HA1003: Introduction to Public Administration and Policy

Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme

School of Social Sciences

HA1003: Introduction to Public Administration and Policy

AY22/23

Syllabus

Instructor:

Assoc Prof. CHEN Chung-An

Office: SHHK-05-15
Telephone: 65922499
Email: cchongan@ntu.edu.sg
Office hours: By appointment

Tutors:

Ms. HUANG Xi (Week 2-7)

Email: huan0319@e.ntu.edu.sg

Mr. CAI Yuqian (Week 8-13)

Email: yuqian003@e.ntu.edu.sg

Course Aims

This core course aims to develop your understanding of key concepts, principles and
theoretical approaches of public administration (PA) and public policy (PP) that are
essential for future social science-related courses and careers. Besides, it aims to develop
your reflective capacity and enable you to link theory to practice through case studies and
policy debates. You will also learn to write a critical group essay, with proper
documentation and citations that would be useful for future social science-related courses.

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Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

1. Know basic concepts in PA and PP.

2. Apply key PA and PP concepts and theories to real world situations.
3. Know the dynamics within government.
4. Know the dynamics in different stages of a policy making process.

Course Contents

There are a few important issues that will be covered in this semester:

 Reasons that we need a government

 The structure of a government
 The environment of a government
 Actors around a government and within a government
 A policy making process
 Problem identification in public policy
 Agenda setting in public policy
 Tools used in public policy
 Top-down and bottom-up implementation of public policy
 Evaluation of public policy

Textbooks

Required textbooks
De Vries, M. S. Understanding Public Administration. (DV)
Birkland, T. An Introduction to the Policy Process, 5th edition. (B)

Other readings (marked with red color in the schedule)

Lindblom, C. E. and Woodhouse, E. J. The Policy-Making Process. (LW)
Dye, T. R. Understanding Public Policy. (D)

Reading from LW and D are made available online at ntulearn.ntu.edu.sg (e)

Course Policies

 No handphone, chatting, or other behavior irrelevant with lectures will be allowed.

 Students are expected to be punctual in attendance.
 Students are expected to adhere to academic integrity in their homework assignments.

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Grading

Participation (10%)

Discussion is crucial in policy studies. One-way instruction discourages thinking and thus
creates rigid robot-like students. Asking questions and spontaneously answering my
questions will help you get participation marks. Asking questions will not embarrass the
instructor. Questions that shut up the instructors are best questions.

Quiz (15%)

A quiz will be prepared for you by Week 6 in your tutorial. There will be easy T/F,
multiple-choice, and simple essay questions.

Policy Memo (Group Work) (15%)

Students organize groups (about 5 people in a group) to conduct policy studies and present
their findings in your tutorial scheduled in Week 12. This group work is comprised of the
following elements: (1) a self-selected social issue; (2) a formal presentation and/or and an
informal show; (3) a policy memo. Students in the same group get the same grade unless
free riding is reported.

Final Examination (60%)

Final examination is a comprehensive examination that evaluates a student’s knowledge of

public policy in general. It will include everything covered throughout this semester.
Questions appear in several forms: true/false questions, multiple choice questions and theory
application questions. Students are not allowed to use any book, paper, and internet
materials in answering all these questions.

Reminders for Freshmen

 Questions that shut me up are best questions. Don’t worry. You can never humiliate me.
 Good students are honest and active. If you are lost, admit it and ask immediately in the
class, or right after the class.
 Many of you keep silent all the time when (1) professors ask questions and when (2)
you are lost. You claim that you are shy, or you show respect in this way. This is surely
wrong. This only makes you even more blur and marginalized.
 Many of you prefer a private room for questions because you feel anxious when you
ask questions in the class. I understand and accept it. Even so, I still encourage you to
ask in the class, because “sharing” is a merit.
 Many of you ask us (teachers) to spare time to respond to your questions in long emails.
I don’t like it because email response is often time-consuming and unclear. In many
cases, I may even fail to get your points. Face-to-face meetings are more effective.

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Lecture Schedule and Readings

Week Themes Readings

1 Introduction B: Ch.1
DV: Ch.1
Public Administration

2 What is government and why do we need government? DV: Ch.2

3 The structure of government DV: Ch.3 and 4

4 People in government (I): Elected officials DV: Ch.5 (leadership)

B: Ch.4 (legislature)
LW: Ch.4
5 People in government (II): Non-elected officials DV: Ch.5 and 6
B: Ch.4
LW: Ch.6
6 Environment and actors external to government B: Ch.2 and 5
LW: Ch.7 and 8
7 (Movie) How do different political actors in the black box --
work together for problem solving?
Public Policy

8 Problem identification B: Ch.6

DV: Ch.8
9 Agenda setting B: Ch.6
DV: Ch.8
10 Policy output: policy types and tools B: Ch.7 and 8
DV: Ch.8
11 Policy implementation B: Ch.9
DV: Ch.8
12 Policy evaluation D: Ch.3

13 Review DV: Ch.9

Important reminder: The length of each lesson varies. Some lessons are longer which
require longer than a week. Some lessons are short which require less than a week.

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Policy Memos and Presentations

The person in charge (instructor):

The tutor (Cai Yuqian), not the professor.

The purpose of writing policy memos:

Students will learn a few of public policy theories in the lecture. However, theories can
never become one’s own knowledge if they are not applied to real policy cases. Writing
policy memos allows students to apply theories to their specialized policy areas so they can
more adequately integrate theories and practices.

Study groups:

I expect to see 5 students organizing a group. The instructor does not help you find your
members. It’s your job to find your teammates.

Memo writing:

You can google “policy memos” to find out how to write a successful policy memo. There
is no certain format for memo writing, but successful memos have a common feature: clear,
concise, and well-organized.

You need to prepare a policy memo in this semester. You can choose one the following:

1. Assume that you are a policy analyst (working for a government agency, a public
official, a think tank, a legislator, an opposition party, or an interest group). You
want to tell your boss that a current policy is problematic because people are
unhappy about it. You need to provide an alternative (or some alternatives) too. Be
sure this is a memo to your boss, not to a professor. Don’t be too academic. Also,
please note “who your boss is” in your memo.

2. Assume that you are a policy analyst (working for a government agency, a public
official, a think tank, a legislator, an opposition party, or an interest group). You
want to tell your boss that something is going wrong in our society. Please frame this
problem with the things you have learned. Also, provide a policy alternative and
frame it. Be sure this is a memo to your boss, not to a professor. Don’t be too
academic. Also, please note “who your boss is” in your memo.

Problem selection:

There are too many policies and problems for you to choose. I don’t know what they are. In
order to avoid topic redundancy, you should negotiate in private (the instructor will not be
involved). If redundancy happens, the highest grade for both groups is B.

Presentation of your memos

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Basically, each presentation should not exceed 5 minutes, so other off-duty students have
time to question you and provide their comments. The follow-up Q&A should be around 2-3
minutes. There is no certain form of presentation. If you don’t think you are very creative
and innovative, you may prefer traditional presentations (i.e., PPTs, handouts, and
supplementary materials). However, skit shows, video shows, and many other interactive
presentations can help you get more attention. You can also mix traditional presentations
and other creative shows. It’s your decision.

Those sitting there listening to your presentations are NOT your boss. You don’t submit
your memo to them, but to the instructor (the boss). You only present how you analyze the
problems and alternatives to your audiences.

Memo submission

To be clear and concise, the memo format is strictly regulated as following:

 Must not exceed 1.5 pages; cover page, citations, figures/tables don’t count
 Single space
 Font: Times New Roman
 Size: 11 or 12
 Margin (four sides): 1 inch (2.54 cm)
 Students’ names and matriculation numbers on the cover page

The best grade for those who fail to follow these rules is B.

You need to email your memo to the instructor and the rest of the classmates. The deadline
of your submission is 24 hours before your presentation. Please be advised: 24 hours, not
one day. Late submission will result in two (2) marks reduction from your overall
assessment. Why 24 hours? The answer is simple. An early preview can help me organize
more high-quality questions. Please also be advised:

 No hard copy submission is required.

 No “revise and resubmit” will be accepted.
 No late submission will be accepted.
 Your memos will not be returned.
 Your grade will be kept confidential.

Anti-free-riding policy

Free riding is not allowed. If no free riding is reported, group members get the same grade.
However, if it happens, please follow the free-riding policy to report this unethical behavior:

 The instructor will not be involved in any conflict resolution originating from free
riding or unfair responsibility sharing.
 Group members should report it to the instructor immediately by marking the free
rider’s name on your electronically submitted memo.
 The instructor will contact the free rider. If there is no objection, the free rider
earns zero mark.