Fall 2008 Course Description
Advanced Topics in Management
| Section Title: |
Ideas & Practical Skills for Every Manager's Toolkit |
| Instructor(s): |
Kevin Bacon |
| Course: |
P A 388L - Advanced Topics in Management
(previously Seminar on Topics in Public Management) |
| Unique Number: |
64845 |
| Day & Time: |
Mondays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM |
| Room: |
SRH 3.103 |
| Waitlist Information: | For LBJ Students: UT Waitlist Information
For Non LBJ Students: LBJ School Waitlist Instructions |
This course fulfills requirements for the following specialization(s):
- Public Management and Leadership
Description: Ideas & Techniques for Every Manager’s Toolkit
PA 388L – Fall 2008
Unique Number: 64845
Professor: Kevin Bacon
Meets: Monday 9 am to 12 noon
What does the course cover?: I built this course from two basic assumptions:
1) Throughout her or his career, every LBJ graduate will be called upon to manage and lead groups of people in accomplishing important work. You will usually do so on behalf of some larger organization – public, not for profit, or private sector. You should prepare for this work.
2) There are a variety of management concepts, skills and tools that can help a manager better understand her or his organization, diagnose its problems, and help it improve its performance.
My goal is to give you an overview of a number of management tools that I have found to be very helpful throughout my career working for or consulting with the public sector. You will get a chance to practice some of these skills through exercises and cases we will study in the class. I think you will find these tools helpful no matter what career path you choose.
Some of the topic and tools we will cover in the class include:
- Strategic planning in public sector organizations
- Performance measurement and management
- Business process mapping and analysis
- Activity based costing for key processes and services of an organization
- Project management (including project team management)
- Contracting out – development and management of service contracts
The course assumes you have an understanding of the basic management concepts covered in the core Advanced Management course here at LBJ. Students will work in small group settings on a number of management skill-building exercises. You will have a number of opportunities to make oral presentations during the course.
The course requires extensive reading and class preparation as well as a high level of participation in class. Student assessment will be based on class participation, short written assignments, one 20-page paper and oral presentations. There will be no final examination. In addition, individuals and small teams of students will make presentations in class on a variety of topics covered in the course.
What will you do in this course?
