500 words for each week’s discussion….
For the Week 1 graded discussion, address the following questions:
• What is Public Administration?
• Why study Public Administration?
• Does Public Administration differ from the private sector? If yes, how? If no, why not? Consider the different vocabulary used in each sector here as well.
• What subjects should public administrators study/learn in order to be successful?
• How do public administrators (or public servants in general) affect your life?
For the Week 2 graded discussion, address the following questions:
The practice of public administration does not occur in isolation, but is subject to constant external influences and inspection. Some of the influences on the functions of government are people, place, physical technology, social technology, wishes and ideas, catastrophe, and, of course, our federal system. Find an example of one of these factors in the news (print or online) or a situation that has happened in the past 10 years and identify the influence and how it affected government function and/or action. Be sure to provide us with references in APA format to support your points instead of basing them solely on opinion.
For the Week 3 graded discussion, address the following questions:
Discuss the theories of public organizations related to their structure and the people within them – the origins, how public organizations currently function, and how public organizational functioning might be improved. To address this, consider some of the following questions (you do not need to specifically address them all) in your discussion analysis: Why is it that so many of the principles and practices of public administration have their origin in military organizations? Are classical organization theory and scientific management still relevant today – if so, how? Is Max Weber’s concept of bureaucracy still relevant – in all or part – how? What issues/considerations arise in the design of an organization? What are the benefits or drawbacks of bureaucratic impersonality? How might Maslow’s needs hierarchy inform a plan for organizational motivation? How do the organizational change techniques called for the action research model facilitate more capable organizational arrangements? How does technology influence behavior in modern organizations? Offer examples in your comments.
Conduct research to find additional resources to strengthen and/or expand your response cite all of your resources in APA format.
For the Week 4 graded discussion, address the following questions:
Why are transformational leaders so essential in times of public organizational crises? What aspects of public organizations may support or hinder transformational leadership? Could strategic management techniques be useful for leaders – if so, how? What could be done to responsibly facilitate transformational leadership in the public sector? Offer examples of transformational leadership in your discussion.
Conduct research to find additional resources to strengthen and/or expand your response. Cite all of your resources in APA format.
For the Week 5 graded discussion, address the following questions:
There are two parts to this week’s discussion topic. First discuss and offer examples for at least three of the public personnel system functions identified by Shafritz, Russell, & Borick (in the course text) or Greene (in the recommended reading article). Consider why these functions are important in managing public organizations.
Next, in few sentences or brief paragraph, summarize how your readings define “public budgeting”. Then consider how the public budgeting process generally differs from that of a private firm. In responding, it may help to think about the constraints and objectives in public budgeting. Offer examples in your response.
Conduct research to find additional resources to strengthen and/or expand your response. cite all of your resources in APA format. You can share any insights gleaned from working through the week’s internet activities as well.
For the Week 6 graded discussion, address the following questions:
Why do issues that arise in government always contain at least some degree of ethical or moral choice? What are some methods or conditions that may be followed or implemented to make decision making as ethical as possible in public administration? In your response, reflect on the readings and additional research you conduct. You may also integrate ideas from completing the online activity this week. Offer examples in your response.
Conduct research to find additional resources to strengthen and/or expand your response. Cite all of your resources in APA format.
For the Week 7 graded discussion, address the following questions:
Based on your readings and additional research, identify some special ways that collaboration between public administrators and citizens can be fostered. What are some practical difficulties that might arise? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages in using technology to facilitate participation? Offer examples in your response.
Conduct research to find additional resources to strengthen and/or expand your response. Cite all of your resources in APA format. You can share any insights gleaned from working through the week’s internet activity as well.