Module Directory

Drawing on both historical and contemporary sources, this module introduces students to a range of approaches to, and ways of thinking about, organisations and their management, In doing so, it will provide students with a secure conceptual, theoretical, and discursive understanding of the academic foundations of the field vital for their academic progression.

The aims of this module are:

• To introduce students to a range of ideas about organisation and organising and the impact they have had on contemporary organisational theorising and management.


• To develop an understanding amongst students of the changing characteristics of organisations and forms of organisation, and an awareness of the drivers for these changes in respect of pertinent intellectual, social, economic, and technological developments.


• To nurture skills in critical evaluation specifically in respect of the suitability of competing organisational forms and styles in addressing the challenges of social and economic justice and environmental sustainability.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Describe and assess the impact of different theories of organisation and management.


2. Identify the changing characteristics of organisations and forms of organisation and explain the drivers for these changes in respect of intellectual, social, economic, and technological developments.


3. Critically evaluate the suitability of competing organisational forms and styles in addressing the challenges of social and economic justice and environmental sustainability.

The first five weeks of the module will introduce students to a series of core concepts, and styles of organizing, that constitute the established landscape against which contemporary management and organisation studies take place. Talking both an historical and comparative approach, this section commences with a critical revaluation of the concepts of management and organisation and their historical incorporation into a 'mainstream' doxa based on the unquestioned maximisation of instrumental utility and economic growth. This theme is then further explored through a four-week consideration of the historical development of 'modern' organisational styles and their management.

The second five weeks will be more fluid in design and delivery. It will draw upon faculty research interests and expertise, as well as topical debates within the field and beyond. Attention will be paid, however, to the contemporary organisational challenges posed by issues including the climate emergency, the persistence of structural inequalities within organisations, and the rise of alternative organisational forms and practices.

Syllabus

• Organisation & Management: an introduction to foundational concepts and histories.


• Pre-industrial Work and Organisation.


• The Science of the Factory and the Office.


• Humanizing the Workplace.


• Flexible Specialisation and Post-Fordism.


• On-Line Test.


• Environmentally Sustainable Organisations.


• Diverse and Inclusive Organisation.


• Technology and Digital Organisation.


• Co-operative and Alternative Organisation.

This module will be delivered via:

• Face to face large group lectures.
• Audio-visual learning resources delivered both in-situ and via on-line learning portal Moodle.