PADM 1000 - Introduction to Leadership in America

This course is an introduction to the study of leadership in America. It compares the administrative processes used in private and non-profit organizations and the U.S. government, including the U.S. military. This course introduces students to the theories of leadership and the styles, traits, and myths of leadership including the history, cultures, and ethical basis for good leadership in an American context.

Credit: 3

PADM 2000 - Supervisory Leadership

Prerequisite: PADM 1000 and any WC&IL I course.

This course is an exploration of the nature and responsibilities of the supervisor. Topics covered include: work environments; technologies, and supervisory styles; tools for decision-making; supervisory functions; and scheduling, staffing, directing, and controlling. This includes career skills involving both personal planning and interpersonal relations and skill areas such as time keeping, goal setting, negotiations, assertiveness, and networking.

Credit: 3

PADM 3000 - Analytical Techniques and Methods

Prerequisite: MATH 1123.

This course studies statistical techniques and quantitative methods for decision-making in an administrative environment. Topics include numerical and graphical descriptive statistics, probability and probability distributions, statistical inference, decision-making under uncertainty, forecasting, correlation, regression analysis, linear programming, project management, and simulation.

Credit: 3

PADM 3300 - Public Policy

Prerequisite: PSCI 3200.

This course examines the making of public policy in the United States. Our study of policymaking will be based on the proposition that an understanding of policymaking depends upon an understanding of institutions and political behavior. The course begins with an overview of the public policy process, examining the stages of policymaking and theories of the policy process. These theories are discussed in the context of specific public policies and public policy controversies, including social welfare, defense, tax policy, and other important issues.

Credit: 3

PADM 3400 - Public Personnel Administration

Prerequisite: Either HRD 1000 or PADM 1000, AND CJ 3000 (which may be taken concurrently); OR enrollment in BSW program.

This course examines the administration of the civil service system. Representative topics include civil service reform and the relationship of public personnel administration and organizational performance. The rights and responsibilities of public employees, patterns of discrimination, and the changing workforce will also be discussed in the context of public policies, law, and court rulings. Students will have an understanding of public personnel administration necessary to steward a valuable public resource competently within the limitations on the exercise of government authority while adhering to the values enumerated in the U.S. Constitution.

Credit: 3

PADM 3500 - Public Finance and Budgeting

Prerequisite(s): PADM 3000 and any WC&IL II course with a grade of C- or higher.

The course provides an overview of the processes, techniques, and political/administrative aspects of public budgeting and finance for federal, state, and local governments in the United States. The purpose of this curse is to introduce students to the theories, concepts, and practice of government budgeting and finance and to expose them to the current issues and challenges in this field. This course also provides students with both theoretical perspectives and practical analytical skills involved in understanding, analyzing, and preparing budgets.

Credit: 3

PADM 3600 - Non-Profit Management

Prerequisite(s): Any WC&IL II course with a grade of C- or higher.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the leadership skills needed to be successful in the non-profit sector in the United States. Topics covered in this course include the nature and scope of non-profit organizations. Other topics include mission statements, ethics, and cohesion; leadership, building organizational capacity, fundraising, and revenue generation; building and sustaining relationships with external constituencies; finding, training, and supervising volunteers, governance, and boards of directors; evaluation of operations and programs; and sustainability of non-profit organizations.

Credit: 3

PADM 3700 - Urban Government

Prerequisite(s): PSCI 3415.

The study of urban governance provides a valuable insight into economic, social, and political forces and how they shape city life. This innovative course casts new light on the issues and re-examines the state of urban governance at the start of the twenty-first century. Models of urban governance, such as corporatist, pro-growth, and welfare, are assessed in terms of implications for the major issues, interests, and challenges in the contemporary urban arena.

Credit: 3

PADM 4000 - Strategic Planning for Government Organizations

Prerequisite: Advisor approval.

This course is a capstone and a summary and integration of knowledge and skills gained in the public administration program. It is a strategic planning course at the city, state, and federal level with issues from the City and County of Honolulu, the State of Hawai‘i, the U.S. federal government, and or other government entities located in the Pacific basin. Topics include a clarification of mandates, mission, vision, and values; a situational analysis involving both the internal and external environments; the identification of the strategic issues facing those government entities; and the strategic plan for achieving the goals of the organization.

Credit: 3

PADM 6000 - Introduction to Public Administration and Public Service

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

This introduction to public administration and public service provides insights into the theory, practice, and the interdependence and administration of government and nonprofit organizations at the federal, state, and city level. Topics include an introduction to research methodologies, principles and tools required in government budgeting and resource management, public organization theory, and decision-making, interprofessional team-based leadership, an understanding of ethics and accountability as it relates to the public sector, and a summary of the essential principles and issues relating to social, cultural, and legal matters that are relevant to the administration of public service organizations.

Credit: 3

PADM 6100 - Public Personnel Management

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

This course introduces traditional and contemporary issues in public personnel administration.  It examines the historical context and legal rights and responsibilities that public administrators encounter. Various components of personnel administration are covered including recruitment and selection; position management and classification; compensation, performance appraisal, unions and collective bargaining; and employee development.

Credit: 3

PADM 6200 - Introduction to the Nonprofit Sector and Organizations

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students.

This is an introductory course, an overview of the non-profit sector in Hawai‘i, nationally, and worldwide for students who aspire to positions in middle management or senior leadership for a non-profit organization, with special applications for social work and public health. Topics include: non-profit management as a profession; introduction to budgeting; the relationship and impacts among relevant resources (social capital), associate social, cultural, and environmental goals with social entrepreneurship; and the organizational structures suited to those goals.

Credit: 3

PADM 6210 - Grant Writing and Fund Development

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students.

Sources of revenue in the public sector differ from business organizations where incomes are earned from the sale of goods and services. Non-profits endeavor to achieve diverse revenue sources, both to minimize risk and to maximize autonomy. Income generating programs include some earned-income strategies but more typically focus on grant writing and fundraising from the general public like selling. Also includes pipeline management and catalytic philanthropy as it pertains to corporations, governments, and foundations.

Credit: 3

PADM 6220 - Staff and Volunteer Management for Nonprofit Organizations

Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.

The management of an organization’s human resources, regardless of their sector affiliation (public, private, or nonprofit) is pretty much the same except that nonprofit employees tend to be more vision driven. Volunteers, however, tend to be more leadership driven. In addition to general employee management principles, this course will include leadership theories and practices as they apply to volunteer management.

Credit: 3

PADM 6260 - Program Implementation and Evaluation

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students

Program implementation and evaluation are key to good management and better policy. Understanding the concept of programs is foundational to success in public sector and nonprofit organizations. This course explores the way services are provided through programs, the logistics needed to implement new programs, and the tools to evaluate existing programs. Students will use multiple evidence-based assessment techniques to determine if a program is accomplishing its intended outcomes through quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Credit: 3

PADM 6270 - Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations

Graduate Standing Required

This course provides insight for a non-profit’s long-range goals and the resources needed to reach them. Topics include non-profit governing boards and executive leadership, mission and vision achievement, opportunities and threats analyses, long-range strategy execution, and financial oversight.

Credit: 3

PADM 6300 - Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision-Making

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

This course studies statistical and quantitative tools and concepts as applied in public administration. Topics include: probability theory, descriptive statistics, statistical inference, regression analysis, decision theory, linear models, linear programming, network analysis, and simulation. It emphasizes practical aspects of applying such methods, appropriately interpreting the results of these statistical analysis tools, and gaining a meaningful understanding of how statistical analysis can be used to solve public administration problems. Use of computer tools for carrying out statistical analysis (SAS or SPSS) is also a major emphasis.

Credit: 3

PADM 6400 - U.S. Public Policy

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

This course examines the making of public policy in the United States. Our study of policymaking will be based on the proposition that an understanding of policymaking depends upon an understanding of institutions and political behavior. The course begins with an overview of the public policy process, examining the stages of policymaking and theories of the policy process. These theories are discussed in the context of specific public policies and public controversies as the impact America’s economy.

Credit: 3

PADM 6500 - Economics for Decision-Makers

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

This course introduces the primary concepts and methods of economics as they apply to decision making problems within various organizational settings such as a non-profit organization or a government agency. It covers the basics of both microeconomics and macroeconomics. In microeconomics, the focus is on learning economic analysis tools and developing economic way-of-thinking skills. In macroeconomics, the focus is on analyzing the process of decision making in a macroeconomic context. Throughout the course, students will learn that knowledge of economics and methodology of economic analysis leads to practical, informed, and sound decisions.

Credit: 3

PADM 6510 - Public Finance

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of public finance. Students learn the theoretical concepts and tools of public finance and apply them in the practice of public administration. It covers a wide range of issues in public finance with a focus on current policy debates and controversies regarding taxation and government spending in the U.S. Topics covered include market failure, the provision of public goods, cost-benefit analysis, public expenditures, government taxation, and the principles of government finance.

Credit: 3

PADM 6520 - Fundamentals of Public Budgeting

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students

This foundational course in the MPA fixed curriculum introduces the essential concepts and foundational theories related to public budgeting. This course also addresses two core competencies needed in budgeting: analytical thinking and understanding the concepts of democracy and equity in access to public services. Students are introduced to research methodologies that facilitate understanding the rational thinking processes used in public budgeting, for example, how budget cutters think (legislators) versus how program directors (spenders) think.  Students will draft mock budgets in most frequently used formats. Proficiency in these competencies is beneficial for all levels of government.

Credit: 3

PADM 6530 - Managing with Performance-Based Budgets

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students

Public budgeting is about using financial resources to make a positive difference in our society. This requires knowledge of what government does with its resources. Gaining access to that knowledge requires performance measures on outputs (programs, activities, events) and outcomes (the long-term effects of the outputs on the target population). Performance-based budgeting addresses the efficiency and effectiveness and more recently equity of government programs and activities. Students will use various measurement systems to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of how program resources are used. In addition, students will apply equity indicators early in the budget process to inform policy and public management decisions. 

Credit: 3

PADM 6540 - Capital Budgeting and Strategic Planning

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students

Capital budgeting raises money through various means, including issuing municipal bonds and using that money to build large physical items such as buildings, roads, bridges, and rail systems for municipal and state governments. Traditional public operating budgets are concerned with on-going government activities such as paying for salaries of teachers, detention officers, librarians, and so on. Instead, capital budgeting and strategic planning is about thinking years ahead and then raising money for the construction of schools, jails, libraries, and so on. Students will work on capital facility planning, by preparing a mock bond prospectus, drafting a notice of bond sales, using syndicates, debt reporting, and bond ratings. Most importantly, they will learn how to take measures to avoid municipal bankruptcy, explore the nature of derivatives, future options, floaters, sale-leasing back, put options, and other financial instruments. analysis.

Credit: 3

PADM 6560 - Budgeting in the Legislative and Judicial Context

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students

Budgeting is a forward-looking planning instrument, but it is also a political statement, a legal document, and a management tool. Elected officials appropriate funds to the policies and programs of their choosing, but the expenditures are bound by laws and administered by managers.  Students learn how all the budget process actors impact the reality of the final budget document to avoid making serious critical mistakes.

Credit: 3

PADM 6570 - Financial Forecasting

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students.

Budgets cannot be meaningfully formulated until there is an accurate forecast of how much revenue the government can expect to generate. It is important that the forecast be honest and accurate. Students will use financial forecasting techniques including trend analysis to calculate trend lines for revenue streams and test them for accuracy. This is especially important for ongoing mandatory programs.

Credit: 3

PADM 6600 - Strategic Thinking for Non-profit Organizations

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the leadership skills and strategic thinking needed to be successful in the non-profit sector in the United States. Topics covered in the course include the nature and scope of non-profit organizations; mission statements, ethics and cohesion; leadership; building organizational capacity; fundraising and revenue generation; building and sustaining relationships with external constituencies; finding, training, and supervising volunteers; governance and boards of directors; evaluation of operations and programs; and sustainability of non-profit organizations.

Credit: 3

PADM 6610 - City Management and Urban Policy

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

The study of urban governance provides a valuable insight into economic, social, and political forces and how they shape city life. This innovative course casts new light on the issues and re-examines the state of urban governance at the start of the twenty-first century. Models of urban governance, such as management, corporatist, pro-growth, and welfare, are assessed in terms of implications for the major issues, interests, and challenges in the contemporary urban arena.

Credit: 3

PADM 6640 - Diversity in the Workplace

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

As the work force changes domestically and globally, individual and organizational strategies for working cross-culturally and ethically must be adopted. This course looks at the diversity in society and how organizations need to reflect on those diversities to allow them to offer more adequate services. The purpose of this course is to increase an understanding of relevant human differences in organization, to develop behavioral skills for working with these differences, and to show that using the diversity at all levels within the organization helps to provide a wider range of solutions to all kinds of problems.

Credit: 3

PADM 6810 - Context and Content of Ethics

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students.

Employing situational awareness exercises, this course explores how people respond to ethical situations in public service organizations. Knowing how people respond to ethical issues will determine the approaches that are possible to improve the ethical culture of the organization for a sustainable ethics program. Existing organizational policies and procedures, through which the ethical culture is communicated to both the staff and the public, are audited to ensure and reinforce a consistent message.

Credit: 3

PADM 6820 - Tools for Understanding and Analyzing Ethical Issues

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students

This course focuses on expanding the toolbox of skills and techniques available for developing a practical, professional, and sustainable public service organization ethical foundation. It includes exploring techniques of critical thinking, emotional intelligence, logic, and reasoning. Leadership styles and understanding personality types are also explored. Using case studies and scenario analysis, this course expands the skill set to complement the situational awareness lessons in PADM 6810 Context and Content to apply the appropriate techniques to a situation depending on the individuals involved.

Credit: 3

PADM 6830 - Understanding Individual Ethics

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students

This course provides a framework for the practical application of previously introduced skills sets for developing a conscious and deliberate individual ethic. Through a series of readings, discussions and exercises, students develop strategies, plans and activities to communicate ethical principles effectively across the spectrum of personality types. This process is organic, not proscriptive, as each individual assumes responsibility for their own professional growth. The framework can be applied to a team, unit, department, organization, or agency.

Credit: 3

PADM 6840 - Owning Your Organization’s Ethics Culture

Course Restrictions: Restricted to Graduate Students

This is the final course for the Ethics in Public Service Graduate Certificate. Individual ethics are necessary but insufficient for an organization to sustain a climate that respects, honors and promotes ethical behavior.  As public service professionals, we have a responsibility to contribute to the organization’s efforts in a meaningful and measurable way.  This course develops strategies for how best to achieve the desired results for immediate and future use of ethical behavior, including specific sets of training, activities, policies, etc. tailored to the specific needs of an organization.

Credit: 3

PADM 6998 - Special Topics in Public Administration

Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

This course provides an opportunity for students to explore other areas directly related to the public administration curriculum but not included in the program of study. These special topics would be offered based on student interest and current events.  Course content will vary, and the course may be repeated as topics change. Examples include potential courses in public personnel administration, grant writing, group dynamics in the public sector, violence in American society, and disaster preparedness and response.

Credit: 3

PADM 7001 - Research Methods and Designs

Prerequisite: PADM 6000; PADM 6300; Program Chair approval

This capstone is the first of two courses required near the end of the student’s MPA program. It is, first, a review of the salient points from the program of study and culminates in a comprehensive exam. Second, it is a preparation for Professional Paper II, which gives the student the option of researching and writing a thesis on a public administration issue or completing an applied research project.

Credit: 3

PADM 7002 - Capstone in Public Administration

Prerequisite: PADM 6000, PADM 6300, and PADM 7001

This capstone is required near the end of the student’s MPA Program. In this course, the student implements the option of researching and writing a thesis on a public administration issue or completing an applied research project. Public administration issues may include topics like the U.S. economy, social equality, criminal justice, etc. The applied research project option may include an objective or problem of concern to an entity or unit of the U.S. Federal Government, a State, City or a Nonprofit.

Credit: 3