POLITICS, POLICY AND PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

PA 503

Fall 2008

 

School of Public Administration and Policy

University of Arizona

 

Instructor:        Dr. John M. Tidd

Office:             405 McClelland Hall

Telephone:       621-7476

Fax:                 626-5549

Email:               jtidd@eller.arizona.edu

Classroom:       405SS McClelland Hall

Class Hours:    11:00-12:15 TR

Office Hours   Tuesday 9 – 10 a.m.; Thursdays 12:15 – 1:15

 

Course Description

 

PA 503 is a core course in the Masters of Public Administration Program.  The course will focus on politics and public policy from the perspective of the public manager.  Public manager is used as a generic term that includes managers who work directly for government and those in the nonprofit and for profit sectors who work under government contracts.    Politics and public policy are the sea the public manager swims in and is the source of both managerial opportunities and constraints. The nature of the institutions of the government of the United States and the public policy process will be examined and discussed in relation to democratic values and policy outcomes.  While it is important to understand the public policy making process, every MPA class has a skills component.  In this class cases, projects, articles, and outside speakers are used to help build the skills needed to become a successful public manager.

 

 

Texts and Readings

 

Michael E. Kraft and Scott R. Furlong, Public Policy: Politics, Analysis and Alternatives. 2nd  Edition.

Mark H. Moore, Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government

Kenneth Ashworth, Caught Between the Dog and the Fireplug, or How to Survive Public Service

 

Required articles and cases will either be handed out in class or will be available online.  

 

 

Assumptions and Expectations

 

1.   You are prepared to do graduate quality work.

 

2.   This is a professional program and you must come to class prepared and ready to contribute to

the class discussion.  An answer of, “I haven’t read that” is unlikely to help your class participation

grade.

 

3.   This class requires you to think analytically.  This does not mean that our discussions require you to check your beliefs and values at the door; rather it means that values and beliefs should be open to inspection.  You should demand that I be held to the same standard.

 

 

 

Written Assignments

 

All students learn how legislation is enacted and laws implemented by writing a research paper largely from primary sources. The paper may not exceed ten pages.  For information on the paper see the “Research for PA 503 Paper Handout.”

 

Grading

 

1.  Midterm Exam                    25%

2.  Paper                                 30%

3   Case                                  10%

4.  Participation                       10% 

5.  Final Exam                         25%

 

All exams, the case and the paper are due on the day assigned unless prior arrangements have been made.  Unexcused late assignments will be penalized one letter grade per day.

 

 

Rules of the Road

 

Every instructor has certain expectations about how the class should be conducted and how he and the students should conduct themselves.  I am probably hopelessly old-fashioned, but indulge me.  Here are my expectations about classroom etiquette.

 

• The instructor should critique student comments in a courteous way.  Students should expect the same from other students.  This does not mean that anything we say in class should be accepted uncritically; it means that we should hold all ideas up to scrutiny but not their proponents to ridicule. 

• Do not monopolize the discussion.  Effective discussion requires participation from more than one or two “usual suspects.”  I reserve the right to speak privately to you about this issue.  Keep your discussion focused on the reading, lecture or the question that we are discussing.  Rambling personal statements on your view of the universe are to be avoided.  If your fellow students begin clearing their throats and rolling their eyeballs, this is a good indication that you should stop talking.

• Although plagiarism is rare, it is never acceptable.  Full enforcement of the University’s Code of Academic Integrity will be pursued if evidence warrants it. The code can be viewed at: http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies  Be especially careful about using large amounts of material you find on the internet.  Use it sparingly and make sure you cite the source.

• Classroom decorum – Arriving late, talking in class, and walking out and coming back are all disruptive of the learning environment.  This is a graduate program and students and faculty should expect each other to behave in a professionally appropriate manner.  If you will be late to class with some regularity please let me know.  If you have to leave early let me know. If you have a medical condition that requires you to get up frequently, sit close to the exit so as to minimize the disruption.  Please turn off your cell phones when you enter class. 

PA 503 - Reading List

 

August 26 – Introduction to Public Policy

 

                   Introduction to class and discussion of syllabus

 

I.  The Constitutional Design

 

August 28 –  Inventing Democratic Government

 

The Constitution of the United States of America, 1788.

 http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html

 

Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, “Federalist Papers #10 and #51” The Federalist. New York: The Modern Library: 53-62 & 335-341 (Originally Published in 1787) http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed.htm

 

Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address,” 1863.

http://eserver.org/history/gettysburg-address.txt

 

 

September 2 –  Federalism and the Constitution

 

Hendrik Hertzberg, “Framed Up: What the Constitution Gets Wrong” The New Yorker , July 29, 2002   http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?020729crbo_books

 

Alexis de Tocqueville, “The Need to Study What Happens in the States Before Discussing the Government of the Union” Democracy in America, New York: Harper and Row, 1969: 61-87.  (Originally published in 1848)

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/1_ch05.htm

 

Henry S. Commager, "Tocqueville's Mistake," Harper's, vol. 268, August 1984

[E-Journals]

 

Theodore Roosevelt, "The New Nationalism,"  August 1910

http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=501

 

 

II. The Public Policy Process

 

September 4 –  Politics and Public Policy

Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 1 (pages 3-29)

 

September 9 – Actors and Institutions

 

Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 2 (pages 31-61)

Kenneth Ashworth, “Working with Politicians” pp 1-22.

 

September 11 – Researching Government Documents

 

Meet at the Main Library, 3rd floor, Rm. 315 to learn how to conduct research using government documents with Librarian Atifa Rawan.

 

September 16 –  Approaches to Public Policy – I

 

Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 3 (pages 63-91)

Kenneth Ashworth, “Kinds of Pressure and Influence Used on You” pp 82-88.

 

Sept. 18 –  No class

 

September 23 – Approaches to Public Policy -- II

 

 

September 25 –  Policy Analysis: Overview

 

Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 4 (pages 93-118)

Kenneth Ashworth, “Taking the Initiative, or Risk Taking Inside Government, (pages 73-81)

 

 Sept. 30 – No class

October 2 –   Analyzing Problems and Solutions

 

Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 5  (pages 121-144)

Kenneth Ashworth, “Bona Fide Bureaucratic Behavior”  (pp 121-133)

 

Oct. 2 –  Paper topic proposals due

 

 

October 7  –  Evaluation and Assessment

 

Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 6 (pages 147-178)

Kenneth Ashworth, “Walking With Kings” pp134-144.

 

October 9   – Review Session

 

 

Oct. 14 –  In-class midterm exam

 

III. Policy Areas 

 

October 16  -- Environmental and Energy Policy

 

                      Guest Speaker: Dean Paul Portney                  

                      Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 11 (pages 311- 347)

 

October 21 –  Economic and Budgetary Policy  

 

                       Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 7 (pages 181-218)

October 23 –  Crime and Public Policy

 

Guest Speaker: TBD

 

October 28 –    Education Policy

Guest Speaker: TBD

Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 10 (pages 323-360)

 

October 30 –  Welfare and Social Security Policy

 

                      Guest Speaker: TBD

                      Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 9 (pages 259-289)

 

November 4 – Health Care Policy 

 

                      Guest Speaker:  TBD

                      Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 8 (pages 221-257)

November 6 –  Foreign Policy and Homeland Security

 

                      Guest Speaker: Dr. Gary Guertner

                      Kraft and Furlong, Chapter 12 (pages 263-392)

 

 

November 11 – Veteran’s Day, No Class

 

IV. The Public Manager in the World of Public Policy

 

November 13 - Working in the Policy World – Shared Power

 

H. Brinton Milward and Keith G. Provan, “Governing the Hollow State” Journal of

            Public Administration Research and Theory. Vol. 10, No. 2

            (April, 2000): 359-379    E-Journals

The Electronic Hallway, “A Note on Mapping: Understanding Who Can Influence

            Your Success”

Kenneth Ashworth, “Working With the Press” pp 23-33

 

 

November 18 - Working in the Policy World - Decision-making

 

James G. March, “Multiple Actors: Conflict and Politics,” A Primer on Decision Making,      Free Press, 1994: 139-174.   E-Reserves

Kenneth Ashworth, “Ethics and Morality in Public Service” pp 152-167.

 

November 20 – Strategic Management in Government

 

Moore, pp. 13-56 (Chapters 1 and 2)

 

November 25 - Organizational Strategy in the Public Sector

 

Moore, pp. 57-102 (Chapter 3)

 

Nov. 27 – Thanksgiving Vacation

December 2 - Political Management   

 

Moore, pp. 105-189 (Chapters 4 and 5)

Kenneth Ashworth, “A Few Thoughts on Leadership” pp 168-177.

 

Dec. 2 – Paper due

December 4 –  Flu Vaccine Case Study

 

                 Hand in 2 page case at the end of class

 

December 9 – Operational Management   (Take home final will be distributed)

 

                 Moore, pp 193-309 (Chapters 6 and 7, Conclusion)

Kenneth Ashworth, “A Summing Up” pp 178-184.

Dec. 12 – Take Home Exam Due