The Public Manager Case Book: Making Decisions in a Complex World

As academic disciplines, public administration and public policy programs have struggled to link theoretical and conceptual grounding with practical application. Students often have discrete courses in human resources, finance, organizational behavior, policy analysis, and planning, but rarely are they offered an opportunity to pursue these through actual cases and problems facing public managers.

The Public Manager Case Book is a collection of eight public administration cases that allows students to practice the decision-making skills they will need in their jobs as public managers. Each case focuses on the local administrative issues managers most often face in their day-to-day responsibilities, and each encourages students to collaborate with others in order to gain the necessary cooperation and information. The cases are multi-dimensional and challenge students and professors to draw from a variety of knowledge areas to develop alternative recommendations, decisions, or actions.

An instructor′s manual is available for useful background material, references, theoretical and conceptual framework, and teaching tips.

About the Editor

Terrel L. Rhodes is Professor of Public Administration and Vice Provost for Curriculum and Undergraduate Studies at Portland State University.

Rhodes is Professor of Public Administration and Vice Provost for Curriculum and Undergraduate Studies at Portland State University. He has experience nationally and internationally in local government training. His most recent book was, Republicans in the South: Voting for the White House, Voting for the Statehouse.

Patricia Maloney Alt is Professor, Department of Health Sciences, and Coordinator, Clinician-Administrator Transition Program, at Towson University. She was previously Aging Policy Coordinator for the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), and has been a consultant to federal, state, and local agencies. She is the Chair of the Towson University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Research Participants (IRB), and also serves on the DHMH IRB.

Cheryl L. Brown is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is a specialist in Chinese politics, international relations and e-government.

Maureen Brown is Associate Professor in the Public Administration program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is a national consultant on information technology systems and was the Principal Investigator on the U.S. Department of Justice COPS-MORE grant received by the City of Charlotte Metropolitan Police Department.

Robert Gassner is Vision Council Manager with the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. He holds an Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Portland State University, and was formerly Executive Director of Healthy Communities, Inc.