POLITICS 704

Political Management in Government


Please note: this is archived course information from 2018 for POLITICS 704.

Description

Political Management in Government explores how politicians and their staff use management tools to help them achieve their goals within the constraints and challenges of the governing environment. Seminars will focus mostly on student-led discussion via small groups, team presentations to maximise peer learning. They take the role of a political manager within a Prime Minister’s Office, reviewing past practice and then creating applied advice for a current Prime Minister. Students will be placed into one of six teams within the Prime Minister’s Office: Market intelligence and stakeholder analysis; Policy development; Strategy and branding; Delivery; Strategic communications; Issues Management.

Academic learning outcomes

Students who have taken this course will know a range of political management tools (including public opinion research, strategy, branding, consultation and delivery management), understand the complexities and challenges of political management in government and be able to apply ideas from past practice and research to future situations and make recommendations for action.

Employability skills

Whilst offering research-led knowledge typical of graduate courses, "Political Management in Government" also seeks to prepare students for practising politics by preparing them for working in government by developing skills such as:

  •  Political skills – understanding of current issues through discussing current political situations and behaviour
  •  Policy skills – understands context, applies objective reasoning, well-reasoned advice through writing the advisory reports
  • Advisory skills – such as impartial neutral analysis and producing high quality reports by evaluating contemporary political behaviour using academic theory rather than personal opinion in the advisory reports
  •  Analytical skills - can project future issues/scenarios through discussions and case study/report assignments
  •  Communication skills – can deliver brief and concise presentations
  •  Interpersonal skills – peer learning through small group work in seminars
  •  Writing skills - report writing and the employability session on writing advisory reports
  •  Professional workplace attributes – such as reliability, adaptability, ability to work independently, respond well to feedback, and agility; through the courses stricter policies; new style assignments through the advisory reports, and learning cross-disciplinary theories and analysis

View the course syllabus

Availability 2018

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

Lecturer(s) Associate Professor Jennifer Lees-Marshment

Points

POLITICS 704: 15 points