Admission requirements
Target groups
Exchange and Elective students
Participants in the Minor ‘Public Administration: Multi-level governance’
Bachelor 2 students in Public Administration
There are special work groups organized for minor, exchange and elective students
Description
Public organizations are continuously confronted with demands to be effective, introduce innovative services, increase efficiency, or otherwise improve their performance. The course Management and Performance is directed at the question how the organization and management of public organizations can contribute to optimizing their performance. Many management doctrines, most prominently the ‘New Public Management’, argue that the performance of public organizations can be improved by applying managerial techniques from the private sector. A central focus of this course is therefore on the differences between public and private organizations. This course assesses how different aspects of organization and management, performance management, human resource management, and leadership can be applied in public sector organizations. In doing so, this course attempts to connect theoretical and conceptual insights to the real world of public management and performance.
Course objectives
At the end of this course, the student:
Understands the (challenges of) organizational performance of public organizations;
Is able to differentiate between public and private organizations in terms of their theoretical and empirical differences;
Knows the most central managerial doctrines that are applied to improve organizational performance, and is able to evaluate their appropriateness in a public sector context;
Is familiar with different aspects of management and organization, such as human resource management, strategic management, and leadership;
Has the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of a public organization and formulate theory-based recommendations.
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the E-guide you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Blackboard. Timetable
Mode of instruction
The course will be taught through lectures and seminars (working groups). The core concepts and theories of this course will be introduced in the lectures.
In the weekly seminars, the contents of the course will be elaborated on, applied to practical cases and practiced by means of simulations, exercises, close readings and presentations. Seminars will be taught in Dutch for regular BA students and in English for minor students and international students.
Participation in all weekly seminars is obligatory in order to pass the course. A maximum of one seminar can be missed, under the conditions that 1) the student has a valid reason and 2) that this has been communicated per e-mail to the seminar lecturer prior to the class. An extra assignment must be made at the end of the course for missing a seminar.
Course Load
Lecture hours: 7×2 = 14 hours
Work groups: 6×2 = 12 hours
Examination: 5 hours
Assignment and self-study: 109 hours
Assessment method
Written Exam (70%) and individual paper (30%).
A minimum grade of 5,5 is required for both the written exam and the written assignment.
You can find more information about assessments and the timetable exams on the website.
Details for submitting papers (deadlines) are posted on Blackboard.
On the Public Administration front page of the E-guide you will find links to the website, uSis and Blackboard.
Resit
Students will be permitted to resit an examination if they have taken the first sit and earned a mark between 3 and 5.5 or with permission of the Board of Examiners.
Resit written exam
Students that want to take part in a resit for a written exam, are required to register via uSis. Use the activity number that can be found on the ‘timetable exams’.
Blackboard
The page of the course is available from a week before the course starts. Blackboard is used as the main communication channel with students.
Reading list
Rainey, H.G. (2014). Understanding and managing public organizations. Fifth Edition. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Additional articles (will be announced later on)
Registration
For Exchange students: Universiteit Leiden Study Abroad/Exchange
The Faculty requests students to register for every course in uSis and Blackboard.
Register for every course and workgroup via uSis. There are special work groups organized for minor, exchange and elective students. Some courses and workgroups have a limited number of participants, so register on time (before the course starts). In uSis you can access your personal schedule and view your results. Registration in uSis is possible from four weeks before the start of the course.
Also register for every course in Blackboard. Important information about the course is posted here.
Contact
Dr. Tanachia Ashikali
Contact hours: by appointment.
Remarks
Students that have obtained a sufficient grade for the written exam but not the assignment in last year’s course are only required to obtain a sufficient grade for the individual assignment and are required to meet the attendance requirements. Inversely, students that have obtained a sufficient grade for the seminars in the previous academic year, but not the written exam, are only required to pass the written exam.