office into departments that specialize by job function. The new organizational structure will be highly differentiated, and you want to consider the implications your design will have for communicating, exercising authority, and coordinating activities.

Section I

1. Give your agency a name and a mission. (Your mission should be no more than a few sentences.) Be specific about the main purpose for the agency and the clientele you serve.

2. Draw a before and after hypothetical organizational chart. Remember that your new design is more differentiated compared to the older version.

3. Describe your new structure in the following terms:

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a. Is it a functional structure, a hybrid structure, or a matrix? Why have you chosen this form? How will the structure you have chosen facilitate your mission? Why is it preferable to other structures?

b. How centralized is the authority? Will this be a problem or an opportunity, given your organization’s main goals?

c. How complex is your organization? Will this be a problem or an opportunity, given your organization’s main goals?

4. What units will be mainly responsible for working with the public?

5. What technology do you expect to use for work processes? How might this affect the structure?

6. What environmental influences do you expect to affect your agency most? (Recall dimensions of the environment discussed in Chapter 4)

7. All organizations rely on information for critical tasks. What information will be most important to your agency? Explain how information will be processed, vertically and laterally within your organization.

Section II

Fortunately, you have some good consultants to guide you in your restructuring. What suggestions or advice might the following consultants provide?

Write a brief paragraph explaining the tenets or key principles espoused by the theorist(s) and then apply to your organization.

Burns and Stalker:

Lawrence and Lorsch:

Mintzberg:

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Class Exercise 7: Decision-Making Exercise

Linking Exercise to Chapter Materials: Chapter 7 explicates decision-making techniques and the problems with assumptions of the fully rational model. Chapter 12 discusses group dynamics, communication, and conflict, and briefly notes several decision-making techniques, including the Delphi method, brainstorming, and the nominal group technique. This exercise is designed to familiarize students with different group decision-making techniques and to expose their advantages and disadvantages.

Instructions: Divide the class into groups of five or six students. Groups are assigned different decision-making techniques. One technique may be assigned to more than one group depending on the size of the class. The class reconvenes in approximately twenty minutes and a spokesperson from each group explains the technique used and the decision outcome. Next, a chart (see below) is used to check off the attributes of each technique. The chart can be recreated on the blackboard or provided as a handout. The instructor then leads a class discussion on the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of the various techniques. The relevant boxes are checked. In the end, students experience the techniques firsthand and have a framework for considering the relevance of each under various circumstances.

The Decision Under Consideration

Your university is deciding whether or not to require an advanced statistical course as part of the Masters of Public Administration degree. Only one statistical course or research methods course is already required.

Group 1: Use the brainstorming technique to generate as many arguments as possible in favor of the new requirement.

Group 2: Use the brainstorming technique to generate as many arguments as possible against the proposal.

Group 3: The Delphi Group will consider different types or backgrounds of experts to hire and that may be useful in informing the decision. The group will decide on three experts and assign the role of each expert to a member of the group. Each expert will give a recommendation, justifying his or her reasoning in a few sentences. For example, if the decision was about building a sports facility on campus instead of adding a course, a financial expert may recommend against the decision and justify the recommendation with a statement such as this: “After a thorough consideration of the existing university budget and after considering other possible sources of funding, and the possible revenue generated from the facility, the facility will not break even and will further deplete funds that the university desperately needs.” A fourth person will act as coordinator of the group. The coordinator will summarize the recommendations and decide which offers the most convincing argument.

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Group 4: This group will use the Nominal Group Technique. This is a refinement of brainstorming that generates alternatives and then chooses one. In this case, the group would first agree on all important considerations that will matter to a decision. For example, if the decision was about whether or not to build a new sports facility on campus, one consideration might be the total amount of funds needed for the project, another consideration might be whether the existing facilities were still adequate. The group then lists the considerations. Each member individually ranks the considerations in order of importance. (another way to think of this is that each member gets to nominate a consideration as most important and nominate other considerations as ranked in importance) . Each member then ranks the considerations in order of importance (in their opinion). A “1” indicates the decision of most importance, a “2” the second most important, and so on. The scores are totaled. The consideration with the lowest overall total (most important) is determined to be most important.

Group 5 is not assigned a technique but simply asked to decide in their own way whether it is wise to add the requirement to the MPA program.

Group 6 is asked to use a strictly rational technique to arrive at a decision.

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Rational Model

Unstructured Model

Delphi Nominal Brainstorming

Encourages creative decision making

Has the advantage of making each person feel important in a decision

Can tend to produce a group think answer

Produces a tendency for polarization-shifts towards the more extreme attitudes or personalities of membersNot very useful when many facts are unknownAssumes decision makers can be fully rational Works when there are high levels of uncertaintyAllows equal participation by all

Minimizes digression

Works when a decision is needed quicklyWorks in a highly politically charged environment with controversial issues or strong opinions

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Class Exercise 8: Considering Fiedler’s Theory of Leadership

Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 11 discusses several leadership models. This helps students understand the particulars of Fiedler’s LPC situational model. Six short narratives are provided. The questions that follow the narratives aid students in understanding the main tenets of each theory and also provide a basis for an assessment of the theory’s usefulness. In the process students also consider the factors that may be important for developing their own style of leadership.

Instructions: Divide the class into groups of three to five students. Read the following narratives and the overview of Fiedler’s theory. Then answer the questions below. The class will reconvene in thirty to thirty-five minutes, at which time someone from your group will explain your group’s conclusions.

A. You have just been transferred from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to the Division of Economic Development (DED) within a large city. Your new position places you at the top of the department. Many employees at the DED are concerned that an “outsider” is not the best person for the position; some of whom had applied for the position themselves. Your first priority is to develop a procedural manual to formalize all the existing policies.

B. You manage a regional office at the Internal Revenue Service. Your busiest time is from January through the end of April each year. To deal with the increase in activity, you hire several temporary workers. The temporary workers need a good deal of training to be brought up to speed.

C. You have been named the interim agency head of the Montana Licensing Board, a state agency that oversees the regulation of occupational licenses. A permanent agency head will be appointed in four months when the newly elected governor is installed. The licensing agency was formed only last year; most of its work was previously under the jurisdiction of other state-level agencies. Due to budget cuts your office has just lost five key employees. Your task is to make up for the loss of staff by assigning additional work to existing personnel.

D. You manage a group of workers charged with the task of opening envelopes and recording payments all day. You have been in this same position for five years. The job of your subordinates can become monotonous, and most consider it not very challenging.

E. You are a middle manager in a city planning department, and your boss is very overbearing. She makes most decisions on her own and rarely considers the opinions of others within the organization before implementing major changes. Many of your colleagues who are also middle managers resent your boss. You are sympathetic to your colleagues but also see value in some of the decisions made by your boss. You must contact known private developers to vote on a housing

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project.F. You manage the R & D department in a two-year-old technology company in

which everyone knows everyone else and everyone seems friendly. The company has over a thousand employees with offices in the northeast and midwest parts of the country. The company has recently lost a significant portion of its business to competition in India. You have an idea that involves extending the consulting part of the business to regain market share lost to your global competitors. The new services require installing a complicated communications system to coordinate activities with other companies spread across Europe and Asia.

Overview of Fiedler’s Theory

Fiedler’s theory holds that different leadership styles can be effective depending on whether a style properly matches the contingencies facing the leader.

Let us assume that the individual leaders in the cases just listed recently took a test administered by Fiedler. They answered questions and described their least preferred co-workers (LPC), that is, the people with whom they have worked least well. According to Fiedler, this instrument measures an individual’s leadership orientation. Low scores indicate task-oriented individuals and high scores indicate ranked-relationship-oriented individuals. The test includes a scale something like this:

Unfriendly Friendly

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Uncooperative Cooperative

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Unsupportive Supportive

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

The leaders in scenarios A, B, and E scored high on the LPC scale. The leaders in scenarios C, D, and F scored low in the LPC scale.

Fiedler’s theory holds that either leadership style can be effective depending on the situation. The key is to match the leadership style to the situation. Fiedler argued that personality is not easy to change, but task is; therefore, effectiveness requires “job engineering”—changing the situation to fit the leader.

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Three situational characteristics are important:

1. Leader-Member Relations, referring to the degree of mutual trust, respect, and confidence between the leader and the subordinates.

2. Task Structure, referring to the extent to which group tasks are clear and structured.

3. Leader Position Power, referring to the power inherent in the leader’s position itself.

When all three situations are good, the leader enjoys the most favorable situation. When all three are bad, the leader enjoys the least favorable situation. Situations can also be a mix of good and bad.

Fiedler found that low-LPC leaders are more effective in extremely favorable or unfavorable situations, whereas high-LPC leaders perform best in situations with intermediate favorability.

Assignment

1. Discuss the situational characteristics in scenarios A through F.2. Decide as a group if the situations are favorable, unfavorable, or mixed.3. Decide if, on the basis of Fiedler’s theory, the leader is likely to be effective or

ineffective.4. In what ways might you modify the situational characteristics to improve

effectiveness?5. Do you think Fiedler’s theory holds weight? Explain.

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Class Exercise 9: Considering the Path-Goal Model of Leadership

Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 11 discusses several leadership models. This exercise uses the same six narratives as those provided in the Fiedler leadership exercise. It is intended to help students understand the particulars of the path-goal model of leadership. The questions that follow the narratives aid students in understanding the main tenets of the theory and also provide a basis for an assessment of its usefulness. In the process, students also consider the factors that may be important for developing their own style of leadership.

Instructions: Divide the class into groups of three to five students. Read the narratives and the overview of the path-goal theory. Then answer the questions that follow. The class will reconvene in thirty to thirty-five minutes, at which time someone from your group will explain your groups’ conclusions.

According to the path-goal theory of leadership, leadership effectiveness involves satisfying and motivating subordinates. The job of a leader is to (1) offer rewards, (2) clarify paths to effectiveness, and (3) remove obstacles to effectiveness. However, the effectiveness of the leader depends on situational factors that fall into two main categories:

Environmental factors include outside authority structure and task structure. For example, is the task highly structured? Is there a formal authority system in place?

Follower characteristics include locus of control and perceptions of experience and ability. If a person has an internal locus of control, he or she believes that effort and hard work lead to success, whereas a person with an external locus of control tends to believe that success is as much due to chance and random events as much as anything else. These factors determine how the environment and leader behavior are interpreted. How competent an individual believes he or she is also matters.

According to the path-goal theory, these two main contingencies—environment and follower characteristics—determine the leader behavior-outcome relationship.

Four leadership styles are considered by House and Mitchell:

1. Directive leadership refers to situations in which the leader lets subordinates know exactly what is expected of them and how to go about reaching expectations. This style enhances satisfaction and expectancies if the task is ambiguous. The theory argues that this style is most effective when the subordinates’ roles and task demands are ambiguous and intrinsically satisfying. Directive style is applied when the subordinate has an external locus of control. However, a directive style is not appropriate

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when subordinates perceive themselves as highly competent. Outside authority reduces the need for a directive style.

2. Supportive leaders show concern for the psychological well-being of subordinates. This style is most needed lead when tasks and relationships are likely to cause a high degree of stress or when tasks are frustrating. Supportive style is less effective and less needed when there is a team environment.

3. The achievement-oriented leader behavior refers to situations inwhich the leader sets high goals and expects subordinates to perform at their highest level. This style is best for ambiguous tasks, which allow or require ambitious goals.

4. The participative leader encourages suggestions and opinions. This style is predominant when subordinates are very involved and attached to their work. Ambiguous tasks call for a participative style, especially when self-esteem is at stake. Participative style is also most appropriate when a subordinate has an internal locus of control.

In contrast to the Fiedler, the path-goal model states that the leader is flexible and that leaders can adopt any of the four styles as the situation dictates.

Assignment

1. Read scenarios A through F in Class Exercise 8.2. Recommend a leadership style based on path-goal theory. Do you agree with the

logic put forward by the path-goal model? Explain.3. Are there any situations that call for a mixed approach?4. Are there situations in which you can’t determine a leadership style on the basis

of the path-goal model? What would be your personal choice of leadership style? Explain.

5. What situational factors do you believe are most important to determining the appropriate leadership approach?

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Class Exercise 10: Analyzing the Environment:Applying and Comparing Theoretical Perspectives

Linking Exercise with Chapter Material: Chapter 4 includes several pages of discussion under the heading “Recent Trends in Research on Organizational Environments.” In this section, the author discusses resource dependence, ecological perspectives, institutional perspectives, and transaction cost economics. This assignment is designed to help students compare and contrast the theories and their applications. There is a handout that goes with the assignment. The instructor can give students the handout just prior to the assignment or as a take-home the week before the assignment.

Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of four to five students; thirty to forty minutes for group work. Twenty minutes for groups to present their work and for class discussion.

Topic Introduction and Instructions: Chapter 4 includes several pages of discussion under the heading “Recent Trends in Research on Organizational Environments.” In this section the author discusses resource dependence, ecological perspectives, institutional perspectives, and transaction cost economics. This assignment is designed to help you compare and contrast the theories and their applications.

Organize in your groups. Review the handout and then answer the questions. We will reconvene to discuss in abut thirty minutes.

Class Exercise 10: Handout

1. Which theory emphasizes that relationships have implications for power and influence? What does this mean for the public manager considering whether or not to enter into a long-term contract? What does this mean for the public manager contemplating a contract when there is only one bidder? What does the theory imply for contracting critical services, such as national security?

2. Which theory do you think emphasizes the role of the public manager in decision making? Which theory tends to underemphasize the role of the manager?

3. Which theory posits that the culture and rules of an organization are a main driver of organizational form? Explain how an “institution” might affect organizational outcomes? Explain how different organizational forms come about according to the institutional perspective?

4. Explain how one organization might do very well and expand while another may not survive according to the ecological perspective. How might the political environment shape the organization according to institutionalism? Why do organizations evolve to look like other organizations, according to the institutional perspective?

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5. Give an example of isomorphism.

6. Using the resource dependence perspective, explain why an organization might decide to merge with another organization. Also explain why an organization might avoid merging with another organization.

7. Public managers often make decisions about whether or not to enter into long-term contracts with suppliers. What are the main considerations for entering into such a contract according to the transaction cost economics perspective? How do these considerations differ from the resource dependence perspective?

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Class Exercise 11: Contracting-Out and Transaction Costs

Note to Instructor: This exercise challenges students to think about the contracting out decision from the perspective of transaction cost economics.

Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of four to five students; thirty to forty minutes for group work. Twenty minutes for groups to present their work and for class discussion.

Topic Introduction and Instructions: The decision on whether or not to contract out is one of the most important and most difficult decisions for public managers.

Oliver Williamson examined the contracting decision or, as he called it, the “make- buy” decision, from the perspective of transaction cost economics. Transaction costs include costs related to gathering information about potential vendors and pricing, managing the bidding process, negotiating the contract, specifying the contract, controlling the quality of deliverables, renegotiating costs, and resolving potential disputes. Williamson concludes that some modes of governance (markets, firms, and hybrids) are better suited to some transactions and poorly suited to others. For example, more complex services are better matched to hierarchies rather than the market. According to Williamson, hierarchies (or internalizing) are superior to market modes for handling transactions that involve high degrees of coordination or high degrees of uncertainty. Williamson also advises that the terms of the contract should be matched to the circumstances. For example, longer contracts are better when uncertainty levels are low. Managers should also carefully think about the level of control and incentive schemes to achieve expectations.

In the context of public services, the public manager must also consider potential affects on employee morale, civil service regulations, political implications, and potential losses in production and management capacity, as well as the cost to bring the service back “in-house” if the contract does not work out. These are also potential transaction costs.

Organize into groups of four or five. As a group, describe one service that you know government has contracted out. If possible, use an example that is controversial, perhaps one that you have read about in the news. Your example can be from any level of government—city, county, state, or federal.

Discuss the contracting decision as a group. Design a chart comparing or considering all possible transaction costs for at least three modes of delivery. When you have completed your assessment, make a recommendation for the best mode of delivery. We will reconvene in about thirty minutes for further discussion.

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Class Exercise 12: Organizational Change and Motivation

Note to Instructor: This exercise challenges students to link theories and ideas discussed in class to real-life managerial challenges. The scenario used for the exercise will be familiar to the students, as it was used in the exercise on organization structure (Class Exercise 6). However, in the present exercise students are asked to think about the implications for employee satisfaction and motivation. They will apply the terms and concepts from Chapters 9 and 10.

Estimated Class Time: Five minutes to organize in groups of four to five students; thirty to forty-five minutes for the groups to discuss and answer questions; thirty minutes for groups to present answers to the questions and for class discussion. If the exercise is completed entirely in class, student group time is estimated at forty-five minutes. As an alternative, students can start the exercise at home individually and then complete as a group in class. If students start the exercise at home, student group time is estimated at thirty minutes.

Topic Introduction and Instructions: Organize into groups of four or five. Read the scenario and then answer the questions as a group. We will reconvene in about fifteen minutes. You may remember the scenario from our exercise on organization structure. Although the scenario is the same, in this exercise you will focus on the implications of your restructuring for employee satisfaction and motivation.

Class Exercise 12: Handout

Scenario: You are the regional manager of a housing assistance agency and you have decided to break up each regional office into departments that specialize by job function. The new organizational structure will be highly differentiated, and you will have to make some tough decisions about the employee’s positions and task reassignments. You know that changes do not come easily to most employees, but you will have to motivate the employees to get behind the changes.

Fortunately, you have the resources to hire the very best consultants to guide you. What suggestions or advice might the following consultants provide?

Write a brief paragraph explaining the tenets or key principles espoused by the theorist(s) and then apply to the situation. When applying the theories to the current situation, feel free to build on the facts from your previous exercise (organization structure). The more specific you are in the application, the more likely you will be to remember the theories and how to apply them.

Chester Barnard:

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J. Stacy Adams:

Frederick Hertzberg:

Douglas McGregor:

David McClelland:

B.F. Skinner:

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Section Four: Case Studies

Moving the Maisenbacher House

Linking Case Study to Chapter Materials: In this case students are introduced to the nature and complexities of public management. The questions that follow the case provide an opportunity to discuss the topics in Chapters 1 and 2.

In 2007 Springfield Clinic of Springfield, Illinois, purchased the Lincoln-era Maisenbacher House located at 1028 South Seventh St. The Maisenbacher house was built between 1855 and 1865. As the story goes, the original owner, Isaac Lindsay, completed the house with $650 he borrowed from Abraham Lincoln. But Springfield Clinic had other concerns besides the history of the house. It was in the midst of an expansion and the grand residence stood on property slated for a new parking lot. Within a few weeks, contractors were allowed to remove the plumbing, wiring and other fixtures in preparation for the demolition. Shortly thereafter, two citizens began an effort to preserve what was one of fewer than one hundred remaining structures in the city that predated the Civil War. Clinic officials granted the activists until April to organize a move for the 3,700-square-foot two-story Italianate brick building: if no plan could be organized, the building would be razed, but if their efforts were successful, they would have until November 2008 to complete the move.

Lacking funding, a buyer, or even a lot for relocation of the house, the pair embarked on a six-month odyssey of meetings with developers, historic societies, city and state officials, and dozens of other individuals and organizations in hopes of finding a solution to the dilemma. In early May, a private developer offered to move the structure to a lot just five blocks away to the corner of Seventh and Jackson Streets, across from the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. The move would also require the demolition of a structure on the new property deemed not worthy of saving. A complex transfer of ownership was arranged, and the Springfield Clinic itself committed to pay 80 percent of the cost of the move. In October, the city agreed to cover the remaining $55,000 for the move with federal grant money and spend $60,000 of city development funds for demolition of the other building. The local paper quoted Mayor Tim Davlin on the project: “I am pleased that everyone cooperated and worked together to make this happen, and I am looking forward to seeing the house begin a new life at a new location.”

In mid-November, with much fanfare, the Maisenbacher was rolled five blocks—where it was parked on a side street for thirty days. At that time, it became apparent that not only was there was no permanent foundation for the building, there was no design and none in development. As could be expected, much criticism followed in the local press. The city council balked at the mayor’s request for an additional $822,000 to design and build a foundation to begin restoration. A temporary rock pad was constructed and the house was lowered onto a temporary foundation of railroad ties. In February, the council approved a much-reduced request of just under $280,000. Finally, a new foundation was constructed

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under the building during the summer of 2009. But all was not done: future renovation costs were estimated at more than $1 million, perhaps as much as $2 million.

Source: This case was written by Jeffrey Paine, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis

Discussion Questions1. What went wrong in moving the Maisenbacher?

2. Who are the stakeholders?

3. What is the role of Springfield in the Maisenbacher case? What are the goals of the city? How will you know if government is effective?

4. From the perspective of a city manager, what complexities are inherent in the case?In what ways might the environment shape the public manager’s job in this case?

5. What competencies would best prepare a public manager to be effective in the Maisenbacher case?

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The Case of the Vanishing VolunteersHal G. Rainey

In a suburban county outside a large city, the Parks and Recreation Department has been run for decades by a friendly, popular director who has run the volunteer program for the department by himself. He had a network of friends throughout the county that served as volunteer coaches, as teachers in recreational programs (art, music, dance, exercise), and in other roles. In turn, these volunteers drew in other volunteers to serve as timers, scorers, and assistants, and in the other necessary roles. The director loved working with this network of friends that he had developed over the years, and the volunteer program virtually ran itself, with the director’s administrative assistant simply filling a roster with the names of people who called in, chatted with the director, and then chose a role.

The director has now retired, after a large banquet with numerous warm testimonials and expressions of appreciation. The new director is younger and new to the county. The county commissioners and county administrator hired her in part out of respect for her administrative training (a master’s degree and various training programs) and administrative skills that she displayed in her previous position as assistant director in the Parks and Recreation department of a medium-sized city. They have asked her to work on shaping up the department’s budgeting and financial procedures, its communications and accountability to the commission and the county administrator’s office, and its internal organization. Several of them have quietly mentioned to her that as much as they loved the former director, “Old Ed” was wonderful but wanted to do things his way, and “it was hard to know what was going on over there sometimes.” The county was under increasing financial pressure, and it would be harder and harder to grant the budget increases that Old Ed asked for, especially without the popular support he could always bring to help the commissioners justify the increase. In addition, auditors were becoming increasingly critical of the budgets and accounts of the department. No one suspected any wrongdoing, but organization and management clearly needed improvement.

The new director feels concerned about the loose organization of the volunteer program. Drawing on some of the policies at her previous organization, she initiates the requirement that volunteers will need to sign a waiver of liability, and to sign statements that they will follow a drug-free policy and avoid sexual harassment. She also begins considering setting up a training program for volunteers, through the National Youth Sports Coaches Association, and may ask the coaches to pay for their training. The word of these changes and possible changes spreads rapidly among the volunteers.

In getting to work on her various priorities, the new director finds the constant phone calls from volunteers to be too disruptive to her other work. Knowing that it is not a satisfactory long-term solution, she asks her administrative assistant to handle the conversations and assignments of the volunteers himself, as best he can. Within two weeks, problems arise. Soccer season is starting, and there is a shortage of coaches for the first time ever. The new director asks the administrative assistant to find more volunteers to serve as coaches. The assistant finds a few. He also reports back that some former

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coaches are refusing, saying they get the sense that their contributions are not really valued, and without Old Ed as center of the activity, it is just not the same any more. Some comment that the new requirements imply distrust and are demeaning, and involve too much red tape. The new director has to stop all other activity, get on the phone, and talk some of these reluctant volunteers into continuing. She shores up the soccer program for the time being. Some of these old-timers tell her that the problem will get worse when t-ball and baseball season starts. She also hears that the exercise and dance instructors have told the administrative assistant that they may not continue.

The new director has called in your group to assist her in improving the volunteer program. She asks that you advise her on what to do about the volunteers. She can only offer you a small consulting fee and lunch, but you have agreed to try to help because you are so good-hearted and professional.

Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, University of Georgia

Discussion Questions

1. Where does the new director stand now? What are the first questions you would ask about her current situation, or the first key observations, that are pertinent to assessing her volunteer program and what should be done with it? Please list at least five key points or questions. Be able to discuss how these points relate to concepts and frameworks covered in the course.

2. What should the new director do? What are key points and priorities for a well-managed volunteer program? What conditions, arrangements, policies, and procedures should she definitely try to establish? Please list at least five key points or priorities. Discuss how these relate to concepts and frameworks covered in the course.

3. How does the case reflect the challenges of managing in a public sector context?

4. What should other authorities do to help her? What could other levels of administration and government do to support her volunteer efforts?

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Grandtown’s New Public Library

In a 6-4 vote the city council of Grandtown has decided to renovate and relocate its library. The library is currently located in a rural area near the edge of town. The facility is over sixty years old and has been in need of renovation for years, but as in many cities, fiscal constraints have stood in the way of any improvements. The planned location is a commercial property adjacent to a frequently visited strip mall. Walmart is planning to build a store on the same lot. The library and Walmart will share one large parking lot. Residents of Grandtown will be able to combine their trip to the grocery store with a trip to the library.

The plans have not been finalized, but the city and Walmart have entered into an “Agreement of Intent to Co-locate.” The city has been negotiating the details with Walmart executives for about a year. Grandtown’s goal is to obtain a contract similar to an agreement between the City of Dallas and Kroeger, which has received a lot of press lately. By all accounts the relationship between Dallas and Kroeger has been a big hit. The building design there is so impressive that it won an award from the Texas Society of Architects, and usage of the library has increased every year since the city and Kroeger began their working relationship. Grandtown’s list of objectives for the partnership is consistent with the contract executed in Dallas. The important details are as follows:

Replace the old 6,500 square foot facility with a new, more modern 9,000 square foot facility. The library will occupy one corner of the building, which will be connected to a new Walmart store.

The property will be owned jointly by the city and Walmart.

Walmart will design and construct the library. The corporation will complete the site planning, conduct environmental testing, install lighting, and landscape the property.

The city will approve Walmart’s zoning applications, which are currently the subject of much controversy. As is the case with many Walmart stores, the local residents are not all convinced that having a Walmart is in their best interest.

A committee appointed by the city council will work with library staff and Walmart’s architects on designs for the modern facility. The design will meet or exceed city requirements for approved building materials, disability access, and other specifications required by various ordinance and codes.

Walmart will hire the construction crew and oversee the workmanship. Once the library and store are constructed, Walmart will designate a small area within its store to issue library cards.

The library will designate a children’s area and maintain qualified staff to watch children while their parents shop. From Walmart’s perspective, the plan will draw more

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customers. From the city’s perspective, more children will be exposed to reading.

Discussion Questions

1. What do you think of the city’s plan? What are the advantages and disadvantages to the co-location?

2. After the co-location, will the library still be a “public organization”? Explain how you arrived at your answer. Will it lose any of its “publicness”?

3. In what ways might the objectives of Grandtown and Walmart conflict? Is the plan in the best interest of the citizens of Grandtown?

4. With respect to operations in the library, in what ways might the lines of authority be compromised?

5. Where do you think the impetus for the plan came from?

6. What forces do you think have influenced the city council debate and in what way?

7. According to accounts in Dallas, the agreement between the library and Kroeger “saved the library”? Do you think this is true?

8. Are any aspects of the plan more or less acceptable? Discuss your reasoning.

9. How will the city council know if the plan is a success?

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The Case of the Crummy ContractHal G. Rainey

The new director described in the “vanishing volunteers” case has also received another charge from the county administrator and commissioners. Due to budgetary pressures and tax resistance, the county must emphasize financial stringency. Two new county commissioners have just been elected after campaigns emphasizing that they would seek to cut the county’s budget and find more efficient ways of managing programs and departments. Among other proposals, they are calling for more “privatization” and “contracting-out” to improve the efficiency of county operations. They and others have emphasized this priority in discussions with the new Parks and Recreation director.

These pressures already existed before the new director and new commissioners arrived, and the former commissioner had responded to some degree. He had contracted with a local operator of fast food franchises to take over the food concessions at the three county parks and two county recreation centers. The county had previously operated these food service outlets, but normally broke even on them. The new operator contracted to run them and pay the county a small fee. When the contract was let, the former director told the commissioners that this fee would allow the county to actually make a little money instead of breaking even on the food concessions.

The contract is coming up for renewal soon. The new director receives word that one of the concessions in one of the parks has essentially shut down. They are only offering candy and cokes and similar food items, and not the hot dogs, hamburgers, and cooked items that they had previously offered. The contractor informs the new director that the stoves and refrigerator have broken down, and that the county must repair them for the cooked food service to resume. The contract did not specify who was to be responsible for maintaining the equipment, and the operator is arguing that it is the county’s responsibility. The expenses involved in performing the maintenance will erase the county’s small gain through the fee from the contractor.

In addition, the new director is receiving reports of complaints about the quality of the food, and of accumulating litter and trash near the food service outlets. In talks with the contractor, she finds that he takes the position that cleanliness outside the food service outlets is not his responsibility. He says she needs to assign more maintenance personnel to clean up.

Some people have called to complain that they used to plan picnics based on using the food from the outlets, but the food and service had deteriorated and they would not do so any longer. The new director increasingly forms the impression that the contractor, experienced in running fast food franchises supervised and supported by national corporations, was not prepared for some of the new conditions in the county food services (for example, no central supply of foods and other supplies, or central support on equipment maintenance). From her conversations with the contractor, she worries that he may renege on the fee to the county, since he has hinted that if he loses money he does not have to pay the fee. The contract is loosely drawn, and she intends to talk to the county attorney about whether the contractor could get away with this action. The county attorney is also a private contractor with the county, and is not very responsive to requests for his time. Talking with the attorney, moreover, will not really solve the problem.

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Even if the food services contractor did not have sound legal grounds, she is loathe to get into a legal and public dispute with him, since he is a prominent local businessman with connections to the new county administrators and other members of the business community.

In addition to these headaches with food services, the new director finds that the two new county commissioners and some of their friends in the business community are leading a push for more privatization. They have issued a policy statement from their Association of Brilliantly Efficient and Effective Business Entrepreneurs that calls for such steps, and their association president has appeared at a county commission meeting to promote the report and its main priorities. The statement asserts that county business organizations can provide services more efficiently and effectively than government-operated services, and that government operation of services that local businesses could perform represents unfair competition. Lauding the successful privatization of some county food services activities, they call for further initiatives in such areas as grounds maintenance, equipment maintenance and operation, and the operation of other facilities such as parks, swimming pools, and recreation centers. The county has a putt-putt golf range at one of the parks and the report specifically targets that activity for privatization.

Again, the new director finds that the county’s contracting process has been run rather informally and personally by the beloved former director. There is no evidence of any illegality, but the process needs better management.

Again, also, your group, good-hearted professional public servants that you are, has agreed to serve as a poorly compensated advisory group to try to help out a fellow professional and public servant.

Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, University of Georgia

Discussion Questions

1. What does the new director know or need to know? Prepare a list of key questions or points of information about the current situation that you and she need to consider, in assessing the current situation and preparing a response to it. Please list at least five key questions or points and explain how they relate to ideas and concepts covered in the course.

2. Where does the new director need to go? What should she strive to achieve, in the organization and processes for contracting in the department? What conditions, arrangements, policies, and procedures should she definitely try to establish? Please list at least five priorities and explain how they relate to matters covered in the course.

3. How does the case involve the implications of managing in a public sector environment?

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4. What could other levels of government and authority do to support her management of privatization and contracting?

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The Case of Joe the Jerk (Or, the Very Capable Jerk)Hal G. Rainey

Instructions: As you read and think about the motivation theories and work-related attitudes that we will cover, consider the following case, and the following questions:

1. What different perspectives on the case would the different theories take? What would they emphasize and point to as most important? What kinds of solutions or alternatives would they suggest?

2. Can you see gaps or weaknesses in the different theories, that come out in trying to apply them to the case? Are some of the concepts and theories more useful for this case than others?

3. What would you advise Joan to do about Joe? Can you ground any of your advice in the theories or ideas about motivation that we cover in the readings and class discussion?

You have been asked to consult with a module manager in a public service center of the Social Security Administration. A module is a group of about forty workers who work together in processing claims for social security coverage (that is, requests for the beginning of payments, or other services such as changes and information). A module has all the specialists needed to process a claim from beginning to end—claims authorizers, benefits authorizers, file clerks, and typists or word processors. Each module has a module manager (hereafter, MM) and two assistant module managers (AMMs), who lead and manage the team of workers in the module.

The MM, Joan, has a serious concern about one of the AMMs, Joe. Joe is very intelligent, talented, and younger than most AMMs. As far as his knowledge of the work and technical details is concerned, he is extremely promising and has excellent prospects to move up to become MM and then move on up beyond that. Joe, however, is arrogant in his dealings with the workers in the module. He talks down to people and treats them curtly and rudely. He behaves as if he deserves more special treatment and attention than the module members because he is an AMM. On the other hand, Joe also takes some stands and actions that are not necessarily bad or unjustified.

Following are some incidents that have occurred:

One of the file clerks arrives late fairly often. Joe has begun to confront her very aggressively, in front of the other members of the module, criticizing her for arriving late. He has initiated disciplinary action against her. Some other members of the module have pointed out to Joe and Joan that the file clerk is a young single mother with a lot of personal problems. Her brother was recently shot to death in a street fight, apparently drug related. Her child is sick a lot and she has problems getting good child care. Joe, however, insists on going forward with the disciplinary action, saying he cannot let a person arrive late regularly without being unfair to those who do arrive on time. Besides, he says, it is essentially illegal for him not to take action. Joan has to decide whether to intervene in the disciplinary action or let it go through.

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Joan is concerned about Joe’s effect on motivation and work satisfaction in the module. He speaks very condescendingly to module members who make mistakes, acting as if he is a lot smarter than they are—which is often true, in a sense. Joan arranged for a weekend retreat, during which the group went through some team development exercises with a consultant. Throughout the retreat and the exercises, Joe had a sneer on his face, and made sarcastic comments about the time the group was wasting on “touchy-feely nonsense.”

The members of the module have group meetings to discuss problems and changes. Joe has gotten up and walked out of a couple of these meetings, acting impatient with the discussion. He often frowns and rolls his eyes as members of the group are speaking. After the most recent of these incidents, the other AMM, who is excellent as a person and a manager, has told Joan that she is considering asking to transfer to another module or position because Joe is so unpleasant to work with, and because she feels that Joe is damaging morale in the module so badly that it is disrupting the work of the module.

Joan needs to make decisions about Joe:

Joan has to prepare a performance evaluation for Joe, of course. This will strongly affect his chances to move to higher positions. Also, the director of the center is forming a task force to plan and carry out an important change in work processes for the entire center. He has heard that Joe really knows his stuff, and has asked Joan what she thinks of having Joe appointed as either head of this task force or assistant head. (Joe minds his manners and behaves well in meetings when superiors from outside the module are present).

Joan is very impressed with Joe’s intelligence and ability. Joe does have a likeable side that often shows. She also knows that Joe’s wife has a long-term serious illness and is facing a series of operations at present, and that one of his children was seriously disabled in an accident two years ago. Joe often talks about being bored in his present position and wanting to move up or to somewhere where he can have more variety and responsibility. Joan wants to support and help Joe, and loathes the idea of having to confront him now with a bad evaluation and with the news that she has not supported his appointment to the task force. She has had a number of talks with Joe about his undesirable behavior and attitudes. She has tried to be very positive, praising his capabilities, telling him she really wants him to succeed, and pointing out that he has opportunities to move up. She urges him to show the good side she sees in him, but says that he needs to change. She has never really come down on him with a bad evaluation. In these discussions, Joe sits quietly with a slight smirk on his face, leaves the discussion without saying anything, and pouts for a day or so. The discussions have shown no effect on his behaviors. She is trying to decide what to do next. One possibility in addition to a bad evaluation is to begin the process of trying to have Joe demoted from AMM.

Please return to the questions at the beginning of the case and prepare responses to them.

Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, University of Georgia

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A Funeral in the Public Service CenterHal G. Rainey

For many years, the Social Security Administration (SSA) followed a very bureaucratized process for handling claims. A “claim” is a request for services, such as a retiree’s application for SSA to begin paying his or her social security benefits (that is, to start sending monthly checks to him or her). Claims handling also involves many different functions, such as updating records, adding and deleting dependents and relatives from records, handling changes in the requests, and other matters.

For years, the claims would be handled like this: a client (a citizen making a claim) would apply at a local Social Security Administration office, or by mail. The local office would forward the claim to one of eight public service centers (PSCs) in eight different regions of the country. At the PSC, a different unit would handle each different phase of handling the claim. One unit would receive the claim and route it to the others. Another unit had specialists, called claims authorizers, who would rule on the legality of the claim—did the person have a legitimate claim? Then a claim would be shipped, with a large batch of other claims, to a next unit that contained benefits authorizers, or specialists who would calculate how much the client should receive in social security payments. Then the claim would move to another unit for disbursement or payment of claims, and to another for filing and retention. This process was like a big assembly line, with the claim moving from one phase of the work to another.

Congress added many programs and specifications to social security and related programs. At the same time, the nation’s population grew and became more complex. The claims-handling process got much more complicated, and this assembly-line system began to have problems, such as many delays in handling claims and many lost claims. As an example of the problems with the system, when a benefits authorizer would find that a claims authorizer had not provided all the information about a claim that the benefits authorizer needed, the claim had to be delivered back to the claims authorization unit that had previously handled it. Often, the returned claim went back to a different person from the one who worked on it to begin with. This resulted in slow processing and frequent mistakes.

SSA went through a long period of trying to figure out how to resolve the problems, and finally decided to adopt a modular design in the PSCs. They put together in units, called modules, all the different specialists needed to process a claim—claims authorizers, benefits authorizers, typists, file clerks, and others. These groups worked together like teams. They would take a client’s claim and work it through to completion, so that they actually had the person as the client of their module—they could identify the clients as theirs. They could also communicate more readily with each other about any problems that came up. There were some tough problems in implementing this new system, but it worked out very well, and has become the standard design in the PSCs.

Time passes and brings changes that require adjustments by all people and organizations. Advances in information technology—computers and communications technology—brought changes for the SSA. The processing of claims became more computerized. Local offices handle

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many claims by entering the data directly into the main SSA computers in Baltimore, and getting answers back directly. This reduced the load of claims coming to the PSCs. In addition, the work in the PSCs became more computerized and automated through higher technologies. Claims authorizers and benefits authorizers handled more correspondence by simply hitting a key on the computer terminal that caused the needed correspondence to print out. This reduced the need for typists. More information was going directly into the computer, and requiring less paperwork, and this reduced the need for file clerks to file the papers. The modules needed fewer and fewer typists and file clerks. This created problems, because if a module needed only a couple of file clerks, and was only assigned two, the module became more dependent upon their work habits. If both file clerks were absent, the module managers had to do the filing to keep the module’s work going.

Social Relations Among Specialists. In the old system, a social and educational hierarchy existed among the specialists. Benefits authorizers were the most highly paid and highly trained, followed by claims authorizers, and then by typists and filing clerks. The filing clerks were often single mothers with low incomes and low educational levels. They often struggled with serious personal challenges in their lives outside of work. They would sometimes miss work or arrive late because of child care problems. When SSA moved to the modules, the move helped to break down social distance between these groups. The file clerks would work directly with the others, usually as friends and coworkers. Also, SSA tried to move file clerks up the ranks through training and development processes.

In one of the PSCs in the midwestern United States, the assistant director (A.D.) of the PSC had an idea for responding to the problem of the declining need for file clerks. He started a new organizational design, in which file clerks were assigned to special units, from which they would be farmed out, as needed, to the modules. The design was something like the old idea of a typing pool or secretarial pool. The problem was that the file clerks felt isolated and demoted by being taken out of their modules.

The A.D. learned of the file clerks’ unhappiness in a fairly dramatic way. In his office one day, he received a request from the members of the file clerks’ unit to come down to their office area. When he arrived, he found the office draped with black crepe and black balloons. A large black casket lay on a desk in the middle of the room. The file clerks, dressed in funeral clothing, began singing funeral hymns. A spokesperson for the group came forward to tell him that they were there to hold a funeral for the file clerks unit, to mourn the death of the file clerks.

The A.D. was stunned. He had heard that the file clerks were unhappy with the change he had made, but had not expected such a development. He was not sure how to proceed. He was not really sure what the “funeral” was supposed to mean or to communicate, except that the file clerks were unhappy. Questions were running through his mind. What should he do right now, as he faced the file clerks and their funeral? What should he do in the longer term? Should he discipline them? He knew that people in other units would be very aware of how he treated these file clerks and some would complain if he “let them get away” with such disruption and insubordination. Because of the problems mentioned earlier, that file clerks often had with late

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arrival or absences, the discipline and work habits of the file clerks were sensitive issues in the PSC.

Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, University of Georgia

Discussion Questions

1. Analyze the incident in relation to questions of values.

1a. What values was the A.D. promoting with the change?1b. What values were the file clerks emphasizing through their behavior?

2. What motivation concepts and theories help you to analyze the case?

3. What leadership concepts and theories help you to analyze the case?

4. On the basis of your answers to the preceding questions, make suggestions to the A.D. about actions he should take.

4a. What should he say and do, as he stands before the file clerks at their “funeral?”4b. Once he leaves the room and returns to his office, what should he plan to do in the longer term?4c. In advising him on actions to take, try to express the relations between your advice and important issues about values, motivation, and leadership.

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Habitat for Humanity of Medina: Confronting the Changing Times

Linking Case Study to Chapter Materials: In this case, students identify the internal and external pressures for change and then consider how they would lead an organizational change effort in a nonprofit organization. The case questions also link to Chapter 13 frameworks for change.

Julie Young is the executive director of the Habitat for Humanity affiliate located in Medina, Wisconsin. She oversees forty employees who work in various administrative, fundraising, and operations capacities to build fifty new homes per year in Medina and the surrounding areas. Twenty-three board members govern Habitat of Medina, including local business owners, city officials, major donors, and two Habitat homeowners.

Medina is characterized by high concentrations of poverty in the southern part of the city, and middle class and wealthy neighborhoods in the northern part. In an attempt to lessen high concentrations of low-income housing, Habitat’s board of directors developed a new strategic plan a few years ago that focused on building low-income homes in mixed-income developments. This mission shift came at a time when Medina’s housing market was booming, and private developers were pushing new neighborhood zoning approvals through the city council as fast as they could. With the support of donors, volunteers, and key city officials who served on its board of directors, Habitat lobbied for a requirement that new subdivisions include affordable housing. However, property values had fallen sharply nationwide over the past year, and Medina, like many other cities, was facing a high rate of foreclosures and a decrease in new home construction.

The foreclosure crisis prompted many private and government agency grant-makers to offer short-term loans for families in danger of defaulting, instead of providing funding to affordable housing organizations such as Habitat. In addition, banks were no longer buying Habitat mortgages, ending what had been a reliable income stream for Habitat over the past few years. Two for-profit home developers that had supported Habitat with financial and in-kind donations and volunteer labor had to lay off hundreds of employees and could no longer justify charitable donations.

An economic downturn caused a one-third decrease in individual donations to Habitat of Medina compared to the previous year. Habitat usually receives a large grant from the local United Way, but this year United Way decreased funding for community development organizations such as Habitat in order to give more funds to food banks and homeless shelters that were facing increased demand for services as the economic situation in the city worsened.

Julie reviewed the organization’s financials and realized they would have to cut back the planned fifty new homes for this year to just fifteen. Even with these cuts, she didn’t know if the organization could meet its payroll. Grant money was contingent on the completion of new homes; therefore, cutting back construction meant even fewer dollars would be coming in. The board advocated for staff reductions and salary cuts, but Julie knew firing and reducing pay would result in increased burnout for the employees who did remain on staff. Her staff and volunteers, meanwhile, were pushing to keep home construction at the organization’s original

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target of fifty because the wait list of families in need of homes was growing.

In response to public pressure for home foreclosure help, the city council asked Habitat to begin rehabbing homes for families who couldn’t afford repairs and to use grant money and donations to help families facing foreclosures. While the organization had rehabbed homes in the past, they had never offered foreclosure assistance in the form of loans or counseling, as their mission was to build homes in partnership with families in need. Neither of the city council’s recommendations aligned with the organization’s five-year strategic plan, and staff members were not trained in foreclosure assistance.

Facing resource shortfalls and a pressure to change the organization’s mission, Julie knows the organization needs to make some changes, but isn’t sure how to retain the support of the organization’s various stakeholders.

Discussion Questions

1. What are the external and internal pressures for change facing Habitat of Medina?

2. What are the possible ways in which this organization could change? How would the organization make these changes successfully?

3. What resistance to change should Julie expect?

4. What steps would Quinn and Cameron recommend Julie follow as she leads the organization in change?

5. How should Julie proceed if she wants to follow Greiner’s steps for successful organizational change?

6. How should Julie proceed if she wants to follow Kotter’s steps for successful organizational change?

7. In what ways does this case align with or differ from the distinct challenges that public organizations face when they change?

Source: This case was written by Sarah Schaefer, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis.

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Brookhaven National LaboratoryHal G. Rainey

I am involved in a study under a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a federal agency that, among other duties, supervises the national scientific and weapons laboratories, such as Los Alamos, Scandia, Oak Ridge, and Brookhaven. As part of the team doing this study, I am responsible for Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) on Long Island, New York. We are assessing the management of the laboratories, which is always handled by private sector contractors who have contracts from DOE to provide the management of the labs. The labs are called GOCOs, for “government-owned, contractor operated.” We have to assess whether this contracting-out of management is a good idea.

Brookhaven is a major scientific activity, on a five-thousand-acre compound. It has a distinguished history, with several Nobel laureates who have won their prizes on the basis of their work at BNL. There is a huge particle accelerator there, called the RHIC, that is the most important facility in the world for research by physicists on the nature of matter and of subatomic particles. The are also some major management and morale issues.

Now, switch to the Democratic National Convention of 2000, because something very relevant occurred there. Christy Brinkley, the supermodel, was a convention delegate from New York. She lives on Long Island, and has been part of a prominent outcry over nuclear radiation on Long Island. Interviewed on national television at the convention, she declared to the nation that her primary goal for becoming involved in politics is to shut down the nuclear reactors on Long Island.

What does this have to do with BNL? BNL used to have a nuclear reactor for research purposes, and it has already been shut down, due to protests and public criticisms from Ms. Brinkley, other celebrities who live on Long Island such as Alex Baldwin, national environmental protection activists, and citizens from the area. The scientists at BNL feel the reactor was safe. They feel that closing it was a sudden, unjustified response by DOE executives to the political heat from the public controversy.

In addition, several years ago, there was a small leak of tritium, a radioactive substance, discovered at BNL. The scientists feel that it was completely harmless, but when the news came out, the public—celebrities, activists, and citizens—reacted with a virtual hysteria. Many of the scientists at the lab were drawn into public meetings and controversies, trying to explain that conditions were safe at BNL. Their efforts were to no avail, and the controversy raged. Abruptly, the Secretary of Energy (the head of DOE) cancelled the contract for management of BNL that the former management group had held, and after some bidding brought in a new management group that currently manages BNL. Again, the scientists were concerned about the suddenness and lack of clear justification for this decision.

The new management group came in under pressure from DOE to do a lot to show the public that conditions at the lab are safe and will remain so. DOE also wanted the new management group to do a lot to increase attention to environmental protection and to health and safety at the

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lab. Examine the two attached organization charts. Look at the first major horizontal level below the director, where the associate and assistant directors are. Can you see changes from 1996 (Director Samios) to 1998 (Director Marburger) in the offices and positions, that reflect the pressures from the DOE (and the public) on the new management team? As part of these changes, the new management team put in a lot of rules and procedures about safety and environmental protection with which the scientists have to comply.

Many of the scientists feel very worried and upset about these changes and the turmoil that led to them. Some feel that they were already running a safe, secure, environmentally protective facility, and while they agree with the new rules, they consider a lot of them unnecessary red tape. Some also worry that many people at BNL feel insecure about its future, and good scientists are either leaving or refusing to accept employment there. Many BNL employees feel that they cannot really trust the leadership of DOE to make sound decisions about the lab, and that the future of the lab may be in jeopardy. A major challenge that the new management team has been trying to address involves reassuring the scientists and keeping the operations of the lab running smoothly.

Source: This case was written by Hal G. Rainey, Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, University of Georgia

Discussion Questions

1. What changes do you identify on the two organization charts? Just from what you know from the preceding description, how would you interpret them—why did the new team make these changes, and what were they trying to do?

2. The leaders of BNL face the challenge of organizing the lab. There is already an organization, but they have to try to better organize it. Thinking about this example, consider what it means to be “organized” and “better organized.” Make a list of at least five important characteristics or dimensions of an organization that managers need to focus on, when trying to decide how well they are organized and how to get better organized.

Discussion Questions for Later Chapters

1. Review the BNL material, and suggest the ways in which concepts of organizational structure, such as centralization, formalization, and others, apply to the case. For example, are formalization, centralization, complexity, and other dimensions increasing or decreasing, and in what apparent ways? See if you can find applications for other structural concepts as well, such as integrating devices, and general organizational forms, such as functional, divisional, hybrid, and matrix forms.

2. What concepts of technology and information technology can you apply?

3. The background materials that you have been provided do indicate that structural changes have been occurring at BNL. Why? How would you explain the influences on the structure from

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the environment, the tasks and technology, and other factors that influence organizational structure? Can you identify opposing pressures on the structure from some of these sources that are creating problems?

BNL: Facts and Important Information

The U.S. Department of Energy has authority over Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL).

The DOE contracts out the management of BNL.

—BNL is a “GOCO.”

—The DOE contracts with another organization, such as a university or aerospace firm, to provide management for BNL.

There is a public outcry over BNL.

—Celebrities (a supermodel and a popular actor), environmental groups, and local citizens worry about dangers from BNL.

—There are concerns over nuclear contamination (for example, a tritium leak).

The DOE seeks to tighten control over BNL.

—It shuts down the nuclear reactor at BNL.

—It fires management at BNL, then contracts with a new group for new management.

—It pressures the new contractor to strengthen procedures for nuclear safety, environmental protection and safety, public relations, and security of information and access to the lab.

Looking at the two organization charts, can you see the influence of the changes?

Why are the scientists concerned? What are the challenges for the new leadership of the lab?

The two organization charts that follow on the next pages are the chart for 1996 prior to the reorganization, and the chart for 1998 after the reorganization. How has the structure changed? Why?

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A Job for Laurie

Laurie Willer has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and has just graduated with an MPA in public affairs from a top ranked school. To earn money during her undergraduate years, Laurie worked part time every summer as a claims processor at the Department of Workforce Development. She also worked an internship at Lilly Pharmaceutical Company during her undergraduate senior year. Both jobs had been interesting, but Laurie particularly liked working at the Department of Workforce Development. Although her work there as a claims processor was monotonous at times, she felt a sense of reward helping people find jobs. In fact, it was that satisfaction that led Laurie to start on her master’s degree and to consider a different career path. With her MPA now in hand, Laurie has to think seriously about her career. Looking over the jobs posted at the University Career Center Laurie is still not sure what she is looking for in a career. On the bulletin board she reads over job descriptions for openings in three different positions, one in government, one for a Nonprofit organization, and one large For-profit company.

Discussion Questions

As you read through the job postings, consider the following:

1. What types of individuals are attracted to each of these jobs? What types of individuals are ill-suited for each of these jobs?

2. What motivation-related challenges can you identify for each job?

3. What motives and incentives do you think are specific to each organization?

4. How would you describe the culture of each organization?

5. Identify dependencies for each organization.

6. In what ways are each of these organizations likely to change over the next few years?

7. Provide some recommendations to successful organizational transformation?

8. How clear are the mission and goals of each organization?

9. Do the job descriptions adequately clarify the candidate’s responsibilities?

10. Is there a specific type of leader that you would expect to be successful in Job 1 (the public service)?

11. What factors are likely to affect a person’s performance in each job?

Job 1: Public Service

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Agency: Dept of Workforce Development Job Title: Supervisor Claims TakerJob ID: 5666Apply Before: 09/23/2009Location: Harding CountyEducation Required: Bachelor’s DegreeFull TimeRegularSalary: $44,500 startingJob Description: Supervisor will work in Employment Security Division overseeing representatives receiving and processing compensation benefits provided by various state and federal laws. Completed work is spot-checked for technical accuracy.Duties: Hire and train three new claims takers

Report weekly on productivity of existing office staff of twelve claims takers. Increase productivity of existing staff by 10 percent over a twelve-month period.

Description of staff responsibilities for employees that will be under your supervision: works at counter from 8:00 A.M. until 4:30 P.M. and takes initial and continued claims for unemployment compensation benefits; interviews claimants to obtain work history necessary to determine the type of claim to be filed; assists claimants in completing necessary forms required to file for unemployment compensation benefits; reviews forms for completeness, questions claimant in order to obtain information required by law and in order to determine that he has been available for work; posts claim balances on claimant record card and purges expired claims from files; prepares a variety of forms used for processing benefit payments such as pay authorization forms, change of name, and/ or address forms, tracer forms for non-receipted checks, and transfer forms for claims records between local offices; prepares correspondence concerning claimant information and compensation status; and performs related work as required.

Supervisor applies established guidelines that are applicable to individual situations. Most guidelines are received in written form, but judgment is required in determining types of claims that should be filed. Supervisors are also expected to be available for technical guidance and to spot-check completed work for technical accuracy. Errors are not easily detected and will result in delay in the processing of claims, causing possible incorrect payments and inconvenience to claimant.

Personal Work Relationships: Contacts are with local office staff, claimants, and employers in order to explain unemployment insurance programs available in order to effect payment of claims.

The State of Indiana is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Job 2: Full Time Program Coordinator, Mother-Daughter ProgramProgram Description: Mother-Daughter is a program designed to empower Latina girls to continue their education through high school and beyond by helping them to value the importance of education, develop self-esteem, foster supportive relationships, and explore future

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dreams and goals.

Job Description: Coordinate, manage, implement, and evaluate the Mother-Daughter program at three to four middle schools.

Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. La Plaza is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Specific Duties:

Develop annual goals and objectives and update or develop program materials

Organize, plan, and implement group sessions with students and monthly meetings with the girls and their mothers

Conduct home visits and maintain contact with participants and their mothers; offer referrals to community services and enrichment opportunities

Implement a mentor program (including recruiting, training, and supporting mentors)

Develop relationships and communicate with partner schools and community partners

Monitor academic progress of students

Research and schedule community service activities and educational field trips

Encourage continuing education support for the mothers, such as enrollment in English, GED classes, or other courses

Coordinate program recruitment

Maintain records of participants, activities, evaluations and events

Supervise and mentor college interns

Be available some evenings and at least one Saturday per month

Perform other duties as requested

Qualifications: Bachelors degree in social work, education, or related field; ability to lead and motivate youth; experience in facilitating groups. Applicant should be committed, responsible, enthusiastic, organized, and energetic.

Job 3: Associate Brand Manager-Lilly Pharmaceutical

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Location: IndianapolisEducation Required: Bachelors degreeFunctional Area: MarketingCompany Description: For more than 130 years, Lilly has been dedicated to meeting the health care needs of people in the United States and around the world. We address these needs primarily by developing innovative medicines—investing a higher percentage of our sales in research and development than any other major pharmaceutical company. If you are interested in being considered for employment with a “Best in Class” Pharmaceutical company, please review the following opportunity:

Job Description: This position is responsible for Lilly USA Multicultural Consumer marketing strategy, planning, and implementation across all brands. Transformational efforts include ensuring that diverse populations are appropriately represented in emotional insights discovery, consumer segmentation, white card development, campaign development, media or channel strategy and planning, implementation, and measurement. This position reports to the Director of Consumer Transformation, Lilly USA.

Key Objectives or Deliverables:

Redefine the Lilly approach to multicultural marketing from tactics and translations to holistic strategies and plans that are a natural extension of brands strategies

Lead development of multicultural consumer strategies and marketing plans, including insights, segmentation, white card, campaign, media or channel strategy, and planning

Be accountable for multicultural funding, plan implementation, and business results

Ensure that all multicultural consumer efforts are insight- and data-driven, and deliver against specific brand objectives

Foster productive multicultural agency relationships (including ownership of the AORs) and manage integration among agency partners

Collaborate in the development of consumer marketing capabilities within Lilly USA; lead development of the multicultural marketing capabilities

Ensure that a multicultural consumer perspective is represented in clinical trials and label development

Develop as appropriate DDMAC pre-clearance strategy and implementation for multicultural initiatives

Collaborate with market research colleagues to deliver a meaningful multicultural measurement plan and specific consumer metrics

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Minimum Requirements:

Bachelors degreeProven track record in marketing strategy and planning, advertising and mediaBreadth and depth of agency management experience

Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to be employed in the United States. Lilly does not anticipate providing sponsorship for employment visa status (for example, H-1B or TN status) for this employment position.

Additional Skills or Preferences:

Alliance or partnership management experienceDemonstrated leadershipCritical thinking skills (strategic, analytical, creative)Effective communication skillsAbility to achieve results with othersRelationship management skillsExperience on both client and agency side a plusMBA preferred

Other Considerations:

Travel: 15 percent.Lilly credits its exceptional employees for its successes, and knows that the key to ongoing achievement lies in attracting and retaining the best people. A company rich in heritage, Lilly employs individuals, conducts research, and markets products worldwide. By providing for the unmet needs of our customers through a continuous stream of innovation, we will outgrow all competitors.

Lilly earns consistent and wide recognition for creating an exceptional work environment while maintaining our highly regarded reputation in the pharmaceutical industry and community:

Fortune Most Globally Admired Companies

Fortune Top Companies for Leaders in North AmericaChronicle of Philanthropy Most Generous Companies in the U.S.Business Week Magazine Best Places to Launch a CareerInformation Week 500 Most Innovative Users of TechnologyScience magazine Best Companies for ScientistsThe Scientist Best Places to Work in the IndustryBlack Enterprise Top 40 Companies for DiversityWorking Mother Best Companies for Working Mothers

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Source: This case was written by William Miller, Center for Policy Studies, Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies, The University of Akron

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Section Five: Examination QuestionsPart One: Identify the Scholar Associated with Each Concept

Write in the name of the scholar(s) associated with each idea. (There may be more than one possible answer to some questions). 2 points each.

1. Incrementalism2. Bounded rationality3. Functions of the executive4. Garbage Can Theory5. “One best way” to perform a task6. POSDCORB; the work of an executive7. Hierarchy of Needs8. Theory X and Theory Y9. Human Relations School10. The “Ideal Type” organization11. Organizations all have a degree of “publicness”12. Organic and mechanistic organizations13. Bureaupathology14. Organizations have a formal and informal component15. Co-optation16. Mixed scanning17. Hawthorne Studies18. Organizations and oligarchy19. Identifies the “Place of Power” in Organization Theory20. Modern structural theory21. The bases of social power22. “Power With” not “Power Over”; Giving of orders23. The Policy Window24. Zealots and advocates25. The Wealth of Nations; Invisible Hand

Part Two: Provide Short Answers (one or two paragraphs)

5 points each

1. Provide three symptoms of groupthink and three recommendations for preventing it.2. What are French and Raven’s five bases of power, and why are they important?3. What is meant by the term hollow state?

Part Three: Linking Readings and Theories to Practice

Develop organized essays for 12 points each.

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1. Discuss two studies of organization that were done in the 1960s and their contribution to adaptive and contingency theories. How did these studies add to or refine earlier thought? Within your answer provide an example of how contingency theory might be useful to a public manager.

2. Write an essay on some of the main contributions of Chester Barnard to organization theory. Provide examples of how Barnard’s thinking can be useful to public managers.

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of structuring an organization by product and function? Explain in the context of two different public organizations.

Final Exam Answers

Part One: Identify the Scholar Associate with Each Concept

1. Incrementalism: Charles Lindblom2. Bounded rationality: Herbert Simon3. Functions of the executive: Chester Barnard4. Garbage Can Theory: March, March, and Olsen; Cohen, March, and Olsen5. “One best way” to perform a task: Frederick Taylor6. POSDCORB; the work of an executive: Gulick or Gulick and Urwick7. Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow8. Theory X and Theory Y: McGregor9. Human Relations School: Maslow, McGregor, McClelland, Kurt Lewin10. The “Ideal Type” organization: Max Weber11. Organizations all have a degree of “publicness”: Bozeman12. Organic and mechanistic organizations: Burns and Stalker13. Bureaupathology: Merton, Thompson, Selznick, Kaufman14. Organizations have a formal and informal component: Blau and Scott, Barnard15. Co-optation: Phillip Selznick16. Mixed scanning: A. Etzioni17. Hawthorne Studies: Elton Mayo18. Organizations and oligarchy: Michels, Weber19. Identifies the “Place of Power” in Organization Theory: Jeffrey Pfeffer20. Modern structural theory: Burns and Stalker, Blau and Scott, Walker and Lorsch, Mintzberg21. The bases of social power: French and Raven22. “Power With” not “Power Over”; Giving of orders: Mary Parker Follet23. The Policy Window: John Kingdon24. Zealots and advocates: Anthony Downs25. The Wealth of Nations; Invisible Hand: Adam Smith

Part Two: Provide Short Answers (one or two paragraphs)

5 points each

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1. Provide three symptoms of groupthink and three recommendations for preventing it.

Examples of symptoms: invulnerability, rationalizations, inherent morality, self-censorship, shared illusions of unanimity, self-appointed mind guards, little interest in facts, no attempt to gain from experts, limiting alternatives, little time deliberating.Prevention/Avoidance: Assign role of critical evaluator, encourage open inquiry, prevent group insulation, appoint a devil’s advocate, devote sizeable time to decision making

2. What are French and Raven’s five bases of power and why are they important?

Reward power (based on the perceived ability to give positive consequences or remove negative ones)

Coercive power (the perceived ability to punish those who do not conform with your ideas or demands)

Legitimate power (based on the perception that someone has the right to prescribe behavior due to election or appointment to a position of responsibility)

Referent power (through association with others who possess power)

Expert power (based on having distinctive knowledge, expertness, ability or skills)

3. What is meant by the term hollow state?

(Explanations on the changing nature of governance and contracting)

Part Three: Linking Readings and Theories to Practice

Develop organized essays for 12 points each.

1. Discuss two studies of organization that were done in the 1960s and their contribution to adaptive and contingency theories. How did these studies add to or refine earlier thought? Within your answer provide an example of how contingency theory might be useful to a public manager.

(Lawrence and Lorsch; Burns and Stalker; Joan Woodward; Blau; Katz and Kahn; James Thompson)

2. Write an essay on some of the main contributions of Chester Barnard to organization theory. Provide examples of how Barnard’s thinking can be useful to public managers.

(Theory of incentives, zone of indifference, formal versus informal organizations)

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of structuring an organization by product and function? Explain in the context of two different public organizations.

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(See Walker and Lorsch)

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