WINTER 2012 - National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and ...

Yahong Zhang, Robert Lee and Kaifeng Yang
Table 2.
Sources of Learning Knowledge and Skills
Sources Frequency
Work experience 28
Workplace mentoring 8
Internships with MPA program 4
MPA courses with adjunct instructors 3
Experience with private and nonprofit organizations was also deemed as
important to help learn the knowledge and skills of certain subjects (such as
financial management), policy areas (such as health care), and people skills.
One of the managers, who previously worked as the chief executive officer for a
nonprofit organization, comments on how that experience helped him in local
government policy making:
Working with the Board of Directors and understanding how important
interpersonal communication was to moving disparate ideas towards
common solutions was the skill that I found most valuable when I
became responsible for local government policy making. I learned
that policy makers have various information and motivational needs.
Policy solutions require effective communications that can unify the
different levels of understanding, different perceptions, and different
motivations of those who serve in a policy making role.
A number of managers in our interviews appreciate their workplace mentors,
who assisted them in enhancing their abilities for management and policy making.
The mentors could be their colleagues or supervisors. One manager states:
I began my career in the planning and development office; and
the city manager I worked with was a huge resource in helping me
understand the obligations of the position. He also taught me how to
think outside the box and to look for community partnerships that
would help further our goals.
Two thirds of managers in the interviews hold an MPA degree, and
approximately one fifth of them report that their MPA education is helpful to
198 Journal of Public Affairs Education