In lieu of the final exam, each student will write an assessment of a federal, state, or local level public agency or organization (a paper on the government in another foreign country is also accepted). The study will identify key management issues facing the chosen agency or organization, assess its current approach to the issues and make recommendations for change if possible. It is required that your writing relates to the learnings from the course, but you can also extend beyond the course materials.
Your manuscript should follow the following format: minimum of 4 and maximum page of 6 (excluding references and appendixes), double spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-Times New Roman font, Microsoft Word (.docx) format. Do not feel pressured to simply write long; the evaluation will be grounded upon the strength of the contents, not the length of the manuscript. Write your manuscript as if it is a real report that is scheduled to be addressed to a person in a responsible position at the chosen agency or organization. Late submissions will result in penalties. Make sure you submit it on time so you don’t fail this course.
At a minimum, the case study should include the following sections (the listed questions for each section are only for the purpose of illustration, and you are free to come up with your own list):
• Identify an Issue(s). What are the most important management issues facing the organization? Why are these the most important and how did these issues emerge?
• Assess the Current State. What is the current approach to the issues that the organization or the agency is taking? What are strengths and weaknesses of it?
• Recommendations for Change. What steps do you recommend be taken to improve the issues you have identified? What are the expected obstacles that interrupt the implementation of the recommendations? What are the possible strategies to overcome those obstacles? Assuming they are successfully applied, how would you assure that the changes sustain and become institutionalized?
The evaluation of your work will be based on whether or not (1) you lay out your arguments in a clear, concise, and coherent manner, (2) you support your argument with relevant logical reasonings or substantive evidence, (3) your argument ties to the learnings from the course, and (4) your answers are equipped with appropriate structural formats such as grammar or citations/references.