Course 2006-2007 a.y.

Course Objectives

Recent developments worldwide are challenging the simplistic views about the superiority of market mechanisms and the primacy of private interests, and emphasizing instead the need to take the public interest into account when shaping the future of the economy and society. In a globalizing world, specific skills in this area are very important for every manager willing to operate across national boundaries.  After successful completion of this course, students are able to:

• appreciate how public sector organizations influence the strategies and performance of business firms, and vice versa;
• understand the multi-faceted interplay between business firms and public sector organizations;develop the skills required to manage effectively the interaction with public sector organizations, and to play a role in policy formulation and implementation (public affairs function).

Course Content Summary

• From government to governance: public management and the competitive advantage of nations.
• Developmental trends in public management: bureaucratic and managerial approaches.
• Political and technical aspects in the analysis and management of the public-private interface: tools for the mapping of environmental complexity.
• The concept and practice of lobbying, corporate political activity and regulatory capture.
• The debate about the role and potential of corporate social responsibility.
• Corporate best practices in the design and management of the "public affairs" function.
• Marketing to and marketing of public sector organizations.
• Goals, underpinnings and tools of place marketing.
• Financial interactions with public sector organizations: taxation, incentives and subsidies.
• Public-private partnerships: fashion and fundamentals.
• Ethical issues along the public-private interface.
• International public governance: the patterns of interaction between business firms and international and supranational organizations.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

Students attending classes on a regular basis will be offered the opportunity to prepare a group report addressing the role of government in a selected industry from a comparative perspective, which will count for 25% of the final grade. Individual case reports will count for another 25% of the final grade. The final exam for students attending classes on a regular basis will be in a written form, and will count for 50% of the final grade. 

All other exams for both attending and non-attending students will be oral.

Textbooks

• L. BRUSATI, Public Management and the Business Environment, reading package