Courses

PA 9901 - Advanced Local Government (Fall Term Course)

Objectives:

This course introduces students to select aspects of the academic literature on organizational behaviour. Students will learn how the behaviour of people in organizations relates to individual, group, organizational, and societal outcomes. They will apply an organizational lens to help them better understand the challenges and opportunities of local government administration.

Main topics:

Organizational behaviour and local administration; organizational structure; leadership; trust; organizational culture; groups and teamwork; conflict; communication; motivation, stress, and productivity; organizational change; power and privilege; diversity and inequality; human resources management.

Meets weekly on Thursdays.
Link to Brightspace

Instructor: Jennifer Kirkham jkirkha@uwo.ca 

Objectives:

This course introduces students to selected aspects of the academic literature on the making of public policy. Students will learn how to apply theories and concepts from the public policy literature to Canadian local governments. Using case studies, students will learn how to determine the main factors that cause different kinds of local public policy outcomes in different circumstances.

Main topics:

The stages of the policy-making process; the “multiple streams” approach to the understanding of the policy process; the role of “social forces”, including analytical approaches that apply especially at the local level, such as “community power”, pluralism, non-decision-making, local governments as “growth machines”, regime theory and multilevel governance.

Meets weekly on Wednesdays.
Link to Brightspace

Instructor: Tyler Sutton

Note: This course cannot be taken before PA 9901.

Objectives:

Drawing upon theories and research findings in public administration and management, this course examines administrative approaches, issues, and debates arising in local government administration. Students will learn how the complex and unstable environment of public sector organizations produces both challenges and opportunities for public sector managers and will apply insights from the management and public administration literatures to real-world local government settings.

Main topics:

Differences between public and private administration; management models and approaches; the leadership role of the CAO; council-staff relations; managing in a unionized environment; recruitment, onboarding, succession planning; change management; performance measurement and management; ethics and values; citizen and community engagement; partnerships and contracting out; implementation and service delivery.

Meets weekly on Thursdays.
Link to Brightspace

Instructor: Jennifer Kirkham jkirkha@uwo.ca 

Note: This course cannot be taken before PA 9903.