Knowledge of Public Administration

My MPA education has given me a thorough knowlege of public administration. Below are examples of my MPA career that show my knowledge, skills and abilities. All papers, exercises and research below are my own except where additional authors are noted.

penOverall Public Administration Knowledge

The Strategic Assessment Memo is an in-depth analysis of the public administration issues in the PNGV initiative case study. In my SAM, the Public Administration issues addressed are 1) Strengthening Policy Goals, (2) Building Efficient Networks within Government Agencies, (3) Creating a Permanent Strong Administrative Section, (4) Assessing Budgeting Issues, and (5) Creating an Evaluation Plan.

 

penPolicy Analysis

The best part of the MPA program was learning how to conduct a policy analysis. Policy analysis involves assessing the economic, social and/or political benefits and disdvantages of the stakeholders, the public, government and/or any other group. The attached papers show different type of analyses. The CAPI and Stakeholder papers are comprehensive analysis pieces, while the Ethical Policy Analysis paper concetrates in a specific area.

 

penProgram Evaluation

Program evaluation is an another valuable skill I learned from the program. The Our Second Home paper “Evaluation of Early Childhood Education Services: ECE Classes, Workshops and Communication” is a mixed-model evalaution that used focus groups and a small survey. The goal of the program evaluation was to determine whether (1) the program-participating childcare providers felt that their understanding of child development increased and (2) if services and communication needed to improve or be sustained. The measuring variables paper shows the thought process that goes into the beginning stages of program evaluation.

 

penResearch Methods and Data Analysis

Understanding research methods and data analysis is very important when conducting policy analysis, program evaluation or any other research project. The goal of the research project "The Effects of Standardizing the Core Curricula of Child Welfare Trainings" was to determine if the state-mandated standardized child welfare core training curricula positively or negatively affected trainers and child welfare trainees of a regional training organization. It is a mixed-model design using surveys to gather quantitative and qualitative data. The Miracle grow piece is a short paper of a randomized experiment. Finally, the data analysis final is an example of my statistical abilities.

 

penBudgeting

Understanding the budgeting process is important in the public and non-profit sector. Even if a position is not involved with the organization's budgeting process, understanding budgeting will enable that person to conduct their study, hire personnel, manage their section effectively, etc. The budgeting paper is an example of how to effectively budget for a program. It shows all the steps and consideration taken. The budgeting final excel worksheet is an example of my abilities to conduct budget analysis. Finally, the financial statement project paper shows my understanding of the budgeting process.

 

penEconomics

Using economics is one of the best ways to forecast the fiscal prosperity of a program, project or policy. A cost-benefit analysis is an economic tool that can show the benefits or disadvantages of making a certain decision. The cost-benefit analysis paper shows how getting a California State University (CSU) bachelors degree will benefit a Californian woman and men’s potential income in the long run. 

 

penHuman Resources

The decision made in human resources affects the entire organization. The department ensures that HR policies equally benefit all employees. Hiring the right person can make or break an organization. The Hiring the Right Person paper is an example of a specific recruitment and hiring decision in an organization, the repercutions and the necessary HR steps needed to remedy the situation.