ORG447 Governance and Networks in the Public Sector

The course is connected to the following study programs

• Master's Programme in Political Science and Management

Course contents

The course will focus on how network organization over the past 20 years have been highlighted as a form of coordination and management in the public sector.

 

Here one will first investigate the origin, and the supply side, of ideas and literature on network organization in organizational science, consultancy business and international propagation of the phenomenon.

 

Secondly, the demand side of public management ideas will be investigated, i.e. how changes in the political and ideological climate have contributed to adopt new networking and partnership organizational solutions in reforming the public sector

 

The curriculum will be based on the key contributions within the governance literature, but with a special focus on recent literature on network organization and management in a Norwegian context.

Based on empirical examples from recent years reform efforts in the Norwegian public sector, the course will specially illuminate how network management has been applied in municipal and state sector, including, the NAV-reform and the newly Cooperation Reform between Norwegian municipalities and hospital sector.

 

A key part of the course will be to analyze and discuss the pros and cons of network management as state and municipal management tool. Here one will also discuss and analyze mandated networks versus voluntarily network arrangements and management.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student should:

• Be able to judge, discuss and have a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon of network organization in the public sector.

• Have in-depth knowledge and a critical understanding of how network organization ideas have influenced organizational events in the context of public sector reform.

• Through theory and empirical examples interpret, analyze and compare different organizational networking arrangements, for example between organizations at different levels both vertically in management hierarchies, and horizontally, between public and private sector, and between public and voluntary organizations.

• Be able to weigh and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of networks, partnerships and joint management in the public sector as an alternative or supplement to the market and hierarchy theories.

Teaching methods

Lectures, literature studies, seminar and classroom discussions, student presentations and group work. Estimated workload of 270 hours.

Evaluation

The person responsible for the course, in consultation with the student representative, decides the method of evaluation and whether the courses will have a midterm- or end of term evaluation, see also the Quality System, section 4.1.

Offered as Single Standing Module

Yes Subject to availability

Admission Requirement if given as Single Standing Module

The admission requirement is the same as for the master's degree in political science and management.

Assessment methods and criteria

6 hours individual written homeexam.Graded A-F.