This course is designed as a broad overview of critical approaches pertaining to the management of development issues, mainly in the developing world. The aim is to help students understand and evaluate conceptual and practical approaches to development management. A further aim is to equip students with skills in problem-solving related to development administration, using ‘case studies’ as one technique. It will focus on key economic, institutional, policy and techno-managerial issues, particularly as they relate to theory formation, capacity building, policy implementation and problem solving. In the overall discourse, issues relating to the ‘politics’ of development management and the role of the international policy network will be highlighted.

Prerequisites: Any introductory Public Sector Management course and/or grounding in Politics or Political Studies & Institutions

To build on the foundations laid by the Policy and Theory-oriented Level II courses in Public Sector Management. It continues to examine critically various ‘models’ or analytical approaches to understanding development issues. A main objective of the course is to develop students’ analytical skills, a base of knowledge, and an appreciation of relevant management strategies/techniques for structuring and managing public agencies and solving emerging development problems.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Develop techniques of administrative writing to enhance skills in communicating ideas.
• Discuss critically core ideas, ‘theories’ and themes in contemporary Development Management.
• Evaluate contested conceptual approaches to Development Management in cross-cultural settings.
• Offer informed views on the possibilities and limitations of specific strategies used in Capacity Building.
• Identify and critically discuss problems associated with policy implementation and be able to offer ‘solutions’.
• Explain the influence of the international policy network on the development process.
• Explain and defend the role of Bureaucrats in the development management process.
• Demonstrate an understanding of and be able to debate leading issues concerning the nature and impacts of governance and globalization.
• Appraise issues involved in the use of projects as policy experiments, and the ‘management’ of external

Readings for each topic are divided into Core Readings, which are those materials essential to a good understanding of the issues and are required to accompany the lectures and tutorials. Supplementary Readings will be identified during the lecture session and are intended to support your choice of topical emphasis and help to deepen appreciation of the issues. Nothing prevents you from using other sources.

*It is STRONGLY ADVISED that each student should, at a minimum, possess any three (3) of the five (5) textbooks listed below:

• Hulme & Turner – Governance Administration and Development (Macmillan 1997)
• Clague, Christopher (Ed.) Institutions and Economic Development: Growth & Governance in Less Developed and Post-Soviet Countries (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997)
• Kothari, Uma & Minogue, Martin (Ed) – Development Theory & Practice: Critical Perspectives (2002) 2 Palgrave
• Hall, Kenneth O. & Benn, Denis (Ed) – Governance in the Age of Globalization: Caribbean Perspective (2003) Ian Randle Publications, Kingston
• Robinson, Dorcas / Hewitt, Tom/ Harriss, John - Managing Development: Understanding Inter-Organizational Relationship, Part 1, pp. 1-66.

** We strongly recommend that students regularly consult:

Farazmand, Ali - Handbook of Comparative and Development Public Administration, 2002
[Available in the Main Library]

*** You are expected to routinely consult the professional Journals in Public Management

The course is assessed on the basis of course work, including formal and informal writing, and examination as follows:

• Essay 25 Marks
• Administrative Writing Exercise 5 Marks
• Tutorial Participation 10 Marks
• Examination 60 Marks

When you use materials/works, give the authors credit. The University will not tolerate scholastic dishonesty. Consult your Examination Regulations to see how the University deals with scholastic dishonesty. (For Guidelines, see the Department’s Web Page.)