AGSM
653
Monday, 6:00-9:00 p.m.: Rm. 303
Mudd
Professor
Fred Thompson
|
|
This course provides a broad survey of the issues in international public policy and of the management instruments that public officials use shaping that policy. The course pursues a central theme: The big questions about international public affairs are about governance -- how markets and political systems shape the lives of citizens. We will:
The world of international policy and public management is often wildly varying. Students will have the chance to explore their own interests through research projects. These projects will culminate in policy presentations that students will present during the last third of the course. |
Students are expected to attend all class sessions, to come to class having mastered the readings, and to participate fully in classroom discussions. The course grade will be determined as follows:
Leading classroom discussion. By the end of January, students will sign up to lead the discussion at one of the class meetings. No later than 10:00 am on the Monday chosen, students will e-mail Professor Thompson a one-page, single-spaced analysis of key issues in the readings. The goal is not to summarize the reading. Rather, the goal is to present a point of view: agreement, disagreement, or focus on a particular point. What should a thoughtful reader draw from all or some of the readings? The students will begin the discussion that day. (25 percent).
Policy presentation. Students present in class reports on a topic of their choosing. (40 percent) There will be three kinds of policy presentations:
- Public management policy issue: application of a particular issue raised in class to at least two different countries --for example, how South Africa's approach to contracting and/or procurement compares with other former British colonies, or even the United States or Japan.
- Paired case study comparisons explaining divergences in the adoption of specific public management policies -- Taiwan vs. South Korea.
- Multinational organizations and processes: application of the course's themes to multinational political forces -- for example, how the World Bank is focusing its energy on the improvement of governance; or the role non-governmental organizations play in shaping international policy.
Each presentation should approach its topic from the standpoint of globalization and its effect.
By February 24, students will submit a one-page description of the topic for the policy presentation and the sources that will be used. I will gladly discuss ideas for presentation topics in advance. I will then organize the topics into (more or less) logical groupings and assign a date toward the end of the course on which students will present their research. Students in each group will be responsible for organizing the time at the class meeting. The goal will be to integrate the presentations, not make separate presentations for each paper. By the Tuesday before the class meeting, the student groups will be responsible for making available a total of about 150 pages of background readings. Students will send me the links and I'll make sure that they reach all of the students.
Promptness in meeting all deadlines: Jan. 31, Feb. 24, etc. (10 percent)
Contribution to class discussion. (25 percent)
Texts:
Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization (1999)
Anthony Giddens, Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives (2000).
Donald F. Kettl, The Global Public Management Revolution (2000)
January 14 January 21 Skim Friedman, chapters 1-14 January 28 Skim
Friedman, chapters
15-30 Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, Government
of the Future; Accenture,
E-government;
United
States, Canada;
United
Kingdom; Singapore;
Wisconsin;
Oregon;
Texas
February 4 Old Public Management Read Kettl, The
Transformation of Governance February11 Read Kettl, The Global Public
Management Revolution Wollmann, Public
Sector Reforms and Evaluation: An International Overview of
Trajectories and Trends
OECD, Synthesis
of Reform Experiences in Nine OECD
Countries; OECD,
Change
Management, Schick,
The
Spirit of Reform: Managing the State Sector in a Time of
Change, Kettl, Kettl,
Reinventing
Government: A Fifth Year Report Card February 18 Defeating/Overcoming
Corruption Klitgaard, Fighting
Hyper-Corruption World Bank, AntiCorruption
page February 25 Public Management in Developing
Nations World Bank, Overview World Bank, Administrative
and Civil Service Reform Website March 4 Nongovernmental Organizations Geriffi, et al., The
NGO-Industrial Complex March 11 Wolfensohn, A
Proposal for a Comprehensive Development
Framework; World Bank,
Experiences
with National Dialogue in
Latin America;
WTO
in Brief March 25 Managing International
Organizations:
IMF, OECD, WB April 1 Student Presentations, Reading
assignments: April 8 Student Presentations April 15 Student Presentations
Any student eligible for and desiring academic accommodations due to a disability is requested to provide documentation to Disability Services located in the Bishop Wellness Center within the first two weeks of the semester.