| [Lecture] Describe the nature and development
of American public administration and its study. How [Stillman 1:
Woodrow
Wilson] should public administration be studied? How [Stillman’s
own historical essay] has American bureaucracy
developed over
time?
[Lectures; Stillman 1] Describe the nature, scope and purpose of American public administration. [Lectures; Stillman 2] Explain the formal structure and functions of American public administration. [Lectures; Stillman 2] Explain the formal structure and functions of American public administration. Does it bear a strong resemblance to the German bureaucracy described by Max Weber? [Lectures] Contrast the classical foundations of organization theory with the reformist notions of organization theory. [Lectures] Contrast the classical foundations of organization theory with the reformist notions of organization theory. [Lectures; Stillman] How far [Woodrow Wilson] can administration be separated from politics? [Stillman; Lectures] What do the causes of these disasters tell us about the strengths and problems of formal, hierarchical [Weber] public administration? [Stillman] Explain systemic failures by comparing [Charles] the space shuttle disaster, Lardner’s case of a paroled murderer; and [John Bartlow Martin] the Centralia mine disaster. [Lectures; Stillman] Which better explains the disasters we have discussed this term: the classical model, reformist (reinvention) critique or [Norton Long] the ‘political environment’ critique? [Lectures] How is the US executive branch organized and how does it operate? [Lectures; Stillman 5] How is the US executive branch organized and how does it operate within the federal system of intergovernmental relations (IGR)? [Lectures; Stillman 5] What can [Rosegrant] the polluted aquifer disaster case study tell us about relations between administrative units? [Lectures; Stillman 6] Explain the nature of organizational problems, highlighting the problem of catering to informal groups [Lectures; Stillman 6] Compare the [Mayo] case study of the production line and the latest case study of management problems with informal groups. [Lectures; Stillman 7] Is there really a unified bureaucracy? [Lectures; Stillman 7] Compare the formal structure of the civil service (Fesler 7, Civil Service) with information networks with informal competing subsystems (Stillman 7: Stillman and the case study) and competing ethics (Stillman 16: Waldo and case study). [Lectures] What problems are found in modern public organizations and are these better treated by the traditional civil service system or by reinvention-type reforms? [Lectures] Even in democracy, must an elite develop in the civil service? If so, can it be directed towards democratic goals? [Lectures; Stillman 8, 10; Lindblom on incrementalism, Woodward on Gulf War, Nagel “MOVE disaster”] Taking classic theories of decisionmaking, what examples could one draw upon to illustrate that the practice of incremental (branch) decisionmaking is superior to the theory of rational comprehensive (root) decisionmaking. [Lectures; Stillman 8, 10] Contrast the rational-comprehensive and the incremental models of decisionmaking. Which of them is the dominant model for public organizations? [Lectures; Stillman 8, 10] Taking classic theories of elite decisionmaking, what is it that propels reformers towards decentralized decisionmaking at the middle and lower levels of bureaucracy? [Fesler 10] Explain the budgetary process, its philosophical origins and its difficulties of practical implementation. [Lectures; Stillman 13] Explain the problems of implementing public sector programs with traditional bureaucracies. [Lectures; Stillman 13] Does implementation fail primarily because of limitations of the civil service or because diverse populations have become too sensitive? [Lectures; Stillman 13] Explain the problems of implementing public sector programs with traditional bureaucracies. [Lectures; Stillman 13] In the light of mass-scale successful programs of the 1940s and 1950s (such as the GI Bill and the Interstate Highway system), does this mean that implementation has worsened since 1960 or that populations have become more sensitive? [Lectures] Compare the influences on bureaucracy in the US emanating from the courts and from the legislative branch. By what instruments do these shape bureaucracies' behavior, to what effect -- and which influence is stronger? [Stillman 3; Stillman 4] Explain the ecology theory [Gauss] and the political environment of American public organizations. [Stillman 3; Stillman 4] How did ecology frustrate the [insert current example of federal program]? [Stillman 3; Stillman 4] Explain the
ecology
and the political environment of American public organizations.
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