Government and Business

Module description

What is the module about?

Public services are vital to contemporary societies. Increasingly, both governments and businesses play significant roles in ensuring their provision. But how exactly is that achieved? How is it changing? And what implications does it have for our work, education and citizenship?

This course explores the 'how' of public service provision. It will introduce tools to analyse the different approaches to delivering key services, like health, education and law enforcement. In so doing, it will explore the changing role of the private sector in the contemporary state and encourage reflection on the best ways to organise for the future.

 

Who should do this module?

You should take this module if you are interested in the issues and challenges that arise in the management and delivery of public services. The module will:

• Develop the ability to critically evaluate different ways of providing public services

• Foster skills in constructing logical arguments in a structured manner

• Encourage problem-solving in relation to policy issues

• Develop the capacity to craft coherent, sustained pieces of writing

• Focus on the application of theoretical knowledge to real-world case studies

  

Provisional Lecture Outline

Lecture 1: The problem of coordination

Lecture 2: Governing through hierarchies

Lecture 3: Governing through markets

Lecture 4: Governing through networks

Lecture 5: Governing through co-creation

Lecture 6: Designing models of government

Lecture 7: Government and knowledge

Lecture 8: Government and values

Lecture 9: Austerity, government and business

Lecture 10: Government, business and COVID-19

Assessment details

100% Coursework

 

Teaching pattern

Weekly Lecture

Weekly Tutorial

Suggested reading list

Key text or background reading

Jackson, P.M. (2015) ’The changing shape of the public sector’. In T. Bovaird & E. Loeffler (eds), Public Management and Governance. Florence: Taylor & Francis, pp. 26-38.

Module description disclaimer

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.