Public Administration Concepts
Babcock Place -- A 6-story subsidized apartment that houses 150 seniors. 20% of the residents requests that the city put in a crosswalk to reach food, library services, and religious centers. The city's traffic engineer said that the crosswalk was not warranted based on need. The Council has postponed voting until an analysis can be done.
Concepts:
There would be a considerable cost to putting in the cross-walk, as well as a reallocation of resources. Essentially, this asks a question of utilitarianism -- what would provide the greatest good for the greatest number. 30 senior citizens might be happier, but if traffic became a problem, thousands might suffer.
There is a fine balance in this situation; certainly no one wishes to deny seniors the ability to walk to services; yet there are larger issues; how will this be funded, what impact will it have economically, and what might it do to traffic patterns. All this requires not only research, but policy making and adherence to local ordinances.
404 -- Because of the City's budget, one asks if there are adequate funds for this project? Where will the trade-off impact? How many people would this impact overall? Should this be put up for public discussion?
405 -- Objective and critical analyzation skills are necessary to avoid the overt emotionality of this issue. It is sensitive, yet pragmatic at the same time.
406 -- Evidence needs to be collected...
Use of analytic solution-oriented tools might mitigate the situation (e.g. offering discount bus passes to seniors, etc.).
407 -- This issue shows the interconnectedness between polic, decisions, and theory. Theoretically, all citizens should have access to services; but this is impossible in an urban setting with static, public funded budgets.
408 -- This case is also a study in organizational behavior and politics. The Council clearly does not wish to be labeled agist; but they have a fiscal responsibility to the community as well. Another solution might be to partner with other strategic agencies and build an overhang bridge instead of a cross-walk, thereby eliminating the traffic issues, solving the senior issue, and potentially having donors fund the project.
High Speed Rail -- A fictitious fast trainline has a goal to connect every major U.S. urban area. The company is non-profit, devoted to sustainability, environmentalism, and the public. The company, however, needs a fresh plan to steer the course of development.
Concepts:
402 -- A long-range plan for rail service would require a budget that defines policy, sets priorites and is used as a political tool to garner public and govermental support, while still being used as a tool for project management.
404 -- Resources are not boundless, and particularly for a strategic goal that affects so much of the country…
