28 Mar GOV 670 Principles of Public Administration (Article Review #2)
Prompt: Read the assigned Svara article Download Svara article and write a 4 to 5-page review that addresses the following questions. Please do not repeat the questions in your review. Instead, use them as a guide in developing your essay.
What is the main subject or theme of the article? What are the central questions raised by the author(s)?
What are the assumptions the author(s) make? What are the key theoretical propositions?
What are the main arguments or findings of the article? What evidence or data did the author(s) use to arrive at these conclusions?
What are the article’s practical contributions to public administration – i.e., how does it help us understand and manage public/nonprofit organizations?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the article? Provide a strong critique of the article. Critically assess the argument, methodology, and findings.
Be sure to avoid the “strawman’s” trap and overly impressionistic criticisms.
One way to write an excellent critique is by drawing from the extensive readings you have done in this course and throughout the MPA program. For instance, when reviewing an article about Closed System Theories, consider how the formal and hierarchical organizational structure, impersonal relationships, and strong emphasis on efficiency affect individual employees. In addition, you might think about how Open System Theories of organization address some of these limitations.
What is your opinion about the findings of the article? How could the argument be improved?
The final question should lead naturally to a thoughtful conclusion that summarizes the main ideas and proffers ways to improve the article rather than the usual “I agree with the author” or “I enjoyed reading the article,” and so on.
Instructions:
Use information from the assigned course readings, lectures, supplemental materials, professional experience, and outside scholarly sources.
Avoid excessive quotes from the text. Instead, paraphrase or summarize the ideas in your own words and use practical examples to illustrate the concepts.
The essay must include at least FIVE to SEVEN academic sources that are appropriately integrated with APA in-text citations and references.
The essay must be double-spaced with Times New Roman, 12 font, and normal (1-inch) margins.
