5225 - MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL SERVICES

Investing in people is crucial in building up competitive advantage. Health, education and social care are the principal driving forces in developing human capital. These major sectors of industrialised economies are rapidly growing and are undergoing structural changes. Human capital services are apparently three distinct sectors. However, they present common features which can be read and interpreted from a managerial perspective.
The course provides an international overview of these three interconnected services and focuses on the management issues that unite them and make them unique from other service management sectors. After the completion of the course the student can expect: to understand how health, education and social care sectors are organised and funded in Europe and US; to appreciate the main issues that organisations in these sectors are facing nowadays; to acquire problem-solving skills. The course is especially relevant to students who are interested in the application of management practices to social enterprises.
The course will be dynamic and interactive. Most of classes will use case studies and supplementary readings as a basis for class discussions and group exercises.

• Introduction to the main features of health, education and social care from economic and managerial perspectives
• International comparison of financial and organisational arrangements (source of funding, role of the governments, corporate governance, management models)
• Professional autonomy (why and how should be preserved, impact on management functions, role of inter-organizational networks)
• Accountability and performance measurement (definition and measurement of organisational performance)
• Change management (how to bring about innovation in these organisations, how to exploit the opportunities of social and community participation, information technologies and globalization)

• Reading material will be available at the IPAS

Attending students
The final grade will reflect their performance during the semester and will include the following criteria weighted as follows:

• Class participation (20%)
• Class presentation (20%)
• Three "case reports" (30%)
• In-class Final Examination (30%)

Non attending students
The final grade will depend upon the oral examination