Apply Concepts to Case Studies

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 in terms of a formal impact study, which will also cost money. 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 would require appropriate allocations based on strong economic analyses and the development of a funding package that would proactively impact public policy.

407 -- The long-term stategic plan would involve connections between public and private industry, policy, and societal input and impact; construction would impact ecological issues, as well as micro-economic indicators like employment, resource allocation, raw materials and manufacturing.

408 -- A vast effort such as this would need to be highly strategic, but also tactical in its approach to working with individuals, groups, sub-groups, and special interest groups. Funding approaches would vary and be focused upon cooperative planning.

409 -- Research tools would be vital for this plan to succeed, and would contain a number of variables: costs, geographic data, manufacturing expertise and abilities, engineering designs and planning, feasability studies, fiscal breakdowns, investment packages, and legal implications.

452 -- This plan, the connecting of major U.S. urban areas, looks at the country as a whole, not separate states and is a precursor to the issues involving global cities: environmental impact, stresses, impact on inner-city culture, employment, social programs, and culture.

Felons Working in Restaurants -- A New York state law prohibits businesses that sell alcohol from hiring convicted felons unless they have an official pardon or approved by the New York State Liquor Authority. A bill is being introduced to eliminate this law.

403 -- This issue is multidimensional: it has public policy issues, sociological implications, medical implications, legal implications, and potentially fiscal implications.

405-406 -- Data should be analyzed, comparitive studies done with other states, and research using quantitative materials presented to individuals with the acumen to understand and communicate the data.