Public Policy

Regardless of where one sits in the policy system, there are opportunities to create change'97 intentionally and unintentionally. This course aims to familiarize students with the public policy process, equipping students with analytical frameworks and practical tools to improve their engagement with the process through their work as elected public officials, public agency managers, nonprofit executives, policy analysts, street-level service providers and/or participatory citizens. The first component of the course will equip students with terminology and frameworks to help make sense of the complex moving parts that make up the policy and implementation system/subsystem. The second component of the course focuses in on three different levels of the policy ecosystem: policy fields, organizations and frontlines. Finally, the third component of the course concludes with an exploration of policy analysis and policy learning.

This course will explore how health and environment problems are controlled within Saudi Arabia and abroad. We will examine the policies and practices of environment and health and look upon various government programs that are established, organized, and operated to prevent or control hazards in the community, and the legal and regulatory framework behind them. This course will also provide an overview of the development, structure, function, and implementation of health and environment policy at local, national, and global scales. Case-examples will provide an in-depth understanding of health and environment policy. This course will shed enough light on the health policy, i.e., the various ways in which the government plays a role in health and in the provision of health care and it will look upon the policies that relate to the environment.

This course examines the enduring and changing nature of governance from both theoretical and practical perspectives. It will introduce you to a wide range of concepts in public policy. It will look into how policy-makers seek to formulate and implement public policy effectively and legitimately in the face of evolving state structures and fast shifting global context so as to serve the public good. This course will focus on governmental organization management in terms of organizational theory and management challenges facing organizations that carry out public purposes. We will also look into traditional public sector organizations, government funded bureaus and agencies that deliver public services directly to citizens but will also consider other organizations that operate in the public sector (e.g. nonprofits, private firms under contract). We will examine the backbone of public management - organizations - and ways to evaluate and understand organizations. We will also pull from organizational theory and practice to distill the core similarities and differences between public, nonprofit and private organizations.

This course will cover a wide range of topics, from the norms and values informing democratic policymaking to the basics of cost-benefit and other tools of policy analysis. This course will also examine a variety of issues considered to be '93social problems. The course will look into how particular issues came to be considered as '93problems'94 in the first place, while other issues do not. Though emphases will differ, all sections will address the institutional arrangements for making public policy decisions, the role of various actors-including nonprofit and private-sector professionals-in shaping policy outcomes, and the fundamentals (and limits) of analytic approaches to public policy.

The value of a firm depends on good corporate governance practices protecting investors. Greater protection of shareholders lowers the cost of capital due to better risk mitigation. Thus, the set of governance practices, rules, and regulations that promote private sector investment and jobs creation also promote firm value. Topics include the role and responsibilities of shareholders (principals), the boards of directors (the principals' representatives), and the executive management (agent). They also include executive compensation policies, boardroom structure and practices, corporate disclosure and transparency, and the value of the shareholder vote. The course looks into corporate pyramidal structures, hostile takeovers, and the failure of the market for corporate control. It examines the role of financial institutions and credit rating agencies in promoting corporate governance, and how transparency, accountability, responsibility, and fair and equitable treatment of all shareholders help improve corporate governance and reduce agency conflicts between principals, management, and the board of directors.

This course examines ethical and political questions that arise in doing public service work, whether volunteering, service learning, humanitarian endeavours overseas, or public service professions such as medicine and teaching. What motives do people have to engage in public service work? Are self-interested motives troublesome? What is the connection between service work and justice? Should the government or schools require citizens or students to perform service work? Is mandatory service an oxymoron? This course will aid you conduct a critical investigation of ethics, ideals and values commonly attributed to public service in Saudi Arabia.

This course introduces undergraduates to the basic theory, institutional architecture, and practice of international development. We take an applied, interdisciplinary approach to some of the '93big questions'94 in our field: What does development mean? Why are some countries persistently poorer than others? How have different stakeholders sought to address the challenges of development in the past, and how are they approaching these challenges now? Then we will look into how policy students can explore the complexities of the policy-making process from the perspective of specific policy topics. Students will learn about and discuss subject- based issues in a seminar format led by faculty and policy experts. Site visits to federal agencies, guest speakers, and round table sessions ensure that students receive a variety of real-world perspectives on their chosen policy area. This course will also examine the way that policies, politics, and the kingdom intersect and coevolve. To address these concepts, the course will draw on theoretical and empirical literature from comparative public policy, institutionalism, public administration, governance theory, and political sociology.