Governance and Public Management

The main objective of this curricular unit is the understanding, apprehension and application, by the student body, of the elementary concepts of public management and its vicissitudes, as opposed to the management of private entities. Taking advantage of management knowledge, the objective of this course is also to transmit to students a set of knowledge and skills in the area of strategic planning in the field of public administration. Finally, as accountability constitutes a standard indicator that several international organizations consider relevant to assess the governance of a country and, consequently, its level of social and economic development, it is important to highlight and convey to students its importance in the context of Public Administration . In this logic, this curricular unit has the following specific objectives: Provide solid training in public management; Identify the different models of public management and their distinctive characteristics; Provide students with the ability to critically appreciate issues that exist today regarding the lines of reform underway in the public sector; Know the functioning and evolution of public management, particularly in the Portuguese context; Understand the specific aspects of public management; Understand the dynamics of public organizations and the way Portuguese public administration is structured; Recognize in the governance process different types of horizontal and vertical interactions between different levels of government and different public and private actors and other sectors; Understand the growing importance attributed by different international organizations to the role of governance and its impact on public management;

Provide students with theoretical-practical skills to analyze, evaluate and understand current problems facing public management. Raise students’ awareness of the importance of strategic planning and its importance for public organizations; Provide information necessary for the implementation of a strategic plan in public organizations; Identify the instruments used in public administration that evaluate performance assessment indicators Understand the importance of the concept of accountability, the values of ethics, morals and deontology in the context of public management. In terms of skills and knowledge acquired, at the end of the semester students should be able to: Apply practical knowledge about different public management models; Analyze the bridge between a public sector based on bureaucracy and a new management appropriate to the 21st century that presupposes the adoption of a management posture adapted to the specificity of public services, concerned with an efficient and effective response to the needs of society and public policies; Diagnose problems that require the intervention of activities of public organizations, in particularly the analysis of public management models that best serve public sector activity; Expose the characteristic aspects of public management; Uncover the various specific aspects of public management addressed within the scope of this curricular unit; Identify the characteristics of the different paradigms of public management; Frame the main models and trends of Portuguese administrative reform; Characterize administrative modernization initiatives carried out in Portugal in recent decades, Know the implementation of the balanced scorecard methodology as an instrument for evaluating and monitoring management in the context of public administration;

I – Public organizations

The unique characteristics of public organizations;

The challenges facing public organizations.

II – Public management and private management

Concept, characteristics and restrictions;

Public management and private management: Similarities and disparities.

III – The different models of public management:

Classic Paradigm of Public Administration;

New Public Management;

Governance;

Other models.

IV – The administrative and management organization of the Portuguese public sector

The Portuguese public sector: scope and structure;

Different types of public organizations;

V – Administrative Reform in Portugal

Administrative reform processes: concept and scope;

Administrative reform in Portugal:

in the context of the Estado Novo;

in the first years of democratic rule;

in the 80s and 90s;

in the 21st century.

Administrative Reform in Portugal and Public Management models in Portugal

VI – Planning: the importance of strategy in public management

VII – Ethics in public management

NAO