Course 2023-2024 a.y.

30341 - MANAGEMENT OF GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS

Department of Social and Political Sciences

Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 23
BIG (8 credits - I sem. - OB  |  SECS-P/07)
Course Director:
AMELIA COMPAGNI

Classes: 23 (I sem.)
Instructors:
Class 23: AMELIA COMPAGNI


Suggested background knowledge

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Mission & Content Summary

MISSION

The course aims at making students aware of the role and relevance that organizations of public interest fulfill in modern liberal democracies. The course provides an analytical framework for reflecting on the most relevant tools at the disposal of policy-makers and public administrators to design, organize, manage and improve public sector organizations. The course compare and contrast tools employed at a national level with those typical of international contexts.

CONTENT SUMMARY

The course employs the lenses of organization and management theory to analyze organizations of public interest at the international (e.g. UN) and national levels. It explores a series of relevant topics considering different levels of analysis: the public sector in its entirety, networks of organizations, and dynamics at play within single organizations. Among the topics the course covers:

  • Organizational design and the main trade-offs in choosing the structure of organizations.
  • Organizational mission, strathegy and the environment; issues of stakeholder management (in particular, policy-makers and citizens).
  • Organizational effectiveness and performance; challenges and problems in the evaluation of performance of organizations of public interest.
  • Organizational culture and its measurement; issues of motivation and accountability.
  • Coordination and collaboration between organizations and within organizations.
  • Change and innovation in organizations of public interest.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Understand the main theoretical underpinnings for explaining how organizations proceed, are structured and managed.
  • Explain what factors influence the effectiveness and performance of an organization of public interest.
  • Comprehend the peculiarities of organizations of public interest vis a vis firms.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Diagnose the main strengths and weaknesses of an organization based on its design, culture and strategy.
  • Analyse and draft a performance measurement system for an organization of public interest.
  • Propose projects of innovation and change for the puprose of improving organizational effectiveness.

Teaching methods

  • Face-to-face lectures
  • Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
  • Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
  • Group assignments
  • Interactive class activities on campus/online (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)

DETAILS

The course combines face-to-face lectures with class discussions of case studies and incidences, simulations, role-playing and group exercises. These classes allow students to:

  • Employ theoretical concepts to understand and analyse concrete cases, taken from the reality of organizations of public interest at the international and national levels.
  • Acknowledge a plurality of viewpoints and develop argumentations in support to a specific solution.

The course is complemented by guest speakers' talks. Guest speakers bring to class and share with students their concrete experience of processes of performance management, change or coordination. After these classes, the instructor and the students have a debrief to discuss lessons learnt.  


Assessment methods

  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
  x  
  • Group assignment (report, exercise, presentation, project work etc.)
x    
  • Peer evaluation
x    

ATTENDING STUDENTS

The evaluation is based on:

 

Method

What

To achieve what

Partial written exams with open and closed-ended questions (60%)

Mid-term partial exam: first part of the course material (30%); second partial: second part of the course material (30%)

Ability to describe key concepts and theoretical frameworks

 

Ability to summarize the main take-home messages of guest lectures and relate them to the abstract concepts explained during the course

 

Ability to relate concrete case-studies discussed in class to the abstract concepts and theoretical frameworks explained during the course

Assessment of the outcome of a group assignment (40%)

 

 

Organizational analysis and plan for change

Ability to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of organizations of public interest

 

Ability to propose a change or innovation plan for the improvement of the organization

 

 

Ability to identify KPI to measure the effectiveness of the plan


NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

The evaluation is based on:  

 

Method

What

To achieve what

General exam with open and closed-ended questions (60%) Entire course material

Ability to describe key concepts and theoretical frameworks

 

Ability to relate abstract concepts and theoretical frameworks explained during the course to the resolution of concrete cases

 

Assessment of the individual assignment (40 %)

 
   

 

Organizational analysis and plan for change

Ability to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of organizations of public interest

 

Ability to propose a change or innovation plan for the improvement of the organization

 

Ability to identify KPI to measure the effectiveness of the plan

 


Teaching materials


ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

The reading material includes:

  • Articles drawn from the management, organization and public administration literature.
  • Chapters from some books and textbooks including:
    • G.C. JONES, Organizational Theory, Design and Change, 2013.
    • J. MARTIN, M. FELLENZ, Organizational Behaviour & Management, 2011.
    • E. ROGERS, Diffusion of Innovations, 2003, 5th edition.
  • Case studies acquired from ECCH or written by the instructors.
Last change 04/06/2023 20:53