Public Management

PA 740

Fall 2009

Style Sheet for Business Case  Paper

40% of grade

Prospectus due Oct. 31

Paper due Dec. 12

Please bring a hard copy to class.  Write a note at the top indicating if you would like written comments on your paper, which you will pick  up next semester.

The purpose of this paper is to give you the opportunity to apply the theories and concepts covered in this course to an actual organization.  For the purposes of this assignment, you are a consultant brought in to advise the senior management of the organization as to your assessment of the organization and whether there is a compelling case for change. Should they reorganize, downsize, privatize, localize, outsource/greensource, adopt quality management/six-sigma, implement BPI/BPR or pursue even more radical change strategies?  You may choose any organization--one you work for, one you have a contact with, or any other organization, as long as it is in the public or nonprofit sector.  It should be of a manageable size to assess (i.e., not the federal government or the City/County of San Francisco, which would be too broad).

A prospectus for the paper is due Oct. 30. In the prospectus, you should include some basic information about the organization including:

• mission

• strategic plan

• organizational chart

• budget

• number of employees

A brief narrative discussion of the above information should be included in the first page of the paper itself as your introduction to the organization itself.  This background section should be short as the main focus of the paper is on the future. You may wish to include an organization chart, workforce table, budget chart or other such information in an appendix. If the organization has already mounted a major change effort, you may summarize this in a box in your text summary and include more detailed information in an appendix. 

The paper should then go on to answer the following questions:

• What is your assessment of the rate of change in the external environment; i.e., of public expectations, competition, service timeliness, the impacts of new technology and its costs, new service responses, major changes in the organization's mission, political perception, etc.?

• What is your assessment of the current internal environment; i.e., budget levels, workload factors, productivity, program costs, morale, looming budget cuts?

• How much change is needed, and what should be done?

You are not expected to cover each of the above questions comprehensively, but rather to analyze one or two highly significant internal and external environmental factors, state why those are critical, and use them to present your case for change.

Organization and Style

The paper is to be a maximum of 5 pages, single-spaced, not including the reference list and any appendices you wish to include. Your sources must include both primary sources about the organization (direct sources such as the budget, strategic plan, communication with staff) and at least two secondary sources (assessment by outsiders, analysis of environmental factors, media coverage as well as articles or other documents describing the change strategy you propose).  All sources must be correctly cited. The paper should  begin with a brief introduction and end with a conclusion summarizing your main points. The use of subheadings is encouraged, as they make the logic of your organization clear.

Your final page should present your recommendations as to what the management team should do and by when.

Your grade will be based on the extent to which you address the above topics, and do so in a clear, concise, and well-organized manner.