Topics in Public Policy: Ethics in Public Policy

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• describe the nature of the ethical challenges facing public administrators due to their position at the intersection of the political and bureaucratic spheres;

• discuss the sources and scope of a public servant’s ethical obligations;

• identify the qualities of ethical leadership in public officials;

• explain the role played by citizens in ethical decision-making by public administrators;

• reflect on how notions of ethical obligation are shaped by social systems of power and domination and what it means to act ethically in the context of these systems;

• identify cases of political wrongdoing and the different forms that dissent can take; and

• use various theories of ethics to reflect on and respond to concrete dilemmas that arise in the field of public administration.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Participation	45%
Case study presentation	15%
Memos	40%

Grading Scale

Percentage	Letter Grade
85+	A
80–84.9	A-
75–79.9	B+
70–74.9	B
60–69.9	C
50–59.9	D
<50	F

Attendance/Participation:

Participation comprises 40% of the final grade. Evaluation will be based on the frequency and quality of a student’s contributions. There is no formal attendance requirement, but it is not possible to earn a strong participation grade without attending class regularly.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

• O’Leary, Rosemary. The Ethics of Dissent: Managing Guerrilla Government, 3rd Edition. CQ Press. ISBN: 9781506346359

• Stivers, Camilla. Bureau Men, Settlement Women: Constructing Public Administration in the Progressive Era. University Press of Kansas. ISBN: 9780700612222

• Thompson, William N. and James E. Leidlein. Ethics in City Hall: Discussion and Analysis for Public Administration. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. ISBN: 9780763755324