Public Management

Session 1. Why do We Study 'Public' Management?

In this session, we will seek answers the following questions: Is public management different from private management? Why do we care about 'public' management? Given the pervasive influence of the state in Vietnam, is it meaningful to differentiate public and private management?

• Behn, R. 1995. "The Big Questions of Public Management." Public Administration Review 55(4): 313-324 (Read highlighted (translated) part only).
• [In-Class Discussion] Davis, B. 2016. "Public Sector Graft an Issue in Vietnam, But There could be One Simple Solution." Forbes August 22, 2016.

Session 2. Changing Context and Shape of the Public Sector

Why does government intervene in market? What is the changing view and trend about the government? What is the appropriate size of government?

• Van der Wal, Z. 2017. "Chapter 2. 'Traditional' versus 'New'." The 21st Century Public Manager. London: Palgrave Macmillan, p.17-36.
• Kwak, James. 2011. "What Do You Mean, 'Government Is Too Big?" The Atlantic. Available at https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/07/what-do-you-mean-government-is-too-big/242093/ (English).
• [In-Class Discussion] Divide into groups. Each group should identify major policy areas at international, national, and local level where it believes current government policy in Vietnam needs to change. 
• [In-Class Assignment] Assignment sheet will be distributed. Please read the charts and questions, answer carefully, and submit by 8.20 a.m. prior to the class on April 4.

Session 3. What is Good Government?

It has been believed that public sector has some 'distinctive value' than private sector. Public values are being promoted as a core concept in the study of public administration. What is public value and what makes good government?

• Boyne, G. A. 2002. "Public and Private Management: What's the Difference?" Journal of Management Studies 39(1): 97-122 (Read p.97-102, Tables in p.107-8, p.110-11, p.114-115, and conclusion in p.118).
• [In-Class Discussion] Prior to the session, read Dudman (2011) and Sandel (2012) first. What is the general direction of Vietnamese government? Is it right way to go? Can we pursue both efficiency and publicness?
• Dudman, J. 2011. "Vietnam Leads the Way for Efficient Public Services." The Guardian. November 15.
• Sandel, M. J. 2012. "What Isn't for Sale?" The Atlantic Magazine, April 2012.

Session 4. Public Organizations and Bureaucratic Structure

Since Max Weber, bureaucratic culture has been known as an ideal and desirable form of administration and government. But at the same time, modern bureaucracy has its own institutional constraints to work efficiently and faced many challenges and problems known as 'bureaucratic pathology.' Is bureaucracy still needed in rapidly changing world? Why (or why not)?

• Yeboah-Assiamah, E., K. Asamoah and T. A. Kyeremeh. 2016. "Therefore, Is Bureaucracy Dead? Making a Case for Complementarity of Paradigms in Public Administrative Thinking and Discourse." International Journal of Public Administration 39(5): 382-394.
• Puffer, Sheila. 2015. International Management: Insights from Fiction and Practice. New York: Routledge, p.209 (Discussion topic).
• [In-Class Discussion] Prior to the session, please read assigned text and prepare to answer the following questions: 1) Based on the reading, what is the most critical pathology of public bureaucracy in Vietnam. 2) According to the assigned example of foreign business communities' complaints, what Vietnam could do to attract foreign investment?

Session 5. Organizational Culture

Public organizations currently operate in turbulent environments driven by changes in managerial, political, and technical arenas as the organizations seek to improve performance, effectiveness, and accountability. But at the same time, public organizations are still bureaucratic, inflexible, rigid, and often resist against changes. How can dominant organizational culture nurture creativity, innovation, positive job attitude and behaviors of public workers?

• Holt, Troy. 2014. "Creating a Great Organizational Culture in the Public Sector." PA Times, at http://patimes.org/creating-great-organizational-culture-public-sector/. 
• Schawbel, Dan. 2018. "A Sociable Workplace is Happier and More Productive. Here's Why." World Economic Forum 13 Nov.
• [In-Class Discussion] Prior to the session, groups is supposed to visit Hofstede's Insight on National Culture, http://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/vietnam and compare Vietnam's score with the any other two countries that you think relevant). Discuss Vietnam's national culture and your experience in class with other group members, and upload the group's view on Microsoft Team.

Session 6. Public Leadership

Since Max Weber's leadership theory (authority), we have paid attention to the role of the great leaders. It has also been discussed whether organizational leadership affects or maximizes the organization's performance and job satisfaction of the workers and subordinates and eventually achieve the organizational goals. What is the role of leadership in public organizations? In what ways, leadership play a role in public organizations?

• Broussine, M. and R. F. Callahan. 2016. "Public Leadership." In T. Bovaird and E. Loeffler (eds.), Public Management and Governance (3rd Edition), New York: Routledge, p.275-290.
• Kaufman, H. 1981. The Administrative Behavior of Federal Bureau Chiefs. Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institution, p.175-181.
• [In-Class Discussion] Prior to the session, please read the assigned readings and discussion case carefully. 1) Do you agree with what Kaufman (1981) mentioned about the bureau chief's leadership quality? If so (or not), what else you think it is important in Vietnam's context, 2) Have you ever experienced the bosses described in discussion case? Discuss that kind of leadership styles on organization unity and performance.

Session 7. Understanding and Managing Stakeholders in Public Sector

Finding the appropriate balance of competing claims by various groups of stakeholders is one of the most important tasks of public managers today. In fact, all claims deserve consideration, but some claims are more important than others. How can public managers effectively map, classify, and prioritize in dynamic stakeholder environment?

• Ackerman, F. and C. Eden. 2011. "Strategic Management of Stakeholders: Theory and Practice. Long Range Planning 44(3): 179-196.
• News Paper Articles on 'Nguyen Thanh Tai' Case (Weblinks will be provided).
• [In-Class Discussion] Prior to the session, please be familiarized with the stories on Nguyen Thanh Tai. Suppose you were the Vice Chairman who took on the responsibility to oversee urban development in 2008 and using stakeholder management tools, discuss in small group on the following questions: How would you relocate the stakeholders in the grid to reflect their real power/interest, and would that change the course of actions made by the vice chairman?

Session 8. Digital Transformation, E-Government & Smart Cities *** Afternoon Class

While much progress has made by many governments around the world, the full potential of digital government remains largely untapped. What does digitalization of public sector mean? What are remaining challenges?

• Mao, D. L. and C. C. Ling. 2018. "Governance amid Technological Disruption: A Vision for an Agile Public Service." Singapore Civil Service Colleges Ethos Issue 18 (30, January 2018). Available at https://www.csc.gov.sg/articles/governance-amid-technological-disruption-a-vision-for-an-agile-public-service. 
• [In-Class Discussion] Please read the following case and a newspaper article and discuss the questions: 1) How much you are prepared in the age of blockchain, cloud, crowd sourcing, shared economy, etc. 2) How could you survive in the era of digitalization? 3) Could similar examples happen in Vietnam? Discuss.
• "Case Study: How Parking.SG Evolved from an Idea to National Product in Eight Months" prior to the session (Available at https://www.csc.gov.sg/articles/governance-amid-technological-disruption-a-vision-for-an-agile-public-service).

Part III. Three Pillars of Public Management (2): Public Personnel

Session 9. How to Recruit and Train Good Civil Servant *** Afternoon Session

Public personnel administration has been one of significant aspects and a 'sovereign factor' in public administration of the modern state. However, in rapidly changing environment, there have been a number of challenges to the traditional way of civil service classification, recruitment, training, and so forth. How to recruit and train good civil servants?

• World Bank Document, http://siteresources.worldbank.org/PUBLICSECTORANDGOVERNANCE/Resources/285741-1345485407865/Recruitment.pdf
• Lecturer's glossary on Public Personnel Administration (will be distributed online): The glossary is about several important concepts: 1) Rank vs. Job Classification; 2) Closed vs. Open Recruitment; 3) Examination vs. Interview Test; 4) Generalist vs. Specialist, etc. 
• [In-Class Discussion] Prior to the session, please read the following articles and prepare discussion. 1) Is meritocracy good or bad? Does Vietnam need meritocratic system? Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. 2018. "Meritocracy in Singapore: Solution or Problem?" Global-is-Asian. Available at https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/gia/article/meritocracy-in-singapore-solution-or-problem. 2) There has been increasing contractual employment for civil servants around the world. Read the two excerpts in the "Reform of Civil Service Recruitment System" (Beijing Review, 2014) available at http://www.bjreview.com.cn/forum/txt/2014-05/19/content_619384.htm.

Review Session

Midterm Exam

Session 10. Managing and Motivating Civil Servant

It is very important to make public sector job attractive. The more talented people enter the public office, the higher the possibility of administrative and national development. How can you make public office attractive? What are factors important? What motivates you to favor public sector jobs?

• Ko, Kilkon and Kyu-Nam Jun. 2015. "A Comparative Analysis of Job Motivation and Career Preference of Asian Undergraduate Students." Public Personnel Management 44(2): 192-213.
• [In-Class Assignment] Assignment sheet will be distributed. Please read the charts and questions, answer carefully, and submit by March 1st, 8.20 a.m.

Session 11. Salary, Rewards and Punishment *** Afternoon Session

What decide civil servant salary? What is the appropriate level of civil servant salary? What is new trend in civil servant compensation?

• Bui, Thi Thuy Ngan. 2015. The Reform of Salary System for Civil Servant in Vietnam. Unpublished Master's Thesis. Ritsumeikan University, Chapter 5, Available at http://r-cube.ritsumei.ac.jp/repo/repository/rcube/7453/51213601.pdf.  
• [In-Class Discussion] Discussion paper (Reading supplement) will be distributed. Prepare to answer the following questions: 1) Is seniority-based salary system good or bad?; 2) Is team-based or individual-based performance bonus good or bad?

Session 12. Corruption and Government Transparency

Types of corruption ranges from bribery to legal-but-unethical behavior. What is the impact of corruption on public management? How to prevent corruption in the public sector?

• Quah, Jon S. T. 2007. Anti-Corruption Agencies in Four Asian Countries: A Comparative Analysis. International Public Management Review 8(2): 73-91. Available at http://journals.sfu.ca/ipmr/index.php/ipmr/article/view/34/34. 
• [In-Class Discussion] Prior to the session, please read the hand-out on the legal restriction of employment of retried civil servants in the United States and South Korea. Do you think similar type of regulation is necessary in Vietnam?

Part IV. Three Pillars of Public Management (3): Performance Management

Session 13. Private Sector and Government Contracting Out

Public policy and public affairs are no longer a responsibility of the public sector alone. Since the earlier period of public administration research, scholars and government officials have tried to mock the private sector's management style and used it as a source of public sector reform. From a simple form of government contracting to full-scale privatization, management principles in public sector is now in flux. We will explore the various types of issues related to the private-sector's role in public sector and discuss how to secure accountability.

• Prager, Jonas. 1994. "Contracting Out Government Services: Lessons from the Private Sector." Public Administration Review 54(2): 176-84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/976527
• [In-Class Discussion] Prior to the session, please read the article "Conflict of Interest in BOT projects continues to be heady issue" (Vietnam Insider, May 9, 2018, available at https://vietnaminsider.vn/conflict-of-interest-in-bot-projects-continues-to-be-heady-issue/). What are problems and challenges of PPPs in Vietnam? How to secure 'accountability' from the state and private investors? Discuss.

Session 14. Performance Management in Public Organizations *** Afternoon Session

During the last few decades, cutbacks provided the rationale to push managers to raise organizational performance while lowering costs. The period witnessed increased efforts to improve government through various performance assessment systems.

• Fountain, Jane E. 2001. "Paradoxes of Public Sector Customer Service." Governance 14(1): 55-73. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/0952-1895.00151/abstract.
• [In-Class Discussion] Prior to the session, please read a summary of "Project 30: A Revolution in Vietnamese Governance?" (Matthew G. Schwartz, September 2010), available at https://www.brookings.edu/research/project-30-a-revolution-in-vietnamese-governance (summary will be provided). Based on the story, what do you think that the problem of Project 30 from 'performance management' perspective? Why do problems in performance management happen in the public sector? Discuss.

Part V. Other Important Agendas

Session 15. Intergovernmental Relationships and Decentralized Governance

From the late 1970s and the early 1980s, national governments decentralized fiscally, politically, and administratively. Decentralization has been so widely adopted, because it has been expected that decentralization would bring about more democratic way of governance, responsiveness to citizens' needs, economic growth and development, and so forth. But are these beliefs or ideas true? What are actual outcomes so far? What is the implication for Vietnam?

• Vu Thanh Tu Anh. 2016. "Vietnam: Decentralization amidst Fragmentation." Journal of Southeast Asian Economies 33(2): 188-208. 
• [In-Class Discussion] Lecturer will provide four propositions about the expected outcome of decentralization (Reading supplement from Merilee S. Grindle, 2007, Going Local, p.10-12). Prior to the session, please read and think about the following questions. Is decentralization really good for citizens? What have been benefits and challenges of decentralization in Vietnamese context?

Session 16. Solving 'Wicked' Problems: Cross-Cutting Issues in Public Sector

• Australian Public Service Commission. "Tackling Wicked Problems: A Public Policy Perspective." https://www.apsc.gov.au/tackling-wicked-problems-public-policy-perspective. 
• Video Lecture (Please watch the video prior to the class).***
• [In-Class Discussion] A class discussion note will be provided. From a public management perspective, why wicked policy issues are problematic? What are examples of wicked problems in Vietnam? Discuss.
• Group Presentations (1-2 Groups) ** Depending on the number of groups.

Final Presentations

Group Presentations (2-3 Groups)