NGO Education Survey

Department: Masters of Public Administration

Courses:

CORE-GP.1011, Statistical Methods

This course introduces students to basic statistical methods and their application to management, policy, and financial decision-making. The course covers the essential elements of descriptive statistics, univariate and bivariate statistical inference, and introduces multivariate analysis. In addition to covering statistical theory the course emphasizes applied statistics and data analysis, using the software package, Stata. The course has several "audiences" and goals. For all Wagner students, the course develops basic skills and encourages a critical approach to reviewing statistical findings and using statistical reasoning in decision making. For those planning to continue studying statistics (often those in policy and finance concentrations) this course additionally provides the foundation for that further work.

CORE-GP.1018, Microeconomics

The primary purpose of the microeconomics core course is to enable you to use microeconomic thinking, concepts and tools in your professional public service work. Accomplishing this also requires refreshing and strengthening your quantitative skills. The course begins with the basics of supply and demand and market operations, and uses this as the context for considering consumer and organizational decisions within a given market structure. The course builds to applying economic analysis to a variety of public issues such as the effects of taxation, the market structure of health care, the impacts of the minimum wage, the effects of international trade and various approaches to environmental externalities. By the end of the course you should be able to articulate the economic context and analysis of a public problem, use economic concepts in managerial and policy decisions, and progress to second level courses confident of your understanding of microeconomics and its tools.

CORE-GP.1020 Management and Leadership

Management and Leadership is designed to empower you with the skills you will need to make meaningful change in the world—whether you care about bike lanes, criminal justice, prenatal care, community development, urban planning, social investment, or something else. Whatever your passion, you can have an impact by leading and managing. In this course, you will enhance the technical, interpersonal, conceptual, and political skills needed to run effective and efficient organizations embedded in diverse communities, policy arenas, sectors, and industries. In class, we will engage in a collective analysis of specific problems that leaders and managers face—first, diagnosing them and then, identifying solutions—to explore how organizations can meet and exceed their performance objectives. As part of that process, you will encounter a variety of practical and essential topics and tools, including mission, strategy, goals, structure, teams, diversity and inclusion, motivation, and negotiation.

CORE-GP.1020, Management and Leadership

Management and Leadership is designed to empower you with the skills you will need to make meaningful change in the world—whether you care about bike lanes, criminal justice, prenatal care, community development, urban planning, social investment, or something else. Whatever your passion, you can have an impact by leading and managing. In this course, you will enhance the technical, interpersonal, conceptual, and political skills needed to run effective and efficient organizations embedded in diverse communities, policy arenas, sectors, and industries. In class, we will engage in a collective analysis of specific problems that leaders and managers face—first, diagnosing them and then, identifying solutions—to explore how organizations can meet and exceed their performance objectives. As part of that process, you will encounter a variety of practical and essential topics and tools, including mission, strategy, goals, structure, teams, diversity and inclusion, motivation, and negotiation.

CORE-GP.1021, Financial Management

In this core course in financial management, students will learn the fundamentals of budgeting and accounting for public, health, and nonprofit organizations. Through readings, lectures, real-world case studies, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how to use financial information in organizational planning, implementation, control, reporting, and analysis. In addition, students will have the chance to develop their spreadsheet skills by using Excel to perform financial calculations and create financial documents. The first half of the course focuses on managerial accounting, a set of tools used by managers for planning, implementation, and control. Topics in this portion of the course include operating budgets, cash budgets, break-even analysis, indirect cost allocation, variance analysis, the time value of money, capital budgeting, and long-term financing. The second half of the course focuses on financial accounting, a set of tools used by managers and outside observers for reporting on and analyzing an organization’s financial health. Topics in this portion of the course include the preparation and analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, activity statement, and cash flow statement), ethics in financial management, and government accounting and financial condition analysis.

CORE-GP.1022, Introduction to Public Policy

Introduction to Public Policy covers a wide range of topics, from the norms and values informing democratic policymaking to the basics of cost-benefit and other tools of policy analysis. Though emphases will differ based on instructor strengths, all sections will address the institutional arrangements for making public policy decisions, the role of various actors-including nonprofit and private-sector professionals-in shaping policy outcomes, and the fundamentals (and limits) of analytic approaches to public policy. Note: Students who have not taken an American Government course, or have not taken the course in many years, are strongly encouraged to brush up on knowledge of the basic design and functions of the governmental units in the United States.

PADM-GP.2110 Strategic Management and Leadership

This course focuses on the three sets of key questions: (1) mission and vision ("What areas or activities should we be working in?"); (2) strategy and operations ("How can we perform effectively in this area?"); and (3) leadership (“What leadership skills are needed to develop and implement strategies effectively?”). We will cover both strategy formulation ("What should our strategy be?") and strategy implementation ("What do we need to do to make this strategy work?"). All organizations – government agencies as well as nonprofit or private companies with a public purpose – face substantial challenges that demand strategic responses, often in uncertain economic, social, or political contexts. To deal effectively with these challenges, managers need knowledge and skills in strategic management and leadership: setting and aligning goals with the organization’s mission; handling complex trade-offs between demand for services and resource constraints; defining measures of success; motivating staff and other stakeholders; developing relationships with relevant groups; dealing with crises and environments in transition; and leading organizational change. In short, the course emphasizes the multiple, related requirements of the leader/manager's job: analysis, creativity, and action. PREREQUISITES: CORE-GP.1020

PADM-GP.2110, Strategic Management and Leadership

This course focuses on the three sets of key questions: (1) mission and vision ("What areas or activities should we be working in?"); (2) strategy and operations ("How can we perform effectively in this area?"); and (3) leadership (“What leadership skills are needed to develop and implement strategies effectively?”). We will cover both strategy formulation ("What should our strategy be?") and strategy implementation ("What do we need to do to make this strategy work?"). All organizations – government agencies as well as nonprofit or private companies with a public purpose – face substantial challenges that demand strategic responses, often in uncertain economic, social, or political contexts. To deal effectively with these challenges, managers need knowledge and skills in strategic management and leadership: setting and aligning goals with the organization’s mission; handling complex trade-offs between demand for services and resource constraints; defining measures of success; motivating staff and other stakeholders; developing relationships with relevant groups; dealing with crises and environments in transition; and leading organizational change. In short, the course emphasizes the multiple, related requirements of the leader/manager's job: analysis, creativity, and action. Prerequisites CORE-GP.1020

PADM-GP.2119 Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations

Developing and executing an organization’s marketing strategy can be a complicated process, but is integral to raising money, increasing visibility, recruiting brand ambassadors/influencers/advocates/supporters – and building momentum to achieve its mission. It is also affected by issues of the day and time, whether the COVID virus, racial and social injustice, the political climate and world events. Nonprofits also compete with businesses and social entrepreneurs for attention, likes, hits, donations, and votes. This is particularly evident given the widespread use of digital tools and social media, which are critical elements of all organizations’ successes. In order to be facile in this economy and time, all internal levels and functions within a nonprofit must be extremely well focused, must be flexible to alter their course on a dime and aware of the importance of working closely together to have an impact. In addition, many small organizations are also contending with limited staff and financial resources. In this course, students will learn elements of a broad-based assessment approach to marketing and branding including assessing organizational strategies, branding, framing, cause-related marketing, and examining marketing campaigns with an equity-based lens. Students will then have opportunities to develop a marketing SWOT, SMART strategy, and creative stories for digital media and other uses. Special guests and drop-in experts will join the Professor to bring their expertise as students tap into knowledge about organizations with which they are familiar and expand their horizons by learning about others. The types of mission-driven organizations and entities explored may be in such areas as government; the visual and performing arts; health and human services; social, economic and racial justice; education; and the environment. All special guest visits are subject to final availability. PREREQUISITES: CORE-GP.1020

PADM-GP.2135, Human Resources: Leading Talent Development

This course is designed for public and nonprofit leaders and managers rather than human resource professionals, and provides a broad overview of human resources and talent leadership. Regardless of the role you’ll play in the public/nonprofit sector, your ability to lead people will be a critical component of your and your organization’s success. Topics will include basic human resources functions such as job design and recruitment; equity, diversity and inclusion; leading organizational change; professional development and employee engagement; providing feedback and managing performance. We will also explore current issues within human resources management, and will use current headlines and contemporary issues to inform class discussions. The course will include practical application through case discussions and reflection on students’ prior management experience. While it will focus on values-based organizations, best practices from public, nonprofit and for-profit sectors will be considered and analyzed. Prerequisites CORE-GP.1020

PADM-GP.2170, Performance Measurement and Management

All public and nonprofit organizations must assemble and report information on their performance. The need for performance measures goes beyond legal and regulatory requirements. To provide services effectively and efficiently, managers need information to make decisions. This course focuses on what performance measures are needed, how they should be created and what forms of communication are most effective. Prerequisites CORE-GP.1020

PADM-GP.4101 Conflict Management and Negotiation

The public/nonprofit administrator, whether primarily concerned with management, policy or finance, is called upon to manage or becomes involved in a wide variety of conflicts. Conflict is ubiquitous - within and between organizations and agencies, between levels of government, between interest groups and government, between interest groups, between citizens and agencies, etc. The increasing complexity and interrelatedness of the issues that the public sector is called upon to address, and the increasing sophistication and engagement of groups representing both public and private interests, compounds the challenge. In this environment, it is essential for public and nonprofit administrators to know how to manage conflict effectively. Effective conflict management involves analyzing a conflict, understanding the dynamics between the parties, and determining the appropriate method of conflict resolution. In the absence of confidence and skill in conflict management, most public officials resort, often counterproductively, to the use of power, manipulation, and control. Possessing confidence and skill, one can exercise other options. Through readings, discussions, and simulations you will develop an understanding of conflict dynamics and the art and science of negotiation and will be introduced to the role that can be played by conflict resolution techniques such as mediation. The course will emphasize the theoretical as well as the practical, the reflective as well as the applied.