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The Executive Institute offers a limited number of case studies dealing with issues of
public policy and management. They are for use in academic classrooms and in professional
training settings and have been specifically written for the South Carolina Executive
Institute by college faculty and professional practitioners in the field of public service
and public administration.
All case studies offered in this library are copyrighted by the
Executive Institute and may be ordered by contacting:
Tina Joseph Hatchell, Director
South Carolina Executive Institute
State Budget and Control Board
1201 Main Street, Suite 616
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
Telephone: (803) 737-0844
E-Mail: thatchel@ei.sc.gov
Alabama's Confederate Flag Controversy
(C3E-96-104. Two pages, plus a one-page teaching note)
Written by Tom Vocino, Professor and Head, Department of Political Science and Public
Administration, Auburn University-Montgomery.
Issues. The case deals with the changing nature of racial
politics in the South, and the tradeoffs between economic ambitions and political
traditions in one particular Deep South state.
Case Narrative. Lingering emotions over the flying of the
Confederate flag over the Alabama State House erupt in 1988 when thirteen black
legislators attempt to scale a fence and haul the flag down. While polls indicate a vast
majority of white Alabamians favor retaining the flag, national media attention is focused
on the state, raising questions about its image and its prospects for recruiting major new
industries. Resolving the conflict is placed squarely before the state's economically
ambitious and politically conservative governor.
The Dynamics of Change: Processes Without Outcome
(C1E-99-116.0. Five pages)
Written by Brian Fry, Professor of Government and International Studies, University of
South Carolina
Issues. The case deals with the introduction of management reform
measures in a traditional organization, and concentrates on the strategies of the change
agent and the behavior of the organization's managers.
Case Narrative. Tom Hall is welcomed aboard by the leadership of
an aging state agency and guaranteed full cooperation as he sets out to revive a moribund
management reform program. As he gets down to tasks, however, Hall discovers that the
"cooperation" he was promised is a lengthy one, and in his growing frustration,
he suspects he has fallen into the hands of skillful sand-baggers.
The Education of Ms. Jones
(C1E-99-114.0. Four pages with a one-page teaching note)
Written by Tom Vocino, Professor and Head, Department of Political Science and Public
Administration, Auburn University-Montgomery.
Issues. The case addresses the management and operation of non-profit
organizations and the dilemmas posed by such funding uncertainties. It also explores
strategies for dealing with legislative and executive leadership in a government
undergoing change.
Case Narrative. A successful high school teacher is encouraged to
package her popular civics education program and make it available statewide by creating a
non-profit organization jointly supported by the state's Bar Foundation, the
Superintendent of Education and General Assembly. Things go well until the Bar reduces its
funding, the Superintendent retires, and an increasingly conservative legislature turns a
skeptical eye toward funding of non-profits.
A Nettlesome Request from NATO: Germany and the "Out-of-Area" Issue
(C1E-96-108.0. Five pages)
Written by Robert (Robin) Dorff, Dept of National Security and Strategy, U.S. Army War
College
Issues. While the case addresses fundamental issues of
international diplomacy, it can also be taught as an exercise in maintaining a shaky
coalition of political supporters and building public consensus in the face of a highly
controversial shift in public policy.
Case Narrative. For more than 40 years, the role of the Federal
Republic of Germany in military activities outside Germany was simple: it was strictly
forbidden by the nation's constitution, its Basic Law. Then things began to change
rapidly. First came the reunification of Germany and the ensuing change in the role of
NATO. Then came the German court ruling that the prohibition of German military
"out-of-area" was no longer binding.
In that setting came the request from the NATO commander in
Bosnia for German assistance to relieve that besieged area. With a divided government and
divided public opinion, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl faces the kind of difficult
political decision not uncommon to public leaders throughout the world.
A Night on Charlie Street
(C1E-97-113.0. Four pages)
Written by Milton Pope, Assistant Administrator, Richland County (S.C.), and Philip Grose,
Director, Executive Institute, S. C. Budget and Control Board.
Issues: The case deals with the treatment of racial issues in the
day-to-day conduct of law enforcement activities. It also addresses the internal and
external management of sensitive administrative and political activities, including
relations with news media.
Case Narrative. White undercover police officers arrest a black
man late one evening in a neighborhood known for drug-dealing. It turns out he is a
high-ranking school administrator delivering a notice to a delinquent student following a
school board meeting, and the story gets front-page coverage in the local newspaper. City
and police officials must deal with the internal and external fallout from this high
visibility incident.
The Phantom Appropriation
(C1E-96-102.0. Two pages, plus one page appendix)
Written by Tom Lauth, Professor and Chair of Political Science, the University of Georgia.
Issues. The case is about power and politics and involves a
struggle between legislative and executive prerogatives in a state's budget process. It
can also be addressed from the point of view of ethics vs. expediency in the
decision-making process.
Case Narrative. In reviewing the state budget submitted by the
legislature for his final approval, Georgia Gov. Zell Miller discovers a half-million
dollar "special projects" item which may have been inserted illegally after the
bill cleared the General Assembly. Suspicions point toward powerful legislative interests
as the culprits, and Miller has a tough political call to make.
The Price of Admission: The MPA Program at Southeastern State
(C1E-96-105.0. Five pages)
Written by Brian Fry, Professor of Government and International Studies, the University of
South Carolina.
Issues. The case can be taught as an exercise in institutional
politics involving a faculty member=s view of academic integrity in the context of
university's "big picture" financial ambitions. It also addresses more broadly
the question of ethics and values and the conflict between adherence to procedural norms
and yielding to political expediency.
Case Narrative. Alex Quill, a demanding faculty member and
aggressive director of the Masters of Public Administration program at Southeastern State,
has stirred some faculty enmity with his ambitious plans to elevate the academic quality
of the program. He is non-plussed when the Provost invites him under pressure to review
his previous rejection of the daughter of one of the college's major financial
contributors.
Rural Democracy
(C9E-96-111.0. Six pages in three parts, plus three-page teaching note. )
Written by Janet Kelly, Albert Levin Professor of Urban Studies and Public
Service, Cleveland State University.
Issues. The case is about the conflict between democracy and
administration and can be used to explore the question of defining the boundaries between
the will of the public and the role of the government professional. It also addresses
public sector leadership in politically hazardous times.
Case Narrative. Tom Skinner is administrator in a rural Georgia
county with an aging population and an aging public school system. One New Deal-era school
building becomes the focus for increasing pressure for rehabilitation and compliance with
environmental regulations, and Skinner's council supports a bond issue to replace the
school. Skinner deals with the politics of the bond issue and its outcome.
Shrimp Baiting
(C9E-96-101.0. Four pages, plus four-page appendix)
Written by Philip Jos, Associate Professor of Political Science, the College of
Charleston.
Issues. The case addresses a public conflict in which there are
multiple advocates on each side and a high degree of press attention. It can also be
taught as an exercise in exploring the environmental and economic elements of a specific
conflict, and the potential for coalition-building and compromise.
Case Narrative. In the coastal marshes and estuaries of South
Carolina, the hobby of recreational shrimping has reached new levels of interest and
intensity with the development of an inexpensive and highly effective means of shrimp
baiting. The crush of weekend shrimp baiters is overwhelming small coastal communities and
is creating a major public uproar involving unhappy coastal residents, commercial
shrimpers, and environmentalists, as well as defenders of the recreational shrimp baiters.
Caught in the middle is the state's Department of Natural Resources and its marine
resources director, John Miglarese, who must come up with a policy and strategy for the
department in dealing with the volatile issue.
Town Council and the Chief of Police
(C1E-98-110.0. Four pages in three parts, with a two-page teaching note)
Written by Ed Thomas, Director of the Center for Governance, Institute for Public Affairs,
University of South Carolina
Issues. This is a local government case which addresses the topic
of ethics in several dimensions: human values, politics, and administration. The case also
deals with the evolving relationships among elected council members and their ongoing
interaction with various administrative elements.
Case Narrative. The popular new police chief wins support of his
town council and citizenry with progressive reform of the town's police force. He even
withstands disclosure by a disgruntled police officer of an affair the chief admitted
having with an attractive police trainee. Subsequent conflicts arise, however, among the
chief, the cadet and the whistle-blowing officer and thrust council and administrators
into an ever-changing entanglement of ethics and politics.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
(C1E-99-115.0. Three pages)
Written by Trudie Reed, President of Philander Smith College
Issues: The case address morality and ethics and their
application in a racially-charged environment.
Case Narrative: An African American woman becomes
mentor, confidant and unofficial "dorm mother" to 100 students who desegregate a
previously all-white southern college in the 1960s. In the process of helping the students
deal with the onslaught of racial abuse directed toward them, the Dorm Mother also hears
that one of the group has cheated and that the university is investigating the charge.
Who Gives a Hoot at the EEOC?
(C9E-96-112.0. Three pages)
Written by Paul Beazley, Retired Deputy Commissioner, S. C. Human Affairs Commission
Issues. The case is about the enforcement of diversity
requirements, but central to the conflict are questions which address the role of citizen
members on policy boards of public agencies, and the significance of public image in an
organization's law enforcement effectiveness.
Case Narrative. The "Hooter's" chain of restaurants,
known for its attractive female waitresses, becomes the target of lawsuits from
unsuccessful male job applicants. In light of the legal activity, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission steps in and offers a settlement package to "Hooter's"
which contains what the restaurant chain considers excessive requirements. The chain
launches a retaliatory public campaign intended to ridicule the EEOC, and the public
members of the EEOC commission find themselves in an awkward position.
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