Course Catalogue

Managing In The Public Sector MGT4012

  • Academic Session: 2026-27
  • School: Adam Smith Business School
  • Credits: 15
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course aims to provide a wide-ranging introduction to unique issues (both theoretical and practical in nature) of public sector management. These are to do with a) challenging issues which are key to understanding the unique ways of managing in the public sector, and b) challenging interactions which are a gateway to mapping public sector actors, their distinctive values and motives and the way in which these are communicated, negotiated and ultimately regulated.

Timetable

10 x 2 hour lectures

Requirements of Entry

Entry to an Honours programme in Business and Management or a GPA of 12 in the level 2 courses listed below for students taking an Honours programme in another subject:

 

■ MGT2010 - Business Decision Analysis

■ MGT2011 - Fundamentals of Human Resource Management

■ MGT2012 - Services and Operations Management

■ MGT2014 - Entrepreneurship

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

1. Written assignment, including essay; Individual; 1250 words; 50%; ILOs 1-3.

2. Written assignment, including essay; Individual; 1250 words; 50%; ILOs 4-5.

Course Aims

 This course aims to:

 

■ Provide an introduction to the key issues in public sector management as different from management in the private sector context, as well as key points of intersections between the two sectors.

 

■ Address the main paradigms, actors and relationships in public sector management.

 

■ Introduce current pressing challenges to managing in the public sector, for example in relation to ethics, accountability, corruption, crisis management.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of the course students should be able to:

 

1. Compare and contrast public and private sector management as well as explore the intersections between the two sectors.

 

2. Outline, discuss and critique the principal theories of public sector organisation and management and relate them to current challenges in the sector.

 

3. Outline and critique traditional as well as cutting-edge notions of corruption, ethics, accountability and crisis management in the public sector.

 

4. Critically appraise the distinctive roles played by politicians, administrators and professionals in the public-sector management.

 

5. Identify channels for citizens' involvement in service design and delivery.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

No exceptions