Public servants - who they are and what they do - Einzelansicht

This seminar examines what it means to be a public servant in today’s world.

In the first part, we focus on the macro-level and compare civil service systems in different countries and consider training and education, recruitment and career patterns of public personnel. We distinguish different roles of public servants and reflect upon bureaucratic elites as well as street-level bureaucrats in policy-making. We analyze the potentials and realities of representative bureaucracy.

In the second part, we turn to the micro-level. We explore public service motivation and public servants’ behavior beyond rational decision-making. We examine the changes of public servants’ roles due to the digital transformation and their response to the changing cultures of the organizations in which they work.

Students are welcomed to contribute topics of interest to the seminar. Please contact the lecturer in advance to suggest topics/suitable readings via email.

The final list of required and additional readings will be provided in the first session. For an overview, see:

Massey, A. (2011). International handbook on civil service systems. Edward Elgar.
Sullivan, H., Dickinson, H., & Henderson, H. (2020). The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03008-7
Van der Meer, F. M., Raadschelders, J. C. N., & Toonen, T. A. J. (2015). Comparative Civil Service Systems in the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137491459

The seminar is divided into two parts by two lectureres (Justine Marienfeldt and Moritz Heuberger).

Meetings via Zoom take place on Thursday from 2pm to 6 pm every two weeks. We follow an interactive seminar concept and combine students' presentations, group work, and discussions.
Dates: April 15, April 29, May 20, June 3, June 17, July 1, July 15.

All information and materials are provided in the university's e-learning platform Moodle. We provide access to Moodle on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.

Assignments: (1) Oral presentation OR essay; (2) three memos on additional readings

Module examination: Written term paper (max. 5000 words excl. cover page, references, annex) until September 20, 2021 via Moodle-upload.