Dr Tom Reader STC.313

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Organisational and Social Psychology. This course is available on the MSc in Social Research Methods. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

The course addresses both the social psychology of organisations and social psychological processes within organisations. It also provides multidisciplinary coverage of the organisational contexts in which social psychologists may work in a variety of professional domains. A basic familiarity with social psychological methods is assumed but their application within organisational processes and contexts will be examined in detail within the course. Issues and techniques in organisational analysis, discourse, decision-making and change management are covered with emphasis on their social psychological aspects.

Lectures/seminars in the MT: These will cover key social psychological concepts and theories and their application to the understanding of organisations and the implementation of change processes. The specific topics covered include: 1) Introduction: critique of the tradition and logic underlying organisational psychology; history and frameworks in organisational analysis; "Scientific" management; Taylorism and Fordism; the Human Relations movement and the Socio-Technical approach; 2) Frameworks for analysis: organisational representations; the cultural image of organisations; culture and change in organisations; power, knowledge and organising; 3) People organising: job design, motivation and stress; work groups and teams; decision-making; resistance and organisational learning; leadership, networking and collaborative work ; 4) Implications for practice: doing organisational development and action research.

Working Seminars in the LT: These will centre on discussion of practical and research applications in domains where organisational social psychological investigation and analysis may play a leading role. Each topic will be presented by a member of LSE staff or invited external expert working in the domain.

30 hours of lectures in the MT. 15 hours of classes in the LT.

Mini-essay to be submitted in MT.

Reading lists on specific topics will be distributed during the course. Texts which are recommended for general use throughout the course are: S Clegg & C Handy, Studying Organisations: Theory and Method, Sage, 1998; E H Schein, Organisational Psychology (3rd edn), Prentice Hall, 1988; G Morgan, Images of Organisation (2nd edn), Sage, 1997; E Jaques, Requisite Organisation, Casson Hall, 1989; A Bryman (Ed), Doing Research in Organisations, Routledge, 1988; D Hoskins & I Morley, A Social Psychology of Organising, Simon and Schuster, 1992; Hosking, D.-M., Dachler, H. P., & Gergen, K. J. (1995). Management and organization : relational alternatives to individualism. Aldershot, Brookfield, USA: Avebury. Hosking, D.-M., & Morley, I. E. (1991). A Social Psychology of Organizing. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf. K E Weick, Sense Making in Organisation, Addison Wesley, 1995.

Exam (50%, duration: 3 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (50%, 5000 words) in the MT.