UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
School of Policy, Planning, and Development
USC State Capital Center; 1800 I Street; Sacramento, CA 95811-3004
PPD 545, Class 51400: Human Behavior in Public Organizations
Syllabus (updated 18 July 2011)
Intensive Classes: 8-11 September & 13-16 October 2011
Chester A. Newland, Professor
Organizational behavior is an arbitrarily defined subject, distinguished from management
and administrative theory at USC for purposes of inquiry but not separated from them in either
the study or practice of public administration. Public organizations (including such nongovernmental ones as in healthcare, utilities, arts & entertainment, and civic services) are
emphasized, but private-sector, for-profit experience is also studied. Also, contemporary
networks and other variations on behavior contexts are examined. Differences in behaviors
associated with public, private, and other contexts, where they are observable, and absence of
such observed differences are basic topics.
Study of behavior requires inquiry about individuals, groups, and organizations, with
attention to their interrelationships and relations with society generally. It draws on varied
disciplines: philosophy, psychology, sociology, political science, economics, biology,
physiology, history, and anthropology, in particular. It also draws on such fields as law,
medicine, engineering, and management. It ranges into religion, the arts, literature, and the full
range of human endeavor and sloth.
In the Fall 2011, it is timely to consider human behaviors during multiple, on-going
American and international Social, Economic, and Political Crises. Sustained indications are that
the American political system, already caught-up in divisive 2012 elections campaigns, is
seriously ineffective if not largely broken at national, state, and local levels of government.
California is among the most troubled. In these contexts, human behavior in public organizations
is a challenging, dynamic, and urgently vital field of study.
This course is designed in part to assist students in development of useful appreciation of
limits and opportunities of being human—now and through lifetimes. It has practical purposes:
to strengthen students’ foundations for professional practice, research, and leisure in the field and
related activities. Bottom-line objectives are to facilitate understanding of people’s behaviors in
organizational and related contexts and, in turn, to help you enhance your self-understanding and
performance in varied roles, including personally and socially valued accomplishment.
Self Assessment and Course Evaluation in Terms of Your Learning Goals and Objectives
and Comparisons/Contrasts with NASPAA Standards
Please identify your Learning Goals and Objectives, considering the foregoing course
introduction, subsequent contents of this syllabus, and your personal and professional aspirations
for the future, along with your present Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities that you wish to enhance
for exemplary development. In thinking through what you hope to accomplish in this PPD 545
course, please compare and contrast your understanding with the following. The National
Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) sets Learning
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Outcomes standards which are applied by USC. Five broad categories of outcomes apply to
MPA programs, and those are listed in the following paragraph. More focused outcomes apply to
each course, and those identified by USC for PPD 545 are listed following each of the five broad
learning expectations.
Outcome One: To have the skills and knowledge to lead and manage for the public good
and to contribute to effective policy changes. PPD 545, Intermediate: Develop knowledge of
organizational constraints and human behavior necessary to lead organizations effectively.
Outcome Two: To have the analytic reasoning skills to solve problems and make critical
decisions. PPD 545, Intermediate: Learn strategic management skills required for effective
human resource management. Outcome Three: To act ethically to promote transparency,
accountability, efficiency, competence, and justice in public service. PPD 545, Intermediate /
advanced: Learn how to foster an organizational culture that values transparency,
accountability, efficiency, competence, justice, and other core public-service values. Outcome
Four: To engage productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry [sic: people
generally]. PPD 545, Intermediate / Advanced: Develop skills in working with diversity in the
workplace. Outcome Five: To work effectively across sectors (public, private, and nonprofit) to
solve problems and improve community quality of life. PPD 545, Intermediate: Consider [sic:
Understand] how organizational culture may vary across sectors and the implications for
intersectoral collaboration.
To comply with this NASPAA requirement, please keep related notes throughout this
course and prepare a three-page learning-outcomes report to be submitted separately when you
send your final term paper. This short paper will be filed at SPPD for external review. Therefore,
please do not include confidential information in it. Your other assigned papers and exam papers
will be kept confidential, of course.
Course Format
This PPD 545 class is scheduled in an Intensive-Semester format. It is necessary to study
in advance of the initial series of classes, and some work must be completed promptly after the
second module. The general schedule is as follows:
15 August – 7 September: Prepare coursework before the first sequence of classes. Study
assignments thoughtfully, speed reading some and deeply probing others. Prepare one-page
papers assigned later in this syllabus. You may confer with Chet Newland by phone (916-4426911, ext. 24) or via email [email protected]. His office is at the USC State Capital Center in
Sacramento, and you may see him there if you are in that location.
8-11 September: Classes meet eight hours each day, Thursday through Sunday. The first class
will start at 9:00 am and end at 5:00 pm (or 5:30 if students wish). Other days may begin earlier
and/or continue later if students prefer to “bank time” to end class earlier on Sunday for the
convenience of students who may need to travel long distances. Lunch breaks will usually start at
around 12:30 or 1:00 pm.
13 September – 12 October: Prepare for the second module of classes. Complete a three-page
outline of a practical term paper and study for the essay exam. You may confer with Chet
Newland, and it may be useful to consult with other students. In short, students are encouraged to
help one another.
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13-16 October: Classes meet each day, Thursday through Sunday. An essay exam, designed to
help you draw on your strengths, will be written as the first activity on Thursday. The exam is
explained later in this syllabus.
17 October – 21 November: Complete the final term paper, which is explained later, and submit
it as an email attachment to [email protected] no later than Tuesday, 22 November. This is just
before the Thanksgiving break. If you think that your emailed paper may lose its professional
format, you may also send a paper copy to Chet Newland at the USC State Capital Center; 1800
I Street; Sacramento, CA 95811-3004. You may confer with the professor via email or phone,
and it may be useful to consult with other students.
Required Books
You may order the following books from the USC Bookstore:
1. Warren G. Bennis and Robert J. Thomas, Geeks & Geezers (Boston: Harvard Business
School Press, 2002).
2. Howard P. Greenwald, Organizations: Management Without Control (Los Angeles:
Sage Publications, 2008). This will be used as a general reference. The other books will be used
more in class sessions.
3. Yong S. Lee, A Reasonable Public Servant (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2005).
4. Chester A. Newland, PPD 545 Readings (Los Angeles: USC, Fall 2011). Relevant
recent articles listed in this syllabus and not in these readings may be accessed on the Web at
http://library.usc.edu. At that site, horizontally near the top of the page, go to E-journals. Open
that site and search for the journal needed—Examples: Public Administration Review, National
Journal, etc.
5. J. Steven Ott, Sandra J. Parkes, and Richard B. Simpson, Classic Readings in
Organizational Behavior, 4th ed. (Belmont, CA: Thomson / Wadsworth, 2008).
Additional Assigned Publications
Five publications for this course are available on USC’s Blackboard 9 site. Please study
these quickly (you do not have time to read them word-for-word) for reference at the points
where they are cited in the syllabus outline below. Also “handouts” will be provided in class to
save you time in study of many topics, and sources on some subjects should be accessed on-line
via WWW and/or through USC’s Libraries.
Related Books and Sites of Interest
The following sources are identified as useful, but they are not required. Because they
are relevant to understanding of human behaviors, most will be noted in class. A handout
summarizing contents of some of these will be provided. For MHA students, one USC sponsored
website, started in October 2010, is especially interesting: www.centerforhealthreporting.org.
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Bruce Ackerman, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic (Cambridge, MA:
Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2010).
Dan Ariely, Predictably Irrational (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2009).
Nicholas Carr, The Big Switch (New York: Norton, 2008).
Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can
Be Done About It (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
George Kateb, Human Dignity (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University,
2011).
Daniel Katz and Robert L. Kahn, The Social Psychology of Organizations (New York:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1966 and 1978). This old textbook is a classic.
Joan Magretta, What Management Is (New York: The Free Press, 2002).
James G. March, The Ambiguities of Experience (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press,
2010).
Beryl A. Radin, The Accountable Juggler, The Art of Leadership in a Federal Agency
(Washington: CQ Press, 2002).
Ron Reagan, My Father at 100 (New York: Viking Press, 2011).
Daniel T. Rodgers, Age of Fracture (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard
University, 2011).
Scott J. Shapiro, Legality (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2011).
Herbert A. Simon, Administrative Behavior (Riverside, NJ: Macmillan [Free Press], 4th
ed., with new introduction, 1997).
Anne-Marie Slaughter, A New World Order (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
2004).
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan (New York: Random House, 2007).
Robert R. M. Verchick, Facing Catastrophe, Environmental Action for a Post-Katrina
World (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010).
Steven Weber and Bruce W. Jentleson, The End of Arrogance (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2010).
Joan C. Williams, Reshaping the Work-Family Debate, Why Men and Class Matter
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010).
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Course Outline
The following topics provide basic starting points for inquiry in this course, but the
outline cannot be strictly followed. For example, at the end of the partial overviews of the field
(set forth in the outline as the first two broad categories of subjects of class study), Part II-E calls
for analysis of today’s disciplines and practices in this field (including relevant inputs from your
own principal specialty). On day two, students will help to lead that discussion, relying on short
papers prepared for class (as noted in that part of this syllabus and in the later section on written
assignments). That broadly important inquiry cannot be elaborated upon in this outline. During
the second series of classes, the subjects identified in Parts I and II will again be examined. In
short, flexibility in times for study of topics in class sessions is required. Nonetheless, Modules
One and Two are identified in the outline, with the understanding that course materials will not
be strictly divided as shown.
Most assigned readings are in the required books listed above. For those in the PPD 545
Readings, only short titles and numbers are used in this outline. Some illustrative items will be
distributed in class, and students will (hopefully) bring others. A few publications may be
searched for electronically, in libraries or elsewhere (including web sites of governments and
other organizations). You are not expected to read all assignments word-for-word. Study them
reasonably. Busy professionals cannot expect to read all that they wish to and need to examine.
Most learn to Get Help and to Help Others to study, as you need to do in this class. Learn your
human capacities and limitations and how to balance humility and confidence, knowing that “no
one can do it all.”
As Princeton University’s George Kateb observes in his new book, recommended above,
“The idea of human dignity goes well with the thought that studying human beings is much
harder than studying anything else” (p. 152). In this course, it is useful to add: Studying oneself is
particularly challenging—and essential.
MODULE ONE
I. Organizational Behavior as a Field of Practice: An Overview
On Thursday, 8 September, at the start of class, each student is to submit a one-page
resume and two double-spaced, one-page papers (no more that three total pages will be
accepted) for duplication by USC and distribution to other students in the class. All papers are to
be 12 point in type size. In one paper, please identify your own basic discipline or field (politics,
health affairs, engineering, anthropology, history, music, etc.) and briefly analyze one useful
publication not included in this syllabus (such as a journal article, blog, book, or governmental
publication) from that discipline/field that contributes to understanding of organization behavior.
The publication does not need to be one published in English. In the second one-page paper,
please identify a second discipline or field of importance to you. Again, briefly analyze one
useful publication (not in course assignments) from that specialty that contributes to
understanding of human behavior in organizations.
Please do not staple pages, since all will be duplicated (in alphabetical order of students’
names) for distribution to everyone in the class. Please place your name at the top of each onepage paper and paperclip the pages in the order of the two assigned topics, with your resume on
top.
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A. Contemporary Fragments about Being Human and about Challenges for Organizations
1. Matthew Stremlau, “Message in a Genome,” in 545 Readings, # 1.
2. Jonathan Walters, “Toil and Trouble,” in 545 Readings, # 2.
3. Steven Lagerfeld, “Do Smarts Rule,” in 545 Readings, # 3.
4. Bob Calverly, “Building the Bionic Brain,” in 545 Readings, #4.
5. The recommended (but not required) 2011 book by George Kateb, Human
Dignity, will be briefly summarized. What underlies the idea of human
dignity? Are human beings individually and/or collectively unique in ways
that warrant such status? What are the implications for organizations and
expectations of human behaviors?
B. A Contemporary Case Study on Personal and Institutional Dimensions of Organization
Behavior: President Ronald Reagan.
1. The recommended (but not required) 2011 book by Ron Reagan, My Father at
100, will be noted, with particular reference to the observations in Chapter
9 on Cognitive Impairment.
2. Look at the following article, which is posted on Blackboard and which you
can also secure through USC Libraries’ E-Journals: Louis A. Gottschalk et
al., “Presidential Candidates and Cognitive Impairment Measured from
Behavior in Campaign Debates,” Public Administration Review, Vol. 48,
No. 2 (March/April 1988), pp. 613-619.
C. Overview of the Field
1. Ott et al., pp.1 - 30.
2. Bottom-Line Challenges of Human Resources Management
D. Organization Behavior and the Public Interest: Greenwald, Chapters 1, 2, & 3.
II. Varied Disciplines, Interests, and Perspectives on “Fundamentals.” Structures, Personality,
Perceptions, Beliefs, Learning, and Behaviors
A. Rationality or ???: Economics and/or Psychology ?
1. 2010 Example: Elinor Ostrom’s Nobel Prize: Polycentrism and the
Organization of Cooperation.
2. Herbert A. Simon, “Human Nature in Politics,” in 545 Readings, # 5.
3. James G. March, “The War is Over, The Victors Have Lost,”545 Readings, # 6.
4. The 2008-2011 Financial/Economy Crisis: Redefinition of Basics? PBS
Frontline Report, “Breaking the Bank.” This video will be used in class.
5.Personality!
B. Reasonableness or ???: Optimism about Human Behavior and Transformational
Ideals and/or Pessimism, Human Misbehavior, and Transactional Realities ?
1. U.S. Constitutional Values and Standards
2 John J. DiIulio, Jr., “Principled Agents,” in 545 Readings, # 7.
3. Yong S. Lee, A Reasonable Public Servant, Chapters 2, 3, & 11.
4. Ott et al., Article 4, Tichey & Ulrich, “The Leadership Challenge.”
5. Perception?
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C. Culture, Political & Religious Faiths/Ideologies,Transcendence, or ???: Human
Being or Becoming or . . . ?
1. Compare Present-Day Political & Religious Beliefs/Behaviors with those of
earlier Eras: Classical Greece & Rome; The Dark Ages; The
Enlightenment (esp.Thomas Jefferson’s Time); The Isms Era (WWII).
2. Carl Sandburg, The People, Yes (1935).
3. Human Qualities: Humility & Confidence? Getting and Giving Help?
4. Individuals’ Beliefs! Organizations’ Beliefs and Behaviors!
D. Hierarchy or ???: Bureaucracy and/or Alternatives ? . . . Alternatives! Variations?
1. Hierarchical and Open-Systems Models
2. Ott et al., Articles 25.
3. Rob Gurwitt, “Entrepreneurial Government: The Morning After,” in 545
Readings, # 8.
4. Behaviors in networks are among variations/alternatives studied later.
Consider the networks in which you function.
5. Organizational Boxes, Boundaries, or ??? Blending? Braiding? Collaboration?
Connectedness!
E. Discipline and Disciplines or ???: Disconnected Concepts and Actions and or
Theory-Grounded Practicality? Experience? Learning! Advanced Knowledge
Culture? Studying Books Fast.
1. C. A. Newland, “Public Administration Amid Turbulence: Facilitation of
Enhanced Future Governance?” 2008. This is posted on Blackboard for
reference study, not reading, since “no one can do it all.”
2. Public Administration: A discipline or a field?
III. Human Beings and Human (Inhuman?) Organizations
This topic is dealt with in part in Module One and in part in Module Two
A. Individuals and/or Social Beings. Groups. Self Management? Place and Community
Values?
1. Greenwald, Chapter 4.
2. Ott et al., Pages 281-289 and Articles 24 and 26 - 29.
3. Impacts of Social Changes. An example: Mary B. Young, “Work-Family
Backlash,” in PPD 545 Readings, # 9.
4. Margaret O’Brien, “Fathers, Parental Leave ...,” PPD 545 Readings, # 10.
5. Joan Williams book, Reshaping the Work-Family Debate, recommended above,
will be noted.
6. W. H. Auden, Another Time (1935).
B. Organization Structures
1.Greenwald, Chapter 5.
2. USC’s SPPD as a historical case study: C. A. Newland, “USC in Contexts of
Community Enterprise: Practice and Theory,” in Ross Clayton et al.,
Futures of the Past. This is posted on Blackboard. It examines USC
experience as an example of organizational dynamics.
3. Daniel T. Rodgers book, Age of Fracture, recommended above, will be noted.
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From the 1980s forward, have formerly more-or-less stable
structures/institutions fractured, leaving you awesome challenges?
C. Workforce Structures and Systems: Public Personnel Classification and Labor
Management Relations Frameworks (Handouts).
1. Executive Order 13562 (27 December 2010) changed the U.S. Government’s
recruiting and selection of college/university students and graduates for
professional employment. This E.O. will be distributed in class as a Handout,
but it can also be found at www.USA.GOV (search under the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM) or by the E.O number.
2. California: Governor’s Reorganization Plan # 1 of May 2011 to Unify and
Streamline the California State Personnel System. You may access this at
www.ca.gov. At that site, use the search engine by entering the italicized
title above. A one-page illustration of the reorganization structure will be
distributed in class.
3. Alan Greenblatt, “Public Disunion,” and Jonathan Walters, “Rewriting
Retirement,” in Governing (July 2011), pp. 24-31 and 32-36. These will
be handed out in class, but they can also be accessed in advance via USC
Libraries’ electronic journals/periodicals files.
D. Values of Place and Planet and Multiculturalism in Society and Organizations.
IV. Creativity and Adult Development
A. Richard L. Schott, “The Psychological Development of Adults,” and Mary Timney
Bailey’s comment, with Schott’s reply, in 545 Readings, # 11.
B. Film: Why Man Creates
V. Decision Making
A. Classic Formulations
1. Please review 545 Readings, # 6 & # 7.
2. Charles E. Lindblom, “Still Muddling,” in 545 Readings, # 12.
3. Camille Cates (Barnette), “Beyond Muddling,” in 545 Readings, # 13.
4. Mixed-Scanning Model; Garbage Can Model; Whatever?
B. Decision-Making Technologies and Systems
VI. Motivation Theories and Practices; Organizational Culture
A. Textbook and Journal Treatments
1. Greenwald, Chapter 6 & 7.
2. Ott et al., Pages 131 -139 and Articles 9 - 16.
3. Chandra Pasma, “Working Through the Work Disincentive,” Basic Income
Studies, an International Journal, Vol. 5, Issue 2 (December 2010). This
journal is published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, which is easy to
access. An abstract will be distributed in class, but you may wish to look
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at this journal. This article will be noted to explore “Work Culture” from
perspectives of “income security” advocacy.
B. Public Employee Motivations
1. California League of Cities, “California City Managers Compensation.” This is
posted on Blackboard. This study was completed in response to the City
of Bell Scandal.
2. Michael P. Bobic and William Eric Davis, “A Kind Word for Theory X,” in
545 Readings, # 14.
C. Organizations and Markets
1. Herbert Simon, “Organizations and Markets,” in 545 Readings, # 15.
2. Again consider John DiIulio’s famous article in the 545 Readings, # 7.
VII. Management and Leadership
A. Textbook Frameworks
1. Greenwald, Chapter 9.
2. Ott et al., Pages 31 - 42 and Articles 1 - 3 and 5 - 8.
3. Fred E. Fiedler and Martin M. Chemers, Leadership and Effective Management
(Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Co., 1974). This old book will be
noted here for historical perspectives on research and concepts (especially
“two-factor theory”) in the field.
4. Joan Magretta, What Management Is. This book, sometimes studied in PPD
540 and/or 546, will be noted here to connect this course and those.
5. Bennis & Thomas, Geeks and Geezers. This book will be discussed here
briefly, and it will be noted again in Module Two.
B. Transactional and/or Transformational Leadership: Ott et al., Article 4. This was
reviewed earlier.
C. Performance Management
1. American National Government actions to promote enhanced performance.
2. California: Access the following at www.ca.gov or Google the italicized title:
Performance Management Council, Performance Management in
California State Government, “What Gets Measured Gets Done,”
Sacramento, 30 September 2010.
D. New Public Management and Managerialism.
Look again at the book review Handout above on the IIAS.
VIII. Power and Influence; Law and Legality; Authority, Community, and Reasonableness.
A. Textbook Frameworks and Jurisprudence
1. Greenwald, Chapter 7.
2. Ott et al., Pages 336 - 345 and Articles 30 - 35.
3. What is Law? ...Legality? Reference will be made to the new 2011 book
recommended above: Scott Shapiro, Legality.
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B. “Kissing Up, ”Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “Folie a Deux,” in 545 Readings, # 16.
Consider theories and practices associated with organizational positions identified
as The Boss. Would you ever consider being subordinate to A Boss? Would you
behave as A Boss? On what criteria are your answers based?
C. Authority and Responsibility — Capital and Social Capital
1. Think back to California’s 2010 Primary and General Elections and observe
human-behavior developments going into 2012 campaigns. What parts do
Financial Capital and Partisan Capital play?
2. What were 2010 election impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in
Citizens United vs FCC, 21 January 2010? What are the on-going impacts
on Organizations and their Behaviors leading into 2012 campaigns?
MODULE TWO
Two exam essays will be written at the start of class sessions on Thursday.
IX. Communication
A. Aristotle’s Rhetoric and classical perspectives and practices of Ethical Speech.
B. Contemporary Speech in Public Affairs. Consider 2011Examples: Rupert Murdoch’s
News Corporation Scandal involving News of the World “news gathering”
methods, etc. TV and Radio “Talking Heads”—Journalists? Presidential Primary
Campaigning for 2012. U.S. Government Debt Ceiling Politics, etc.
C. Prescriptions to Overcome Communications Barriers (Class Handout).
D Textbook Treatment: Greenwald, Chapter 10.
X. Groups & Intergroup Behaviors: Ott et al., Pages 209 – 219 and Articles 17 – 20 & 22 – 23.
A. Group Dynamics are among the most important topics in Organization Behavior.
Seriously study these assignments.
B. On this subject and on the next one (XI, A): Brooksley Born and Alan Greenspan:
PBS Frontline Report, “The Warning.” This video will be studied in class.
XI. Interpersonal Dynamics; Managing Conflicts
A. Gender and Interethnic/Interracial Behaviors
1. Brooksley Born and Alan Greenspan.
2. Margaret Arndt and Barbara Bigelow, “Professionalizing and Masculinizing a
Female Occupation,” in 545 Readings, # 17 .
3. Again see 545 Readings, # 10, O’Brien on “Fathers.”
4. Ott et al., Article 36.
5. Ronni Marie Abney et al., “Glass Ceiling or Glass Elevator: Are Voters Biased
in Favor of Women Candidates in California Elections?” The California
Journal of Politics & Policy, Vol. 3, Issue 1 (2011), pp. 1-26. This journal
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is published by The Berkeley Electronic Press and is easy to access on
line. An abstract of this article will be distributed in class.
B. Age and Experience
1. Bennis and Thomas, Geeks & Geezers. This is identified as a Module One
book for class discussion and for an exam topic. However, it is relevant
here on the topic of age and experience.
2. Cross-Generational Roles in this Era of a 4 to 5 generation society. Consider
Margaret Mead’s conclusions of two generations ago. Note today’s TwoWay Mentoring! Especially consider that life spans have nearly doubled
since the time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake—from death in the
late 40s and early 50s to life into the 80s and early 90s.
3. Reflect again on the President Reagan case study and human interdependency.
C. Managing Conflicts
1. Greenwald, Chapter 11.
2. Game Theory: Distributive & Integrative Bargaining. Labor-Management
Relations, listed below, also deals with fixed-sum and variable-sum
economics and other relationships.
D. Selected Contemporary Human Resources Management (HRM) Concerns
1. 20th Century Public Personnel Frameworks and 21st Century dynamics:
a. Rank in Position and Rank in the Person Structures
b. Classification/Job Evaluation (discussed in Module One)
c. Staffing: Recruiting, Examining, Selection.
 Executive Order 13562 (27 December 2010)—Recruiting and
Hiring Students and Recent Graduates was distributed in Module
One.
 Presidential Management Fellows Program
 California State and Local Governments’ practices.
d. Compensation: Pay and Benefits.
 Especially note Health Care and Pension Costs and Funding.
 City of Bell Scandal and Local Government Managers’ Pay (see
again on Blackboard the California League of Cities Report).
2. Outsourcing and Insourcing: Note the Obama Administration’s move toward
defining “inherently governmental jobs.”
3. Public-Sector Labor-Management Relations (Handouts from Module One).
4. Workforce Management. Peter Buerhaus, et al., “New Signs of a Strengthening
U.S. Nurse Labor Market,” in 545 Readings, # 18.
5. Parent-Friendly Careers? Janice Fanning Madden, “Mommies and Daddies on
the Fast Track,” in 545 Readings, # 19.
XII. Organization Change
A. Textbook Frameworks
1. Greenwald, Chapters 12 & 13.
2. Ott et al., Pages 402 - 415 and Articles 37 - 44.
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B. From O.D. in the 1950s - 1960s to Learning Organizations in the 1990s to Today’s
Advanced- Knowledge Dynamic Cultures.
1. Individual and Organizational Behavior Change Movements.
2. Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline. An excerpt from this book is in Ott et al.,
# 40 (above).
3. Training and Development Concepts and Practices.
C. Behavioral Change Technology
1. Ethan A. Singer and Leland M. Wooton, “The Triumph and Failure of Albert
Speer’s Administrative Genius,” in 545 Readings, # 20.
2. Organizational Development (OD) in the 20th Century and Contemporary 21st
Century Behavioral Change Concepts and Practices. Technologies,
Biochemical Interventions, etc. Values Change/Reforms.
XIII. Organization Culture Fragments; Public Service.
A. Classic Fragments—Review Greenwald, Chapter 8. Study Ott et al., Articles 24 – 29,
which were discussed during Module One.
B. Meaning and Emotion in Organization Behavior? Creating Culture? Stress! Success?
1. Ronnie J. Steinberg and Deborah M. Figart, “Emotional Labor,” in 545
Readings, # 21.
2. U.S. Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 — A generation of impacts of CSRA
focus on monetary rewards for performance rather than on public service.
C. Changing Cultures and Institutions: Social, Organizational, and Legal Frameworks
1. Employee Rights and Responsibilities.
 Yong S. Lee, A Reasonable Public Servant. In addition to Chapters 2, 3, &
11, studied in Module One, the remainder of this book will be selectively
examined here, focusing on examples of constitutional and civil rights and
responsibilities of American public servants.
 Public Personnel Legal Cases, 2010-2011. Recent California cases will be
stressed, along with key national developments. Handouts of examples
will be decided upon after completion of Module One.
2. Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the California Gay Marriage Case, and Ted Olson,
the prominent conservative lawyer’s advocacy of the change. Compare
this case with the 17 May 1954 School Integration Case, Brown vs. Board
of Education.
3. Consider the “Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell” policy started under President Clinton
and developments up through Congressional legislation to terminate it on
a schedule to be determined by DOD—and the July 2011 U.S. District
Court decision holding the policy unconstitutional—and follow-on
actions.
D. Organizations and Social Systems.
Two examples merit study:
1. USC’s SPPD and its predecessors, noted in Module One
2. The International City/County Management Association. See: Newland,
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“Managing from the Future in Council-Manager Government.” This is
posted on Blackboard for this class.
E. Contemporary Concerns and Comparative Studies
1. Catastrophes, Terrorism, & Chaos as Challenges
 Note the recommended book by Robert Verchick, Facing Catastrophe,
Environmental Action for a Post-Katrina World (2010).
 Chaos Theory/Practice.
2. Paul Starobin, “Who Turned Out The Enlightenment,” National Journal, vol
38, no. 30 (29 July 2006), pp. 20-26. Secure this at USC Libraries’ EJournals.
3. Transformational Challenges in Central and Eastern Europe following collapse
of Democratic Socialism in the West and of Soviet Communism in the
Eastern Bloc. Consider varied behaviors among today’s European Union
nation states, particularly Greece’s Sovereign Debt Crisis (and similar but
less staggering challenges in Spain and Italy) compared with Germany.
4. Contemporary Facilitative State practices.
a. Contemporary Social, Market, and Governmental Failures—not simply
Market Failure as today’s challenge.
b. International Terrorism (Drug Cartels and Gangs; Religious Ideologues)
and Nation-State Frameworks.
5. Boundary Spanning, Networks, and Post-Modern Contexts. Post Positivism in
American popular, academic, religious, and political cultures and in other
parts of the world?
XIV. Enduring and Current Issues and Fashions in Public-Sector Organization Behaviors
A. Public Interests and Organization as a Moral Problem
1. Responsibility & Social Impacts: Greenwald, Chapters 14 & 15.
2. Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics.
B. Economic Rationality and Political Responsibility. Rationality? Responsibility!
Again note Herb Simon, in 545 Readings, # 5; James March, in 545 Readings,
# 6; and John DiIulio, in 545 Readings, # 7. Recall from Module One the
discussion of Elinor Ostrom’s Nobel Prize winning work.
C. Enduring and Changing Public-Sector Values and Disciplines in Human Behaviors.
Identify exemplars of personal and professional excellence.
1. Disciplines of Constitutional Democracy and Human Behavior in
Organizations and other contexts.
 Search for Human Dignity. Reconsider and reformulate the
questions posed at the start of Module One: Do human beings,
individually and/or collectively, uniquely merit special worth in
nature? What is human dignity?
 Search for Reasonableness, via Rule of Law. By what standards is
reasonableness determined locally, regionally, nationally,
internationally—globally?
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2. Consider the book review of Beryl Radin’s The Accountable Juggler (Class
Handout). Donna Shalala, the former HHS Secretary who is the key
example in that book, merits study throughout this course as well.
3. Behaviors/Misbehaviors; Human/Inhuman Behaviors in and out of
Organizations; Transactional/Transformational Behaviors; Creativity,
Productivity, Sloth, etc.
4. Performance Management – Management by Objectives (MBO).
5. Present and Future Challenges and Opportunities.
6. Restoration of Facilitative Governance Concepts and Practices?
D. The USA in Global Contexts
Consider books recommended above on contemporary challenges for America:
1. Bruce Ackerman, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic (2010).
2. Steven Weber and Bruce W. Jentleson, The End of Arrogance (2010).
3. Anne-Marie Slaughter, A New World Order (2004).
Written Assignments
Three written assignments are required for this course, as follows:
1. On Thursday, 8 September, please submit your one-page resume and two one-page
papers (with your name on each), as assigned in Module One of the course outline above.
Carefully use a professional style of English composition. Doublespace and cite sources in a
standard format. Proofread! Each paper must be no more than one page long and in 12-point
type. Please DO NOT STAPLE the papers. Paperclip them, with the resume on top please, to
facilitate duplication of all papers for distribution to all class members.
2. On Thursday, 13 October, from 9:00 to 11:20 am, a closed-book examination will be
written, as noted above. Students for whom English is not a first language may have more time.
You will write in long hand, using a wide-lined tablet provided by the professor. Subjects will
be discussed and clearly determined during the first series of classes. You will write on one
subject of your choice from among six from those studied during Module One (Topics I – VIII)
and one such subject from among six included in Module Two (Topics IX – XIV).
3. No later than Tuesday, 22 November, two final papers are to be submitted please: (1)
a three-page analysis of your learning outcomes, as explained on pages 1 and 2 of this
syllabus, and (2) a final term paper of 17 to 21 double-spaced pages. Please submit these as two
separately emailed attachments to [email protected]. Since this deadline is two days before
Thanksgiving, completion of your papers will let you be thankfully relaxed for a well-earned
holiday. The term-paper subject is to be an analysis of practical aspects of human behaviors in
the organization where you now work (OR, if you are not now employed, in an organization
where you formerly worked, OR in an organization where you hope to work, OR USC or a
component organization of the University or where you now live). You may propose an
alternative subject of importance. You are to support your term-paper analysis with references to
specific publications assigned in this course, and you may cite other relevant sources as well. A
2-to-3 page outline (or first draft of your paper) must be brought to class on 13-16 October for
review with other students (to get help from and to give help to one another). Along with
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substantive contents and sources, correct English composition and professional appearance will
be 50% of the evaluation criteria for final term papers of students for whom English is a first
language.
Class Attendance and Grading
Full class attendance is expected please. Do not register for conflicting classes. All
class sessions will be at the USC State Capital Center, 1800 I Street, Sacramento. Basement
parking is available at no cost for early arrivals.
As in other graduate/professional education, reasonable flexibility and responsibility are
necessary in grading. As suggested earlier, it is beyond most human capacities to read in detail
all of the assigned materials in this course. Instead, you are to study the materials reasonably,
learning in the process about limits and capacities of being human. The essay examination will
be evaluated as about 25 to 35 percent of the grade; the short papers and class participation will
count as about 25 to 35 percent of the grade; the final term paper will count as about 35 to 50
percent of the grade. Both composition and contents of the term papers of English-language
students will be graded. The basic standard will be the fundamental one of professional practice
of public administration: a search for reasonableness.
Chet Newland’s Resume
Chet Newland is the teacher for this course. He has been associated with USC since 1966
when not in other service, and he is scheduled to retire from USC at the end of 2011. He was
formerly USC’s Duggan Distinguished Professor of Public Administration. Twice he served as
director of the Federal Executive Institute, and he was the initial director of the Lyndon Baines
Johnson Presidential Library. He was the editor in chief of the Public Administration Review,
1984-1990. He is a past national president of the American Society for Public Administration,
and he has been a member since 1975 of the congressionally chartered National Academy of
Public Administration. He is an honorary member of the International City/County Management
Association (ICMA), and he is currently a member of the Cal-ICMA general board and a
member of the ICMA Credentialing Advisory Board. His international work outside of North
America has included assignments in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan,
Korea, Kuwait, Moldova, Poland, and Taiwan. He was deployed to Iraq during the Summers of
2010 and 2011.
You may phone Chet Newland at 916-442-6911, ext. 24; fax to 916-444-7712; e-mail to
[email protected]; or, if you are in Northern California, stop by the USC Center, 1800 I Street,
Sacramento, CA 95811-3004.
*****
Please do not present gifts of any sort to USC faculty or staff.
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PPD 545 Readings
HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS
Fall 2011
1. Matthew Stremlau, “Message in a Genome,” WQ, The Wilson Quarterly, vol. 33
(Summer 2009), pp. 16-25.
2. Jonathan Walters, “Toil and Trouble,” Governing, vol. 19 (April 2006), pp. 26-28, 3032, & 34.
3. Steven Lagerfeld, “Do Smarts Rule? The Revenge of the Nerds,” WQ, The Wilson
Quarterly, vol. 28 (Summer 2004), pp. 27-34.
4. Bob Calverly, “Building the Bionic Brain,” Trojan Family Magazine, vol. 34 (Winter
2002), pp. 36-41.
5. Herbert A. Simon, “Human Nature in Politics: The Dialogue of Psychology with
Political Science,” American Political Science Review (APSR), vol. 79 (June 1985), pp. 293-304.
6. James G. March, “The War is Over, The Victors Have Lost,” Journal of Public
Administration Research and Theory (J-PART), vol. 2 (July 1992), pp. 225-231.
7. John J. DiIulio, Jr., “Principled Agents: The Cultural Bases of Behavior in a Federal
Government Bureaucracy,” J-PART, vol. 4 (July 1994), pp. 277-318.
8. Rob Gurwitt, “Entrepreneurial Government: The Morning After,” Governing, vol. 8
(May 1994), pp. 34-40.
9. Mary Young, “Work-Family Backlash: Begging the Question, What is Fair?” Annals
of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 562 (March 1999), pp. 32-46.
10. Margaret O’Brien, “Fathers, Parental Leave Policies, and Infant Quality of Life;
International Perspectives and Policy Impacts,” Annals of the American Academy of Political
and Social Science, vol. 624 (July 2009), pp. 190-213.
11. Richard L. Schott, “The Psychological Development of Adults: Implications for
Public Administration,” Public Administration Review (PAR), vol. 46 (November/December
1986), pp. 657-667. Mary Timney Bailey, “Psychological Development of Adults,” PAR, vol. 47
(July/August 1987), pp. 343-345. R. L. Schott, “Psychological Development of Adults: Further
Reflections and a Rejoinder,” PAR, vol. 47 (July/August 1987), pp. 345-346.
12. Charles E. Lindblom, “Still Muddling, Not Yet Through,” PAR, vol. 39 (November/
December 1979), pp. 517-526.
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13. Camille Cates, “Beyond Muddling,” PAR, vol. 39 (November/December 1979), pp.
527-532.
14. Michael P. Bobic and William Eric Davis, “A Kind Word for Theory X: Or Why So
Many Newfangled Management Techniques Quickly Fail,” J-PART, vol. 13 (July 2003), pp.
239-264).
15. Herbert Simon, “Organizations and Markets,” J-PART, vol. 5 (July 1995), pp. 273294.
16. Manfred F. R. Kets deVries, “Folie a Deux” Acting Out Your Superior’s Fantasies,”
Human Relations, vol. 31 (1978), pp. 905-924.
17. Margarete Arndt and Barbara Bigelow, “Professionalizing and Masculinizing a
Female Organization: The Reconceptualization of Hospital Administration in the Early 1900s,
Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 50 (June 2005), pp. 233-261.
18. Peter Buerhaus, Douglas O. Staiger, and David I. Auerbach, “New Signs of A
Strengthening U.S. Nurse Labor Market,” Health Affairs, vol. 23 (July-December 2004), pp.
520-533.
19. Janice Fanning Madden, “Preface” to “Mommies and Daddies on the Fast Track:
Success of Parents in Demanding Professions,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science, vol. 596 (November 2004), pp. 6-18.
20. Ethan A. Singer and Leland M. Wooton, “The Triumph and Failure of Albert Speer’s
Administrative Genius: Implications for Current Management Theory and Practice,” Journal of
Applied Behavioral Science, vol. 12 (1976), pp. 79-103.
21. Ronnie J. Steinberg and Deborah M. Figart, “Emotional Labor Since The Managed
Heart, “ The Annals, vol. 561 (January 1999), pp. 8-26.
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