Unit information: Public Management and Organisations in 2014/15

Unit name	Public Management and Organisations
Unit code	SPOLM1074
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. Alex Marsh
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	N/A
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School for Policy Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit examines a selection of topics related to the restructuring of public sector organisations. These will include: the implications of the fragmentation of the state for efficiency and accountability; the rise of contracting, audit and inspection; the impact of new public management on the nature of the civil service; the implications of consumerism; technological change and service delivery; the scope for strategic management in a political environment. The unit will seek to relate change in the organisation of the public sector to changing thinking about organising more generally. It will consdier the origins of key ideas and the extent to which they translate to the public sector.

Aims:

This unit will examine a selection of topics related to the restructuring of public sector organisations. These will include: the implications of the fragmentation of the state for efficiency and accountability; the rise of contracting, audit and inspection; the impact of new public management on the nature of the civil service; the implications of consumerism; technological change and service delivery; the scope for strategic management in a political environment. The unit will seek to relate change in the organisation of the public sector to changing thinking about organising more generally. It will consider the origins of key ideas and the extent to which they translate to the public sector.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• To provide students with an understanding of key concepts shaping reorganisation of the public sector.

• To demonstrate to students the way in which changing ideas about organisation have reshaped public sector organisations.

• To explore the origins of, and assumptions underpinning a selection of concepts and discuss the extent to which these influence their application to public services.

• To introduce students to a range of perspectives from which to think critically about organisation.

Teaching Information

This unit will be delivered in sessions on 2 hours. Each session will consist of an introductory lecture followed by discussion, or student presentation.

Assessment Information

Students will complete one 3,500 word written assignment through which they will demonstrate (i) an understanding of key concepts shaping public sector organisation and management and their implications and (ii) evaluate the extent to which one or more recent management theory has been successfully applied in the public sector.

Reading and References

• Bovaird, T and Loffler, E (eds) (2003) Public Management and Governance, Routledge

• Ferlie, E, Lynn, L and Pollitt, C (eds) (2005) The Oxford Handbook of Public Management, Oxford

• Flynn, N. (2001) Public Sector Management, 4th ed, Prentice Hall

• Hatch, M.J. (1997) Organmisation Theory, Oxford

• Newman, J. (2001) Modernising Governance, Sage

• Peter, B.G. (2001) The Politics of Bureaucracy, 5th ed, Routledge