CODE | PPL5104 | |||||||||
TITLE | Leadership in Public Organizations | |||||||||
UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
DEPARTMENT | Policy, Politics and Governance | |||||||||
DESCRIPTION | Public organizations often need to implement changes in the governance, design and delivery of public services. This stems either as a need for change, or as a means of charting a direction to fulfill their mission and agreed objectives. Public organizations are intrinsically different for one reason: they are funded by and accountable to the wider public. Readers of public policy necessitate a more intimate perspective of theoretical and empirical perspectives of public organizations, their constitution and development. Leaders of public organizations face a myriad of challenges, namely; asserting their authority, conducting strategic decision-making processes, motivating employees, managing and leading organizational structures, managing conflict, leading organizational change, ensuring transparency, and delivering on established objectives. The emphasis of this study-unit is on the transformational role of leaders in public entities and their contribution towards successes or failures of implementation processes. The pedagogical approach of the subject will rest on Case Study literature as well as the observation of empirical phenomenon in the current national / international scene. Leadership is seen as a crucial factor in order to create effective commitment towards the achievement of goals in public entities. As catalysts and agents of change, a spotlight is thrown on the behavioural underpinnings of people at the helm. Study-unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to sensitize students with the theoretical foundations of Leadership in Public Organizations and apply concepts with the empirical world. Case Studies will be a means to test theory and generate new understandings of how patterns of leadership can shape public organizations. The aims are therefore to: - Study inter-disciplinary perspectives of leadership in public organizations applying a behavioral, professional and analytical approach towards the subject; - Explore role-modeling, shared vision, process evaluation, empowerment, and methods to embrace the organizational mission and vision; - Direct students to envision the professionalization of leadership to attain results; - Assess the endogenous and exogenous factors that impact public organizations and how leaders ought to react to events that shape their behavior. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Incorporate leadership styles, attributes and behaviour in theoretical frameworks; - Explore insights into the role of leadership in public management research; - Discern the impact of leadership traits and characteristics into the policy process; - Draw, design and interpret ways of measuring performance by linking it to key decisions in a public organization; - Analyze a leadership environment, identify the root cause of an existing problem, identify opportunities for improvement and recommend a solution. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply strategic thinking and planning to impact decision making in public entities; - Navigate through the politics of public organizations and be cognizant of the variables that shape their behaviour; - Evaluate qualities required by leaders of public entities; in terms of acumen to do the job, and personal attributes to deliver as leaders; - Prepare for contingencies and react to circumstances that bring about change; - Employ human capital and effective communication strategies to manage projects. Main Text/s: - Van Vart, M. (2012), Leadership in Public Organizations: An Introduction, M.E. Sharpe, 2nd ed. Journals in Library - Karp, T. and Helg, T.I.T. (2008), "From Change Management to Change Leadership: Embracing Chaotic Change in Public Service Organizations", Journal of Change Management, 8:1, 85-96. - Leslie, K. and Kanwell, A. (2010), "Leadership at all levels: Leading public sector organisations in an age of austerity", European Management Journal, 28:4, 297-305. - Morse, R. S (2010) "Integrative public leadership: Catalyzing collaboration to create public value", The Leadership Quarterly, 21:2, 231-245. - Ospina, S. and Foldy, E (2010) "Building bridges from the margins: The work of leadership in social change organizations", The Leadership Quarterly, 21:2, 292-307 Supplementary Text/s: - Benington, J. and Moore, M.H. (eds.) (2010), Public Value: Theory and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan. - Carver, J. (2006), Boards That Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations (J-B Carver Board Governance), Jossey Bass, 3rd ed. - Chait, R.P. et al. (2004), Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards, John Wiley and Sons. - Cole, M. and Parston, G. (2006) Unlocking Public Value: A New Model for Achieving High Performance in Public Service Organizations, John Wiley and Sons. - Hudson, M. (2003), Managing at the Leading Edge: New Challenges in Managing Non-Profit Organisations, Directory of Social Change. - Hudson, M. (2009), Managing without Profit: Leadership, Management and Governance of Third Sector Organisations, Directory of Social Change, 3rd ed. - Teelken, C. et al. (eds.) (2013), Leadership in the Public Sector: Promise and Pitfalls, Routledge. |
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STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | |||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |