Centre for Financial & Management Studies (CeFiMS) - University of London

MSc Public Policy and Management

Structure and Syllabus

MSc in Public Policy and Management

Seven courses from the following:

Public policy and management: perspectives and issues [C200]

Human resource management and development [C202]

Management information and information systems [C203]

Managing organisational change [C206]

Public Policy and Management: Strategy [C212]

The International Monetary Fund and economic policy [C213]

Decentralisation and local governance [C204]

Privatisation and public-private partnerships [C211]

Public financial management: planning and performance [C201]

Public financial management: revenue [C205]

Public financial management: financial reporting and audit [C210]

Project appraisal and impact analysis [C207]

Research methods [C253]

 

Dissertation* [PPM205B]

*The topic for the dissertation must be approved by the Programme Director and is expected to relate to both theory and policy issues. Please note that you must successfully complete Public policy and management research: principles and practice [C208]

Detailed Syllabus

The International Monetary Fund and economic policy [C213]
Few countries have complete autonomy in macroeconmic policy. For many, policy is conducted in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or supervised by the IMF. The course examines the changing roles of the IMF, the nature of economic policies it encourages countries to pursue, and some of the effects these policies have on the economic environment of business, on the financial sector, and on social conditions. The course gives a simple introduction to the basic IMF economic policy framework, ‘financial programming’. Using different types of countries, including transition economies and developing countries as case studies, it enables students to study issues such as the role of capital controls and the problems of highly indebted countries.

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Public policy and management: perspectives and issues [C200]
· The state, public policy and management
· Understanding the state: democracy, authoritarianism, clientelism
· The state and economy, the state and welfare
· The construction and deconstruction of ideal types
· Policy analysis and evaluation
· 'New institutional economics'
· 'Public choice theory'
· Policy transfer and management reform

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Public financial management: planning and performance [C201]
In this course you will be introduced to the methods and issues of public financial management. You will examine subjects including cost management, budgeting, expenditure control techniques, accounting for public spending and performance budgeting.

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Human resource management and development [C202]
· Demand and supply forecasting
· Recruitment and selection
· Diversity management
· Retention
· Retraining
· Employment contracts
· Total Quality Management
· Group and team working
· Appraisal
· Training and management development
· Employee relations
· Pay and performance management

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Management information and information systems [C203]
· An introduction to information systems in public sector organisations
· Information in organisations
· Information Technology
· People, management, organisations, environments and information systems
· Types of information systems
· Information systems management
· Information system development
· Information systems and public sector reform

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Decentralisation and local governance [C204]
· Decentralisation: what and why?
· Economic theories of decentralisation
· Globalisation and localisation
· Designing decentralisation
· Decentralisation and participation
· Assessing decentralisation in practice
· Case studies in economic decentralisation
· Decentralisation and poverty

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Public financial management: revenue [C205]
In this course you will study the theory and practice of public finance with special reference to how governments raise revenues and how they use taxation to pursue policy aims. The course is mainly concerned with taxation, borrowing and aid.

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Public financial management: financial reporting and audit [C210]
Studying this course will enable you to read public accounts, contribute to their production and understand the audit process. It covers the main accounting standards for public services in use around the world. We have developed this course in association with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants.

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Public Policy and Management: Strategy [C212]

* A critical understanding of policy-making processes in a variety of settings
* The ability to assess whether a proposed policy is likely to be successful
* Knowledge of international policy-making settings
* An understanding of how some of the world’s major policy decisions were made
* Facility with the methods of strategic management used in different types of public sector organisation.

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Managing organisational change [C206]
· Organisations and environments
· Organisational change
· Organisational structure and change
· Organisational culture and change
· Power, politics and change
· Leadership and organisational change
· The manager as change agent
· Strategies for change

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Project appraisal and impact analysis [C207]
· Project evaluation, an introduction
· Investment appraisal, introduction and techniques
· Economic analysis
· Impact assessment
· Project and programme appraisal, applications in specific sectors
· Simulation and modelling techniques
· Political economy, welfare and poverty
· Risk analysis in project evaluation and appraisal

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Public policy and management research: principles and practice [C208]
The field of public policy and management relies heavily on research – to test whether current policies are effective, to evaluate management processes and outcomes and to understand public opinion and preferences about public services. This course is designed to provide a good grounding in research methods to enable you to design, conduct and evaluate research in a public policy and management context, whether in your professional capacity or to submit an academic dissertation.

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Dissertation [PPM205B]
Students who wish to enrol to write a dissertation must first successfully complete PPM205A 'Public policy and management research: principles and practice'. This is a course designed to provide training in research methods either for the dissertation or for other kinds of research. The purpose of the dissertation is to enable students to develop and demonstrate their capacity to carry out a substantial piece of independent academic work on a selected topic. Students will be assessed on their capacity to define a topic for examination, to articulate a coherent scheme for examining this topic, to gather the necessary information, and to analyse and present this information in a way which satisfactorily assesses the topic which they have set themselves.

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Privatisation and public-private partnerships [C211]
The purposes of this course are:

• to set out theoretical foundations for the different forms of relationship between public, private and voluntary sectors.
• to enable students to do the analysis necessary to make the choices among the many options for the delivery of public services.
• to introduce the practical steps to be taken to ensure the best possible outcomes form the process.
• to develop practical skills of evaluation of the outcomes of different forms of institutional arrangements for service delivery.
• to present case studies illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of privatisation and public-private partnerships.

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Research methods [C253]
The purpose of the course is to provide students with a thorough understanding of the theoretical concepts, methodological approaches and reporting issues that underpin good quality research projects. It is a prerequisite course for completing a dissertation. The course outlines the issues involved in planning, designing, executing and reporting research. In addition it provides students with the opportunity to develop quantitative and qualitative skills, depending on the dissertation topic and research interests.

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