Course syllabus

POLITICS 704: Political Management in Government

SEMESTER 2, 2020 15 points Timetable

Course Convenor and Teacher: Jennifer Lees-Marshment - j.lees-marshment@auckland.ac.nz HSB Room 504.

Course 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 (Strategy Director, Branding Director, Delivery Manager, Director of Communications or 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.

Course delivery format: 

2 hour seminar Tuesdays 3-5pm - back on campus from 13th October 201n-211

Useful links

Syllabus - Timetable - Week 1 Slides - Week 2 slides/Report 1 - Week 5 slides Trudeau/Report 2 - Week 9 Ardern/Report 3 slides (updated) 

Week 10 Rep 3 reminders - Week 10 Vote Compass data

Background reading - Branding director reading - Strategy Director reading - Crisis Manager reading - Delivery Manager reading - Director of Communications reading  - Tallis list

Presentation teams and timings

Suggested sources and reading on Trudeau - Ardern

Report 2 Template - Report 3 Template Ardern- Report 1 Feedback Form, Report 2 Feedback Form, Report 3 Feedback Form

Class rep

Course outcomes:

Employability skills

The course 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 - Policy skills  - Advisory skills - Analytical skills - Communication skills - Interpersonal skills  - Writing skills - Professional workplace attributes . See syllabus for further detail.

Assessment:

Report 1: Best Practice in Political Management - deadline Friday 21^st August 4pm 30%

Report 2: Advice for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  - deadline Friday 2 October 4pm - 30%

Report 3: Advice for a Political leader 2 (t.b.c.) - deadline Friday 30 October 4pm - 30%

Participation: 10% for contributing to class discussions and team presentations  

Workload         

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly.

Deadlines for submission of coursework and late submission policy

You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – see the course syllabus or late submission policy for full details.

Please note that any instructions in the syllabus such as on word count override the Politics policy/coursework guide or any other guides.