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Freie Universität Bozen

Non-Profit-Organisationen und Genossenschaften

Semester 2 · 27614 · Master in Politik öffentlicher Institutionen und innovative Governance · 6KP · EN


The course Non-profits and Cooperatives examines the organizational and managerial foundations of non-profit and cooperative enterprises. It focuses on their roles in society and the economy, with particular attention to governance, leadership, and management challenges within various policy contexts and sectors. Through the use of case studies, students critically evaluate the opportunities and difficulties faced by these organizations. Additionally, the course strengthens essential analytical, communication, and leadership skills.

Lehrende: Richard Lang

Vorlesungsstunden: 36
Laboratoriumsstunden:
Anwesenheitpflicht: Attendance is recommended, but not mandatory.

Themen der Lehrveranstaltung
1. Definitions and characteristics of non-profits and cooperatives and their roles in economy and society; 2. Theoretical foundations of the non-profit and cooperative sector; 3. Governance and leadership principles and practices of non-profits and cooperatives in a multi-level policy environment; 4. Non-profit and cooperative management challenges and opportunities in selected policy fields and places.

Unterrichtsform
Frontal lectures with classroom discussions, student group projects and presentations.

Bildungsziele
Knowledge and understanding The student will acquire knowledge of organisational models, business factors related to the organisation of public enterprises, operating in different sectors (international organisations, central government, local authorities, health, public enterprises) and the consequences for the community. The student will also acquire knowledge necessary for developing, managing and evaluating the impact of public projects, and knowledge useful for analysing organisational innovation processes and interpreting current tools and trends relating to personnel management in public companies. The student will acquire the knowledge of economic theory necessary to understand and analyse economic and business phenomena in the public sector in order to support decision-making processes. Knowledge of public policy and the tools necessary for the design of sustainable policies will be consolidated. Knowledge related to the labour market, education and health will also be deepened, instrumental to the development of public policy analysis and evaluation skills. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding The student will acquire the ability to: - interpret market trends through the application of appropriate economic models and implement economic analysis tools, also using data; - apply economic models to describe the behaviour of economic agents and develop sustainable economic policies in various application domains of interest to companies and public bodies. Autonomy of judgement The student will acquire the ability to: - apply acquired knowledge to interpret economic and business phenomena in order to make directional and operational decisions in the context of public administration; - select data and use appropriate information to describe a problem concerning the design, implementation and evaluation of public sector projects and policies, aiming at innovation and improvement of processes, products and results; - relate models and empirical evidence in the study of public policy phenomena; - reflect, also from the perspective of public ethics and sustainability with regard to future generations, on the responsibilities associated with the use of public resources. Communication skills The student will acquire the ability to communicate effectively in oral and written form the specialised content of the individual disciplines, using different registers according to recipients and communicative and didactic purposes, and to evaluate the formative effects of his/her communication. Learning skills The student will acquire the ability to: - use information technology autonomously to carry out bibliographical research and investigations and for one's own training and continuing education; - identify thematic links and establish relationships between different cases and contexts of analysis; - frame a new problem systematically and generate appropriate taxonomies; - develop general models from the phenomena studied.

Bildungsziele und erwartete Lernergebnisse (zus. Informationen)
Knowledge and understanding Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of key principles related to management and governance of non-profit and cooperative organizations. They will also demonstrate understanding of the importance and contribution of these types of organizations for sustainable socio-economic development. Applying knowledge and understanding Upon completion of the course, students will have the ability to navigate different stakeholder relationships and promote values linked to participation, inclusivity, equality and equity within non-profit and cooperative organizational contexts. Making judgments Students will be able to critically judge the governance and management of organizations in non-profit and cooperative sectors and also examine alternative management and governance approaches within given multi-level policy environments. Communication skills Students will be able to clearly communicate scientific knowledge and derived recommendations related to the non-profit and cooperative governance as well as critical management aspects in non-profit and cooperative sectors to different types of audiences, such as professional colleagues or policy makers. Learning skills Students will have learning skills to independently plan and conduct governance and management analyses on the non-profit and cooperative sector and autonomously establish links between relevant topics in this knowledge area.

Art der Prüfung
For attending students: 1. Individual written exam (60%): consists of open and closed questions based on the lectures and related literature. 2. Group case analysis and presentation (40%): case studies with questions will be assigned to small groups of students. Groups will present their case analysis to the class at designated times during the course lectures and will have to deliver their presentation slides beforehand. For Non-attending Students: They must contact the lecturer within the first four weeks of the course. Non-attending students are graded based on the individual written exam (70%) and an individual case analysis (30%) which has to be submitted as a written report.

Bewertungskriterien
Individual written exam: clarity of answers, ability to evaluate and summarize, and establish relationships between topics. Group case presentation: quality and clarity of problem identification and analysis, ability to apply theoretical concepts during the analysis and to summarize in own words, participation in teamwork. Individual case report: quality and clarity of problem identification and analysis, ability to apply theoretical concepts during the analysis and to summarize in own words.

Pflichtliteratur

Selected chapters in:

Gemma Donnelly-Cox, G. et al. (eds) (2021) Research Handbook on Nonprofit Governance, Edward Elgar.

Novkovic, S. et al. (eds) (2023) Humanistic Governance in Democratic Organizations. Palgrave Macmillan. 

Lecture slides will be made available through the Teams channel of the course.



Weiterführende Literatur

Further supplementary reading material will be published in the Teams channel of the course.




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Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung
Diese Lehrtätigkeit trägt zur Erreichung der folgenden Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung bei.

8 10 11 17

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