Dr Mariana Bogdanova

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Organisational Behaviour). This course is available on the 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.

Organizations 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 forms – multinationals, religious sects, Internet companies, R&D laboratories, army squads, etc. The academic study of organizations, or “organization theory,” examines these multifarious arrangements and how they influence the life of its members, as well as the markets and societies around them. The course includes classic texts as well as more recent research on organization theory with the aim of helping students understand organizations, their various forms, and how they affect work and society.

15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT. 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.

Perrow, Charles. 1986. Complex Organizations, New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 1-48.

Scott, W. Richard. 1998. Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

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