constitutional COMPETENCE

Apply principles of effective communication and information literacy.

Examine important public administration concepts and their practical relevance.

Apply research and analytical skills to assess administrative concepts and situations.

Apply principles of professionalism and ethics.

Examine the roles and interrelationships of organizations from the three sectors.

Apply management, policy, and organizational concepts and theories.

Explain constitutional principles and their importance for public administrators.

Demonstrate critical thinking by evaluating resources, investigating a situation, validating assumptions, and examining multiple perspectives.

1. Create a 1-2 page creative yet professionally formatted document/email/webpage/blog/newsletter/social media tool/other that:

Explain the ruling in the case including the Court’s conclusion, key case facts, important legal principle(s) and/or reasoning presented by the Court, any ethical issues, and the immediate impact of the ruling on the public administrators, organizations, and key participants (e.g., the citizen or plaintiff that sued) involved in the case. Also, you must clearly identify the Constitutional or main legal basis for the ruling.

Discuss what the public administrators and/or organizations in the case should have done or should do today if faced with a similar situation. Also, how should this affect interactions with employees, clients, citizens, other organizations, other sectors, etc.? If possible, illustrate your ideas using a similar situation you have experienced. Think from the perspective of one who holds a leadership position in an organization.

Explains the current status of the key legal principle(s) and/or reasoning from your case and their relevance for public administrators working in government or private organizations that partner with government or help implement government programs. For example:

o Discuss what public administrators should know and do today to comply with the key legal principle(s). For example, locate recent instances of professionals or organizations that ran afoul of these principles and the resulting legal, financial, political or other implications they experienced. Discuss what they should do to prevent and or respond to such situations.

o Recommend policies, procedures, or best practices that organizations have put in place to comply with the relevant legal obligations related to the key legal principle(s). These may be principles recommended by professional associations and government bodies or used by government and nonprofit organizations. Whenever possible, refer the reader to a specific, real world example or credible source.

Identifies resources and provides suggestions for how professionals can keep up with this issue (and other important changes in constitutional and administrative law) to maintain constitutional competence. For example, should public administrators subscribe to a particular RSS feed, subscribe to a newsletter, or attend certain ongoing training events?