PP403 Half Unit
Public Management
This information is for the 2020/21 session.
Teacher responsible
Prof Martin Lodge
Availability
This course is compulsory on the Master of Public Policy. This course is not available as an outside option.
Pre-requisites
This course has no pre-requisites.
Course content
This course will offer an intensive introduction into key literatures and themes in the study of public management. The emphasis will be on the trans-disciplinary literature dealing with public management in the context of developed and lesser developed world contexts. The course will cover, among other things, questions such as public sector reform, coordination and collaboration, control over bureaucracy, professionalism and public service motivation, performance management, crisis management, leadership, institutional capacity building, cutback management and organizational learning. The course will emphasise the key theoretical contributions and relate these to empirical contexts.
Teaching
This course will be delivered through a combination of seminars and lectures, amounting to a minimum of 30h across the Michaelmas term. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of online lectures and on-campus and online seminars. This course includes a reading week in week 6 of MT.
Formative coursework
Students will be expected to produce one exercise in Week 3 and one essay in Week 7.
The first piece is a short document offering a view on ‘what is public management’ (week 3). Feedback will be provided by week 5. This gives students an early opportunity to start writing and to consider the broader field of public management.
The other piece is a short essay (1500 words) to be completed by the end of week 7. Feedback will be provided by week 9. The essay will be based on a choice of questions. This will give students the opportunity to practice for their assessed essay and the online exam.
Indicative reading
Barber, M (2015) How to Run a Government, London, Penguin.
Emerson, K and Nabatchi, T (2015) Collaborative Governance Regimes, Georgetown University Press.
Hood, C (1998) Art of the State, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Perrow, C (1984) Normal Accidents: Living with High Risk Technology, (New York, Basic Books)
Simon, H (1947/2013) Administrative Behavior, Simon & Schuster.
The given texts are preparatory reading only. A full reading list will be provided at the start of the course.
Assessment
Essay (50%, 3000 words) in the MT.
Online assessment (50%) in the LT.
The online assessment will be administered via Moodle on a day of week 0 of Lent Term to be co-ordinated each year with other courses of the MPP degree with assessments at this time of year. Students will have a fixed window (e.g. 12-hour or 24-hours) within which to access the assignment questions and to respond to them. Once they have logged into Moodle and downloaded the questions students will have 2 hours to prepare and upload their answers. No outside research will be required. Questions will be based on topics covered in lectures and seminars.
Important information in response to COVID-19
Please note that during 2020/21 academic year some variation to teaching and learning activities may be required to respond to changes in public health advice and/or to account for the situation of students in attendance on campus and those studying online during the early part of the academic year. For assessment, this may involve changes to mode of delivery and/or the format or weighting of assessments. Changes will only be made if required and students will be notified about any changes to teaching or assessment plans at the earliest opportunity.
Key facts
Department: School of Public Policy
Total students 2019/20: 45
Average class size 2019/20: 15
Controlled access 2019/20: Yes
Value: Half Unit
Personal development skills
- Leadership
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Specialist skills
