Political management

Last updated

Political management is a broad and ever evolving field encompassing a number of activities in professional politics. The field includes campaign management and consulting, advertisement creation/purchasing, grassroots politics, opposition research, issue advocacy, lobbying, fundraising, and polling. Some consider political management to be an applied form of political science.

Contents

History

Political managers first emerged during the early 20th century as American politics drifted away from party-centered politics towards an atmosphere focusing more on the individual candidates. Candidates began to hire their own staff to manage strategic decisions, fundraise, and handle the day-to-day campaign activities. Initially corporate public relations firms were hired to manage campaigns. However, eventually public relations firms specializing in political campaigns began to surface during the 1950s and 60s. One of the first professionals to be labeled a “political consultant” was Joseph Napolitan who went on to found the American Association for Political Consultants. [1] Eventually consultants specializing in specific aspects of the campaign began to grow in popularity, like, Tony Schwartz, the creator of the now infamous "Daisy" ad, and one of the first media consultants to specialize in political campaigns. After media, polling was one of the first services sought out by campaign managers, followed by direct mail. Today, political managers specialize in a wide range of consulting areas including strategy, polling, direct mail, fundraising, web design, lobbying, and get out the vote efforts. [2]

Educational opportunities

Several universities offer graduate degrees in political management and applied politics. Some well known degree programs include the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University, the Campaign Management Institute at American University, the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, and the Political Campaigning Program [3] at the University of Florida. [4] Currently, only The George Washington University offers an online Master's degree in Political Management. [5]

A Canadian Masters of Political Management (MPM) program was also recently started at Carleton University; [6] as of July 2012, it is the only degree of its type focusing on Canadian politics.

Notes

  1. "American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) –". www.theaapc.org. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  2. Johnson, Dennis. "American Political Consulting From Its Inception To Today." Routledge Handbook of Political Management. New York: Routledge, 2009. 3-22. Print.
  3. "Political Campaigning » University of Florida". www.polisci.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  4. "Associated Programs." The American Association of Political Consultants. Web. < "The American Association of Political Consultants: Resources:Associated Programs". Archived from the original on 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2010-12-10.>.
  5. "Political Management Masters Degree Online - GW". politicalmanagementmasters.online.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  6. "Political Management - Carleton University". www6.carleton.ca. Retrieved 2 August 2017.


Related Research Articles

A Master of Business Administration is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounting, applied statistics, human resources, business communication, business ethics, business law, strategic management, business strategy, finance, managerial economics, management, entrepreneurship, marketing, supply-chain management, and operations management in a manner most relevant to management analysis and strategy. It originated in the United States in the early 20th century when the country industrialized and companies sought scientific management.

A consultant is a professional who provides advice or services in an area of specialization. Consulting services generally fall under the domain of professional services, as contingent work.

Engineering management is applied engineering. It is the application of engineering methods, tools, and techniques applied to business management systems. Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organizational, administrative, legal and planning abilities of management in order to oversee the operational performance of complex engineering-driven enterprises. Careers positions include engineering manager, project engineer, product engineer, service engineer, process engineer, equipment engineer, maintenance engineer, field engineer, technical sales engineer, quality and safety engineer. Universities offer bachelor degrees in engineering management. Programs cover courses such as engineering management, project management, operations management, logistics, supply chain management, engineering law, value engineering, quality control, quality assurance, six sigma, quality management, safety engineering, systems engineering, engineering leadership and ethics, accounting, applied engineering design, business statistics and calculus. A Master of Engineering Management (MEM) is sometimes compared to a Master of Business Administration (MBA) for professionals seeking a graduate degree as a qualifying credential for a career in engineering management.

Warren James Kinsella is a Canadian lawyer, author, musician, political consultant, and commentator. Kinsella has written commentary in most of Canada's major newspapers and several magazines, including The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Sun, Ottawa Citizen, the National Post,The Walrus, and Postmedia newspapers. He appeared regularly on the Sun News Network. Kinsella is the founder of the Daisy Consulting Group, a Toronto-based firm that engages in paid political campaign strategy work, lobbying and communications crisis management.

Human resource management is the strategic and coherent approach to the effective and efficient management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business gain a competitive advantage. It is designed to maximize employee performance in service of an employer's strategic objectives. Human resource management is primarily concerned with the management of people within organizations, focusing on policies and systems. HR departments are responsible for overseeing employee-benefits design, employee recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, and reward management, such as managing pay and employee benefits systems. HR also concerns itself with organizational change and industrial relations, or the balancing of organizational practices with requirements arising from collective bargaining and governmental laws.

Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media, consultants advise campaigns on many other activities, ranging from opposition research and voter polling, to field strategy and get out the vote efforts.

David Walker is a Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997, as a member of the Liberal Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs</span>

The Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs, colloquially known as Arthur Kroeger College or AKC, is a specialized institute within the Faculty of Public Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. The College offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the fields of public policy, international studies, and political management. These include the Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management (BPAPM), the Bachelor of Global and International Studies (BGInS), the Master of Political Management (MPM), and the MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies (MDS).

Arts administration is a field in the arts sector that facilitates programming within cultural organizations. Arts administrators are responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operations of the organization as well as the long term goals by and fulfilling its vision, mission and mandate. Arts management became present in the arts and culture sector in the 1960s. Organizations include professional non-profit entities. For examples theaters, museums, symphonies, jazz organizations, opera houses, ballet companies and many smaller professional and non-professional for-profit arts-related organizations. The duties of an arts administrator can include staff management, marketing, budget management, public relations, fundraising, program development evaluation, and board relations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schar School of Policy and Government</span> Public policy school of George Mason University

The Schar School of Policy and Government - SSPG, is the public policy school of George Mason University, a public research university in the Commonwealth of Virginia near Washington, D.C. Established as Northern Virginia's first public policy school with locations in Arlington and Fairfax County, the school's political science curriculum has a professional education and applied emphasis on public administration and national security at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, in addition to a traditional liberal arts education, while also maintaining an active role within all five major subfields of political science known as political philosophy, political methodology, comparative politics, international relations, public policy and public administration.

Tom Wilson is an American Republican Party leader who served as the chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee from 2004 to 2009.

Joe Miklosi is an American businessman and politician who served as a Colorado Representative from 2009 to 2013, he worked eight years for Project C.U.R.E., an international health care nonprofit organization, which donates life-saving medical supplies to hospitals in over 130 developing nations, and he helped start an Internet software company in the 1990s. Since 2015, Miklosi has been the CEO of Bridge Consulting, a public benefit corporation that provides international business and development, government relations, and nonprofit fundraising consulting services. He served as legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2008, Miklosi represented House District 9, which encompasses portions of Arapahoe County and southeast Denver, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management</span>

The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management is a school of economics and management, and a Faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking private research university located in Brussels, Belgium. Business education started in 1899, and Solvay was established in 1903 through a donation from the industrialist Ernest Solvay.

Bryan G. Rudnick, President and CEO of Alliance Strategies Group, is an American political public relations consultant, specializing in online marketing and rapid-response communications. He has been active in many conservative causes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vistula University</span>

Vistula University is a non-public academic higher education institution based in Warsaw, Poland. It was established in 1992 as the University of Insurance and Banking. Its branch since 2019, is Aleksander Gieysztor Academy of Humanities in Pułtusk.

The Women & Politics Institute (WPI) is a research institute located in the School of Public Affairs at American University, in Washington, D.C. Their mission is to close the gender gap in political leadership. The institute provides young women with academic and practical training that encourages them to become involved in the political process. It facilitates research to enhance the understanding of the challenges women face in the political arena.

The Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) at the George Washington University is a school of political management and applied politics, strategic communications and civic engagement. Its graduates hold a variety of professional titles including campaign managers, pollsters, speechwriters, communications professionals, legislative aides and directors, candidates, lobbyists, and new media experts.

The Investments and Wealth Institute (IWI), previously known as Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA), was founded in 1985 in Colorado to provide investment consulting and wealth management credentials and educational offerings for its members. IMCA is both a certification organization and a membership association.

Boston University Metropolitan College (MET) is one of the 17 degree-granting schools and colleges of Boston University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Craver</span>

Roger Moore Craver is an American fundraiser and campaigner for progressive causes. A pioneer of liberal political and movement direct mail and co-founder of The Hotline, a bipartisan online briefing on American politics, Craver is currently Editor of TheAgitator.net.