PURPOSE: Students are asked to select a local, state or federal public agency, and using primary and/or secondary data sources, provide a critical assessment of the agency’s ability to effectively meet its mission given the organizational structure, culture, and environment.PRODUCT: Students should complete:• Power Point Presentation (A minimum of 10 well-developed informational slides)CHOOSING ELEMENTS FOR THE CASE STUDY: • Choosing the Public Agency of Analysis: Students have a lot of flexibility in what agency(ies) they choose to include in the case study. Students can analyze agencies they have previously worked or interned in, agencies by which they have been a customer of or engaged with as a stakeholder, or agencies they are interested in from a future professional or scholarly perspective. Any public agency can be used as the center point of the case study. Typically, students only choose one public agency; however, in some cases (Department of Homeland Security, for example) there may be more than one sub-agency or divisions that should be included in the case study.• Choosing a Key Scenario(s) of Interest: Students need to identify a policy issue, program, initiative, event, or conflict in which the public agency’s effectiveness (in terms of its organizational structure, cultural/environmental characteristics, people-power dynamics) can be adequately assessed. Scenarios can come from a number of places – news stories, the student’s individual/direct knowledge of the agency, or even examples from any of the readings this semester. Oftentimes, case studies will look at how a public agency handled two or more various scenarios, and also how the agency learned from each of these situations and evolved in terms of structure and culture from lessons/experiences drawn from the scenarios.• Drawing Comparisons: In some but not all case studies, the scenario that is included in the case analysis may involve or implicate more than one public agency. Thus, students may (but do not have to) include more than one public agency within their case study. However, it is important that if students decide to include more than one agency in their case study in order to draw comparisons, the student is responsible for comparing/contrasting all of the public agencies using details of each of the public agencies’ structures, cultures and environments. RESOURCES: Regardless of which product is chosen, students’ products are expected to be well-researched, using any of the following to complete their project –• Any previous readings from the Managing Public Organizations semester• Published Secondary Resources (published journals, news sources, books, official websites of the agency and/or its stakeholders)• Primary Sources (focus groups; notes from interviews or site visits; written correspondence/communications from agency officials; recorded observations as a result of direct professional or personal interaction with the agency)TOPICS/SUGGESTED FORMAT• Part One: Organizational Profileo Outline the organization’s mission/vision, authorities (statutory, regulatory, legal) and history.o Describe the organizational structure, culture and environment of the public agency. ▪ Students need to be as detailed as possible in their description of the organization’s structure, cultural and environmental aspects of the organization, using the theoretical frameworks and various models for public management from the semester’s readings to inform this description.▪ Students should analyze the suitability of each of these elements in terms of their alignment with and suitability for accomplishing the organization’s mission. • Part Two: Critique of the Organization’s Management Construct on Its Effectiveness in Realityo Identify at least one scenario (program, policy, initiative and/or event within the organization’s domain/authority) where the public organization’s actions can be analyzed.o Through the lens of the scenario(s), the student should conduct a comprehensive critical analysis of the effectiveness of the public agency’s management in effectively addressing the challenges/problems resulting from the scenario. • Part Three: Evaluation/Findingso Describe key strengths within the organization’s existing structure/culture/environment that should be sustained in the future.o Identify key learnings and recommendations for how the organizational structure, culture, environment could be strengthened or improved upon in order to allow the organization to more effectively meet its mission.o Provide any additional thoughts on future challenges (for example, budgetary shortfalls, statutory changes, political opposition) that may require the organization to reform its existing management model in order to continue to be more effective.EVALUATION: The assignment will be graded on three criteria –• Strong command of the theoretical underpinnings and intellectual framework of public management embedded within the case study;• Depth and breadth of the analysis of the public agency/management structure that is the central subject of the case study; and• Professional quality of the final product, including excellent content, format and delivery.SUPPORT: Students are encouraged/invited to reach out to the professor over the next week if they would like to discuss options for their proposed public agency/scenario as the subject matter for their case study. Students may either email their ideas/questions for feedback or arrange a call.
