Diversity in Public Administration

PA 760

Fall 2009

Requirements

 Required reading

 There is no textbook required for this course. Readings will be hyperlinked to the class schedule page or available from Electronic Reserve at the library. 

Class Requirements

• Class participation. (20% of grade). It is important that you learn and demonstrate your ability to contribute to the discussion of the important subjects on our agenda, as you would if this were a discussion occurring at a meeting in the workplace. Expected contributions to the discussion include the following:
   

  • Using the discussion forum in ILearn, post a response to the "central question" for each class meeting: What are the implications of this week's readings for public administrators and/or the field of public administration?
     

  • Then post to the forum at least one question for discussion on the reading. Please check the forum to make sure that no one else has already posed your question. Keep in mind it should be a question the class can discuss (e.g., something controversial or otherwise thought-provoking) rather than a factual question.

    Postings to ILearn must be completed by noon of the day of the class meeting.

•  Participate actively in the discussion of all reading during the class session.
   

•  Pose questions to students presenting oral arguments before the Supreme Court as if you were a justice hearing the arguments.  

If you are unable to attend a class, you will be expected to contribute your thoughts about the reading by posting your response to the "central question" and any other four questions posed by other students that week. These four questions should address a range of the readings and demonstrate your  comprehension of the reading.

Please see style sheets for complete explanations of these requirements.

• Written brief and oral argument (35% of grade).  You each will be asked to choose one of the Supreme Court decisions that appears on the class schedule, and the side you wish to represent (plaintiff or respondent).  You will be expected to develop an argument supporting that position, based both on the arguments made by the justices  and supplemental materials such articles from scholarly journals.   The written briefs are due Sept. 30. You will then present your argument in a “mock” Supreme Court session on the day scheduled in the syllabus. You should use the comments I make on your written briefs to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of your oral argument.
   
• Consulting proposal for creating a better work environment (20% of final grade). This is a team project and  will build from our discussion of employment-related diversity issues. Your team is to put together a presentation suggesting  the key problems an employer (in this case the City/County of San Francisco) may face in the workforce, the means by which an employer can determine whether those problems exist, and possible intervention strategies for addressing them. The presentation is due Nov. 18
   
• Advocacy paper (25% of grade).  In this paper, addressed to the (hypothetical) head of an organization, you are to argue for the adoption or elimination of an organizational policy that promotes (or impedes) the interests of a particular group or groups (e.g., older employees, employees of color, gays and lesbians, women, nonminority men). Your argument will be buttressed by research in scholarly journals and will cite relevant laws.  The paper is due on Dec. 16.