Organizational Change in the Public Sector: A Strategic Analysis

Final Paper (10–12 pages, due beginning of week 8)

You will prepare a research paper on a public organization that has undergone (or should 

undergo) a fairly significant change. The paper should describe the organization’s change, 

retrospectively or prospectively, in light of the concepts introduced in this course.

There are two parts to this paper. The first part (items 1–2 below) is a narrative about your 

organization and the need for change. The second part (items 3–6) requires an application of 

the theories and concepts from class to the organization you have selected.

The final paper will:

1. Describe the organization, including history, purpose, size, age, geographic or other 

territorial mandate, target population, funding sources, and other such demographics 

as you think would be helpful to the reader. If any of these have changed 

significantly, you’ll want to mention it. (1 page)

2. Explain what prompted the need for change. What happened the prompted or 

spurred change? What did they measure or observe to find out about the problem?

What results did the organization expect and why? It’s helpful to think of this as the 

immediate and proximal issue that indicated that change was necessary. (1–2 pages)

3. Diagnose the potential causes of the problem. Was it primarily structural, 

administrative, political, or something else? This section should describe the longerterm issues that led up to the indicator that change was necessary noted in item 

number 2 here. If you assert that it was a financial problem, you’ll need to have a 

good story ready; financial problems rarely come about in the absence of other 

problems. (2–3 pages)

4. Prescribe what sort of change is called for, how it should be brought about, by 

whom, and on what timetable? If this is a retrospective case, you need not agree that 

what was done was correct, even if it turned out okay. (4–5 pages)

5. Discuss the ethical implications of the case and apply an ethical framework. Class 

notes for week 8 include some tips on ethical frameworks. (1 page) 

6. Describe what you will measure or observe to see whether the change is doing what it was intended to do. (1 page)

Please use APA style (with in-text parenthetical citations) for all assignments. 

A balance of peer-reviewed journal articles, websites from reputable organizations (e.g., 

government websites or think thanks), scholarly books, and popular news accounts is 

recommended, with primary emphasis on journal articles and scholarly books. Use internet 

sources and current news articles published in national or local newspapers (e.g. New York 

Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, etc.) only to supplement

important points in your paper.

Think of your paper as a narrative with a consistent theme that will appeal to your specific 

audience, almost as if you are telling a story.

Some other helpful writing hints:

• Use relatively short sentences and paragraphs and use active voice verbs.

• Ensure that paragraphs are of the proper length: A good rule of thumb is to aim for three 

sentence paragraphs. There should be at least one paragraph break per page to break up 

longer blocks of text.

• Craft a logical outline (that touches on the points above), and use headers and subheaders to create structure (just like this syllabus)

• Make sure each paragraph has specific purpose, and make sure you put your thoughts in 

context.

• Be sure to highlight your voice in the paper rather than relying heavily on quotes or 

summarized or paraphrased material. This might include a few sentences that begin with 

“In other words…” – or an equivalent phrase that allows you to rephrase complex or 

critical thoughts or reflect on content.