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Working Ethically (PADM90009)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
September
Overview
Availability | September |
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Fees | Look up fees |
Working Ethically is one of the core subjects in the Melbourne Master of Public Administration. The Melbourne MPA is an interdisciplinary, globally-focused degree program for managers that work within or with government. This subject is one of three professionally-oriented subjects and it builds on the World of Public Administration and the core discipline subjects to develop the professional skills of participants with a particular focus on ethics.
The course provides students with an advanced understanding of ethics as they apply to the individual in their managerial role, but also in the design and implementation of public outcomes more broadly. This subject situates these challenges in their social, theoretical, historical and disciplinary contexts to provide participants with a strong foundation for their application in practice. The subject draws in particular on key ideas from philosophy to guide participants in working ethically as individual managers and leaders, but also more broadly facing the ethical dilemmas that managers confront in complex policy and governing environments. It will place a particular emphasis on the complex relationship between scientific advancement and the challenges this poses to policy makers and public managers.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject should:
- Understand key ethical challenges facing managers in practice and develop an appreciation of how to address them;
- Acquire knowledge of the social, theoretical, historical and disciplinary factors that underpin ethics in practice;
- Learn to recognise the distinction between ethically designed institutions and the ethics of action made within given institutional realities; and
- Appreciate how to make decisions and provide advice in complex policy and governing environments.
Generic skills
On successful completion of this subject students should have:
- A sound understanding of moral theory and applied ethics and their implications for public management processes and decisions;
- A high-level ability to combine moral and political theory and professional practice in a meaningful way in order to generate responses to both ethical and managerial challenges;
- The skills and capabilities to reflect upon professional practice in order to meet ethical challenges at the individual and institutional level; and
- The ability to draw upon an extensive repertoire of advanced professional skills and to apply these skills with an awareness of the ethical implications of strategies and decisions.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
PADM90007 | The World of Public Administration |
July (On Campus - Parkville)
February (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Previous study in public policy, political science, management, law, business, economics, international relations, non-profit management or cognate area.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Additional details
- Assessment Task 1: Practice application paper of 1000 words where students write up a practical issue related to key themes in the subject (20%) due in the first week of the teaching period;
- Assessment Task 2: Syndicate project (group presentation and group paper 30%):
- Group presentation (15%) scheduled during face-to-face classes
- Group paper of 1500 words (15%) exploring key aspects of the group presentation due two weeks after the teaching period
- Assessment Task 3: Professional reflection paper of 2500 words where students apply key concepts from the course to the practical issue from assessment task 1 (50%) due four weeks after the teaching period
- Hurdle requirement: Students are required to attend a minimum of 100% of classes in order to pass this subject, and regular class participation is expected
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Dates & times
- September
Principal coordinator Daniel Halliday Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24 hours total: this subject is comprised of seminars and workshops delivered as an intensive over 3 days Total time commitment 170 hours Pre teaching start date 28 August 2017 Teaching period 4 September 2017 to 17 September 2017 Last self-enrol date 29 August 2017 Census date 8 September 2017 Last date to withdraw without fail 6 October 2017 Assessment period ends 20 October 2017 September contact information
Time commitment details
Total 170 hours
Additional delivery details
Delivery mode:
Intensive, and with a pre-teaching period.
Pre-teaching Period Requirements:
Students will be required to access the LMS and the readings provided in order to prepare for the first assessment task. Note: this is due in the first week of the teaching period, which is prior to face-to-face teaching. Students will be able to contact the subject coordinator for support during the pre-teaching period.
Please note that to enrol in this subject:
- Students must be admitted to the Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Administration (Enhanced), Graduate Certificate in Public Administration (Advanced) or Specialist Certificate in Public Administration
- Students must have successfully completed PADM90007 The World of Public Administration
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Participants are required to read the following prior to commencement of the subject: Jonathan Wolff (2011) Ethics and Public Policy: A Philosophical Inquiry, Routledge, New York.
All other readings will be provided via the LMS.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
Subject coordinator approval required
Last updated: 3 November 2022