Description
This preparatory master course provides some basic knowledge on public organizational theory and
policy theory. The course is divided into three parts: the first three weeks are used to address public
organization theory, especially as it applies to the problems and opportunities of public management.
The next three weeks will be used to deal with theories of public policy: especially on the
determinants, the social and institutional context of policy-making. The last three weeks focus on the
problem of policy implementation in street-level bureaucracies.
The literature in this course examines concepts associated with public policy and organizational theory;
identifies and discusses major authors and scholarly works associated with that literature. During this course, students will make two on-line multiple choice
tests and write one short paper. Students have gained, by the end of this online bridging course
(and upon successfully completing it), a basic knowledge of theories of public organizations and
public policy.
Methods of instruction
This is an E-module taught via Blackboard (no meetings). The course starts on 14 September. Students need to enroll before 10 September.
Study material
Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., Studying Public Policy. Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems, OUP
Canada, 2003, 2nd edition
Lipsky, M., Street-Level Bureaucracy: The Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Service, Russel Sage
Foundation, 1980
More literature to be announced
Examination
Two multiple choice tests and one paper.