Imagine an inner city public park, or a rural public water system. What ideas or mental pictures come to mind? Are these images based on actual experience or the issues raised by the public in newspapers, the Internet, and other sources?
In his book, The Effective Public Manager: Achieving Success in Government Organizations (2013) Steven Cohen refers to the “perpetual crisis in public management,” but does he agree that public managers and services are in crisis, or is he conveying a different message? Cohen’s arguments related to this “perpetual crisis” are fundamental to understanding many of the day-to-day difficulties inherent in performing the job of public management.
The assignment (3–4 pages):
For this week’s assignment, you are to complete a paper on the issue of what Cohen refers to as the “Perpetual Crisis in Public Management.” In this paper, summarize the main arguments Cohen makes. Then explain the effectiveness of at least two government responses to a crisis using the course readings for this week. Finally, taking the role of a leader in a nonprofit or government organization, explain what actions you might take to improve accountability and responsiveness to the constituents (citizens or clients) you serve.
If you are a non-U.S. student, explain how there may be a “perceptual crisis in public management” in your home country and what the government has done to address this crisis.
Your assignment must demonstrate both breadth and depth of knowledge and critical thinking appropriate to graduate-level scholarship. It must follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association guidelines and be free of typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors. The assignment should be 3–4 pages in length (double-spaced), not including the title page, abstract, and references.
Cohen, S., Eimicke, W., & Heikkila, T. (2013). The effective public manager: Achieving success in government organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Chapter 1, “The Perpetual Crisis in Public Management” (pp. 1–18)
Review Chapter 2, “Defining Effective Public Management” (pp. 19–46)
Andersen, J. A. (2010). Public versus private managers: How public and private managers differ in leadership behavior. Public Administration Review, 70(1), 131–141.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
