POLITICS 704

Political Management in Government


Please note: this is archived course information from 2020 for POLITICS 704.

Description

Political Management in Government is a future-focused course as it seeks to prepare students for working in government. Students take on the role of a political manager within a Prime Minister’s Office such as Strategy Director, Branding Director, Delivery Manager, Director of Communications and Crisis Manager.They learn about the nature of working in government, being a political advisor and workplace writing as well as political management strategies and tools. They review academic theory and past practice and create applied advice for a current political leader. 

Course outcomes

Academic learning outcomes

Students who have taken this course will:

  • Know a range of political management tools including public opinion research, strategy, branding, consultation and delivery management
  • Understand the complexities and challenges of political management in government
  • Be able to apply ideas from past practice and research to future situations and make recommendations for action

Employability skills

Whilst offering research-led knowledge typical of graduate courses, Political Management in Government also seeks to prepare students for practising politics. It develops graduate profile capabilities - themes such as disciplinary knowledge and critical thinking - by preparing them for working in government by developing skills such as:

  • Political skills– understanding of current issues through discussing current political situations and behaviour
  • Policy skills– understands context, applies objective reasoning, well-reasoned advice through writing the advisory report
  • Advisory skills – such as impartial neutral analysis and producing high quality reports by evaluating contemporary political behaviour using academic theory rather than personal opinion in the advisory reports
  • Analytical skills- can project future issues/scenarios through discussions and case study/report assignments
  • Communication skills – can deliver brief and concise presentations
  • Interpersonal skills– peer learning through small group work in seminars
  • Writing skills - report writing and the employability session on writing advisory reports
  • Professional workplace attributes– such as reliability, adaptability, able to work independently, respond well to feedback, and agility; through the courses stricter policies; new style assignments through the advisory reports, and learning cross-disciplinary theories and analysis

Assessment

Coursework only

View the course syllabus

Availability 2020

Semester 2

Lecturer(s)

Lecturer(s) Associate Professor Jennifer Lees-Marshment

Points

POLITICS 704: 15 points