The student should review the textbooks of the class for guidance before answering this question. For example, some ideas from the class texts include the following:
1) Economic environment –The student may want to review the Judd and Swanstrom (2012) text which explains how the drive for economic prosperity fueled development in the U.S. Is this still true today in the US and in other countries? What does this mean for public managers?
2) Social environment — Judd and Swanstrom (2012)discuss the importance of social, racial, and ethnic conflict in public management. Does conflict still influence the plans and decisions of public managers in the US and in other countries?
3) Political environment — Peters (2010) discusses the role of political culture as well as the influence that elected officials and interest groups have on the work of public managers. The student should address the role that politics plays in the work of the public manager. What do we know about the politics-administration dichotomy?
4) Technological environment –The student should discuss how technology affects the work of government, and whether or not technology influences the way that public administrators interact with the public.