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| The course is organized into the following sections: The
Political Environment; Decision Making and Policy Analysis; Organization;
The Changing Nature of the Public Sector; and, Ethics and Morality. |
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| This section of the course explores the political
environment that confronts those who manage public and nonprofit
organizations in today's changing world. Some of the topics we will
focus on include some of the differences between managing in the public
and private sector, federalism and how it influences politics and
interorganizational relations, the politics of the budget process and some
basic issues related to revenues and expenditures. This
section of the course will conclude with a discussion of some of the
common mechanisms used to hold public officials and employees accountable
for their actions. |
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| Some argue that management is really nothing more than
effective decision making and problem solving. This section of the
class examines different theories of individual and group decision making
and explores some of the common psychological problems that inhibit
effective decision making. This section of the course also provides
and overview of common techniques used in policy analysis and the decision
making theories that they are based upon. |
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| Others argue that effective management requires
organization (as a thing and an action). In this section of the
course, we will focus on organizations as structures that coordinate
action as well as on the ways managers organize their staff by motivating,
leading, and communicating with them. Managers in today's public and
nonprofit organizations must also be concerned with a number of work place
issues such as recruiting personnel, reviewing their performance, and
human resource development. Managers must also deal with a wide
range of issues and potential areas of legal conflict such as
discrimination (e.g., sex, race, age, religion, disability), sexual harassment,
and affirmative action. |
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| One of the common themes throughout the course will be the
nature and pace of change that confronts managers in today's public and
nonprofit organizations. Change can be found in the introduction of
new management techniques, changes in information and communication
technology, the increased globalization of the economy, and the increased
prevalence of collaboration and partnerships among public, private, and
nonprofit organizations. This section of the course explores
some of these changes, the reason many individuals and organizations
resist change, and some of the strategies that can be used to facilitate
change. Of particular interest will be the trend toward total
quality management (TQM), reinventing government, and privatization. |
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| The course concludes with a final discussion of ethics, an
issue that is central to effective public management. Ethics and
morality are issues have been central to a number of our case
discussions and the concepts that have been discussed throughout the
semester. We will return to this topic one last time as a way of
synthesizing what has been learned over the course of the semester. |
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