Part 1:
What is Public Administration? Public Administration and Democratic Government.Bureaucracy.Comparing Public and Private Sectors
1. Discuss what is meant by the "politics-administration dichotomy." Is it a realistic description of public bureaucracy? Why or why not?
2. Discuss whether it is more important to increase the efficiency of modern public service, or its democratic accountability. Can the two values be reconciled?
Part 2:
Restructuring the Public Sector and the Role of the State.The Minimalist State; The Keynesian Welfare State; The Neoconservative State
In-Class Discussion
1.What are the main differences and similarities between private and public administration? Is it true that the two are "fundamentally alike in all unimportant respects"?
2. List as many public services as you can. Using the set of differences and similarities you cite in the first part of your answer, select one public service and argue why it should or should not be turned over to the private sector.
Part 3:
Power, Politics and Public Administration. What is Democracy?State and Government. Political Culture. The Interplay of Democracy, Political Culture and the Institutions of Public Administration.
In-Class Discussion
1. Explain how the interplay of democracy and political culture affect public administration inCanada.
2. Explain the difference between state and government and analyze how different forms of democracy affect the way government is structured, organized and run in Canada.
Part 4:
1. Briefly define and explain the significance for public administration of the following terms:alienation; hierarchy; legitimation; time and motion studies; POSDCORB; the Hawthorne Experiments
2. What features of classic, structuralist and humanist theories best explain the relationship between managers and workers in organizations? Why?
3. Do contemporary theories of public administration promote participation by ordinary bureaucrats in the decision-making process of government organizations, or do they simply rationalize authoritarian control by management?
Part 5:
The Impact of Organization Theory. Contemporary Developments. A Canadian Public Administration?
1.Outline the main impact of organization theory on Canadian public administration.
2. Is there a "Canadian" public administration?
Part 5:
Factors Influencing Organizational Structure. Political-Administrative Relationships.Departmental Organizations.
1. To what extent do capitalist democracy, federalism and cabinet-parliamentary government influence the organization of public administration in Canada?
2. If you were prime minister, how many government departments would you create and what would they be? What areas would you privatize and why? Justify your answer by explaining what areas of life contemporary government should be involved in.
3. Explain what mechanisms within the organization of government provide democratic accountability and control of the bureaucracy. Is it possible to counter the power of the "professional expert" (i.e. the career public servant) with these mechanisms?
Part 6:
Regulatory Agencies and Crown Corporations.
1.What are the key roles of regulatory bodies? What is the rationale for regulation? For deregulation?
2. Explain the history and role of crown corporations in Canada. Are they still relevant organizational tools for modern government?
3. If you were prime minister, in what areas would you use regulatory agencies and crown corporations? What areas would you privatize and why? Justify your answer by explaining what areas of life contemporary government should be involved in.
Part 7:
The Law, the Courts and the Administration of Justice. What is a Constitution? Constitutional Law. Administrative Law.
1. What is the rule of law, what is a constitution, and what are the main components of the Canadian constitution? Why is the rule of law and the constitution important to public administration?
2. Compare constitutional and administrative law and explain what happens when a dispute arises over the exercise of legal powers by an administrative agency?
Part 8:
Canadian Federalism. Intergovernmental Relations and Public Administration
1.What is federalism? What are the main impacts of federalism on Canadian public administration?
2. Discuss the nature of intergovernmental relations and its impact on Canadian public administration.
3. WouldCanadian public administration be more manageable if Canada was a unitary state instead of a federal state?