PS 611Government and the Public Service: Structure and Function0.50 units
An understanding of the structure and function of the Westminster system of government, upon which Canada's is based, is fundamental for public servants and will enable them to work effectively within the system. Further, the course will explore how the municipal and provincial levels fit into this matrix. Topics to be examined will include such issues as the role of the public service and its relation to the legislature and the judiciary. It will also investigate how coordination and interaction takes place between these levels of government. Finally, the bilingual and bicultural nature of Canada will be addressed in a historical context, which will held to situate Canada in current context.
PS 612Government Finance I: Accounting and Accountability0.50 units
This course will provide an historical overview of government finance and will examine some of the key issues surrounding government financial accountability. The government work environment presents unique challenges in the realm of financial planning, and the course will explore the priority-setting, resource planning, and budget allocation processes in government, giving special attention to the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of key stakeholders.
The course will facilitate a unique, experiential learning opportunity to develop in students a comprehensive appreciation of Aboriginal affairs grounded in a policy planning and decision-making framework. Participants will explore the Aboriginal perspective and leadership development principles, their relationship to cultural values, and their applicability to decision making, consultations, and personal and community development practices. An understanding of the federal and provincial/territorial governments' perspectives on Aboriginal issues and the
historical significance and impact of their policies is essential for students to gain a better comprehension of Aboriginal issues.
PS 614Communicating with Diverse Audiences0.50 units
Using a combination of rhetorical, linguistic and visual analysis tools, this course will offer participants an opportunity to identify and Interrogate the stylistic and visual strategies characteristic of the documents in their workplaces. Much of the course will focus on identifying the needs of different audiences and aligning stylistic and visual choices to those audiences. In the process of Investigating documentation practices, course participants will be offered opportunities to develop their own informal and formal communication skills.
PS 615Effective problem Solving and Decision Making0.50 units
This course will explain how to improve the decision-making process using a systematic, problem-solving, approach. It will also provide instruction on risk assessment and risk management. Using a case study approach, students will work though a series of realistic decision-making scenarios drawn from government and in so doing will become better equipped to analyze situations and problems, identify causes, assess options, and establish realistic solutions in their work as public servants.
Students will acquire the necessary linguistic skills in oral expression and comprehension through the study of specialized vocabulary and situational learning scenarios and role play exercises, among other techniques.
Using the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service as a guidebook, this course will first provide a broad overview of issues related to values and ethics, followed by a more specific examination of how values and ethics inform government policy planning, decision making, and service delivery. Case studies drawn from government will be examined and discussed, and issues such as workplace diversity, confidentiality, and conflict of interest will be addressed.
This course will provide students with a broad overview of the social, legal, ethical, financial, and cultural issues associated with public policy development, as well as with a more specific framework for developing internal policies, particularly regarding administration. Students will learn about the key factors that influence internal policy writing and will be given the opportunity to put their newly acquired knowledge into practice.
PS 619Government Finance II: Practices and Procedures0.50 units
Complementing the broad overview of government accounting and accountability issues provided in PS 612, this course will focus on developing skills and hands-on familiarity with a range go government financial practices and procedures. Topics covered will include audit management (audit reports; audit planning in municipal, provincial, and federal settings; risk assessment and management, etc.), work planning and budgeting (performing planning, analysis and control tasks; coordinating the work plan and budget process; and drafting effective guidelines and directives, etc.), and Request for Proposal (RFP) management (developing requirements; evaluating proposals; writing contracts; etc.).
PS 620Effective Leadership and Management0.50 units
This course will offer public servants a comprehensive interactive program aimed at developing their skills as amangerial leaders. Case stueis drawn from government will be examined, and role-playing and problem-solving exercises will be used to cultivate leadership capacity. This leadership course will also invite participants to explore the roles of vlues and ethics in the life of a public servant, the need to build community and foster a culture of collaboration at work and with others, and the necessity of being an effective communicator and leader of people, whatever one's postiion.
This course will provide students with training in the key elements of effective project management, including team building, priority setting, scheduling, resource management, communication, and project implementation and completion. Examples of projects taken from government will be used both as case studies for analysis and for hands-on project management exercises aimed at honing skills, Because information management is a fundamental part of most government projects, a special unit of the course will explore current tools, methodologies, and guidelines surrounding the access, evaluation, and use of government information.
In this course, each student, or team, is required to research and prepare a research project addressing a topic relevant to their chosen area of public service specialization (i.e. federal, provinical/territorial, municpal/regional, or Aboriginal). Student s and teams will begin to plan early for this project, and will develop their topic either from issues emerging during their work term experiences or from topics arising from case studies in their coursework. All students/teams will be supervised by a course instructor, who will coordinate regular group meetings among students with similar research topics.