Jennifer
Shea, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Public Administration
San Francisco State
University
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Nonprofit Management Certificate Program
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CLASS DESCRIPTIONS |
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Fall 2011. This course
is the first in a two part sequence meant to provide students with the foundation
needed to conduct, read, interpret, and judge the merits of research relevant
to public and nonprofit administration.
The second course, PA 706, is essentially a statistics course that
provides students with the skills needed to understand and conduct
statistical analysis. One thing this
course, PA 705, will do is discuss the strengths and limits of statistical
analysis in addressing various research questions, introducing “alternative”
methods. Any good researcher knows
that the research question drives the research method, making it critical
that researchers be clear about the questions they want to answer and the
types of data and analytic methods that will best help them answer those
questions. At the same time,
researchers and practitioners in public and nonprofit administration are
often acutely aware that the questions they want answered are mired in
uncertain environments and complex practices (e.g., incomplete information,
conflicting interests, shifting political and economic priorities or
constraints, and difficulties in establishing causation). Moreover, research in the field frequently
takes place within resource constraints – time, money, or the capacities of
the researchers – that may require reformulating questions to ensure that the
data collection and analysis techniques needed to answer them are feasible in
the context of those constraints.
These realities make the conduct and consumption of research
challenging. In
order to help students meet the challenges associated with conducting and
consuming research, this course begins with an introduction of various ways
in which to think about, approach, and conceptualize empirical research –
these are the fundamentals of research design. The course continues with a review of
qualitative and quantitative methods.
That segment of the course also introduces students to several
existing, public access data sets (mostly quantitative data) to provide a
better sense of what questions may be answered with existing data (perfectly
acceptable to use for this sequence of courses). The course concludes by providing students
with the opportunity to put all of the pieces together in one research proposal
– that proposal will be implemented in PA 706. Two
important themes, ethics and diversity, are woven throughout this
course. Good research requires a
strong sense of ethics – some of which is regulated by the Institutional
Review Board (IRB) and some of which is not.
Beyond ethical treatment of research subjects and partners, ethical
research in public and nonprofit administration also means that researchers
balance competing values and political agendas when interpreting “objective”
empirical data. It requires honesty in
acknowledging the strengths and limits of any data collection or analysis
techniques. Diversity in research
comes in various forms, but at its essence means understanding and
appreciating a range of orientations to the problems that research for public
and nonprofit administration are meant to address, as well as the best ways
to solve them. That diversity
manifests itself in the types of questions asked, the data collected to
answer them, and the interpretation of the results. Research is a science, but its products are
often contested for a myriad of different reasons. Finally, as challenges related to ethics,
diversity, and things like competing agendas are addressed in class, we will
discuss ways in which you may identify potential areas of contestation and negotiate
difficult terrain in order to ensure the production of high quality research
and dissemination of findings. Policy Making &
Implementation (PA 715) Fall
2009. Public
and nonprofit managers frequently interact with issues related to public
policy making and implementation, whether directly or indirectly. Some are issue advocates, others technical
experts, and still others administrators tasked with implementing policies at
the federal, state, or local level.
Few policies are adopted and implemented without opposition,
negotiation and struggle. Now more
than ever, the politics and processes of policy making and implementation,
often cross traditional boundaries, both influencing and being influenced by,
the environment around them. This course provides a foundation for
policy studies, by introducing students to fundamental concepts, frameworks,
and theories from a variety of perspectives.
Assigned readings reveal the challenges scholars and analysts have in
conceptualizing, operationalizing, researching, and
analyzing policy processes. The last
one-third of the semester features student-led policy symposia on critical
policy lenses and controversial policy issues. Nonprofits, Public Policy & Society (PA 744/RPT 744) |
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Spring 2011. Nonprofit organizations have played a vital
role in the development of American politics and its polity long before they
were legally recognized as such or collectively defined as the third sector. Theories about the roles that nonprofit
organizations play (or ought to play) abound from academic disciplines such
as economics, political science, sociology, history and more. This course provides an introduction to the
nonprofit sector, focusing on its intersections with public policy and
society. While course readings and
discussions will focus primarily on contemporary issues, each topic includes
reading materials that provide students with insights as to the historical
evolution of the sector and its relationships with government and society at
large. The first part of the course
provides students with a solid background on the nonprofit and philanthropic
sectors as they have evolved in the United States. The second part delves into the legal and
regulatory environment for nonprofits, including recent policies and emergent
policy discussions that impact the sector.
The course goes on to examine the impacts of policy changes for
delivery of social services. The final
weeks of the course focus on civic engagement and advocacy, with a particular
emphasis on the roles of foundations and nonprofit intermediaries. Throughout the class we will engage a range
of perennial debates about the sector.
For example: How should
nonprofits be regulated? To whom are
they (or ought they be) accountable? Should the government fund nonprofit
organizations and faith-based organizations in particular? Should nonprofits be allowed to engage in
advocacy and lobbying? How vital are
(or ought be) nonprofit organizations to social
service delivery and building strong communities? Administration
of Nonprofit Organizations (PA 745) Fall 2010. Nonprofit
management studies and practices evolve rapidly, especially when resources
are scarce, as in the current economic crisis. Effective nonprofit managers must be able
to navigate ambiguity and manage change while addressing the concerns of
various stakeholders, both internal and external. Focusing primarily on internal nonprofit
management issues, this course exposes students to key management functions,
best practices, common pitfalls, and emerging trends in the sector. The syllabus is organized around four broad
topics that are particularly salient for nonprofit managers: organizational
forms & structures; managing organizational culture & change;
internal and external communications; and ethical management (including
accountability and performance measures).
We will explore the relationships among organizational mission,
culture, structure and performance. In
addition, throughout the course, class discussions will evoke themes related
to ethics, diversity, and technology as these are essential components of
nonprofit management. As this is one
in a series of nonprofit management electives, students should be aware of
the topics not covered in this course.
This class does not explicitly cover:
resource development (PA 747), financial management (PA 750),
the roles nonprofits play in society (PA 744), or international nonprofits
(PA 749). By combining scholarly readings with
case studies, practitioner-oriented materials, and insights from guest
speakers experienced in the local nonprofit sector, the course provides
students with the toolbox of resources they need to comprehend the essential
components of nonprofit management, anticipate and address common management
challenges, and to stay current throughout their careers. ***NEW DESCRIPTION COMING FOR SPRING 2012,
to reflect conversion to a community service learning course. Visit the
SF CBO Support Project website for
more information.*** Developing Nonprofit Resources (PA 747) Fall
2010.
This course addresses how nonprofit organizations secure and retain a
range of financial and personnel resources.
By combining applied and theoretical literature relevant to
organizational assessment, program planning, fundraising, and staff and
volunteer development, the course introduces traditional and emerging
paradigms in resource development, with a focus on holistic approaches to
resource development. Emerging
paradigms include the appropriate incorporation of new technologies,
leveraging community assets, and reaching out to diverse constituencies. While this class is not an introduction to
the nonprofit sector, it includes a component that centers on understanding
nonprofit resource development in context – historically, geographically, and
in terms of mission. Class discussions
and projects will focus on already established 501(c)3
nonprofit organizations with various characteristics (start-up organizations
will not be specifically addressed).
Ethical resource development is essential to effective fundraising and
organizational sustainability; ethical issues will be discussed
regularly. The course provides
students with the opportunity to apply the tools and skills learned
throughout the semester by creating a total resource development plan for an
established nonprofit organization.
Teaching and evaluation methods will include class lectures,
discussions, oral presentations and peer feedback mechanisms, in addition to
written and graded assignments. Managing NGOs in an International Context (PA 749/IR 758) Fall
2010. This course provides students
with a contextualized understanding of issues relevant to managing
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in an international environment. By combining theoretical literature with
applied research, case studies, and ‘voices from the field,’ the course
provides students with a solid grounding in some of the unique challenges
that NGO managers face in the international arena. Understanding the international arena
requires that students are familiar with multiple levels of governance – the
global context, various regional contexts, and country-specific
contexts. It also requires that
students understand how major actors – funders and policymakers – in the
international arena influence how, where, and on what issues NGOs work. The course begins by situating NGOs in the
overarching context of global governance and drills down to the country
level. In order to help students
ground the class discussions and associated readings, the written assignments
require that students examine a set of organizational actors in preparation
for a final case study that focuses on an NGO’s work in country. Two important themes, ethics and
diversity, are woven throughout the course and are directly engaged towards
the end of the semester. In fact,
these are some of the issues at the heart of challenges to NGO management in
an international context – understanding diverse cultural contexts,
communications across cultures, grappling with notions of universalism versus
relativism, and managing relationships and sometimes competing interests of
donors, staff, and the communities served. Leadership for the Public and Nonprofit Sectors (PA 762) Fall 2011. This
course focuses on the study of contemporary leadership theory and practice,
paying particular attention to the public and nonprofit sectors and the
increasingly complex arrangements between them. The first part of the course introduces
students to the concept of leadership, including mainstream and more nuanced
theories and emerging perspectives on leadership. The second part of the course focuses
explicitly on leadership and change in a variety of contexts – organization,
community, social, political, and global.
While the course materials are heavily grounded in theory, readings
also contain applied examples and class time includes guest speakers and a
range of video cases. Throughout the
semester students will apply the concepts discussed in class to “real world”
situations through the processes of reflection, discussion, assessment and
case study analysis. Two
important themes, ethics and diversity, are woven throughout the course. Good leadership is ethical leadership.
Throughout the course, we will discuss the importance of goal-setting,
self-reflection, and assessment for leaders so that they can be more
effective and make careful, ethical decisions. We will also talk about the importance of
interpersonal communications – which is one way that the theme of diversity
is integrated throughout the course.
Furthermore, given that many groups have historically been excluded
from mainstream leadership positions (and, as follows, from theories meant to
explain leadership), we will consider leadership in its many, often
contested, forms. Finally, the
in-class videos and cases feature diverse leaders in various situations: women, persons of color, and international
leaders. Last updated: November 4, 2011 |