Flu Vaccine Case Study

Difficult market conditions have made flu vaccine production and distribution a perennial problem in the US.  Students are challenged to define the public interest and outline policies to secure the production and distribution of a public good.

Ellen Schall and the Department of Juvenile Justice

The case describes the situation as newly appointed commissioner walks into it her roll in Department of Juvenile Justice, including the internal tensions and significant operational problems in every division, the agency’s history of bad press and feuds with City Hall. This case illustrates strategic analysis and management’s role in change.

OPPE Power Company: A Supervisory Management In-Basket Exercise

This case covers an in-basket exercise that was designed for mid to lower-level supervisory management development programs for investor-owned electric utility personnel, such as power plant foremen and supervisors, as well as those from other corporate functional areas such as general office, transmission/distribution, engineering, finance, and marketing. 

Pacific City Utilities Service Department

Role-play exercise in which a manager has to resolve a conflict over the annual vacation schedule.  Illustrates and applies key principles of conflict resolution.

Pacifica Foundation: The Battle over the Airwaves

Covers the history of the Pacifica Foundation of California, including a detailed description of interpersonal conflict between 1993 and 2000. This case explores the relationship between organizational behavior and organizational design.

Park Plaza

Set in the context of urban renewal, a classic case of a manager making a professional judgment that fails to adequately consider the political dimension.

Piecing Together the Fragments: An Ethnography of Leadership for Social Change in North Central Philadelphia 2004-2005

The Village of Arts and Humanities engages neighborhood residents, business owners, community groups, and other organizations in revitalizing North Central Philadelphia by recognizing and strengthening the communities existing assets and leadership.

Planning for Success in Emerald City

This case sensitizes readers to the political dynamics that surround intra-organizational performance auditing and illustrates the complex problems that arise when organizations attempt to use performance as a basis for service delivery decisions.

Memo Writing

This note, by The Evans School’s J. Patrick Dobel, Harvard’s Richard  Elmore, and Evans graduate Laurie Werner, covers memo writing in  depth—audience, organization, writing, and language—plus notes on email.

Commute Partnerships

An award winning public agency development group applies innovative approaches to transportation issues.  The group’s success in using private sector concepts and public-private partnerships transforms the agency’s outlook on providing services.