I. Course Title: Contemporary Problems in Public Administration
II. Course Number: POSC 337
III. Credit Hours: 3 credits
IV. Prerequisites: POSC 300
V. Course Description:
Developments in public finance, budgeting and personnel; trends in representative
bureaucracy, regulation, regional administration.
Note(s): Applied Learning designated course. Students may not receive credit for both POSC
435 and POSC 337
VI. Detailed Description of Content of the Course:
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to contemporary issues facing
public institutions/administrators. Topics may include:
I. Public Finance
- A. Financing Government
- B. The Budget
- C. The Politics of the Budget
- D. Budget Reform
- E. Budget Control
II. Managing Fiscal Stress
- A. Causes of Fiscal Stress
- B. Decision-Making Under Stress
- C. Managing Resources
- D. Productivity
- E. Cutbacks
III. Public Employment
- A. Career Service
- B. Public Personnel Administration
- C. Staff Relations
- D. Employment Conditions
- E. Civil Service Reform
- F. Professional Style
IV. Public Service Delivery
- A. Delivery Systems
- B. Public Entrepreneurs
- C. Public Business
- D. Contract Administration
V. Representative Bureaucracy
- A. Defining Representation
- B. Representation By Group
- C. Representation By Number
- D. Access
- E. Minority Groups
- F. Women
- G. Reverse Discrimination
VI. Regulation
- A. Classes of Government Regulation
- B. Politics of Deregulation
- C. Political Action Committees
- D. Role of Administrative Agencies
- E. Administrative Rule-Making
- F. OMB
- G. Forces Behind Increasing and Decreasing Regulation
VII. Regional Administration
- A. Reasons For Regional Administration
- B. Opposition to Regional Administration
- C. T.V.A.
- D. A.R.C.
- E. Washington's C.O.B.
- F. Metropolitan Government
VI. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course:
This course will employ a number of teaching/learning methods including classroom
lecture, and individual/group projects.
VII. Goals and Objectives of the Course:
- To introduce the student to current issues and controversies in the field of Public
Administration.
- To conceptualize the role of the public administrator in the governance and problem-solving
process.
- To portray the highly dynamic constitutional and political environment the modern
public agency operates in and the challenges those environments pose to public institutions.
VIII. Assessment Measures:
Class performance maybe evaluated with essay examinations classroom participation,
and/or case study analysis.
Other Course Information: None
Review and Approval
DATE ACTION REVIEWED BY
April 1998 Reviewed M. J. Franck, Dept. Chair
August 2020
March 01, 2021