Insegnamento a.a. 2011-2012

Course Objectives

Main purpose of this course is to introduce students to basic principles and recent developments in the field of public management. Public sector is a crucial component of the business environment, as an economic actor, in terms of impacts on the private sector and in terms of impacts on the citizen daily life. Public management has changed enormously in recent years as result of reform initiatives in many countries. Thereby, this course examines both empirical developments and new theories of public management with an international perspective. Through active participation in this course students should gain the theoretical foundation and the managerial skills needed to understand public sector organizations. The course ultimately enables students to deal consciously with public administrations as individual citizens, as entrepreneurs, as private sector managers, as public sector consultants/suppliers or as public sector managers.

Course Content Summary

• Public administration and globalization: emerging themes. Public Management and Governance. Public Management reforms and New Public Management
• Public and private management: What’s the difference?
• Business-Government relationships
• Multi-stakeholder negotiations
• The role and features of International Organizations and of Non Profit Organizations
• The Diversity of Public Organizations: Typologies and Classifications
• Policy cycles and decision making in public sector: rationalism, incrementalism and garbage cans
• Planning & Control in the public sector
• Human Resource Management for government: peculiarities of public sector personnel
• Strategic Public Management
• Public Management in developing countries

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

Attending students

The final grade reflects the overall performance during the semester and is based on the following:

• Group work (20%)
• Group exercise (20%)
• Schort case report (10%)
• Final written exam (50%)

The final grade is the weighted average of the four evaluations

Non attending students

• Written exam

Textbooks

Attending students

• O.E. HUGHES, Public Management and Administration , Palgrave, 2003, 3rd Edition

Non attending students

• O.E. HUGHES, Public Management and Administration, Palgrave, 2003, 3rd Edition 
• POLLITT, BOUKAERT, Public Management Reform: A comparative Analysis. Oxford University Press.

Prerequisites