COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN DEMOCRATIC STATES

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
PIR 362	B	6	4	0	0	4	6

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	Dr. Avdi Smajljaj asmajljaj@epoka.edu.al
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Avdi Smajljaj asmajljaj@epoka.edu.al , Wednesdays 11:00 to 12:00
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Bachelor in Political Science and International Relations (3 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:	11:45 to 15:30
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	Marko Meraj Wednesdays 09:00 to 10:00
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:	75%
Course Description:	This graduate level course will cover the essentials of contemporary public administration in democratic states. The course covers a wide variety of topics, from the way in which public administration is organised, to the strategies of increasing its efficiency and effectiveness. The course starts with basic knowledge on how to understand and study public administration, to recap what students’ have learned before on the topic. The course moves to public policy, unpacking the policymaking process and exploring the power relations that underpin government’s preferences and explain its decision-making process. It also covers issues related to organisational culture, values and social norms that guide day-to-day decisions. This course ends by exploring the importance of performance evaluation and the ways in which public service can be improved to promote accountability and strengthen democracy.
Course Objectives:	This course aims to enable students to feel confident in scrutinising public policies and evaluate the work done by public administration in democratic countries. By the end of this course, students students will have a better grasp of the policymaking process, and a deeper understanding of the factors that influence the decision-making of the public administration. They will have gained a broader understanding of the essentials of public administration and be able to distinguish key differences between the role played by civil servants vis-a-vis elected officials in a democratic government.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Organization theory
2	Ethical principles in administration
3	Accountability
4	Public management

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction to the course
2	Defining Public Administration: political, legal, managerial and occupational. The evolution of public administration.
3	The machinery of government on democratic countries.
4	Public administration and organization theory. Organizational behavior.
5	Intergovernmental relations.
6	Honours, Ethics and Accountability.
7	Public management and information technology.
8	Personnel management and labor relations
9	Mid-term Exam
10	Leadership.
11	Public budgeting and public financial management.
12	Performance and evaluation of public administration and evaluation mechanisms.
13	Presentations.
14	Course revision

Prerequisite(s):	There is no prerequisite knowledge required
Textbook(s):	Shafritz, J., Russell, E. W., Borick, C., & Hyde, A. (2017). Introducing public administration. 9th Ed. London: Routledge. Guy, M. E., & Ely, T. L. (2018). Essentials of Public Service: An Introduction to Contemporary Public Administration. Irvine, CA: Melvin & Leigh Publishers. ISBN: 978-0-99923590-4
Additional Literature:	Heath, J. (2020). The machinery of government: public administration and the liberal state. Oxford University Press, USA. Cox III, R. W., Buck, S., & Morgan, B. (2019). Public administration in theory and practice. London: Routledge. Shafritz, J. M., & Hyde, A. C. (2017). Classics of Public Administration, 8th edition. New York: Cengage. ISBN: 9781305639034 Box, R. C. (2015). Democracy and public administration. Routledge. Peters, G., & Savoie, D. J. (2000). Governance in the twenty-first century: Revitalizing the public service. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP.
Laboratory Work:	no
Computer Usage:	yes
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Identify the main principles of public administration in democracies.
2	Approach public administration from the organization theory.
3	Employ the tools of human resources management.
4	Identify the ethical principles in public administration.
5	Conduct a performance evolution in public administration.

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Bachelor in Political Science and International Relations (3 years) Program
1	Having and using advanced knowledge and comprehension supported by textbooks including actual knowledge in political sciences and international relations literature, materials and the other scientific resources.	5
2	Analyzing data, ideas and concepts of current political issues and international relations, determining complex events and topics, making discussions and developing new suggestions in accordance with researches.	5
3	Having knowledge and thought about actual topics and problems together with their historical, social and cultural aspects.	5
4	Introducing those who are interested in politics and international events with the topics of Political Science and IR and teaching clearly the problems and the types of solutions.	4
5	Improving skills of working together with the main social science disciplines and other disciplines which are related to Political Science and International Relations.	4
6	Improving critical thinking and skills in making research independently.	5
7	Developing solutions about the problems and conflicts which are common in national and international arena.	4
8	Improving skills for leadership and research and analyze capacity of those who is responsible with national and international ones.	4
9	Knowing any foreign language enough to communicate with colleagues and understand actual researches and articles.	3
10	Gaining IT skills to use computer and technology) in order to reach actual knowledge.	1
11	Gaining skills to follow societal, scientific and ethic values during collecting, interpreting, conducting of data related to social and political developments.	3
12	Having consciousness about human rights and environment.	2
13	Gaining the skills to follow actual developments and pursue long-life learning.	4

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)	1	25
Presentation	1	10
Project	1	20
Final Exam	1	35
Attendance		10
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	4	64
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	2	32
Mid-terms	1	15	15
Assignments	2	5	10
Final examination	1	20	20
Other	1	9	9
Total Work Load:			150
Total Work Load/25(h):			6
ECTS Credit of the Course:			6

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER