PA 700

Fall 2007

San Francisco Campus

Style Sheet for Ethical Dilemma Paper

Due October 29

The purpose of this assignment is to engage your thinking about ethical and other dilemmas facing public administrators, and to do so in a context that you will hopefully find enjoyable (a mystery novel).  As eminent PA scholar Dwight Waldo once wrote, "Through literary treatments we can more closely come to grips with the psychological and moral aspects of administrative decision-making."  To that, William T. Gormley adds about mysteries: "[they] feature stark, vivid examples of bureaucratic conflicts and ethical dilemmas, with high stakes certain to grab the reader's attention and concentrate the mind."

For this assignment you should choose one of the mysteries listed below, or propose another to me. My only criteria is that the protagonist is a public servant, and that the book provides you with enough content to address the following questions:

Organization and Style

The  paper must  not exceed 5 pages, double-spaced. Make sure you begin with a brief introduction and conclude with a brief summary of your main points.  Please also include a brief synopsis of the situation(s) you are referring to in your discussion of the ethical dilemma(s). Your grade will be based on the extent to which it addresses the points listed above.  It should address them within the context of a narrative essay, not in a question-answer format.  Your grade will also be based on the paper's clarity, conciseness, creativity and logic of organization. Subtitles are encouraged as they can help to make the organization clear.

Partial List of Acceptable Mysteries