Managing and leading public organizations

Knowledge

You will obtain knowledge about:

• specific management challenges in the public sector
• alternative ways of service delivery and their implications
• key themes and concepts in the study of public leadership
• leadership challenges in different types of public organizations

Skills

You will:

• be able to provide an overview of the issues that are central to the study of public management and leadership
• learn how to analyse management and leadership challenges in the public and private sector
• increase your analytical skills for understanding how public organizations work
• be able to structure academic texts with research questions that the student has chosen him-/herself or that are pre-defined
• be able to relate a research question to the academic literature in the area and assess how the choice of research question determines the choices of research design, the need for sources/data and the research method
• be able to communicate academic knowledge in writing and orally and provide constructive criticism of other students’ assignments

Competences

You will:

• acquire a critical-analytical approach to managing and leading public organizations
• gain analytical and methodological competences for the systematic study of social phenomena
• not learn how to become a leader, but instead acquire a better understanding of the challenges of being a leader

No prerequisite knowledge beyond general Norwegian Higher Education Entrance Qualification

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

This course is not available for single course students.

Lectures and seminars.

Compulsory activities:

• Attend the first seminar
• Attend at least four of the following five seminars
• Present your term paper
• Comment on other students' papers
• Pass 1 hour and 45 minute qualification test

The seminars are taught in English, and the papers handed in must be written in English.

See the rules for reassignment of seminar groups and the guidelines for compulsory activities.

Absence from compulsory activities:

If you are ill or have another valid reason for being absent from compulsory activities, your absence may be approved or the compulsory activity may be postponed.

• Report absence from or the need for a postponed deadline on a compulsory activity

Access to teaching:

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has previously been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

The compulsory activities are valid for three years, starting the semester the compulsory activity were passed.

Term paper.

The term paper must:

• Have a maximum of 3500 word.
• Fulfill the formal requirements for submission of written assignments.

You must have passed the compulsory activities in order to sit the exam.

Pevious exams and examination guidelines.

In this subject, it is only permitted to use AI for certain aspects regard the exam: You are allowed to use it for idea generation, literature search, language and grammar editing, and in case of quantitative work coding support.

When using AI, you must explain and be transparent about its use.

Read more about the guidelines for AI and exams at How to use AI as a student - University of Oslo

• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Resitting an examination