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Archive for the ‘School’ Category
Organizational behavior can be viewed from a traditional, a modernist, or a postmodernist perspective. Choose any one topic in organizational behavior and discuss different approaches to that topic that would come from a traditional, a modernist, or a postmodernist perspective.
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Organizational behavior is an incredibly complex and dynamic field of study. Not only are there a number of different avenues of study but within each focus lies a multitude of theories and perspectives. Bolman and Deal (2008) suggest that the best way to traverse this maze is through different lenses or perspectives of the organization (Bolman & Deal, 2008).
While the lenses that Bolman and Deal propose (structural, human resource, political and symbolic) and very useful for a practical approach to organization understanding and management, there are other perspectives that may be more useful from a more theoretical and scholarly approach. These perspectives are the traditional, modernist, and postmodernist approaches to understanding organizational behavior. Read the rest of this entry »
Literature Review on Motivation
Human motivation is a complex and well studied field that has broad roots in a diverse collection of academic disciplines including psychology, sociology, education, political science, and economics. In simplified terms, motivation can be defined as, “what causes people to behave as they do” (Denhardt et al., 2008, p. 146). Unfortunately, this simple definition hides the dynamic intricacies of the motivation literature. Read the rest of this entry »
OK, not exactly my best work…in fact, pretty far from it. But I think the information and resources in here may be helpful for some folks so I decided to post it.
Concealed Carry Weapons Laws, Stakeholder and Legislation Overview
The Second Amendment to the US Constitution is quite possibly one of the most debated and contested amendments in modern times. The importance and sensitivity of the gun control debate is one that every politician and congressional representative must take to heart; falling within the company of hot-button social issues such as abortion, taxation, and environmental policy. Read the rest of this entry »
Slobogin, C. (2007). Privacy at Risk: The New Government Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment. University Of Chicago Press.
In America today, privacy is slowly becoming a fleeting memory. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, fear has become the fuel by which the Bush Administration has enacted some of the most far-reaching legislative acts to retract privacy protection in this country. From the USA PATRIOT Act to warrant-less wiretapping, the concept and protections of privacy have taken a backseat to the political interests of the state.
Traditionally, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution has provided a measure of protection against unreasonable searches and seizures; and by judicial interpretation, a right to personal privacy against government intrusion. Ever since Katz v. United States in 1967, the Fourth Amendment has served as the yardstick for measuring the protection of personal privacy. However, recent measures of political and security related importance have belittled the citizen’s right to privacy in a variety of settings. Read the rest of this entry »
Brandon C.
PAF 602 (Fall 2008)
Farmer, David J., (1995), The language of public administration: bureaucracy, modernity, and postmodernity, The University of Alabama Press.
Abstract
In The Language of Public Administration, David Farmer argues that the modern language of public administration, by which its scholars understand and approach the field (bureaucracy in particular), is limited. He suggests that the language of public administration can be expanded through the advent and acceptance of postmodernity and provides justification through the analysis of distinct characteristics in modernity and postmodernity. Read the rest of this entry »
Brandon C.
PAF 602 (Fall 2008)
Abstract
Stivers, C. M. (2002). Bureau Men, Settlement Women: Constructing Public Administration in the Progressive Era (Studies in Government and Public Policy). University Press Of Kansas.
Camilla Stivers’ Bureau Men, Settlement Women is a historical reconstruction of the early days of public administration with a particular emphasis on gender influences. Focusing on the Progressive Era, Stivers dichotomizes municipal research bureaus and settlement houses as distinct yet complimentary forms of governmental reform organizations central to the rise of the administrative state. Research bureaus, focused on objective and procedural efficiency in administration, are identified as masculine; while settlement houses, focused on substantive social improvement, are seen as feminine. Read the rest of this entry »
Brandon C.
PAF 602 (Fall 2008)
Abstract
Denhardt, R. B. (1991). In the Shadow of Organization. Regents Press of Kansas.
Robert Denhardt’s In the Shadow of Organization focuses on the impact of individuals within organizations and how organizational efficiency or rationality is encroaching into our individuality. Modern organizations and organization administration have heavily borrowed principles of rationality and objectivity from the sciences. This has resulted in a one-sided focus of placing the rational goals of the organization above, and often in place of, those of the individual members of the organization. This, according to Jung, inhibits the necessary individualization required by people to become whole and balanced beings. Read the rest of this entry »
Brandon C.
PAF 602 (Fall 2008)
Abstract
Ostrom, V. (1989). The Intellectual Crisis in American Public Administration. University Alabama Press.
Vincent Ostrom’s The Intellectual Crisis in American Public Administration is an argument against bureaucratic administration in favor of democratic administration. Ostrom sees a fundamental dichotomy in the field of public administration and presses for a paradigm shift in classical Kuhn fashion. This shift is away from the traditional theory of public administration as layed out by Woodrow Wilson, Max Weber, and others. Drawing upon Alexis Tocqueville, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and others, Ostrom argues that fragmentation of authority and overlapping jurisdiction allow for less abuse of power and greater efficiency in administration. Read the rest of this entry »
The e-government movement concerns the use of information technology to exchange information and provide services from government organizations to citizens, businesses, and other branches of government. While initially used as a means of information dissemination, many government organizations at all levels are capitalizing on the use of technology to make interaction with government easier. The aim of e-government is to increase government efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and to improve citizen-government interactions. Read the rest of this entry »
