PAD 706—Spring 2004
TERM PAPER DIRECTIONS, TERM PAPER
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND PRESENTATION GUIDELINES
A: TERM PAPER PROTOCOLS AND FRAMEWORK
Every student is required to develop a term paper over the course of the
semester. This term paper must analyze a specific organization and the
management/policy crisis faced by that organization. The primary source for
this paper MUST BE a "company/policy crisis" book from the "A List" bibliography at the
end of this document. Since the class
will benefit most from hearing about the widest range of organizational crises
and resolutions, no book may be chosen by more than one student and, when
several books address the same organizational crisis, only one student may
report using that set of books. A
lottery will determine the order in which students will, at Week 2's class,
choose from among the available books.
Format of the Term Paper
This format provides students a
framework for organizing the basic information in their books, as well as a set
of diagnostic categories into which most case studies should fit. This format
is not intended to straight-jacket the student.
SECTION A--General Description/Critical Situations: Every term paper must begin by describing the organization or industry the student is analyzing. In general, this description should include the organization or industry history, the principal functions (goods or services provided), size (number of employees, geographic scope, in comparison to similar organizations), and the critical situations (problems, successes) that your book addresses.
SECTION B--Symptomatic Analysis: Assess the relative importance of each of the following factors in the decline of your organization. You must offer specific instances to buttress your assessment of each factor. The factors below are simply the most common underlying symptoms of organizational crisis. Given the wide range of books in the bibliography, many students in this class will be studying organizations beset by crises that have causes different from, or in addition to, those listed below. Do not confine yourself to the list if your organization’s problems stem from other factors. You should identify these additional factors based on your grounding in organization theory, either by way of John Jay's PAD 705, an equivalent class in organization and management or a basic organization theory text. Forcing unrelated symptoms into the categories is a sure formula for a poor paper grade.
SECTION C--Assessment of Corrective Actions Taken or Possible: For each crisis symptom that you identify, describe the corrective actions that the organization took and the effectiveness of those actions. If the organization did not act on one or more crisis symptoms, try to identify the circumstances underlying the inaction, and the results of that inaction. Where inaction prevailed or ineffective action took place, describe and justify actions you believe would have led the organization out of its crisis.
SCECTION D: Diagnosis: After identifying the pathologies present, you must categorize the condition of your organization in terms of one or more of the following: Resource Diversion, Oversight Failure, Structural Failure, Cultural Deviation, or Institutionalization. These categories are explained further below and will be applied in class as we consider multiple cases of organizational crisis and failure.
Resource Diversion--From personal calls on company phones to afternoon golf games on company time, employees are forever finding ways to divert organizational resources to their own purposes. When resources are diverted wholesale, as has been the case with recent corporate scandals, exposure throws the organization into turmoil, instigates management upheaval, and can fundamentally change the way the organization does business. Resource diversions are common, and most organizations do a good job of uncovering and addressing larcenous activities. The problem generally becomes serious when one or more of the following pathologies are also present.
Oversight Failure--A condition characterized, at its most extreme, by ineffective and/or absent oversight. Oversight mechanisms may "self-neutralize" because of their make-up, as can be the case with politically appointed boards of inquiry. Oversight may also be neutralized by pressure from the organization’s executives. Those responsible for oversight—internal auditors, IG’s and other quality control executives--may owe their allegiance to the CEO or agency head, or simply may be asleep at the wheel. Multiple oversight units can be distracted from the investigative task as they clash and misunderstand each other’s respective authority. With oversight failure, errant leaders as well as renegade employees have free rein and the potential for disaster skyrockets. (Example: Adelphia Cable)
Structural Failure--A condition characterized by fundamental defects in organizational structure and/or processes. Structurally unsound organizations exhibit divided authority, inappropriate tasking, communications failures, questionable personnel selection, perverse incentive systems and poorly designed processes. With poorly designed structures, small problems in various systems can interact, amplify and lead to serious failure. Senior officials are most often the architects of these shaky structures, which tends to silence subordinates who see emerging problems first hand. Even when the architects are told of serious problems, they tend to obfuscate, make minor changes and otherwise seek to protect themselves and justify their creations. Structural catastrophe, because it is usually highly visible and implicates senior management, creates an aftermath that roils the organization. (Example: FBI and Justice Department)
Cultural Deviation--A condition characterized by one or more groups in the organization that deviate significantly from behavioral and/or performance norms of the overall organization. The deviation may occur in a unit over time, or may be the instant product of a reorganization or merger that fails to integrate one or another group into the prevailing organizational culture. Culturally deviant units may be characterized by high complaint volume and a concentration of problem employees, but may also contain very high performers who are willing to cut any corner and break any rule in order to excel. Organizations where cultural deviation is acute and widespread are marked by hostility between units. Culturally deviant organizational elements tend to bunker, building walls between themselves and the rest of the organization and creating conditions of isolation and/or intense conflict that puts the organization at risk. (Example: Ramparts Division in the LAPD, "Bully Boys" in the NYPD)
Institutionalization-- Organizations strive for dominance and certainty, and often achieve a substantial measure of both. This brings about a paradoxical trap. With hubris born of success and comfort in the "tried and true" processes and roles that achieved victory, organization members increasingly see priority number one as maintaining their processes, their ways and each other. The managers and professionals ("We are the experts!") and/or the workers ("The contract says we don't do that!) pursue self-protective policies. Mutual deference and intense territoriality within the organization slows action, mutes self-reflection and defers critical analyses of policy. The organization thus loses touch with customers, markets and other critical elements, often with disastrous consequences. (Examples: The New York City School System or IBM in the 1980's/90's)
SECTION E--Exploration of the Alternative Hypothesis: The principal book in this course, by Diane Vaughan, makes a very good case, at least with respect to the Challenger disaster, that normal organizational processes and individuals acting in good faith account for many of the disasters that befall organizations. Though your paper should focus principally on diagnosing the "disease" that afflicted your failing organization, you must devote the last section of your paper to considering whether more normal processes--normal accidents--conspired to bring an organization of innocents to a state of disaster or crisis.
*****
(A note on the "bad person" explanation: What jumps out in some cases, such as Adelphia or Enron, are one or more key individuals whose actions are self-serving, arguably dishonest or larcenous, and ultimately destructive to the organization. They are, indeed, "bad leaders" in their negative impact on the organization and many well end up as convicted felons. Yes, "bad leaders" make for engaging reading, and satisfying targets of our anger. However, this is not a diagnostic category. Why? Because employees--high and low--are sustained by the systems and cultures that surround them. "Bad" employees are nurtured by cultures that validate them, organizational structures that enable them, territoriality that insulates them and overseers blinded to their offenses. You need not ignore "bad persons/leaders" if they play a role in your organization's crisis. Do not, however, put them center-stage. Be sure that your paper focuses mostly on how such destructive behaviors were enabled by the structures and policies of the organization.)
YOUR TERM PAPER SOURCE: Each student must base his or her paper on one of the "A List" books from the bibliography at the back of this instruction sheet. (The bibliography attached to the syllabus is for supplemental reading only.) A lottery will be held in the first class to determine the order of book selection. Books will be selected at the start of the second class. Students may use the links in the online syllabus to learn more about books in which they are interested. No student may select a book already selected by another student. The lottery winner gets the first book choice AND the first slot in the presentation line-up for Weeks 11-15. The runner-up picks next and is the second presenter, and so on. (NOTE: The professor may slightly alter the presentation order to insure a balance of presentations.) While not every student will get his/her first choice book, the organization(s) in each book faced similar crises and/or debacles, and offer similar lessons to student analysts.
After the lottery immediately get your book. Reading your term paper book between Weeks 3 and 9 will keep you ahead of the game. Clear parallels exist between the organizational dynamics underscored by our class-wide readings, and the dynamics present in the organizations that each individual will study. Students who use their term paper organization to help illuminate class discussion are making contributions that will reflect positively on their class participation grade. Term papers are due at Week 13's class.
POWER-POINT PRESENTATION
In Weeks 11 to 15, each student will make a class presentation about their organization or industry using PowerPoint. The order of presentation will be the same as the order determined by the book selection lottery in the first week’s class. Please note that a penalty of 25% of the presentation grade will be imposed on students who do not, for any reason other then classroom management factors determined by the instructor, make their presentation in the order assigned.
This presentation will be assessed on the degree to which each student:
NOTE: Students should practice this presentation in advance, especially the flow of presentation frames in relation to the overall presentation. Figuring things out for the first time in front of the class is a sure way to get stuck and flustered while faced with an impatient and restless audience. A one-hour lab class will be arranged to help familiarize students with PowerPoint’s capabilities.
Bibliography
(Arranged Generally by Company/Topical Area, not alphabetically):
Basic information about most books can be obtained by clicking on the "http" locator, if you are viewing this on the Internet. You can also type the URL in the locator on your Netscape or Explorer browser if you are viewing this hard copy, though going to the Amazon.com, or any other on-line bookseller site and typing in the book title will be easier. REMEMBER: Obtain and start reading your book as soon as possible after your choice is confirmed. These books all have material relevant to our discussions in the first ten weeks of the course. Everyone's learning can be enhanced by relevant examples from your term paper books, even if you are only a chapter or two in. Why not earn class participation points while getting a head start on your term paper research?
** Double-starred books are best sought through CUNY or city library system since you may have difficulty purchasing the book through commercial sources (i.e., a bookstore or internet bookseller) in a sufficiently timely manner to meet the requirements for this course. Most books in the bibliography should be available in the CUNY library and John Jay's library should house most of the books that concern criminal justice agencies.
A NOTE ON BOOK SELECTION: A lottery number will determine each student's selection order. A book that has been selected is off the list. Students farther down in the order should be ready with alternative choices since their first choice book may have been selected. The instructor will lend a hand in matching book topics and student interests as the selection pool shrinks.
"A" LIST BOOKS (Use ONLY this list, for your principal
term paper book.) Books on the
"B" list at the end of the syllabus may intrigue you, and may even
cover organizations covered by "A" list books. You may read "B" list and
"C" list books as part of your supplementary reading. Past experience has shown, however, that
"A" list books are best suited to (1) term paper development and (2)
presentations that hold the attention of the audience.
Peter C. Fusaro, Ross M. Miller. What Went Wrong at Enron: Everyone's Guide to the Largest Bankruptcy in U.S. History. Wiley, 2002. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471265748/qid=1030573697/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/002-6523240-1396041
Brian Cruver. Anatomy of Greed: The Unshredded Truth from an Enron Insider. Carroll and Graf, 2002. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786710934/qid=1030574233/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-6523240-1396041
Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind. Smartest Guys in the Room:
The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron.
Portfolio, 2003 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1591840082/qid=1074638905/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-5358092-1458524#product-details
Sherron Watkins, Mimi Swartz, Power
Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron. Doubleday, 2003. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385507879/qid=1074638905/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/102-5358092-1458524?v=glance&s=books#product-details
Note: The four books immediately above are a single entry. Only one student may choose this entry. The
student may read any one book—though more than one might give a better
perspective. "Smartest Guys"
is probably the most thorough. Watkins
clued in Enron CEO Ken Lay about Enron’s questionable accounting—to little
apparent effect.
Barbara Ley Toffler, Jennifer Reingold, Final
Accounting: Ambition, Greed and the Fall of Arthur Andersen. Broadway,
2003. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0767913825/ref=pd_sim_books_1/102-5358092-1458524?v=glance&s=books#product-details
Susan Squires, et. al. Inside Arthur Anderson: Shifting Values,
Unexpected Consequences. Prentice
Hall, 2003
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0131408968/ref=pd_sim_books_1/102-5358092-1458524?v=glance&s=books
Note: The two books immediately above are a single entry. Only one student may choose this entry. The
student may read either book—though both might give a better perspective. Neither is very lengthy and large type abounds.
James Adams. Sellout: Aldrich Ames and the Corruption of the CIA. Viking, 1995. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670862363/qid=917501231/sr=1-1/002-5090961-6362828 **
Tim Weiner, et.al. Betrayal: Aldrich Ames, The Story of an American Spy. 1997. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/067944050X/qid=998431959/sr=1-5/ref=sc_b_5/103-7909515-6754237
Note: The two books immediately above are a single entry. Only one student may choose this entry. The
student may read either book—though both might give a better perspective.
Daniel Quinn Mills, G. Bruce Friesen. Broken Promises: An Unconventional View of What Went Wrong at IBM. Harvard Business School, 1996. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0875846548/ref=sim_books/002-5090961-6362828
Paul Carroll. Big Blues: The Unmaking of IBM. Crown, 1994. (Check CUNY library) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517882213/o/qid=916892887/sr=2-2/002-5090961-6362828
Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Who Says Elephants Can't
Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround.
Harper Business, 2002.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060523794/qid=1074641952/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5358092-1458524?v=glance&s=books#product-details
Note: The three books immediately above are a single entry. Only one student may choose this entry. The
student may read any book—though Gerstner's is more current, up-front and
personal. Hint, skim Carroll and/or
Mills, read and report on Gerstner.
John Kelly and Phillip Wearne. Tainting Evidence : Behind the Scandals at the FBI Crime Lab. Free Press, 1998. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684846462/inktomi-bkasin-20/102-1536419-3959344
Adrian Havill. The Spy Who Stayed out in the Cold: The Secret Life of FBI Double Agent Robert Hanssen. St. Martins, 2001. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312287828/qid=1030512784/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/102-1536419-3959344?v=glance&s=books
William J. Vizzard. In the Cross Fire: A Political History of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Lynne Rienner, 1997 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1555876714/qid=1030568983/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-6523240-1396041?v=glance&s=books**
Peter Caram. The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing: Foresight and Warning. Janis Publishing, 2001. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/185756586X/qid=1030575131/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-6523240-1396041?v=glance&s=books NOTE: This book may not be selected by anyone who has been in the NYPD Counter-Terrorism class.
Lou Cannon. Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD. Westview, 1999. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813337259/o/qid=967212728/sr=8-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_3/102-5551230-7180125
Dick J. Reavis. The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation. Syracuse University Press, 1998. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0815605021/qid=916892032/sr=1-1/002-5090961-6362828
John
Anderson, Hilary
Hevenor, Burning Down the House: Move and the
Tragedy of Philadelphia. Norton, 1990.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393024601/qid=1074641375/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/102-5358092-1458524?v=glance&s=books#product-details
Piers Paul Read. Ablaze: The Story of the Heroes and Victims of Chernobyl. Random House, 1993. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-0679408193/qid=1043871362/sr=1-18/ref=sr_1_18/103-3888685-3290255?v=glance&s=books
Lawrence Schiller. Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: The Uncensored Story of the JonBenet Murder and the Grand Jury's Search for the Final Truth. Harper Paperbacks, 1999 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061096962/qid=967215629/sr=1-3/102-5551230-7180125
Owen W. Linzmayer, Apple Confidential : The Real Story of Apple Computer,
Inc. No Starch Press, 1999. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/188641128X/qid=998430030/sr=1-36/ref=sc_b_36/103-7909515-6754237
Lynne W. Jeter, Disconnected:
Deceit and Betrayal at WorldCom. Wiley: 2003
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/047142997X/qid=1074642845/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5358092-1458524?v=glance&s=books#product-details
Ken Auletta. Greed and Glory on Wall
Street: The Fall of the House of Lehman. Warner Books, 1987 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446384062/qid=916893128/sr=1-10/002-5090961-6362828
**
William Bratton with Peter Knobler, Turnaround: How America’s Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic. New York: Random House, 1998 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679452516/o/qid=966617971/sr=2-3/103-5646095-2698247
Bryan Burrough. Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard the Mir. Harper-Collins, 1998. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887307833/o/qid=916895093/sr=2-1/002-5090961-6362828**
Bryan Burrough. Vendetta : American Express and the Smearing of Edmond
Safra. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060167599/qid=935778486/sr=1-1/002-5047019-2484207 **
Maribeth Vander Weele. Reclaiming Our Schools: The Struggle for Chicago
School Reform. Loyola University Press, 1994 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0829407731/qid=1030572991/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-6523240-1396041?v=glance&s=books
James B. Stewart. Blind Eye : How the Medical Establishment Let a Doctor Get Away With Murder. Simon and Schuster, 1999. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684865637/o/qid=967215388/sr=2-1/102-5551230-7180125
Mary Schiavo, Sabra Chartrand. Flying Blind, Flying Safe: The Former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation Tells You Everything You Need to Know to Travel Safe. Avon, 1998. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/038079330X/o/qid=916894524/sr=2-1/002-5090961-6362828**
Stephen A. Fredrick, S. A. Frederick. Unheeded Warning: The Inside Story of American Eagle Flight 4184. 1996. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/book-similarities/0070219516/ref=sim_m_books/002-5090961-6362828**
Paul Eddy, et.al. Destination Disaster. Time Books, 1974 (DC-10 Aircraft: A Model of How to Build a Crash-Ready Aircraft Fast in the Race for Profit) CUNY Library
Connie Bruck. The Predators’ Ball: The Inside Story of Drexel Burnham and the Rise of the Junk Bond Raiders. Penguin, 1989. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140120904/ref=sim_books/002-5090961-6362828
Michael Lewis. Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street. Penquin, 1990. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140143459/ref=sim_books/103-7909515-6754237
Kevin Goldman. Conflicting Accounts: How Corporate Greed and Mismanagement Led to the Crash of Saatchi and Saatchi, the Worlds Largest Ad Agency. Simon and Schuster, 1997. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684815710/qid=916899307/sr=1-1/002-5090961-6362828
Dan Kurzman: A Killing Wind: Inside Union Carbide and the Bhopal Catastrophe. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0070356874/qid=917500671/sr=1-14/002-5090961-6362828 **
Joseph Vranich. Derailed: What Went Wrong and What to Do About America’s Passenger Trains. St. Martins, 1997. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/031217182X/qid%3D917501007/002-5090961-6362828
Judith Reitman. Bad Blood: Crisis in the American Red Cross. Kensington, 1996. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1575661152/qid=916899728/sr=1-4/002-5090961-6362828
Mark Baldassare. When Government Fails: The Orange County Bankruptcy. University of California Press, 1998. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0520214862/qid=1030573310/sr=1-15/ref=sr_1_15/002-6523240-1396041?v=glance&s=books
William H. McMichael, The Mother of All Hooks: The Story of the U.S. Navy's Tailhook Scandal. Transaction Books, 1997. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/156000293X/qid=1043871655/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-3888685-3290255?v=glance&s=books
David Kuo. dot.bomb: My Days and Nights at an Internet Goliath. Back Bay Books: 2003. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0316600059/qid=1074642539/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5358092-1458524?v=glance&s=books