Dr Lourdes Sosa MAR 5.40

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/CIPD). 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, R&D laboratories, etc.  Organisational theory examines these arrangements with respect to their internal and external environment elements and dynamics - e.g. organisational design, inter-organisational collaboration, etc.  The course readings include a selection of classic research on organisation theory to help students understand organisations as entities that influence the life of their members and affect work and society more generally.

15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the AT. 1 hour and 30 minutes of lectures 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. Details will be provided in class.

Foss, N.J. (2003). Selective Intervention and Internal Hybrids: Interpreting and Learning from the Rise and Decline of the Oticon Spaghetti Organization. Organization Science. 14(3): 331-349.

Baron, J.N., Hannan, M.T., & Burton, M.D. (2001). Labor Pains: Change in Organizational Models and Employee Turnover in Young, High-Tech Firms. American Journal of Sociology. 106(4): 960-1012.

Exam (50%, duration: 2 hours) in the spring exam period.
Class participation (10%) and group essay (40%) in the AT.