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Course Descriptions

Leading and Motivating People
Explores the theories, models, and research findings concerned with human motivation and behavior most relevant to the task of leading people to achieve positive and timely results. It includes an introduction to leadership theory, cognitive development and human motivation theories. It then applies this knowledge to the development of self-mastery and interpersonal skills, the enhancement of employee morale, and the building of healthy and effective teams

Managing Public Organizations
Begins with a discussion on the nature of public administration and moves to organization theory and the effect of structure on organizational behavior. The course is designed to go beyond a conceptual framework of public management by helping students develop the insights and skills necessary to manage daily and to lead government organizations. Case studies are examined to provide real life context for the course content.

Financial Information for Managers
Presents the principal concepts in public financial management - focusing on the national, state and local levels of government. The course examines how budgeting is a process whereby various competing interests and programs are reconciled through a series of analytic discussions, detailed program analyses, as well as political compromise.

Moral and Ethical Dimensions of Management and Leadership
Explores the moral issues involved in public policy and management questions: the limits and usefulness of decision-making tools; problems of choosing and using criteria to judge a program's success; ethical issues involving income distribution; and possible obligations beyond one's political community. Case studies emphasize the dilemmas that managers face in making and communicating decisions.

Policy Analysis and Microeconomics for Managers
Develops skills in the use of data and data presentation that is valuable in the everyday work of public managers. The course emphasizes the underlying themes and trends behind information and how to persuasively present arguments using data.

Tactics and Principles of Negotiation
Introduces the concepts of interest based negotiations and equips students to conduct negotiations successfully. Domestic and foreign policy examples are used to demonstrate how to analyze the negotiating techniques of others. The course blends skill-building exercises, theory discussions, and dialogue.

21st Century Policy Challenges
Provides an overview to the policy development process in the context of a number of key areas: defense policy, social policy, America's role in the world, and environmental policy. The course focuses on how managers must lead within a larger policy context and how knowledge of broader agency issues impact management.

Managing Across Sectors: Public, Profit, and Nonprofit
Reviews the concept of cross-sector governance and provides both theoretical understanding and practical grounding. The course focuses on the roles and relationships of institutions in each of these sectors in pursuing public purposes such as emergency management, economic development, environmental protection, transportation, education, and human investment.

Leadership in Groups and Organizations
Emphasizes how an understanding of group and organizational life is a critical leadership competency. Through interactive dialogue, this course offers a strategic understanding of group relations associated with the exercise of leadership and authority in group, inter-group, networked, and organizational settings.

Performance Management and Leading for Results
Offers frameworks, tools, and skills immediately applicable to improving program performance and to participating more broadly in the development and implementation of strategies to impact the results of programs. Results and Performance Accountability, along with other results-oriented frameworks such as the Balanced Score Card, GPRA, and PART are analyzed and discussed.

Information Policy and Technology
Examines the policy challenges posed by the “Information Revolution,” especially the growth of the global Internet and the digital economy. The course explores the evolving public policies regarding information and information technology especially as they are used in the public sector. Emphasis is on U.S. Federal policies although comparisons and contrasts to other nations as well as state and local government are discussed as well. In addition, contrasts and similarities are drawn between public and private sector strategic information management.





Executive Master of Public Management | University of Maryland - School of Public Policy | 2101 Van Munching Hall, College Park MD 20742-1821