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 [C300]

Human resource management and development [C302]

Management information and information systems [C303]

Managing organisational change [C306]

Public Policy and Management: Strategy [C312]

The International Monetary Fund and economic policy [C313]

Decentralisation and local governance [C304]

Privatisation and public-private partnerships [C311]

Public financial management: planning and performance [C301]

Public financial management: revenue [C305]

Public financial management: reporting and audit [C310]

Project appraisal and impact analysis [C307]

Research methods [C353]

 

Dissertation* [C354]

*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 [C308]

Detailed Syllabus

The International Monetary Fund and economic policy [C313]
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 [C300]
You will be introduced to the main principles and techniques of public policy and management. The course examines the scope and functions of government in a critical and comparative way, ideal types of management and policy transfer, and introduces policy evaluation.

Unit 1: The State, Public Policy and Management
Unit 2: Understanding the State
Unit 3: Ideal Types
Unit 4: Policy Analysis and Evaluation
Unit 5: Policy and Management Dilemmas I
Unit 6: Policy and Management Dilemmas 2
Unit 7: Policy Transfer
Unit 8: The Future of the State?

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Public financial management: planning and performance [C301]
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.

Unit 1: The Context of Financial Management
Unit 2: Budget Classification and Structure
Unit 3: Costs
Unit 4: Accounting and Budgeting: National Level
Unit 5: Accounting and Budgeting: Sub-national Level
Unit 6: The management and control of budgets
Unit 7: Budgeting and Democracy
Unit 8: Financial Management and Performance

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Human resource management and development [C302]
You will study the management of people in public organisations as well as models of human resource management and development. Other topics studies include job analysis, career management, recruitment and selection, performance management and appraisal, training and development and rewards management.

Unit 1: Human Resource Management: Introduction
Unit 2: Resourcing
Unit 3: Performance
Unit: 4 Development
Unit 5: Employee Relations
Unit 6: Pay
Unit 7: Cross-Functional Issues
Unit 8: Human Resource Strategy and Management

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Management information and information systems [C303]
You will explore the potential of information systems in the public sector. This will be undertaken through a critical examination of the role of information in public sector organisations, of different models of information planning and management, and of the appropriateness of different information systems and technologies.

Unit 1: An Introduction to Information Systems in Public Sector Organisations
Unit 2: Information in Organisations
Unit 3: Information and Communication Technologies in the Knowledge Era
Unit 4: People, Management, Organisations, Environments and Information Systems
Unit 5: Types of Information Systems
Unit 6: Managing information systems and data
Unit 7 Information Systems Development
Unit 8: E-government Strategy

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Decentralisation and local governance [C304]
You will study the fiscal and policy relationships between local and sub-national government. The course explores democracy and public participation in the policy process, local poverty reduction and local economic development.

Unit 1: Decentralisation: What and Why?
Unit 2: Fiscal Decentralisation
Unit 3: Cases in Fiscal Decentralisation
Unit 4: Administrative Decentralisation
Unit 5: Decentralisation and Participation
Unit 6: Assessing Decentralisation in Practice
Unit 7: Local Economic Development
Unit 8: Decentralisation and Poverty

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Public financial management: revenue [C305]
This course addresses the theory and practice of public finance with special reference to how governments raise revenues. It is concerned with taxation, borrowing and aid. There are economic principles that bear on the issues of financing public expenditure and these are covered in the course. If you have not studied economics before there is an Appendix that covers the relevant microeconomics concepts that underlie taxation theory. At the same time the course recognises that decisions on taxation, borrowing and aid are not taken solely with reference to economics but also to politics.

Unit 1: Tax Issues in Context
Unit 2: Taxation Incidence and Optimal Taxation
Unit 3: Policy Objectives and Taxation
Unit 4: Tax Policy Issues in Developing and Transition Countries (I)
Unit 5: Tax Policy Issues in Developing and Transition Countries (II)
Unit 6: Local Revenues in Developing and Transition Countries
Unit 7: Deficits and Debts
Unit 8: Foreign Aid and Debt Relief

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Public financial management: reporting and audit [C310]
You will learn how to read public accounts, contribute to their production and understand the audit process. The course covers the main accounting standards for public services in use around the world. This course has been developed in association with ACCA.

Unit 1: Introduction to Public Sector Accounting
Unit 2: Accounting Bases and Standards
Unit 3: International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) and the Cash Basis Standards
Unit 4: International Accrual-Based Accounting Standards for the Public Sector
Unit 5: Developing Public Sector Accounting Standards
Unit 6: Public Financial Management Benchmarks and Review
Unit 7: Public Sector Audit - Standards and Guidance
Unit 8: Public Sector Audit - Practice

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Public Policy and Strategy [C312]

You will cover the policy process, from problem definition and measurement, option appraisal and assessment, to implementation and evaluation, using case studies from a variety of different settings. While it follows the ‘rational’ model, it also assesses critically how and where such a model does and does not apply, and covers approaches to ‘strategic’ management techniques in the public sector.

Unit 1: The Policy Analysis Model and Alternatives
Unit 2: Stakeholders, Data Collection and Analysis
Unit 3: Implementation: Policy Instruments and Service Provision
Unit 4: Allocating Resources and Assigning Responsibilities
Unit 5: Performance Management and Monitoring
Unit 6: Policy Evaluation
Unit 7: Strategic Planning and Policy
Unit 8: Policy Networks and Policy Transfer: Policy in a Globalised World

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Managing organisational change [C306]
This course investigates the environment of public organisations and relates the management of organisational change to sociological and socio-psychological analysis of organisational behaviour and organisational culture.

Unit 1: Organisations and Environments
Unit 2: Organisational Change
Unit 3: Organisational Structure and Change
Unit 4: Organisational Culture and Change
Unit 5: Power, Politics and Change
Unit 6: Leadership and Organisational Change
Unit 7: Learning and Organisational Change
Unit 8: Strategies for Change

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Project appraisal and impact analysis [C307]
This course will give you a theoretical and applied background to public investment public finance. You will look at the project cycle from project identification to project and programme appraisal techniques, including financial and economic analysis, impact assessment and risk analysis.

Unit 1: Project Appraisal and Evaluation: An Introduction
Unit 2: Investment Appraisal Techniques
Unit 3: Social Cost-Benefit Analysis
Unit 4: Valuation Techniques – Application in Various Sectors and Case Studies
Unit 5: Risk and Uncertainty Analysis in Project Appraisal
Unit 6: Distributional Issues and Social Cost-Benefit Analysis
Unit 7: Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
Unit 8: Impact Assessment: Additional Tools and Techniques

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Dissertation [C354]
The dissertation is a supervised piece of research on a topic that we will agree with you. It should be 10,000 words long. Before we can consider your proposal to submit a dissertation, we will need to review you academic performance so far. Completion of the Research Methods course is a prerequisite for writing the dissertation.

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Privatisation and public-private partnerships [C311]
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 [C353]
 

This course will develop your research skills, which you can later apply to research projects. It will provide you with a thorough understanding of the theoretical concepts, methodological approaches and reporting issues that underpin good quality research projects, and has a specific emphasis on how to evaluate the merits of existing research. It is also a prerequisite if you have decided to write a dissertation.

Unit 1: The Nature of Research
Unit 2: Planning and Designing Research
Unit 3: Reviewing the Literature and Making Methodological Choices
Unit 4: Data
Unit 5A: Interviews, Focus Groups and Surveys
Unit 5B: Introduction to Data Analysis I
Unit 6A: Fieldwork and Observation
Unit 6B: Introduction to Data Analysis II
Unit 7: Validity and Reliability
Unit 8: Writing and Presenting Research

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