Writing Samples

The following are a collection of papers written between 2000 and 2007.

MBA Portfolio
A collection of assignments created while pursuing my MBA.  The second page contains a document map which lists the individual course assignments.  Of particular interest is my final paper where I describe integrating the Balanced Scorecard with project planning.

Arguments against Outsourcing
A policy analysis that I wrote for a class in my doctoral program. Demonstrates my ability to analyze a policy issue and recommend solutions.

How Information Technology Influences Strategy
This paper was written as part of my coursework in knowledge management. I demonstrate how to bring about an alignment between the strategic goals of an organization and its IT infrastructure so that the organization will be more successful in fulfilling its strategy.

Leadership Failure
The first paper in my continuing research on failure in government. This paper dealt with factors that cause leaders to fail while managing an agency or project.

Government Failures
Building on the research from Leadership Failure paper, I examined four major government project failures to develop a general framework for analyzing the causes of government failure.

A Proposed Framework for Analyzing Organizational Failure
This is the conference paper that accompanied my presentation on the Framework for Analyzing Organizational Failure in government.

New Public Administration Model
This paper is an examination of the history of public administration theory. At the conclusion, I develop an argument for moving to a governance model that will help governments deal more effectively with a complex and global society.

Proposed Model for Public Agency Leadership
Continuing with the themes raised in the Governance model for public administration, I examine the history of government leadership and propose a new model for public agency leadership. This model requires that the leader demonstrate integrity, be emotionally-intelligent, empower the workers, and be able to communicate a vision while working in a collaborative and constrained environment.

Synthesizing a Change Model for Public Agencies
Building upon the Model for Public Agency Leadership, I synthesize the current literature in change leadership to demonstrate how the Public Agency Leadership Model can be used for successful change leadership.

Open Source Online Course Management System
Another paper from my knowledge management concentration. I survey the current learning management systems and argues for an open-source model that encourages collaboration and critical thinking skills. I wrote this in 2005 and used my conclusions to develop my courses at the University of Louisville.

Teaching Public Administration through Blended Learning
Building upon my research in public agency management and leadership along with my practical experiences as a university instructor, I developed an introductory Master's course in Public Administration to develop future public agency leaders. This paper was presented at the 2007 American Political Science Association Teaching and Learning Conference.