MPA First Semester Syllabus

MPA First Semester Syllabus

MPA 501: Fundamentals of Public Administration

The purpose of this course is to provide a basic foundational knowledge of public administration and management. The course intends aiming to familiarize the students with the concepts, theories and emerging trends of public administration and management. It also aims at encouraging the students to apply the methods used by the administrator/managers in the changed context.

Course Contents

Unit 1: Introduction to Public Administration (LH 16)

• Evolution, concept and scope of public administration
• Politics and administration: Politics – administration dichotomy, representative government and bureaucracy, bureaucratizing democracy
• Public administration as a multi-disciplinary approaches: political, managerial and legal approaches to public administration
• Principles of public administration
• New public administration
• New public management (NPM)
• Governance
• Postmodern in public administration

Unit 2: Management and Organization Theory (LH 10)

• The origins of public management
• Organization Theory: Classical approaches (scientific management, organization and management; and bureaucratic theory), neo-classical approach (human relations and behavioral approach, structural organization theory) and system theory
• Techniques in public administration (decision making cycle and process, coordination in organization)

Unit 3: Intergovernmental Relations (LH 8)

• The evolution of federalism
• The structure of intergovernmental relations and management
• Dynamism federalism

Unit 4: Machinery of Government (LH 6)

• Concept of machinery of government
• Federal, sub-national (state) and local government machinery

Unit 5: Administration in Comparative Perspective (LH 8)

• Political culture and public administration
• Personnel practice in comparative perspective
• Budget practice in comparative perspective
• Policy making in comparative perspective

MPA 502: Development Management-I

The objective of this course is to provide a broad knowledge of theories and dimensions of development management and make students able to analyze the issues related to development management.

Course Contents

Unit 1: Introduction to Development Management (LH 12)

• Development: concept, nature, philosophy and dimensions of development
• Growth with redistributive justice
• Emergence and overview of development administration
• Concept of development management

Unit 2: Comparative Public Administration (LH 14)

• Genesis of comparative public administration (CPA)
• Models and approaches of CPA: bureaucratic model, ecological model, structural-functional model, agraria-industria and fused-prismatic-diffracted model; prismatic sala model
• Concept of endogenous and exogenous development

Unit 3: Institution Building (LH 6)

• Concept of organization and institution
• Institution building and its model

Unit 4: Capabilities of a State and Bottom up Approaches to Development (LH 8)

• Concept of nation building and state building
• Decentralization
• People’s participation
• Public private partnership (PPP)

Unit 5: Social Change and Planning for Development (LH 8)

• Social change: concept, factors and process
• Resource bases and resource mobilization
• Concept of development planning (Macro, meso & micro-planning)
• Monitoring and evaluation of development plan in Nepal

MPA 503: Public Sector Human Resource Management

This course provides the fundamental concepts, terminologies and technical basics involved in public sector human resource management so that students can deal effectively with human issues that arise in the workplace.

Course Contents

Unit 1: Basics of Public Sector Human Resource Management (HRM) (LH 10)

• Concept, principles, and functions of HRM
• Evolution of HRM in the public sector
• Strategic human resource management (SHRM)

Unit 2: Acquisition of Public Sector Human Resources (LH 10)

• Human resource planning
• Role and functions of recruitment agencies: recruitment, selection and placement; orientation and socialization

Unit 3: Development of Human Resources (LH 10)

• Employee training
• Management development
• Career development
• Human resources development practices

Unit 4: Retention Policy (LH 10)

• Compensation and benefits including safety and health
• Motivation, performance evaluation/appraisal
• Code of ethics and discipline
• Grievance handling, collective bargaining, retirement and dismissal

Unit 5: Emerging Trends and Challenges in Public Sector HRM (LH 8)

• Managing diverse workforce
• Emerging issues and challenges in working with human resources (quality of HRM and quality of HRM policies and practices)

MPA 504: Public Finance

The objective of this course is to provide students with the basic knowledge of public sector economics and fiscal administration so as to make them competent and capable in understanding its evolution, principles and theories together with the significance of the public financial operation in the modern era.

Course Contents

Unit 1: Introduction to Public Finance (10 LH)

• Concept, nature, scope and significance of public finance
• Functions of public finance: allocation, distribution and stabilization
• Fiscal policy: concept, objectives and scope

Unit 2: Public Revenue       (10 LH)

• Concept of public revenue, cannons of taxation, principles of taxation: benefit principle and ability to pay principle
• Characteristics of effective tax system, revenue administration

Unit 3: Public Expenditure (10 LH)

• Concept, structure and principles of public expenditure, pattern of public expenditure, public expenditure financial accountability (PEFA)

Unit 4: Public Debt (10 LH)

• Concept and need of public debt
• Sources and structure of public debt
• Burden of public debt
• Principles of debt management

Unit 5: Budgeting (LH 8)

• Concept of government budgeting
• Theories of budgeting: classical and modern concepts of budgeting
• Types of budgeting
• Process of government budgeting in Nepal and medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF)

MPA 505: Local Self-governance

The aim of this course is to familiarize the students with the theories and practices of local government system and its contemporary issues in governance dynamism so that the students will be able to bear responsibilities as activists, managers and promoters of local government system in general and particularly in Nepal.

Course Contents

Unit 1: Concept of Local Government and Local Governance (LH 12)

• Evolution of local government and its changing perspectives
• Features of local governments, federalism and local governments
• Classification of local governments: basis of classification of local governments, changing roles and responsibilities of local governments
• Need and importance of local governments, central- local relationship

Unit 2: Local Planning and Resource Mapping (LH 10)

• Local planning process, resource planning, participatory planning with reference to local government
• Private and NGOs participation, rural-urban partnership in planning and development, planning and community empowerment
• Constraints on public private partnership (PPP) in local development in Nepal

Unit 3: Human Resource Management (HRM) System in Local Governments (LH 8)

• Concept and process of HRM at local government level
• Existing practices of HRM system in local governments
• Issues, challenges and future perspectives in HRM system at local government level in Nepal

Unit 4: Financial System in Local Governments and Partnership (LH 10)

• Concept of local finance and bases of finance in local governments
• Sources of local finance
• Concept of fiscal federalism
• Roles and responsibilities of revenue sharing committee

Unit 5: Authority of Local Government in Nepal (LH 8)

• Constitutional rights of local governments in Nepal
• Judicial authority of local governments
• Local Mediation Committee: their roles and responsibilities in Nepal
• Contemporary issues in local governments