Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Abstract

The following pages are a collection of three case studies assembled with the intent to facilitate discussion about key leadership issues related to the public policy realm. Critics of leadership studies have often posted to the theoretical nature o the discipline to criticize the worth. One method to teach leadership is the utilization of case studies, or "real world" examples. If your position is that leadership can only be taught through practical experience, these case studies should present an interesting exercise. They seek to inculcate the idealistic world of theoretical studies with doses of realistic situations.

For these case studies to be successful teaching tool, all students must actively participate in a discussion led by the instructor. Reading a case study independent of discussion is virtually worthless. While certain ideas about action can be formulated, only true learning can take place during the defense of one's particular position. Other viewpoints exist that one might not initially consider. Leadership is a participative, reciprocal process. Therefore, learning to convince people and influence others with regards to one's own decision is important to success outside the world of the case study.

Each case study in this collection is a compilation of research from secondhand sources. Some information was obtained through text of personal speeches or documents, but a majority of the analysis comes through the eyes of other interpretators. I can hope for the most accurate depiction of the data as provided to me through these sources. If any facts or figures are misrepresented or skewed to a certain way of thinking, please consider it unintentional. One can be aware of biases of authors, but may have difficulty separating them from reality.

All case studies come with a short abstract that introduces the main topic and issues contained within the study. At the conclusion of the case will be questions for discussion among class members. These questions are to be discussed from a variety of angles and it is the responsibility of the facilitator to ensure that the true essence of the question is answered. The questions will pose common dilemmas and merge some formal leadership theory. At the beginning of the collection are the reasons for the selection of each case study. Hopefully each one of these case studies will help the students further understand the leadership dilemmas that can occur in the realm of public policy implementation and analysis.

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