Public Sector Management (SW0015)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : MSE-P-SW0015

The option examines the political and budgetary framework within which public sector management takes place, and assesses the applicability of management thinking drawn from the private sector. The traditional approach in the public sector was to emphasise its distinctiveness – the lack of a bottom-line profit test; the unique nature of the services; the importance of citizen participation; the accountability of elected politicians; and the cycles of elections and budget-setting. The idea of a special public sector culture, with its own norms and methods of working which made it inappropriate to copy private sector approaches, has been influential. But recently there has been an interest in techniques and vocabulary drawn from the private sector, such as performance measurement, continuous quality improvement, marketing, customer-focus, contractorisation and executive leadership. We will explore the possibilities and limitations of this convergence and learning between sectors.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Pre-requisites : PGs Only

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Business Studies, (Management School and Economics, Schedule H)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Block 5 only

? Contact Teaching Time : 5 hour(s) per week for 5 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

The course is aimed at managers in the public sector who wish to learn more about the context of their job, private sector managers who wish to improve their familiarity with the workings of the public sector, and others who wish to understand the particular form and content of management in the British public sector. The detail concentrates on central government (including the NHS), but refers to the position of local government (on which a separate elective Managing in Local Government is offered) and other types of public agency. We will also focus on the position of the Scottish Executive after devolution.