Brett S. Sharp, Ph.D.
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Brett S. Sharp, Ph.D. |
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Political Science 4923: Nonprofit Strategic Planning Prerequisite: Junior Standing Syllabus for Summer 2004
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Brett S. Sharp, Assistant Professor, has been a practicing public administrator for over fourteen years. He received his Ph.D. and Master of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and a B.S. in Political Science/Public Affairs with a minor in Religious Studies from Oklahoma State University. He is currently the Associate Director of the Oklahoma Policy Research Center at UCO.
Contact Hours: Monday through Friday: 2:15-3:00 PM (and by appointment) Office: LA 102-J Email: bsharp@ucok.edu Telephone: (405) 974-5526 Fax: (405) 974-3823 Web Site: http://www.libarts.ucok.edu/political/faculty/sharp
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide the student with an overview of the nonprofit sector and its role in social service delivery. The emphasis will be on applying general management techniques through strategic planning and collaborative processes. Specific aspects of nonprofit management to be addressed include: competition and cooperation among nonprofit organizations, fundraising, marketing and public relations, volunteer management, grantsmanship, and program evaluation. Student should gain an understanding of the role of nonprofit organizations in social service delivery and public policy as well as new directions in nonprofit administration.
TEACHING METHODS/LEARNING EXPERIENCES: Student will read three books related to nonprofit management and analyze them through a political science perspective culminating in a review essay. The instructor will help guide the readings by meeting with the student at various times in the semester. The student will also prepare an analysis of one of the case studies in the text. The student will also be required to complete a service project to be arranged with the instructor.
TEXTS Linden, Russell M. (2002). Working Across Boundaries. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass (303 pp.) [Available on Loan From Dr. Sharp]
Oster, Sharon M. (1995). Strategic Management for Nonprofit Organizations: Theories and Cases. New York: Oxford University Press (350 pp.) [Available at UCO Library]
Wilber, Robert H. (Ed.). (2000). The Complete Guide to Nonprofit Management. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. C: George Washington University, Graduate School of Education. (374 pp.) [Available at UCO Library]
Wolfe, Thomas. (1984). The Nonprofit Organization: An Operating Manual. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ. (184 pp.) [Available from your professor]
Scott, Gregory M. & Garrison, Stephen M. (2002). The Political Science Student Writer’s Manual (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall [Available from UCO or Thompson’s bookstore].
Course Schedule - Summer 2003
OUTSIDE WORK Based upon the Oklahoma Regents’ Statement on Course Workload and Homework [OSRHE II-2-34], a college student should expect to spend at least135 hours working toward a 3-hour course. The message the Oklahoma Regents are trying to communicate is that if you have a full time job (30-40 hours) you should not simultaneously expect to maintain a full-time academic schedule (15 hours). If you expect to do well, expect to put in the time!
ADA STATEMENT The University of Central Oklahoma complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need special accommodations should make their requests by contacting Kimberly Fields, the coordinator of Disability Support Services at 974-2459. Their office is located in the Administration Building, Room 211. Students should also notify the instructor of special accommodations needs by the end of the first week of class.
EVALUATION METHODS AND GRADING Instructor will determine course grades using the following scale: 90 -100 = A 80 - 89 = B 70 - 79 = C 60 - 69 = D 0 - 59 = F
Grading components include: Meetings with Instructor 10% Book Review Essay 40% Business Plan 30% Service Component 20%
MEETINGS WITH INSTRUCTOR Discussion of the assigned readings is an important part of succeeding in this course and is required of all students. Meeting with the instructor provides an opportunity for you to ask questions, clarify issues, and deepen your understanding of the concepts covered in the assigned readings. If you are unable to make a meeting as arranged, you are responsible for rescheduling at the instructor’s convenience and availability.
BUSINESS PLAN Select a real nonprofit organization or develop a fictionalized organization and prepare a business plan. Your business plan should include a formalized mission statement with specific goals and objectives, a fundraising strategy, a strategy to leverage resources through collaboration, an implementation plan, and a means for program evaluation. Your business plan will be graded on format, grammar, presentation, content, creativity, and feasibility.
REQUIREMENTS FOR BOOK REVIEW ESSAY Your report should be in the form of an essay which includes concise summaries and more extensive analyses of the assigned books. Using the book review from a refereed journal (such as Public Administration Review — can be provided by the instructor) as a model and Scott and Garrison’s The Political Science Student Writer’s Manual as a guide, write a 12-15 page review essay due by close of business, Friday, July 23, 2004. As part of your analysis, answer the following questions within the text of your report: 1. What does each book contribute to your understanding of nonprofit management and public policy? 2. What is the purpose of each book and its central thesis (philosophy or perspective)? 3. Does each book achieve its goals? 4. What is the method or approach used by the authors to reach their conclusions? 5. Are the conclusions credible? 6. What are the implications for the study and practice of public administration in the realm of nonprofit management? 7. What are the primary strengths and weaknesses of each book? 8. Would you recommend this book to someone interested in public administration as applied to the nonprofit management setting? Why or why not? 9. Do the books complement/reinforce or contradict each other and how? Collectively, what lessons do these books teach? The book review essay will be graded on format, grammar, summary of key points, and quality of analysis.
SERVICE COMPONENT Read the list of 100 Things You Can Do to Increase Social Capital as linked in the professor’s web site (http://www.libarts.ucok.edu/political/faculty/sharp/100Things.htm). Select one of these activities that you do not normally do on a regular basis and do it sometime during the before the end of the Summer term. Write up a 2-3 page report in which you outline the details and significance of this activity. Papers will be graded on activity selection, format, grammar, style, content delivery, analysis, and general quality.
ACADEMIC HONESTY Cheating = Failure (please refer to attached Academic Integrity Statement). Cheating is unacceptable conduct and will result in an automatic grade of "F" for the course, and be reported to Academic Affairs. Students are required to do all of the work for this class on their own. Copying answers to exercises or examinations from anyone constitutes cheating. Allowing another student to copy one’s answers will be treated as cheating. A student may discuss exercises and case briefs with others before preparing his or her own answers, but the answers must be each student’s own work product. Consulting with the instructor about any assignment does not constitute cheating and is encouraged.
The Political Science Department of the University of Central Oklahoma is asking all students taking political science courses to read the following Academic Integrity Statement. Our purpose in doing so is to ensure that all our students are aware of what is improper academic behavior.
Academic Integrity Statement As members of the academic community, students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity. The Political Science Department expects that its students will conduct themselves honestly. This means, above all, that students submit for credit work that is the product of their own efforts. Principles of academic integrity require that all dishonest work be rejected as a basis for academic credit, and that students refrain from any and all forms of dishonorable conduct in the course of their academic work. The examples and definitions given below are intended to clarify the standards by which academic honesty and integrity is judged. The list is merely illustrative of some of the more common infractions. It is not intended to be exhaustive. Any question a student has about what constitutes inappropriate behavior should be directed towards their instructor. The rule of thumb to follow is: If in doubt, ASK!
Definitions and Examples Plagiarism - Plagiarism is presenting another person’s work as one’s own. Plagiarism includes not only the exact use of another’s words, word for word, but also the paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another student’s work as one’s own. The student is responsible for understanding the legitimate use of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly, or creative indebtedness, and the consequences of violating this responsibility. In case of doubt, give a citation of the author you are using. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one's reliance on other sources is plagiarism. A plagiarized paper will result in a failing grade on the work in question, and perhaps, for the entire course. Cheating on Examinations - Cheating on examinations involves giving or receiving unauthorized help before, during, or after an examination. Examples of unauthorized help include the use of notes, texts, or "crib sheets" during an examination (unless receiving instructor approval), or sharing information with another student either during or after an examination. Falsification - It is a violation of academic honesty to misrepresent material or to fabricate information in an academic exercise or assignment (e.g. false or misleading citation of sources, the falsification of the results of experiments or of computer data). Multiple Submissions - It is a violation of academic honesty to submit substantial portions of the same work for credit more than once without the explicit consent of the instructor to whom the material is being submitted the second time.
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