Case 1

Public Administration in Theory and Application

PUB 5409

Grading Rubric for Memorandum

Category Scoring Criteria Total

Points %

Content

• Abstract can strategically summarize the overall

memorandum/case.

• Within the section of introduction, the selected

case is clearly described and links to the weekly

topic.

• The discussion section can clearly and

comprehensively include pros and cons for each

the controversial/important issue in this self-

selected case.

• The provided suggestions are reasonable and

supported by empirical evidence or literature.

• Students can appropriately respond to those pre-

identified questions of this assignment.

6 60%

Organization

• Information is presented in a logical sequence.

• Materials included are relevant to the overall

message/purpose.

• The memo is formatted based on the

recommended structure.

2 20%

Memo format

• The length of memo is within the assigned length

limits—2 pages.

• Students successfully use in-text citations to

indicate the data sources.

• The general format of memorandum is followed.

• A reference list is provided in a separate page. 2 20%

Score Total Points 10 100%

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MEMORANDUM

Date: 10/01/2021

To: Tai Kuang-Ting, Professor

From: Elizabeth Warner, MPA Student

Subject: Social Equity – The Case for Affirmative Action – SFFA v. Harvard

Abstract. This document aims to inform about the right to equality which has positive but also

negative aspects. This case particularly concerns a lawsuit that claims that Harvard University is

discriminating against Asian-American applicants and whose main purpose is to find signs about

the future of programs designed to boost the presence of underrepresented groups on college

campuses in the United States.

Introduction. In November 2014, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed its lawsuit, alleging

that Harvard was employing racially and ethnically discriminatory policies and procedures when

administering the undergraduate admissions program that are biased against Asian-American

applicants. This lawsuit focuses primarily on whether Harvard violated the Civil Rights Act by

discriminating against Asian Americans and not directly on affirmative action. But with the case

almost guaranteed to be appealed to the Supreme Court, the questions it addresses could ultimately

affect how and if schools use processes like affirmative action to select students and ensure

diversity on campus but both parties argue that it could change this. Rather than a white plaintiff,

this case is based on a group of high-achieving Asian Americans who argue that a policy aimed at

helping students of color is actually hurting them.

After many years, finally in February 2020, SFFA filed an appeal with the United States Court

of Appeals for the First Circuit in which arguments were heard in mid-2020 and finally ruled in

late 2020 in favor of Harvard, concluding that Judge Burroughs was correct in her decision and

the main factual findings. As a result, SFFA recommended to "eliminate Affirmative Action" and

requested the following relief:

(1) a declaratory judgment that “any use of race or ethnicity in the educational setting violates the

Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964,”

(2) a permanent injunction “prohibiting Harvard from using race as a factor in future

undergraduate admissions decisions,”

(3) a permanent injunction “requiring Harvard to conduct all admissions in a manner that does not

permit those engaged in the decisional process to be aware of or learn the race or ethnicity of

any applicant for admission.”

Main Discussion. Overall, affirmative actions inspired by the multicultural approach and

intercultural policies are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, affirmative actions can

contribute to equity, dialogue, and coexistence between cultures in addition to complementing the

differentiated rights according to the group necessary to guarantee justice between them.

Furthermore, due to the limitations of resources or legitimacy, in some cases they are the only

possible alternatives.

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However, from an intercultural perspective, the efficacy of affirmative action is ambiguous

since there are coincidences between the two, as they seek to correct inequities between cultural

groups. Thus far, affirmative actions are necessary but not sufficient to achieve the ideals of

interculturality, respect, coexistence, dialogue, and mutual learning between cultural groups.

Consequently, a transition towards intercultural policies is required, which attack the

socioeconomic causes of inequality beyond its consequences because it is important that we not

only concern ourselves with repressing discrimination and facilitating the integration of cultural

groups into the dominant culture, but that we allow the development of their differences.

Additionally, in normative terms, let us go beyond tolerance and coexistence to achieve respect

and coexistence between cultures, that we involve different cultures in our design and

implementation in dialogic and participatory processes that work in the long term or permanently.

Policy Recommendations. I believe that intercultural policies are often confused with affirmative

actions of a multicultural nature; however, both approaches have different foundations and effects.

The main suggestion is that affirmative action allows achieving greater degrees of equity between

cultural groups, but it is insufficient to achieve the ideals of interculturality such as dialogue,

respect, coexistence, mutual learning between cultures, and the elimination of structural causes

that produce inequality between them, see related recommendations below:

(1) Encourage dialogue and participation – while affirmative action seek coexistence, intercultural

policies must bet on coexistence and dialogue between cultures.

(2) Bet on respect and coexistence, rather than coexistence and tolerance – Multiculturalism aims

to accommodate national and ethnic differences in a stable and morally defensible way. Thus

raised, multiculturalism is committed to tolerance and coexistence between cultures.

Tolerance implies “supporting what is different” (Tubino, 2003) – existence of the other, as

well as the dialogue and exchange between cultures, are not conceived as a good in themselves;

in some cases, they are understood as a lesser evil or in any case as something undesirable.

Consequently, cultures can coexist, but in isolation, without coexisting. Tolerance and

coexistence do not necessarily imply dialogue or exchange between cultures.

(3) Cultural domination – Affirmative action policies are based on the distinction between

minority and majority cultural groups. In which multiculturalism assumes that minority

cultural groups will always be subordinate in democratic regimes, where majorities decide.

Therefore, differentiated rights and affirmative actions are required for minority groups that

correct the inequalities faced by their individual members (e.g., quotas are required in political

and educational institutions focused on minority groups).

(4) Promote transformative actions and substantial equality – while affirmative action is aimed at

correcting the consequences of inequality between cultures (discrimination, exclusion), aiming

to improve equal opportunities, intercultural policies are committed to attacking the causes of

such inequality, advocating a substantial equality that implies structural transformations to

eliminate social and economic inequalities that impede an equitable dialogue between cultures.

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References

Collins, S. M. (2011). From affirmative action to diversity: Erasing inequality from

organizational responsibility. Critical Sociology, 37(5), 517-520.

Fleischacker, C. Argument on Behalf of Harvard in The Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v.

Harvard. Student Contributors, 112.

Ratanjee, T. (2020). Affirmative Action in College Admissions: Successes and

Failings. Bellarmine Law Society Review, 11(1).

Shafritz, J., Russell, E.W., Borick, C., & Hyde, A. (2017). Introducing Public Administration

(9th ed.). Routledge (pp. 401-403).

von Spakovsky, H. A. (2018). Racial Discrimination at Harvard University and America's" Elite"

Institutions. Legal Memorandum. No. 236. Heritage Foundation.

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To: Kuang-Ting Tai

From: Carole Thomas

Date: September 11, 2021

Subject: Case analysis “Jack Welch of General Electric: A Neutron Bomb or a Motivator?”

Abstract

Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, took bold action in his first five years with the company. The denouement

of 100,000 job cuts landed Welch in a spotlight some would consider the “hot seat,” but ultimately he was held in

the highest regard among his peers. He made sure the people running various segments of the business did so as if

they were entrepreneurs running their own business. The application of Welch’s methods could be considered

advantageous for public administration, specifically in the direction of public entrepreneurship. Encouraging

administrators to run the division or department as if it was their own business can lead to greater innovation,

reduced waste through collaboration across departments, reallocation of resources, greater efficiency among

departments, and a culture of pride. Giving employees psychological ownership includes them in the bigger picture.

Introduction

After cutting over 100,000 GE employees in a five-year span, Jack Welch, CEO of the organization from 1981 to

2001, became notorious for thinning the herd and running a refined organization (Gibson et al., 2012). Welch did

not arbitrarily begin handing out pink-slips; his deliberate end-goal was to empower those employees who remained

and create a winning culture of bold leaders who galvanized their business by motivating their people. For the

employees on the receiving end of displacement (and those who anticipated one), the anxiety grew exponentially

in this era of change. Nevertheless, Welch forged his path with a vision that this company would thrive in the face

of hardship, embrace change in a technology driven society, and empower the leaders of the business to enjoy the

experiences, rewards, and challenges associated with entrepreneurship. Welch accomplished his goals by removing

many levels of middle management and subsequently eliminating the bureaucratic red-tape that coincides. It may

seem crass to say Jack Welch "cut the fat," but just ask anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight...they

have more energy, are more productive, and they just feel better. Welch remained with GE for 20 years and has

been highly regarded as one of the most successful CEO's of his time.

Main Discussion

There is an inherent risk when a new leader seeks to "shake things up" by eliminating thousands of employees. If

there is merit to the statement “feelings are facts,” then fewer workers usually means that someone will have to pick

up the slack those who survive the cuts may feel like they are about to get the workload of three people (Shafritz et

al., 2017). Welch believed in concepts rarely seen in the public sector; he empowered his people with autonomy to

run their business as any entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs do not have the luxury of hiring multiple people to fill

specialized roles, they need one person to wear many hats. Moreover, the entrepreneurial spirit is settled in the

womb of the competitive spirit (another characteristic lacking in the public sector). The entrepreneurial

characteristics Welch spotlights include managing resources, working across division lines to find best practices,

and removing red-tape which dampens the decision-making process (Gibson et al., 2012).

Welch determined that each business segment that was not leading the market (or at the very least, second

in market share), was not worth keeping (Gibson et al., 2012). The pragmatic ability to make a totally data driven

decision is, in itself, an attribute admired by many ambitious leaders in the world, but for some, this cutthroat

lifestyle comes at a price. Welch kept leaders on board who were ambitious in their quest to lead the market, in

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perpetuity. This type of pressure can have consequences to one's health and mental wellbeing and is not necessarily

suited for everyone. While workers in the 1980’s may have acquiesced to such demands, studies suggest the

generations entering the workforce today, “Gen Z” is the most anxious and fragile of all prior generations (Wiest,

2019). It seems inconceivable that fragility would survive the wrath of Jack Welch. It is surprising, nevertheless,

that there aren't more Jack Welches in modern day leadership as more and more roles are filled through automation

and information technology, thus diminishing the relevance of middle management (Shafritz et al., 2017).

The decision to reduce workforce by 100,000 employees over a five-year period during the 1980’s, is a top-

down decision that was implemented with rapid-fire in an era before the concept of change management was

prominent. Although this level of dismissal in the public sector seems unlikely, a campaign promise made by, then

candidate, Bill Clinton in 1992 vowed to reduce the Federal Government by 100,000 employees within his first

year in office (Shafritz et al., 2017). In February of 1993, Clinton issued an executive order terminating 100,000

employees by the end of the 1995 fiscal year (Executive Order 12,839 1993). While it seems as if President Clinton

took a page from Welch’s leadership text, in September of 1994, Clinton signed a law to execute $8.8 billion in

grants for the purpose of hiring 100,000 law enforcement officers (Rector, 2000). Thus, the reallocation of resources

to meet varying demands may be more suitable in the public sector.

Policy Recommendations

One way to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit in the public sector, is by implementing "public entrepreneurship,”

a concept so called by Social Scientist, Elinor Ostrom, but rarely promulgated by elected officials (Conway, 2018).

This approach champions innovation, optimal use of resources, collaboration, and modernization of the

organizational hierarchy (Conway, 2018). One example is mindful deliberation of resource management, which

can be done by simply realigning priorities as President Bill Clinton did when he eliminated 100,000 bureaucratic

jobs and subsequently implemented steps toward the addition of 100,000 law enforcement positions.

Connection with This Course

If a no-nonsense guy like Jack Welch was an administrator or government official, he would most likely streamline

the workforce enforcing public entrepreneurship. He would hold those in charge, accountable for their failures and

honor those who met the challenge of “running their business.” He would likely think less about his popularity and

concern himself with the satisfaction of the people who work for him. He would ensure the most talented people

were compensated based on their level of performance and expertise. And if his municipality wasn’t a leader among

others, he would likely reallocate resources until he was number one among all similar jurisdictions.

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References

Conway, R. (2018, July 25). How to be a public entrepreneur. Retrieved September 09, 2021, from

https://www.thersa.org/blog/2018/07/how-to-be-a-public-entrepreneur

Exec. Order No. 12839, 3 C.F.R. 1 (1993).

Gibson, J. L., Konopaske, R., Ivancevich, J. M., & Donnelly, J. H., Jr. (2012). Case for Analysis: Jack Welch of

General Electric: A Neutron Bomb or a Motivator. In Organizations: Behavior, structure, processes (pp.

189-190). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Rector, R. (2000, September 25). The facts about cops: A performance overview of the Community Oriented

Policing Services Program. Retrieved September 09, 2021, from https://www.heritage.org/crime-and-

justice/report/the-facts-about-cops-performance-overview-the-community-oriented-policing

Shafritz, J. M., Russell, E. W., Borick, C. P., & Hyde, A. C. (2017). Introducing public administration (9th ed.).

Routledge.

Wiest, B. (2019, May 09). Experts say gen Z isn't prepared for the workplace, but it isn't all their fault. Retrieved

September 09, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/briannawiest/2019/02/13/experts-say-gen-z-isnt-

prepared-for-the-workplace-but-it-isnt-all-their-fault/?sh=4c16aaf5ae92