Introduction to Public AdministrationModule Details

Rationale

This course introduces students to the discipline of public administration. It investigates and encourages students to think critically about the numerous institutions, processes, concerns, and controversies that dominate the study of public administration. The nature, scope, and theories related to public administration will be discussed in this course, as will the role of bureaucracy in the political process, the changing nature of public administration, and the core functions of government administration such as budgeting, reform, policy making, and implementation. The course will cover administration processes in public organisations as well as topics of ethics in public administration.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course students will be expected to:

(i)    Describe the nature and scope of public administration. 
(ii)   Explain the key debates and concerns of public administration theory.
(iii)  Distinguish between the political and the administrative elements of administration.
(iv)  Explain the impact of bureaucracy on political processes.  
(v)   Explain how the institutional, legal, political and economic factors shape and are shaped by public policy.
(vi)  Identify the drivers of change in administrative reformation. 
(vii) Identify major issues in today’s public institutions.
(viii)Evaluate the democratic decision-making processes in public organisations.
(ix)  Evaluate the effectiveness of public sector programmes and services.
(x)   Describe the basic phases of the public sector’s budgetary process. 
(xi)  Discuss about the moral responsibility of individuals in public sector organisations.