Doing Democratic Public Administration

This quarter we explore what it takes to administer for the public good in a democracy. This quarter is in part a “Public Administration-Management 101” survey of the challenges faced by administrators in the public, nonprofit or private sectors, and the knowledge and skills needed to administer/manage in diverse organizations that work toward the public good. Although our emphasis is on the public sector, we will also consider the particular challenges of nonprofit organizations and collectives. Our focus is on doing administration with an emphasis on democratic processes and systems thinking, particularly the roles and relationships of administrators and citizens in the complex web of our democratic system. Important themes of the quarter include how to manage strategically and sustainably, how to apply a variety of metaphors and frameworks for making sense of organizational phenomena, and how to diagnose what is happening in an organization and, if necessary, craft and implement a strategy for organizational change.

To successfully participate in this program, students will need online access. Students can expect our remote teaching to be around 3 hours of synchronous (scheduled) coursework per week, using Zoom and Canvas. Students will have access to alternatives to synchronous (in person or remote) participation if conditions require.