Public Affairs 7650: Public Management and Communication in a Hybrid World

By the end of this course, students should successfully be able to

• Explain the challenges of management in a distributed and hybrid workplace (remote, on-site, and field sites):
  • Summarize the latest research and workforce management trends related to distributed, hybrid and flexible work—as well as the impact of AI
  • Describe the impact of these trends on public sector management and communications approaches
  • Identify key challenges spurred by new technologies and expectations and potential solutions
• Manage with flexibility:
  • Understand the distributed hybrid workplace context and its impact on key management functions, notably motivating and monitoring workers and engaging and serving external stakeholders
  • Use best management practices to drive results
• Communicate with clarity and impact:
  • Identify the new basics of assessing and conveying complex information through emails, reports, regulatory updates and/or other key messaging strategies
  • Use tools to analyze content and illustrate best practices in key areas, including readability, complexity, tone, time and action
  • Create “before and after” materials that demonstrate you can apply these strategies effectively
  • Analyze the impact of AI on transforming how we communicate

The course contributes to Glenn College learning goals and objectives related to competencies in management, leadership, and policy analysis. In particular, the course focuses on the following objectives at an introductory level: 

• Students can lead and manage in public governance. 
• Students can participate in and contribute to the policy process. 
• Students can articulate and apply a public service perspective. 
• Students can communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry. 

Mode of delivery: This course is 100% online. Much of the material will be delivered asynchronously. There are a handful of sessions when you must be logged in to Carmen at a scheduled time to participate. These synchronous sessions will be recorded for those who cannot attend.  These are specified in the course calendar.

Pace of online activities: This course is divided into weekly modules that are released at least one week ahead of time. Students are expected to keep pace with weekly deadlines but may schedule their efforts freely within that time frame.

Introduction Video    5 pts
Organization Identification    5 pts
Public Sector Message Analysis and Scoring    10 pts
Public Sector Message Redesign    25 pts
Management Diagnosis & Strategy Video Presentation    10 pts
Management Diagnosis & Strategy Report    25 pts
Class Contribution    10 pts
Knowledge Checks (5)    10 pts
 

Introduce Yourself Video (5 points)

The first assignment requires you to post a short video bio introducing yourself to the other members of the class. You can use a device as simple as a cell phone camera or a laptop. Let us know if you do not have access to a video camera and we will make alternative arrangements. Your video should be short, no more than 1-2 minutes.

Organization Identification (5 points)

In this assignment you identify a “public” organization of interest to you. “Public” means:

• a traditional public agency or organization
• or a nonprofit or private sector group involved in “public” work. 

Once you choose, the next step is to explain why you chose your organization and what you want to learn about how it operates. This organization will become the basis for three of the assignments you conduct for the course, including the:

1. Public sector message redesign
2. Management diagnosis and strategy presentation
3. Management diagnosis and strategy report

Public Sector Message Analysis (10 points)

This class relies heavily on articles, research and case studies to provide insight into the communications challenges faced by managers in the public sector. These will illustrate how organizations convey – or fail to convey – complex information in a way that is clear, easy to understand and act on.

For this assignment, you will analyze key communications from a public sector organization.  We will provide the following content for you to apply a readability/clarity matrix and a “highlight, circle, strike” assessment. 

Your task will be to determine and define the communication problem. Your public sector message analysis should include the following elements:

• Application of the “highlight, circle, strike” assessment on the communication document and readability/clarity score
• Summary of important details 
• Identification of the key communication issue and the fundamental challenge in communicating it clearly

Your analysis should reinforce key concepts from the course and demonstrate your critical thinking about how to convey essential information to more distant, distributed, and distracted audiences.  It should not simply summarize the materials. There is no one right answer, but there are insufficient and incorrect responses.

Message Redesign (25 points)

In this exercise, you will apply the diagnostic skills you practiced in the message analysis assignment by assessing a public sector message of your choosing: either a message inside an organization to employees (e.g., communication of a new organizational policy or an invitation to a new working group), or one outside the organization to external stakeholders (e.g., a regulatory or public policy update email or a public policy campaign communication).  You will use a communication from the organization that you selected. 

You will transform the message by applying best practices for communicating with clarity and impact. 

Management Diagnosis and Strategy Report (25 points) 

Your final project for the class requires you to integrate the management and communication diagnostic and strategy tools we have covered throughout the course.

Your audience for this report is the lead manager/director of the organization you have chosen. 

You have three tasks in the final assignment.

First, you will describe the degree to which the organization you have selected has adopted a fully remote, hybrid or fully in-office workforce model. Explain when this model was adopted and how it has changed in the past two years. Describe the degree to which virtual and hybrid modes of interacting are present or absent in the workplace and in interactions with external stakeholders.

Second, you will assess the strengths and weaknesses of the current arrangement on four managerial functions:

• Motivating employees
• Monitoring and evaluating employees
• Engaging external stakeholders 
• Serving external stakeholders

Third, based on your diagnosis, you will present a strategy for enhancing the strengths and diminishing the weaknesses of the current work model in your organization. Look to tie your strategy to your diagnosis; for example, if the organization’s approach is strong for motivating and monitoring employees, but weak in engaging and serving external stakeholders, focus your strategy on addressing the external weaknesses, while preserving the internal strengths.

In designing your strategy, be sure to explain and discuss how the organization should utilize the communication approaches and tactics we have covered in the course.

Management Diagnosis and Strategy Video Presentation (10 points)

The week before you turn in your final management diagnosis and strategy report for your organization, you will produce a five-minute video that presents the highlights of the report. 

Your audience for this presentation is the lead manager/director of the organization you have chosen. 

You will employ the tools and techniques covered in the course on powerful presentations for the small screen.

You are welcome and encouraged to use visuals in your presentation.

Note that you will present this video one week before you turn in your final report.  The intent is to focus you on including only the most essential information in the report.

Class Contribution (10 points)

You will use class contributions to demonstrate your understanding of the ideas and models presented in class, as well as your ability to apply them. 

Knowledge Checks (10 points)

For five weeks, the reading and video material will be followed by two multiple choice questions.  The questions are designed to assess your comprehension and mastery of the material. Each question will be worth 1 point for a total of 2 points.  In this way, each question is low stakes, but taken together all the knowledge check questions represent 10% of your final grade.