51386 PUBLIC SECTOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Year	No.	Offer	Mode	Description			Cred. Pts
97	51386 	S2  	D 	PUBLIC SECTOR RESOURCE MGT	1.00

Contents

• Staffing
• Synopsis
• Objectives
• Topics
• Texts
• Recommended References
• Student Workload
• Assessment Details
• Other Requirements

STAFFING:

SYNOPSIS:

Public  sector  managers are expected to manage resources  effectively
and  efficiently and to use financial and budgeting processes  as  key
techniques in management tasks of setting priorities, and implementing
and  evaluating  programs. This unit seeks to  give  students  a  full
understanding  and  appreciation of public sector resource  management
issues  with particular focus on financial and budgeting processes  at
Commonwealth,  State  and  local government  levels.  The  distinctive
nature of the public sector in resource management is emphasized.

OBJECTIVES:

On completion of this unit student should be able to:

1. demonstrate a clear appreciation of the nature and extent of
   Australian public sector finances across all levels of
   government;
   
2. know and understand the major institutions and processes
   involved in the management of public finances and the
   principles upon which these are based;
   
3. use and analyse government budget papers;
   
4. show an awareness of the interrelationship between budgeting
   and financial processes and management responsibilities of
   priority setting, goal establishment and programme and policy
   implementation and evaluation;
   
5. understand the special nature of the public sector environment
   in managing resources effectively and efficiently.
   

TOPICS:

 Description                                                    Weighting(%)

The nature and scope of public sector resource management             5.00

Extent  and  size  of  public sector resources  (size  of             5.00
government, growth)

Structure  and  nature  of public  sector  resources  and             10.00
finances

Resource    allocation    -   The    Federal    dimension             15.00
(Intergovernmental Financial Relations)

Allocating   resources   -  formulation   processes   and             15.00
institutions

Authorisation of public sector resource allocation                    15.00

Execution of resource allocation decision                             15.00
- Nature of Public Sector Management
- Methods and Processes

Evaluation, Audit and Review                                          15.00

Managing Cutbacks                                                     20.00

TEXT and MATERIALS to be PURCHASED:

CBPA, Managing Cutbacks in Government, eds S Prasser, M Neylan, J
Nethercote, No 73, Sept. 1993.

RECOMMENDED REFERENCE MATERIALS:

Australian Financial Review - Budget Edition.

The Australian - Budget Edition (These two references listed above
will be available at the bookshop).

Berringer I, et al, 1986, Corporate Management: The Australian Public
Sector, Hale and Iremonger, Sydney.

Chapman L, 1979, Your Disobedient Servant, Penguin, Harmondsworth.

CBPA, Evaluation in the Commonwealth Government, No 63, Dec. 1990.

EDAC, 1990, Trends in State Finance and Fiscal Policites, Discussion
Paper 90/09, AGPS, Canberra.

Davis, G., et al, 1989, Corporate Management in Australian
Government, Macmillan, Melbourne.

Davis, G., Weller, P. & Lewis, C. (editors), Corporate Management in
Australian Government: Reconciling Accountability and Efficiency,
Centre for Australian Public Sector Management, Brisbane, 1989.

Galligan, B., Nethercote, J.R. & Walsh, C. (editors), Decision Making
in Australian Government: The Cabinet and Budget Processes, Centre
for Research on Federal.

Hardman D J, 1984, Government Budgeting and Accounting, Prentice
Hall, Sydney.

Levy V M, 1984, Public Financial Administration, Law Book Company,
Sydney.

Knight K & Wiltshire K, 1976, Formulating Government Budgets,
University of Queensland, St Lucia.

Linikierman A, 1988, Public Expenditure: Who Really Controls and
How?, Penguin, Harmondsworth.

Whitwell G, 1986, The Treasury Line, Allen and Unwin, Sydney.

Wildavsky A, 1984, The Politics of the Budgetary Process, Little
Brown, Boston.

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS:

	ACTIVITY				HOURS
Directed Study                                	56
Private Study                                 	99
Assessments                                   	10

ASSESSMENT DETAILS:

No  *F/S Marks     Due        Description                              Wtg(%)    LBL
1   S    25.00     15/08/97  ASSIGNMENT 1A   )CHOOSE ONE               25.00     Y
2   S    25.00     29/08/97  ASSIGNMENT 1B   )FROM #1 - #3             25.00     Y
3   S    25.00     12/09/97  ASSIGNMENT 1C   )                         25.00     Y
4   S    25.00     17/10/97  ASSIGNMENT 2A     )CHOOSE ONE             25.00     Y
5   S    25.00     24/10/97  ASSIGNMENT 2B     )FROM #4 - #7           25.00     Y
6   S    25.00     31/10/97  ASSIGNMENT 2C                             25.00     Y
7   S    25.00     07/11/97  ASSIGNMENT 2D                             25.00     Y
8   S    100.00    END S2    3 HOUR EXAMINATION                        50.00     N

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

1    To  obtain a pass in a unit, students must perform satisfactorily
     in overall assignment work and the examination.
2    The due date of an assignment is the date by which a student must
     despatch  the assignment to the University, and is normally  that
     defined  in the relevant unit specification. The onus is  on  the
     student to provide, if requested, proof of date of despatch.
3    Students  should organise their affairs to ensure that they  meet
     due  dates  for all assignments. Extensions will be granted  only
     under exceptional extenuating circumstances, normally involving a
     significant medical condition.
4    Students  may  apply  for  an  assignment  extension  either   by
     application with the Lecturer before the due date or by including
     application  with the submitted assignment after  the  due  date.
     Such  applications  should be in writing and  include  supporting
     documentary evidence. The authority for granting extensions rests
     with the relevant Unit Leader.
5    All  assignments  despatched after due dates without  appropriate
     extension  approvals or after approved extension  dates  will  be
     penalised  up to a maximum of 20% of the assigned mark  per  work
     day.
6    Students  must  retain a copy of all assignments  which  must  be
     provided if/when required by the Unit Leader.
7    Unit  weightings of topics should not be interpreted as  applying
     to  the  number  of  marks allocated to questions  testing  those
     topics in an examination paper.
8    Students must perform at a commensurate grade level in all pieces
     of assessment to achieve a particular grade.