Dr Mariana Bogdanova

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Organisational Behaviour). This course is available on the MRes/PhD in Management (Employment Relations and Human Resources) and MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Organisations exert a central force in contemporary work and society. From the rise of large, machine-like bureaucracies in the 19th century to the flat, networked firms of nowadays, different assemblages of people and technology have produced a rich ecology of organisational forms – multinationals, social enterprise and charities, R&D laboratories etc.  Organisational theory examines these multifarious arrangements with respect to their internal and external environment elements and dynamics - e.g. organisational culture and identities, power and politics, inter-organisational collaboration, effect of globalisation on organisational activities etc.  The course readings include a selection of classic views and more recent research on organisation theory with the aim of helping students understand organisations as entities, how they influence the life of their members, and how they affect work and society more generally.

15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the MT. 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.

Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Students will complete a formative assessment using a sample exam question. Details will be provided in class.

Hatch, M.J., 2018. Organization theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives. Oxford University Press.

Clegg, S.R., Hardy, C. and Nord, W.R., 2003. Handbook of Organization Studies. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Exam (65%, duration: 2 hours) in the summer exam period.
Project (35%).

The project is composed of two parts (individual and group work) and is submitted in the MT and the LT.