IntroductionStudents will write an original research paper in which they identify an aspect of American public administration that could be improved by utilizing an approach from anothercountry’s administrative system.
The final project will be submitted through Moodle.Substantive CriteriaFor this project, you will identify a specific administrative practice or system that is utilized in a country outside the United States that you think would benefit American publicadministration, discuss how this practice or system could be applied, and discuss how itwould alter American administration. This will be easiest if you look at administrativepractices in place in federal administration. If you want to propose a change to a stateadministrative policy, I ask that you discuss this with me first. Once you have identified aspecific practice or system, you will discuss existing literature on the practice (literaturereview), discuss the system the United States currently has in place (again, you shouldhave a literature review but this section will be shorter), then you will discuss how thissystem would alter administrative practices in the US.The first step is to identify a specific practice or system that you think would improveAmerican public administration. As an example, suppose you think that American publicadministration would function more efficiently if we were to adopt a system of payingcivil servants that is highly linked to performance. This is a specific practice in public administration that is currently different from what we have in the United States(currently federal agencies have a great deal of freedom in determining pay policy withperformance-related pay often being a small component of overall salary determinants).As another example, maybe you think that American adminstration would serve the public better if we had a system that valued bureaucrats as experts and allowed them a greatdeal of discretion in their decision-making, similar to the system in South Korea today(currently, American bureaucrats are expected to follow rules as closely as possible andto have hierarchical decision-making, meaning that low-level bureaucrats have almost nodiscretion). If you are still unclear what types of practices or systems I am looking for,feel free to reach out to me.The next step is to research the practice or system that you have selected. You shouldpresent a review of the relevant literature on this practice or system, highlighting countries or regions where this practice is used, the benefits and drawbacks of this system, etc.This literature review will likely take up the majority of your paper – I am looking for a2thorough discussion of this administrative practice or system, and you need to show methat you have a deep understanding of this practice or system. Next you should discusshow your proposed practice or system is different than what is currently utilized in theUnited States. You should provide a short literature review to fully explain this aspectof American administration, and you should also discuss the benefits and drawbacks ofthe American system currently in place.
Finally, you should discuss how this would alter American public administration. Whatwould be the advantages of adopting this new system or practice? Would there be anydrawbacks? How might this new administrative practice affect bureaucratic behavior orcitizen views towards bureaucracy? The topics you discuss will depend on the type ofchange you are proposing.SourcesStudents need to use at least 15 reputable sources in this paper, but many of you willhave more sources. Students must use in-text citations throughout the paper. I do notcare which citation style you choose as long as you are consistent throughout the paper.Be sure to include page numbers for any direct quotations. Students will also need toinclude a works cited page with full documentation for all sources – again you may usewhichever citation format you like as long as you are consistent.
Formatting GuidelinesYour paper should be 15-20 pages double-spaced (about 3500 to 5000 words). You shoulduse a professional 12 pt. font with 1 inch margins. Do not use any ridiculous marginsor spacing to achieve the page limit (your grade will be docked if you do). Please placepage numbers at the top of every page.