COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST FOR POLI 203/213: INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

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DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

FIRST SEMESTER, 2015/2016

   COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST

                     LECTURERS: Dr. Emmanuel Debrah & Dr. Ransford Gyampo

                                 

COURSE OUTLINE AND READINGS

COURSE TITLE	INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
COURSE CODE	POLI 203/213
COURSE CREDITS	3
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES	Public administration can simply be explained in terms of the management of public programmes. The course examines the conceptual and practical facets of public administration; examines the work of public administrators in many different kinds of organizations; and defines the political as well as the historical context within which public organizations operate. The course also focuses on the public bureaucracy and analyzes government operations and their impact on the individual and society in general.
OFFICE LOCATION	Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Room 7
OFFICE HOURS	Mondays: 9.30am – 4.30pm
EMAIL	vangyampo@yahoo.com or revgyampo@ug.edu.gh
LECTURE PERIODS AND VENUE	Group A - Mondays 7.30am-9.20am @ JQB 14. GROUP B- Wednesdays 7.30am-9.20am @JQB 14
WEEK NO.	LECTURE TOPIC	TUTORIALS	ASSESSMENT
1	The nature and scope of Public Admin	Students to identify and explain the difference between public and private administration
2	Nature and Scope of Public Admin
3	Principles of Public Admin	Students to explain the Principles of Scientific Management
4	Principles of Public Admin
5	Theories of Public Admin	Students to Identify and explain the various theories of Public Admin
6	Theories of Public Admin
7	Administrative Centralization	Students to discuss the merits and demerits of a Centralized Administration
8	Decentralization	Students to explain the concept of decentralization and identify the factors that favors it
9	Administrative Leadership	Students to distinguish between leaders and managers
10	Administrative Leadership
11	E-Government	Students to discuss the impact of E-Government on Public Admin
12	E-Government
13	Re-cap of Semester
14	STUDENT REVISION
15-17	EXAMINATION (70%)

COURSE READINGS

Denhardt R. and Denhardt J. 2009. Public Administration: An Action Orientation, Sixth Edition (Belmont: Thomson Higher Education)

Starling Grover 2008. Managing the Public Sector, Eighth Edition (Boston: Thomson Higher Education)

Shafritz J. and Hyde A. 2007. Classics of Public Administration, Sixth Edition (Boston: Thomson Higher Education)

Guy, P and Jon P (eds.) 2007. Handbook of Public Administration (London: Sage Publications)

Simon, H. 1997. The Public Administration Behaviour, Fourth Edition (New York: Free Press).

Polindaidu S. 2004. Public Administration (New Delhi: Galgotia Publications).

Trahair R. 2005. Elton Mayo: The Humanist Temper (New York: Transaction Publishers).

Kanigel R. 1997. The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency (New York: Viking).

Fitch L.C. 1996. Making Democracy Work: The Life and Letters of Luther Halsey Gulick, 1892-1993 (California: University of California Press).

Blackman D and Lejeune H. (eds.) 1990. Behaviour Analysis in Theory and Practice: Contributions and Controversies. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Green, D.P and Shapiro, I. 1994. Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory: A Critique of Applications in Political Science (New Haven: Yale University Press).

Ayee J.R.A. 1994. An Anatomy of Public Policy Implementation (Avebury: Aldershot).

Prud’homme, R. 1995. ‘The Dangers of Decentralization”, The World Bank Research Observer 10 (2) (August): 100-120.

Olowu D. 1995. “Centralization, Self-Governance and Development in Nigeria” in J.S Wunsch and D. Olowu (eds.) The Failure of the Centralized State: Institutions and Self-Governance in Africa (San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies Press).

Spillane James et al. 2004. “Towards a Theory of Leadership Practice” Journal of Curriculum Studies 36 (1): 3-34

Satyanarayana, J. 2004. E-Government: The Science of the Possible (India: Prentice Hall).

Walsham, G. 2001. Globalization and ICTs: Working Across Cultures (Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press).

REQUIREMENTS/ GENERAL INFORMATION

• Extensive Reading (at least 70% of the required reading materials) is a MUST
• There would be 13 weeks of lectures and students must endeavor to attend all lectures. The course shall not be done by correspondence.
•  Students must be punctual in attending all lectures. No lateness would be tolerated
• Students MUST attend tutorials regularly and make MEANINGFUL contributions to class discussions.
• An Interim Assessment would be conducted and would constitute 30% of the final grades of students. The final exam would account for 70% of students’ grade.
• For information on Grading Scale, students may refer to Undergraduate Handbook for details.

·      Students MUST comport themselves during lectures. No acts of indiscipline such as ringing of mobile phones and all other acts that could distract the attention of other students while lectures are on-going would be tolerated

PLAGIARISM POLICY

Students must take note that the University of Ghana has deployed software under its current e-Learning platform that detects plagiarism in all forms, from class assignments to project works and other academic work. This is aimed at enhancing originality of thought among students and promoting excellent academic work. Plagiarism in any form would therefore not be countenanced.