One of the ways that you will develop your skills as a manager is to use the theories and concepts discussed in the readings to analyze a series of cases on reserve in the Library or they can be downloaded off the website. The cases are designed to heighten your interest and awareness of the significant issues that managers might face. They also allow you to practice diagnosing management problems and to develop your ability to respond to these situations. This does not promise that case users will learn how to solve problems without creating others but it should help sensitize you to some of the more obvious issues and traps involved in managerial problem-solving and help you to better understand the consequences of alternative courses of action.

Over the course of the semester we will discuss 9 cases:

	Case #1: Laura S. Sims, "Reinventing School Lunch: Transforming a Food Policy into a Nutrition Policy," in Richard Stillman (Ed.) Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, Eighth Edition (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2005), pages 451 - 463. (Everyone must due this assignment) (Handout #1)
	Case #2: John Bartlow Martin, "The Blast in Centralia No. 5: A Mine Disaster No One Stopped," in Richard Stillman (Ed.) Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, Eighth Edition (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2005), pages 31 - 44. (Download supplemental readings - Handout #1, Handout #2, Handout #3, Handout #4)
	Case #3: George Lardner, Jr., "How Kristin Died," in Richard Stillman (Ed.) Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, Eighth Edition (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2005), pages 64 - 75.
	Case #4: Maureen Hogan Casamayou, "The Columbia Accident," in Richard Stillman (Ed.) Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, Seventh Edition (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000), pages 112 - 121. (Download chapter from CAIB Report) (Download supplemental newspaper article) (download article on how PowerPoint led to faulty decision making) (Handout - Culture of NASA)
	Case #5: Jack H. Nagel, "The MOVE Disaster,"in Richard Stillman (Ed.) Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, Seventh Edition (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000), pages 235 - 250. (MOVE website) (MOVE handout)
	Case #6: Deborah Sontag, "Who Brought Bernadine Healy Down? The Red Cross: A Disaster Story Without Any Heroes" New York Times Magazine (December 23, 2001) (Download) (Download supplemental reading #1 - Letter from Grassley #1) (Download supplemental reading #2 - Letter from Grassley #2) (Handout #1) (Handout #2 - Resignations) (Handout #3 - critics)
	Case #7: William Langewiesche, "American Ground: Unbuilding the World Trade Center," in Richard Stillman (Ed.) Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, Seventh Edition (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000), pages 168 - 177.
	Case #8: Susan Rosegrant, "The Shootings at Columbine High School: The Law Enforcement Response" in Richard Stillman (Ed.) Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, Seventh Edition (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2005), pages 274 - 295.
	Case #9: William Langewiesche, "The Lessons of ValuJet" The Atlantic Monthly (March 1998), pages 81 - 98. (Download) (video simulation of key events)

Since case analysis essentially is self-learning through simulated experience, its success depends on the lively interchange of information, ideas, and opinions brought out in class discussion. Therefore, the case approach places the responsibility for learning on the student. Accordingly, you must read each case carefully and come to class prepared to describe the principal actors, their motivations and know the key events and their causes or effects. You should also be able to provide your critique of the case. This involves identify the key issues or problems, identifying alternative courses of actions, and providing a recommended course of action for avoiding the identified problems. You must also be able to describe how the case relates to the material covered in the readings and class discussions and be able to answer the questions at the end of the chapter.

Everyone is required to write an individual memo for case study #1. For the remaining cases, one or two teams noted below will present their analysis of each case. After these initial presentations, we will have a free flowing discussion of the cases and your analyses. Accordingly, you must be able to discuss each case in detail regardless of which team is presenting or whether you have elected to prepare a memo for the case. Failure to be prepared for case discussions will adversely affect your class participation grade.

Team Case Memos (1 @ 5% each)

Each student has been randomly assigned to a project team:

Team	Case Study
Project Team 1: Thomas Christopher Bell, Michael Brandon Horne, Angela Carmen Wood	3
Project Team 2: Joshua Nicholas Cumbee, Cameron Reed Moore, Laura Katherine Walters,	3
Project Team 3: Nicholas Faherty, Lindsay Ruth-Kate Moore, Jo-El Marie Smith	6
Project Team 4: Sarah Elizabeth Gilliam, Adrienne M. McTigue, Adam Tucker Short	7
Project Team 5: Lynne Kimberly Harder, Briar Anne Schumann, Cynthia Lauren Scott	9
Project Team 6:	9
Project Team 7:	7
Project Team 8:
Project Team 9:

Each team will be responsible for presenting their analysis of the case listed above to the rest of the class. You should make a business-like presentation of your work. Be clear, concise, use grammatically correct English, and get right to the point. Everyone will have read the case so do not spend all of your time summarizing the case - spend your time presenting your analysis and conclusions. While each case is somewhat unique, in general your presentations should:

	Discuss the main management problem(s) or issue(s) that are central to the case - Be specific
	Identify solutions or alternative courses of action that the actors could take or could have taken
	Analyze the relative strengths and weaknesses of the alternative courses of action
	Suggest a course of action to respond to the problem or specify what course of action you would have followed if placed in a similar situation
	What theories/concepts discussed in the readings does the case illustrate?
	What implications or lessons does the case reveal for managers of public and nonprofit organizations?

Each team must prepare a 2 page case memo as a group for the cases in accordance with the guidance provided below. In addition, You must include an attachment (limited to 3 single-spaced pages) with your case memos that discusses how the case reflects the theories and concepts discussed in your readings thus far this semester. In addition to submitting a hard copy of your team's case memo and attachment, you must submit it to me electronically via email so that I may forward your electronic version to the rest of the class.

Students enrolled in this class should understand that case analysis executed as a team is a key element of your course responsibility and you should be available outside of classroom time to meet with your group members. This does not mean that you must do everything related to a case as a team. However, it does mean that you are expected to come together as a group at least once to brainstorm about the issues in the case, diagnose the problems, identify solutions, and critique drafts of your memo and attachments.

Your individual grade on these assignments will be the group grade. However, groups are not expected to carry free riders. A peer evaluation form will be used when you complete your second group case memo and an individual grade may be adjusted lower if the team reports that one of its members did not contribute to the group project.

Individual Case Memos (6 @ 5% each)

In addition to your two team case memos, you must prepare 6 additional case memos for the remaining cases but I will take your best 6 of 8 grades. You do not need to include an attachment for your individual case memos and only a hard copy should be submitted.

Preparing Your Case Memos

One of the problems in getting policy or management decisions lies in posing a question in such a way that decisionmakers: 1) understand the critical issue requiring their attention; 2) recognize what the options for acting are; 3) what your recommendation is; and 4) what the basis or support for your recommendation is. Typically, this information is communicated to decisionmakers using a memorandum.

To help you develop your analytical and communication skills we will conduct a series of case analyses. Case analysis means that you draw out the pertinent issues from a case. It does not mean you rehash the facts of the case or simply summarize what has occurred. Instead, your job is to identify and point out the significant issues, some of which will be implicit rather than explicit, and their linkages with broader management and policy issues. The readings and class discussions should aid you in this regard. You should then use the facts and examples from the case or other readings to support your analysis and conclusions. However, you do not need to cite as many sources from class materials as possible. Instead, referring to the main idea is sufficient in most cases. It also helps if you follow a fairly fixed pattern when preparing memos and it is often useful to summarize the main issues and recommended course of action in the first few paragraphs (it isn't a mystery novel).

A useful structure (subject, of course, to variation and adaptation when appropriate) for these assignments is as follows:

	State the issue/problem as clearly as possible: Trying to state the issue or problem as a one-sentence question or statement is a useful habit to get into. When necessary, this can be followed by a brief explanation or clarification (no more than a paragraph or two). If more than one issue is presented, use bullets to summarize and then explain in more detail in subsequent paragraphs. If extensive background is required, use an attachment;
	Major issues that must be addressed or solved: Many times significant issues will be implicit rather than explicit and are linked to larger policy and management issues. Part of your task is to point out the significance of the larger issues.
	Identify relevant alternative courses of action that participants could take or could have taken: There are always at least two options (taking no action is always an alternative). Limit the number of options, but be sure to cover the full range of choices;
	Evaluate the alternatives: Be sure to critique the relative strengths and weaknesses of each option make a balanced presentation even if you disagree with the arguments advanced by one of the actors; and,
	Recommend a specific course of action: Be sure to clearly state the recommended course of action(s) and the consequences you expect to flow from the selected course of action.
	Application of the course materials to the case: You should apply the course readings during your analysis of the cases but may not need to mention them when preparing your memos. However, you will need to go into some detail in your attachments when preparing your group memos and explain how the case demonstrates or fails to demonstrate applicable theories and concepts.

Be sure that the memo is a specific as possible. The decisionmaker should know precisely what you want them to do about the problem/issue and what you plan to do to carry out your recommendations.

Obviously, a single format cannot fit all circumstances and will have to be adjusted. Since many of the cases in Stillman are descriptive in nature, you can pick one of the key actors and write your memo to that character or where appropriate, your memo can be directed at me.

Your case memos will be evaluated based on your analysis of the case, the organization of your ideas, your ability to properly apply the theories and concepts discussed in class and the quality of your writing (e.g., spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.). Your goal is to write as clearly, concisely, and directly as possible. Elegance of style, while desirable, is a secondary consideration. Short declarative sentences convey ideas well; convoluted grammar confuses things and often leads to misunderstandings. Remember that you are trying to convey your ideas to people who have infinite demands on their time. A simple, direct style economizes on time.

Length is also a critical matter, particularly if your memos is addressed to top agency officials. If greater length is required, it should take the form of an attached analytical paper with a short cover memo summarizing its contents. For this class, your case memos should not exceed 2 single-spaced typed pages with 1 inch margins. If it is longer, I will only read the first two pages and it will be graded accordingly.

Your memos are also expected to be professional in nature. Thus, they should utilize a standard professional format. A sample memo can be downloaded from the course web site and most word processing programs have templates that can be used. Any format is acceptable provided that is businesslike and prepared in a professional manner.