Current Topics in Public Management

The teaching of Current Issues in Public Management aims to

- familiarise students with new concepts and frameworks used in contemporary public management;
- intensify the practice of public management tools;
- analyse and discuss new public management problems;
- deepen the knowledge of planning the use of public resources and designing forms of service delivery;
- explore the keys to institutional design and organisational change processes;
- study the impact of ICT on public management;
- provide essential management solutions for professional practice in the public sector.

1. Organisational Analysis

2. Digital transformation in public administration: digital / open government / AI in administrations.

3. Implementation of quality approaches.

4. Strategic management and leadership.

5. Innovation and organisational change.

[INFORMATION FOR LIBRARY STAFF: FOR THE 24-25 ACADEMIC YEAR, ONLY CRIADO GRANDE (2022) AND CARLES RAMIÓ (2022) BOOKS HAVE BEEN UPDATED].

MANUALS:

Criado Grande, J.I. (2022), Gobierno abierto, innovación pública y solaboración ciudadana. Madrid: INAP
Criado Grande, J.I. (2016), Nuevas Tendencias en la Gestión Pública. Madrid: INAP
Jones, G. (2013) Teoría Organizacional (7ed.). Pearson, 2013.
Nuñez Martín, A. (2011), El Nuevo Directivo Público. Claves de Liderazgo para la
Gestión Pública. Pamplona: EUNSA.
Ramió, Carles (2022). Burocracia Inteligente: Guía para Transformar la Administración Pública. Madrid: La Catarata.
Rainey, H. (2021), Understanding and Managing Public Organizations. Jossey-Bass.


NON COMPULSORY BIBLIOGRAPHY / SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR EXCHANGE STUDENTS:

Bryson, J.M (2018), Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement. Wiley.
Christensen, T. (2020). Organization Theory and the Public Sector: Instrument, Culture and Myth. Routledge.
Lips, M. (2019), Digital Government: Managing Public Sector Reform in the Digital Era. Routledge.
Rainey, H. (2021), Understanding and Managing Public Organizations. Jossey- Bass.

At the end of the course, the following competences are expected to be acquired:

- Analyse and synthesise.
- Argue logically.
- Evaluate other people's arguments.
- Establish the scientific value of the products generated in management and public policy research.
- Differentiate the discursive genres specific to management and public policy.
- Theorise and conceptualise.
- Search for and manage sources of information.
- Collect and process qualitative and quantitative data.
- Analyse data with qualitative and quantitative techniques.
- Use computer tools and communication technologies.
- Communicate fluently orally and in writing.

Likewise, as a result of learning this subject, students are expected to acquire skills in the following areas:

- Handling of tools that facilitate the analysis of public problems.
- Use of public management techniques.
- Knowledge of contemporary issues of debate in public management.
- Awareness of the importance of equity and ethics in public management.
- Knowledge of theoretical frameworks of public management.
- Application of management tools from the strategic, quality and citizen-oriented approaches.
- Analysis of public problems and exploration of alternatives for their management.
- Analysis of information enabling the development of public management projects.
- Analysis and evaluation of the resources necessary for the provision of a service.
- Organisation of administrative activities.
- Programming of organisational change processes.
- Redesign and implementation of public services.
- E-government management and introduction of ICT in the public sphere.

The course is structured around the explanation of each of the topics that make up the syllabus and the completion of interactive tasks that aim to reinforce the knowledge and skills acquired and even test the usefulness of some management tools.

Similarly, in an attempt to facilitate the understanding of the course, additional information (tables, graphs, etc.) will be made available throughout the course through the Moodle platform (VIRTUAL CAMPUS) as a study aid. The VIRTUAL CAMPUS will be used as a repository of material for interactive sessions.

Given the practical nature of the content, student participation in the interactive activities is a crucial factor in ensuring good acquisition of the competences.

Expository and interactive teaching will be face-to-face. Tutorials will be face-to-face but may be partly virtual (see below). The delivery of interactive activities will be face-to-face and will be adapted to the dates indicated by the teacher. Late deliveries will not be accepted.

The final examination will take place in person, on the dates originally set, but with the possibility of creating time slots to limit the capacity (the distribution by groups will be communicated).

TUTORIALS

In order to clarify any doubts about the programme and the subject, or to resolve any incident related to the evaluation, the following timetable has been established for the tutorials:

Wednesdays (10am-14pm) and Thursdays (12pm-2 pm).

This timetable may be subject to changes during the course, which will be communicated in advance (via the Virtual Campus), as well as, if applicable, the alternative timetable in which the tutorials will be held.
The tutorials are preferably held in office number 5, located on the ground floor of the main building of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences. Political and Social Sciences. Tutorials can also be held online and will follow the same timetable as face-to-face tutorials.

Appointments can be requested by e-mail at the following address: ramon.bouzas@usc.es

In any case, please respect the tutorial timetable.

Assessment will try to stimulate individual-group interaction from the beginning of the sessions. It is organised as described below:

- Those who regularly complete the interactive tasks (at least 4 out of 6) will have access to evaluation mode A.

- Those who do not complete the interactive tasks will have direct access to assessment mode B.

Taking into account the particular planning of the course, each student may, if he/she wishes, inform the teacher at the beginning of the course which mode he/she wishes to choose.

MODE A

The assessment will be a combination of individual and group exercises.

1) Practical cases (interactive) (30% of the final mark): It includes the performance of exercises -individual or group- related to the development of the interactive sessions. The nature of each practical exercise - individual or group - will be indicated by the teacher. In the case of a group solution, the groups (between 3 and 5 people) will be formed during the corresponding session.

3) Final exam (70% of the final mark): This consists of a theoretical/practical exam. The structure of the content of this exam and its marking will be communicated in advance. It will be necessary to obtain 50% of the marks in the exam in order to pass the subject.

If a minimum of 5 points is not achieved in the tests as a whole, the subject will be considered to have been failed. In the case of access to the second opportunity, the grade of the interactive exercises will be maintained.

MODE B

The evaluation of students who do not have regular access to the interactive activities (less than 4 interactive activities) will be individual and based on the completion of a final test. The maximum mark of the examination will be "Notable" (7 points).

For plagiarism and inappropriate use of technology in the completion of assignments or tests: Cases of cheating in assignments or tests will be dealt with in accordance with the "Regulations for the Assessment of Students' Academic Performance and the Review of Grades".

According to the guidelines of the syllabus, the monitoring of the expository sessions will require a dedication of 30 hours. In the case of interactive sessions, 15 hours will be required to follow the lectures. Likewise, the study of the course beyond the classroom will require an average of 8 hours per week.

For the study of the subject, besides class attendance and the use of bibliography suggested, the use of electronic resources and the consultation of the bibliographic collections of the USC is recommended.

Basically, it is recommended to follow the sequence of development of the course as detailed in the "methodology" section and to ask the lecturers with good time any doubt related to the contents or the assessment procedure.