This class provides foundational knowledge about organizations and management. The instructor will present materials to facilitate discussions, while students are expected to contribute their own experiences. Together, we will co-construct the learning environment. The goal of this class is for students to be able to draw on the shared knowledge when they enter the workplace, helping them navigate their organizations and make better decisions.
Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcome:
• Students will effectively analyze the complexity of human behavior, and how historical, economic, political, social, or geographic relationships develop, persist, or change.
There will be weekly reading assignments for both Monday and Wednesday class meetings. Monday will focus primarily on theoretical foundations, while Wednesday will be applied cases. A schedule of the readings is below.
Week 1 — Introduction: Organizations as Policy Actors
Monday (January 12):
Course introduction and short diagnostic quiz (no readings)
Wednesday (January 14):
Simon, H. A. (1946). The Proverbs of Administration. Public Administration Review, 6(1), 53–67.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/972148
Week 2 — Bureaucracy & Scientific Management
Monday (January 19): NO CLASS
Wednesday (January 21):
Fry, B. R., & Raadschelders, J. C. (2013). Frederick W. Taylor: The man, the method, the movement. In Mastering Public Administration. CQ Press. (Book chapter; library access)
Case: DOT — Transportation Safety & Oversight Failures
Week 3 — Bounded Rationality & Organized Anarchy
Monday (January 26):
Cohen, M. D., & March, J. G. (1974). Leadership in an Organized Anarchy.
In Leadership and Ambiguity. Harvard Business School Press.
Mintzberg, H. (1990). The Manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact. Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/1990/03/the-managers-job-folklore-and-fact
Wednesday (January 28):
Case: EPA — Flint Water Crisis
Week 4 — Data, Bias, and Expertise
Monday (February 2):
Lewis, M. (2018). The Fifth Risk (selected excerpts). W. W. Norton.
https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393357455
Lewis, M. (2016). The Undoing Project (Chapter 6). W. W. Norton.
https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393354775
Kahneman, D., et al. (2021). Bias Is a Big Problem. But So Is “Noise.” The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/opinion/noise-bias-kahneman.html
Maltz, M. D., Gordon, A. C., & Friedman, W. (1991). Detective Use of the Mapping System.
In Mapping Crime in Its Community Setting (pp. 91–106). Springer. (Library access)
Wednesday (February 4):
Case: DOE — Grid Reliability & Emergency Response
Week 5 — Organizational Wrongdoing
Monday (February 9):
Barboza, D. (2013). Coin of Realm in China Graft: Phony Receipts. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/business/global/coin-of-realm-in-china-graft-phony-receipts.html
Weaver, G. (2019). How to Scandal-Proof Your Company. Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/2019/07/white-collar-crime
Wednesday (February 11):
Case: SEC — Disclosure, Enforcement, and Liability
Week 6 — Informal Structure in Organizations
Monday (February 16):
Blau, P. (1955). Consultation Among Colleagues. In The Dynamics of Bureaucracy.
Dalton, M. (1959). Men Who Manage (selected excerpts).
Wednesday (February 18):
Case: FTC — Antitrust & Consumer Protection Backlash
Week 7 — Paper 1
Monday (February 23):
Writing workshop (no new readings)
Wednesday (February 25):
Synthesis discussion (no case)
Week 8 — Red Tape & Reengineering
Monday (March 2):
Stinchcombe, A. L., & Heimer, C. A. (1985). Three Origins of Red Tape.
Hammer, M. (1990). Reengineering Work: Don’t Automate, Obliterate. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1990/07/reengineering-work-dont-automate-obliterate
The Robots Are Coming for Phil in Accounting. The New York Times (2021).
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/06/business/the-robots-are-coming-for-phil-in-accounting.html
Wednesday (March 4):
Case: FDA / USDA — Food & Drug Risk Regulation
Week 9 — New Public Management
Monday (March 9):
Gen, S., & Kingsley, G. (2007). Effects of Contracting Out Engineering Services.
Public Works Management & Policy, 12(1), 331–343.
Ramesh, M. (2008). Autonomy and Control in Public Hospital Reforms.
The American Review of Public Administration, 38(1), 62–79.
Wednesday (March 11):
Case: World Bank — Project Governance & Accountability
Week 10 — Paper 2
Monday (March 16):
Writing workshop
Wednesday (March 18):
Reading synthesis (no case)
Week 11 — Spring Break
Monday (March 23): no class
Wednesday (March 25): no class
Week 12 - Institutional Theory
Monday (March 30):
Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized Organizations.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2778293
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The Iron Cage Revisited.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2095101
Westphal, J. D., Gulati, R., & Shortell, S. M. (1997). Customization or Conformity?
Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 366–394. (Library access)
Wednesday (April 1):
Case: UNFCCC / COP — Consensus Governance
Week 13 — Power in Organizations
Monday (April 6):
Hickson, D. J., et al. (1971). Strategic Contingencies Theory.
Salancik, G. R., & Pfeffer, J. (1974). Power in Organizational Decision Making.
Wednesday (April 8):
Case: WTO — Dispute Settlement & Institutional Strain
Week 14 — Organizational Networks
Monday (April 13):
Krackhardt, D., & Hanson, J. R. (1993). Informal Networks.
https://hbr.org/1993/07/informal-networks-the-company-behind-the-chart
Uzzi, B., & Spiro, J. (2005). Collaboration and Creativity.
Wednesday (April 15):
Case: WHO — Crisis Response & Legitimacy
Weeks 15/16 — Paper 3 & Course Synthesis
Monday (April 20):
Final paper due
Wednesday (April 22):
Course integration and wrap-up
Monday (April 27): LAST CLASS
Course integration and wrap-upWEDNESDAY CASE READINGS
The following readings support Wednesday case discussions. These materials are primary, public institutional sources. Students are expected to browse these sources strategically to understand each organization’s mandate, decision authority, incentives, and failure modes. Students are not expected to read every document in full. Students may focus on one organization or incident per case unless otherwise noted.
We will discuss these organizations and incidents in class using the following standard discussion prompts:
- What is the organization’s mandate, and who defines it?
- Where does decision-making authority sit (formally and informally)?
- What incentives and constraints shape behavior?
- What organizational failures occurred, and what caused them?
- Who faced consequences, and why?
- What reforms might reduce the likelihood of recurrence?
- What might a career path look like in this organization, and how could an individual influence policy from within?
Week 2 - Department of Transportation (DOT)
• National Transportation Safety Board. (n.d.). Accident investigations. https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/default.aspx
• U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General. (n.d.). Audit and investigation reports. https://www.oig.dot.gov
• U.S. Government Accountability Office. (n.d.). Transportation safety. https://www.gao.gov/transportation
Week 3 - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Flint drinking water response. https://www.epa.gov/flint
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Inspector General. (2016). Management weaknesses delayed response to the Flint water crisis. https://www.epa.gov/oig
• U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Reform. (n.d.). Flint water crisis investigation. https://oversight.house.gov
Week 4 - Department of Energy (DOE)
• U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General. (n.d.). Reports and reviews. https://www.energy.gov/ig
• U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity. (n.d.). Grid reliability and resilience. https://www.energy.gov/oe
• North American Electric Reliability Corporation. (n.d.). Reliability standards. https://www.nerc.com
Week 5 - Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.). Enforcement actions. https://www.sec.gov/enforcement
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.). Litigation releases. https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.). Investor bulletins. https://www.sec.gov/investor
Week 6 - Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Cases and proceedings. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings
• Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Policy statements and guidance. https://www.ftc.gov/policy
• U.S. Government Accountability Office. (n.d.). Competition and consumer protection. https://www.gao.gov/competition
Week 8 - Food and Drug Administration (FDA) / Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts. https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. (n.d.). Recalls and public health alerts. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls
- U.S. Department of Justice. (n.d.). Consumer protection branch. https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch
Week 9 - World Bank Group (WBG)
• World Bank. (n.d.). Inspection Panel. https://www.inspectionpanel.org
• World Bank. (n.d.). Environmental and social framework. https://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/environmental-and-social-framework
• World Bank. (n.d.). Project database. https://projects.worldbank.org
Week 12 - UNFCCC / Climate Governance
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (n.d.). UNFCCC process and COP portal. https://unfccc.int/process
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (n.d.). Nationally determined contributions registry. https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/NDCStaging/Pages/All.aspx
• United Nations. (2015). Paris Agreement. https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement
Week 13 - World Trade Organization (WTO)
• World Trade Organization. (n.d.). Dispute settlement system. https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_e.htm
• World Trade Organization. (n.d.). WTO legal texts and agreements. https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm
• World Trade Organization. (n.d.). Trade policy review mechanism. https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tpr_e.htm
Week 14 - World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). Health emergencies programme. https://www.who.int/emergencies
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). Governance and constitution. https://www.who.int/about/governance
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). Independent evaluations and reviews. https://www.who.int/about/accountability
Assessments
Three Papers (15% per each)
Participation (35%) - including class discussions and occasional low-stakes “pop” quizzes
Case contributions (20%) - weekly to bi-weekly case exercises (some individual, some group)
Students are expected to attend class each week and contribute productively, as participation is a major portion of the semester grade. Excused absences will be tolerated when there is an advance notice (ideally at least one class meeting ahead of reasonable absence). Students are expected to keep up with work assignments even when they are required to miss class.
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.
This is a Core IMPACTS course that is part of the Social Sciences area.
Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential
knowledge in foundational academic areas. This course will help students master course
content, and support students’ broad academic and career goals.
This course should direct students toward a broad Orienting Question:
• How do I understand human experiences and connections?
Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcome:
• Students will effectively analyze the complexity of human behavior, and how historical, economic, political, social, or geographic relationships develop, persist, or change.
Course content, activities and exercises in this course should help students develop the following Career-Ready Competencies:
• Intercultural Competence
• Perspective-Taking
• Persuasion