GPP 452: Managing Government Organizations

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.