Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL2078: Governing the Public Sector: Bureaucratic Power and Politics

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.

Module Aims

The module examines core themes and theoretical debates on the organisation and the operation of public administration. It will familiarise you with cutting-edge scholarship on the study of bureaucratic organisations and provide you with a sound grasp of the structures, functioning and behaviour of bureaucratic organisations in modern executive government and their role and involvement in the policy process in several jurisdictions.

The course will contain a blend of theory and case studies.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.

On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Demonstrate understanding of key theoretical debates about the nature of executive government and bureaucracy;
2. Demonstrate a rich understanding of the inner workings of bureaucratic organisations, the challenges they face, their interactions with each other, as well as with external (political) actors and of their role in the policy process, with reference to a range of theoretical models;
3. Demonstrate critical awareness of bureaucratic organisations as political actors in their own right and of the relevance of politics around as well as within bureaucratic organisations;
Discipline-Specific Skills4. Critically assess the role of bureaucratic actors to policy-making, with reference to a range of theoretical models
5. Demonstrate a good grasp of key theories, models and concepts within the discipline;
Personal and Key Skills6. Demonstrate advanced skills in oral communication (including the presentation of material for group discussion): the ability to present coherent arguments, display critical analysis and the ability to communicate effectively;
7. Demonstrate an enhanced ability to draw on and apply broad theories to specific empirical examples.