Masters in Public Management

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Course Overview

The Masters in Public Management is for middle and senior managers in the public service, seeking an opportunity to meet fellow managers, debate current issues, broaden their thinking around management in general and significantly improve their own and their teams’ performance.

Prospective Masters in Public Management students may be motivated to enrol for our qualification because of:

• An aspiration to achieve personal goals and ambitions
• A desire to become multi-faceted and highly skilled leaders in the Public Sector
• A need to attain self-fulfillment  
• The Masters Degree in Public Management is registered at NQF level 8 with 240 credits. It is a two-year programme, comprising 12 compulsory modules and 2 elective modules.

Duration and Workload

Learners are expected to complete a total of 2400 notional hours within a period of 2 years.

The course is offered as a block release programme comprising of 14 modules and one mini-dissertation. Each module consists of 2-4 days classroom time, self-study, an assignment and an examination.

Each module is run at intervals of approximately 4 – 6 weeks.

Learning Outcomes

• Be able to describe, critically assess and apply a range of organisational development and management models and tools to successfully manage change, policies, strategies and projects within the public and development sectors
• Know the theory, models, skills and tools to analyse, critique, develop and manage public and organisational policies effectively and efficiently
• Evaluate the acquired knowledge and skills to manage public finances in an accountable, efficient and  transparent manner
• Critique and examine advanced human resource management principles, processes, theories and models relevant to the public and development sector
• Critically analyse the key principles, processes and theoretical frameworks of performance management systems
• Evaluate government’s key policies and principles, and assess their potentials and limitations in relation to transformation of the South African public and development sectors
• Be able to compare,  critically analyse and debate the appropriateness of international public sector management trends to South African context
• Provide a meta-analysis of development theories and polices related to sustainable development
• Have a critical analysis of economic concepts, government macro-economic policies and their impact on globalisation and development of South Africa
• Identify and analyse key models and processes to utilise and manage information and communication technology to improve public service effectiveness, efficiency and delivery
• Provide a meta-analysis of theoretical frameworks and schools of thoughts on governance and ethics
• Critically analyse and examine governance and intergovernmental relations in South Africa

Qualification

Masters Degree in Public Management
NQF level 8
Credits 240

Entry Requirements

Postgraduate degree, postgraduate diploma or honours degree. Participants without a diploma/degree may be considered on the basis of their work experience and an assessment. A recognition of prior learning (RPL) assessment would need to be administered if required.

Core Modules

• Personal and Team Effectiveness
• Policy Development and Management
• Human Resource Management
• Advanced Project Management 
• Organisational Development
• Public Finance
• Information and Communication Technology Management
• Sustainable Development 
• Governance and Intergovernmental Relations
• Comparative Management Trends
• Introduction to Economics
• Research Skills

Elective Modules
(Choice of 2)

• Labour Relations
• Management of HIV and Aids Management in the Workplace
• Health System Management
• Mentoring and Coaching
• Marketing Management
• Quality and Customer Relations Management
• Negotiation and Conflict Management

Accreditation

This qualification is accredited with the Council of Higher Education. Regenesys Management (Pty) Ltd is registered as a private higher education institution by the Department of Education of the Republic of South Africa in terms of section 54(1)(c) of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act no. 101 of 1997), and Regulation 16(4)(a) of the Regulations for the Registration of Private Higher Education Institutions, 2002.

Compulsory Modules Summary

Personal and Team Effectiveness
Aligning organisational, team, and individual objectives, learning team development and group dynamics, team development facilitation skills, problem solving; verbal and non-verbal communication, presentations skills, meeting management,academic skills,critical and analytical thinking, reading and writing, written communication, memos, reports and proposals, stress management, introduction to resource centre.

Policy Development and Management
Policy framework, distinction between policies, programme and projects, distinction between public and organisational policies, policy success and failure factors, policy analysis tools, stakeholder involvement processes and tools, conceptual models, policy models , organisational and institutional arrangements  forecasting techniques, policy development and management cycle, policy making cycle in government, policy formulation and planning, policy implementation processes and tools, policy monitoring and evaluation models, processes and tools, policy document writing.

Human Resource Management
Strategic human resource management, overview of relevant legislation (e.g Employment equity, Skills Development Act, LRA, etc.), leadership, the role of organisational culture, efctive  performance appraisal process, motivation,the role of rewards, induction processes, training and development, succession planning, recruitment and selection, organisational powers and politics, managing different types of employees,  conflict management,labour relations, trends in public human resource management.

Advanced Project Management
Aligning organisational, project team and individual objectives;, project management definition, Interrelationship between strategic planning and project management, aligning strategic plans and project plans, Interrelationship between project management and other management disciplines, the project management cycle, project team development, problem analysis and project identification, project scope; stakeholder participation, feasibility study, project planning, work breakdown structure, Gantt chart, project risk management, project quality management, resources and cost planning, tender and contract management, project monitoring, project evaluation, project closure and handover, writing project proposals and reports.

Organisational Development
Defining organisation development, history of organisation development alignment of organisational policies, strategies, systems, culture and structure, contemporary organisation development interventions, organization development models in the public/non-profit sector, organisational culture, organisational change processes and change management, trends in public organisational development and management processes.

Public Finance
Public finance terminology, concepts, and definitions, roles and functions of Fiscal, Financial Commission and National Treasury, Public Finance Management Act and Treasury Regulations, Intergovernmental fiscal and financial relations, financial planning and budgeting system of the state, budgeting, cash flow management and variance analysis, review of audit practices for the public sector, government revenue and expenditure review.

Information and Communication Technology Management
Defining information systems, role of information technology in management, Information systems models, international trends in information systems management, e-governance, integrating IT with business processes and management systems, IT and CRM (customer relations management).

Sustainable Development
Analysis and critique of Development Schools of Thought, analysis and critique of development theories,development versus growth,relationship between politics and economics,comparative approach, role of the State in developing and developed countries, interrelationship between development and equity, integrated development planning; local economic development, sustainable rural and urban evelopment, interrelationship between development and poverty analysis and critique of public policy initiatives, role of development and foreign aid.

Governance and Intergovernmental Relations
Global trends in governance; models of governance, interrelationship between governance, politics and development, constitutional context of intergovernmental relations. Systems and processes, support structures, challenges and mechanisms of support, supervision, roles, functions and structure of national, provincial and local government, co-operative governance.

Comparative Management Trends
Analysis and critique of modern and post modern schools of thought: scientific management school, classical organisational school, behavioural school, management science, systems theory approach, contingency approach, analysis and critique of recent developments in management theory. Critical analysis of the models emanating from each one of these theories and their relevance to the public and development sector organisations.

Introduction to Economics
Overview of national economy; economic concepts: inflation, stagflation, CPI, gross domestic product (GDP), real GDP, nominal GDP, disinflation, unemployment; exports, imports, trade balance, labour productivity, transfer payment, government budget restraint, marginal tax rate, effective tax rate, flat rate, payroll taxes, capital gains, excise and sales tax, structural deficits/cyclical deficits, crowding out, twin deficits, fiscal and monetary policies, inflation and unemployment, exchange rate and the balance of payments, overview of Bretton Woods international monetary system.

Research Skills
Introduction to research , qualitative and quantitative research paradigms, research methods, research statistics, problem statement and research questions, significance of research, delineation, literature review, theoretical and conceptual framework, research design, data collection techniques, data analysis and interpretation, recommendations, areas for further research, conclusions, validity  reliability  triangulation and trustworthiness, research ethics, report writing and referencing.

Elective Modules Summary

Labour Relations 
Labour relations within the context of the public sector , the historical external and internal contexts are discussed, labour relations legislation and policy is surveyed in the context of the tripartite labour relations environment , the programme explores techniques and steps involved in collective bargaining as well as the process of managing labour relations such as successful mediation arbitration and disciplinary processes as well as critical factors such as HIV/AIDS.

Management of HIV and Aids in the Work place
Critical issues of HIV and AIDS and its impact within the workplace, the course will give you insight on the history of HIV and AIDS global trends and care continuum of HIV positive people, it will highlight prevention strategies workplace critical issues policy on HIV and AIDS and best practice in HIV and AIDS management.

Health System Management
Critical issues of health system transformation. This includes the district health system development and hospital system transformation, health policies intergovernmental relationships and its implications for health services delivery.

Mentoring and Coaching
Clarifying what is coaching and mentoring, giving the constitutional and legislative context, discussing the roles responsibilities and values and attitudes required of coaches mentors and protégés, listing the benefits of coaching and mentoring for all stakeholders, explain how to set up monitor and evaluate a mentorship programme, overcome obstacles to and challenges within coaching and mentorship programmes, discuss coaching and mentoring skills and strategies, phases of the mentoring relationship, reporting on and document the coaching and mentoring process, elating the mentoring process to the protégé’s professional development plan.

Marketing Management
Skills knowledge and values required to develop and implement marketing strateges. Marketing concepts principles techniques and processes such as: competition analysis, market segmentation, customer buying behaviour, product mix, product distribution, pricing, product, promotion, advertising, sales relationship, marketing mix strategy and integration of marketing and business strategy.

Quality and Customer Relations Management
Quality and customer relations management concepts and terminology , Batho Pele principles and implementation challenges, quality management interventions, developing and implementing quality assurance systems, introduction to customer relations management, philosophical and technological perspective, quality management success and failure factors.

Negotiation and Conflict Management
Defining conflict and describing the different viewpoints of conflict, signs and symptoms of emerging conflict, the creative and productive energies aroused by properly managed conflict, the conflict management process, sources of organizational power struggles and politics conflict and team development, different negotiation styles and strategies, negotiation skills (communication managing emotions self-awareness), the steps of the negotiation process, negotiation mistakes to avoid.

 

Please Note:

• Although great care is taken to ensure accuracy of the information on this site, please confirm all important details including dates and fees at time of registration.

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