Public Affairs 6060: Managerial Leadership in Public and Nonprofit Organizations

• Beginning of Semester Tasks, 5%

• Synchronous Class Participation, 15%

• Online Instruction: 
  Activities and Discussions, 15%
  Reflection Papers and Exit Tickets, 15%

• Research Paper OR Case Analysis Paper, 20%

• Public/Nonprofit Leader Interview Paper, 20%

• 360 Evaluations, 5%

• Final Reflection Paper, 5%

During the first week of class, everyone will post a video introducing themselves to the class and complete a brief questionnaire.  Further instructions will be discussed in class and posted on the class website.

Over the course of the semester, we have three synchronous sessions. These sessions were deliberately scheduled at specific moments in the semester to build our learning community and leverage the various professional and personal experiences of the class to enhance the impact of this course. It is important that you attend ALL synchronous class sessions, listen attentively, and contribute questions and comments to live class discussions.  The quality of your comments and contributions to class discussions will impact the success of our class and the quality of your’s and your colleagues’ learning. Your comments should add a new perspective, pose a question that extends or adds a new dimension, respectfully challenge a colleague’s position, or lend substantive additional depth. At the end of the semester, you will evaluate your participation as part of your final reflection paper. I will use this self-evaluation along with my own notes evaluations and your attendance to assign your participation grade.

Remember that you can expect approximately four hours of “instruction time” each week, as distinct from time spent reading/watching course materials or working on larger assignments.  It is important for you to complete online instruction assignments by their associated deadline. During most weeks, you will participate in a graded online activity and an open-ended group discussion as part of the Learn section for that week’s module. Additionally, you will submit either a reflection paper or an exit ticket in the Reflect section. At the end of the semester, I will add up the online instruction points awarded to each student and divide them by the total possible points to calculate your online class participation grade.

1.  Activities: Online activities will vary from week to week and include simulations, quizzes based on interactive content, and reflection questions in response to video interviews. Instructions for completing the activity will be posted to Canvas as part of the Learn section for each week’s module. Several learning activities are associated with a case study assigned as reading for that week of instruction (see the Note on Case Studies earlier in this section).  

2. Discussions: You have the option of making either written or vlog posts to the group discussion by Tuesday each week (worth 0-4 points depending on the length and quality of the post). Original posts should be either one substantial paragraph or a 35 minute, professional-looking vlog with comprehensible audio.  Once you have completed your original post, you will respond to the posts of at least two other students before our Friday (worth 0-3 points each depending on the quality of the response).  Each week, you can earn up to 10 points based on the quality of your original post and peer-response posts.  At the end of the semester, I will add up the points awarded to each student and divide them by the total possible points to calculate each student’s online class participation grade.  

3. Reflection Papers: Several weeks throughout the semester, you will submit via Canvas a substantial one-page document (single-spaced, 1-inch margin, 12- point Times New Roman font) focused on a big idea (overarching theme) or an intriguing insight identified based on the course materials for the week. You do not need to formally cite the course materials for the week but please make it clear to the reader which course materials you are discussing by referring to them by their title or the name of the author. Use separate paragraphs to address each of the following questions: 

• What theme or insight stands out to you? - Describe a theme or intriguing insight and explicitly connect it to at least two of the course materials for the week.
• So What? - What does this suggest about the significance of the idea or insight to public management more broadly? For example, you might discuss how this idea or insight relates to your own experience, current events, or the HistoryMakers interview(s) you have chosen.
• Now What? - Reflect on your own capacity to implement this idea in the future.  Does this idea align well with some of your current skills and qualities?  If so, how so?  If not, what could you do to further build your competency? 
• Lingering Questions - You have the option of articulating a question that was left unanswered or underdeveloped in the course materials.

 Papers are graded on a ten-point scale based on the extent to which they address the required content.

4. Exit Tickets: On weeks when you do not submit a reflection paper, you will be prompted to briefly reflect on your key take-aways from the course module. 

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you the opportunity to delve more deeply into a management or leadership topic/challenge of interest and to practice your research, analysis and writing skills. You have two options for completing this assignment.

Option 1: Research Paper
If you choose this option, you will identify a topic or question related to the practice of management and leadership that interests you. For example, you might ask: Does gender shape management practice, and in what ways? How have employee recruitment and hiring practices changed over time? Do employee motivation strategies differ in public and nonprofit organizations and how? Are the challenges and practices of leadership in the healthcare (or performing arts, or federal government) sector distinct, and in what ways? 

Using your topic or question of interest as a guide, you will identify 8-10 relevant academic or practitioner-oriented sources that are not course materials. You are, however, welcome to draw upon and cite course materials in your paper in addition to the credible sources they identify in your research. Your paper will synthesize main findings and practical resources from your research and identify their implications for management and leadership practice.  

Option 2: Case Analysis Paper
If you choose this option, you will select one of the case studies assigned for the course, diagnose a central problem in the case, conduct research that supports the identification of possible solutions, and make a recommendation to a key decision-maker from the case.  

Case studies describe management and leadership challenges faced by real people and organizations. Case studies are commonly used in management and leadership courses to provide insight into real-world challenges. Case studies may or may not clearly define a problem. Case study analysis focuses on defining a central management or leadership challenge and identifying the pros and cons of various prospective (future) or retrospective (past) options to address this problem. The case materials present the facts that are/were known or available to parties in the situation and that informed their decisions and actions. A decision is sometimes described in the case materials, other times it is not. If a decision is indicated in the case, the retrospective analysis focuses upon the evaluation of the decision in comparison to alternative courses of action, the ramifications of the decision, and recommendations for future action. If the decision is not described, then prospective analysis focuses on identifying multiple courses of action (including maintaining the status quo), weighing the pros and cons of these options, and making a recommendation for future action. 

Using the problem that you diagnose from the case as a guide, you will identify 8-10 relevant academic or practitioner-oriented sources that are not course materials. These sources may provide additional background on the case and/or insight into the problem and possible solutions. You are, however, welcome to draw upon and cite course materials in your paper in addition to the credible sources you identify in their research. Your case analysis paper will synthesize your research, identify 2-3 options for addressing the problem moving forward and assess their viability, and make a recommendation to a key decision-maker from the case. 

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with the opportunity to gain additional insight into public/nonprofit leadership. To complete the assignment, you will conduct an in-depth interview with a public/nonprofit leader (e.g., city manager, a county administrator, director of a nonprofit organization, community organizer) who is/has played a leadership role in their organization and/or the community more broadly. In addition, you will identify a public or nonprofit leader from the HistoryMakers archive and listen to their full recorded interview. In your paper, you will discuss the ways that each interviewee’s background shaped both their approach to leadership and their career path; compare and contrast the leadership approach of the two interviewees; and highlight additional insights from the interviews on topics relevant to the course.

Early in the semester, you will submit the names, titles, and organizations of two public or nonprofit sector leaders who you could potentially interview for the assignment and two HistoryMakers whose interviews they could use for the assignment via Canvas. You will ultimately interview only one leader and listen to only one full HistoryMakers interview for the assignment. At this stage, I simply want to ensure that you are thinking about and planning for the assignment and that, if more than one student wishes to interview the same leader, I can work with you to find a solution. 

Around the middle of the term, you will submit via Canvas: 1) documentation from the interviewee confirming the date and time of the scheduled interview, and 2) a list of interview questions.  

You will write your paper by drawing on your interviews, additional internet research into the leaders and their organizations, and relevant course materials. Your paper should make connections between the interviews and course materials from 2-3 of the modules or broad topics covered during the semester by describing and citing relevant course materials. The paper is due via Canvas towards the end of the semester. Each paper should be approximately 2000 words (single-spaced, 1-inch margin, 12- point Times New Roman font). Papers should be carefully proofread and posted to Canvas on the day they are due. 

Towards the end of the semester, you will complete a 360 evaluation for several of your colleagues.  The 360 evaluations will be administered through Carmen.  Further instructions will be discussed in class and posted on the class website.

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with the opportunity to reflect on your professional and personal growth throughout the semester. You will submit a final reflection paper in which they address the following questions:

• How has your understanding of management, leadership and/or public values evolved over the course of the semester? Include a discussion of your pre-semester questionnaire responses.
• How has your understanding of facilitation and reflection as management/leadership skills changed over the course of the semester? You may want to focus on your experience with the group facilitation and individual reflection paper assignments, but I encourage you to think about how your management practice has changed outside of the course as well. 
• What are your strengths and weaknesses as a manager and leader? Include some discussion of your experiences submitting evaluations for your colleagues and reviewing the results of your 360 evaluations. Also include a reflexive evaluation of your participation in the course in this section.
• What was the most impactful things that you learned in this course this semester? How will it shape the way that you think about and practice management and leadership moving forward?