Course Description
Research and theories emphasizing organizational structures and cultures; bureaucracies and their alternatives; the control of workers; and the role of gender in organizations.
Athena Title
SOC OF ORGANIZATNS
Prerequisite
SOCI 1101 or SOCI 1101H or SOCI 2600 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every even-numbered year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course introduces the student to the sociology of organizations. The mission of this course is twofold: first to familiarize the student with the core sociological explanations for organizations; second, the course will equip the student with the concepts and theories that will better enable them to understand the role of organizations in their lives and contemporary society. Students will survey concepts and theories developed by sociologists and other social scientists to describe how various characteristics of organizations are interrelated and to explain various organizational processes such as decision-making, mechanisms of organizational change, and conflicts between groups within organizations. Students will be asked to demonstrate their mastery of the course content in written work that is appropriate for an academic context. Students will be asked to demonstrate their mastery of the course content in speech that is appropriate for an academic context.
Topical Outline
Topics will include: Bureaucracy Managerial Ideologies Neo-Weberianism Institutionalism Environment Schools Neo-Institutional School Organizations and Work Organizations and Decision Making Organizations and Failures Organizations and Efficiency Organizations and Power Organizations and Inequality Organizations and Culture