TOPIC FOR ASSIGNMENT: How is the reintroduction of privatization impacting public policy decision making and the targeted social outcomes? For example, imagine a state determines that access to high-speed internet for every home is essential for long-term public health, yet in areas of the state, the market has determined that it is not profitable to provide the service. Should the state form a partnership with a private sector business (i.e., subsidize) to ensure that their social goal is obtained?
ASSIGNMENT: Public Administration in Practice A. Governmental Operations: Ensure that you focus specifically on the organizational, legal, or cultural challenge that you selected. 1. Civil Service Implementation: Assess the impact that the implementation of civil service had on the effectiveness of public service in the federal government. 2. Local Governmental Operations: Illustrate how public administration has manifested itself in local governmental operations. In other words, what impact has professional management had on local governmental operations? For example, you could consider how prevalent the mayor/manager form of government is. 3. Impact of Iron Triangle: Assess the impact of the “iron triangle” on public policy and program administration at the state and federal levels of government. In other words, how does the bureaucracy counterbalance the direct relationship between special interests and the legislature? B. Differences Between Public Administration and Private Sector Management: Ensure that you focus specifically on the organizational, legal, or cultural challenge that you selected. 1. Organizational Differences: Contrast the impact of political boundaries in governmental operations versus the private sector. For example, you could consider how political boundaries impact program and operational efficiencies. Provide specific examples to support your response. 2. Legal Differences: Analyze mandates, legal and nonlegal, related to the challenge you selected. How do they impact the operations of state and local governments? How do these mandates apply to private sector firms? Provide specific examples to support your response. 3. Cultural Differences: Illustrate the impacts politics can have on administrative appointments in the public and private sectors. In other words, what is the impact of political appointments on the culture of governmental agencies and private businesses? Provide specific examples to support your response. C. Roles of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches: Ensure that you focus specifically on the organizational, legal, or cultural challenge that you selected. 1. Executive Branch: Outline the role of the executive branch of government in the development of public policy, specifically related to the challenge you selected. 2. Legislative Branch: Outline the role of the legislative branch of government in the development of public policy, specifically related to the challenge you selected. 3. Judicial Branch: What role does the court system play in arbitrating public policy disputes between the executive and legislative branches of government? Focus specifically on how the judicial branch has impacted the challenge you selected. D. Public Budgeting Techniques: Ensure that you focus specifically on the organizational, legal, or cultural challenge that you selected. 1. Zero-Based Budgeting: Assess the principle of zero-based budgeting for how it has impacted federal programs and their stakeholders. What are the pros and cons of this methodology? 2. Performance-Based Budgeting: Assess how performance-based budgeting applies to private sector budgeting practices in a public sector setting. What are the pros and cons of this methodology? Include the impact on public programs and their stakeholders in your response. 3. Emerging Budget Strategies: Describe emerging budget strategies being utilized by public agencies to address the difficult fiscal environment facing local governments. In other words, what contemporary public budgeting techniques are effective? E. Governmental Communication Strategies: Ensure that you focus specifically on the organizational, legal, or cultural challenge that you selected. 1. Impact of Social Media: Assess the effectiveness of social media on governmental operations at the federal, state, or local governmental level. Consider questions such as these: What impact has social media had in enhancing public outreach? How has social media been used to develop a sense of community? 2. Impact of Other Media Types: Assess how various other media types can enhance public outreach and impact a citizen’s sense of community. 3. Communication Strategies: How has the proliferation of information outlets impacted the communication strategies utilized by government officials?
