CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Political, economic, social, and social psychological analyses of administrative structures. The role of formal and informal organization, ideology in bureaucracy, decision-making, morale, and conflict.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Several objectives will concern us: 1) An understanding of the nature of modern organizations, both public and private; 2) An examination of the reciprocal relations between social actors and the organizations in which they function; 3) the application of that understanding to a specific “real world” organization, by means of empirical research within that organization.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION: As with all seminars, everyone enrolled in this course will have both the opportunity and the obligation to actively participate in seminar discussions of the various topics of concern. As instructor, my role will often take on the character of a facilitator rather than a lecturer, although I will also provide detailed and specific guidance in relation to many aspects of our concerns. I will also provide systematic explication of aspects of the subject matter.

COURSE CONTENT: Attention will be directed to the features of modern organizations. The study of organizations will be approached from a range of standpoints, some of which can be described as follows:

The formal and informal underpinnings of organizations. Aside from attention to the formal structure of organizations, the study of organizational cultures will be relevant here, as will be a range of other matters. In addition, this standpoint will make possible a clinical approach to specific organizations; in terms of a clinical approach, it will be useful to adopt the stance of an organizational consultant, providing an assessment of the effectiveness of present organizational processes, and a set of recommendations for their improvement.
The socio-cultural and social psychological dimensions of organizational dynamics, as well as their currently emergent forms. We will consider the ways in which organizations change their members and the strategies employed by social actors in resisting those changes. We will also be concerned with currently emergent forms and dynamics of social organization.
Organizational and institutional historicity. All organizations and institutional forms are situated in a broader historical context. We will consider the implications of this point, with particular attention to the dynamic, emergent, processual nature of organizations and institutions.
The moral embeddedness of all organizations and organizational processes. Rarely recognized and difficult to perceive even by organizational participants: every organization is a self-contained moral universe. The nature and manifold implications of this fact are among the most important aspects of organizations and institutions. Ironically, this feature is also one of the least understood and most overlooked characteristic of organizations and institutions.

MATERIALS USED:

Adams, Guy B. and Danny L. Balfour. 1998. Unmasking Administrative Evil.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Goffman, Erving. 1961. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental
Patients and Other Inmates. Gardner City, N.Y.: Doubleday Anchor.

Steele, Stephen F. and AnneMarie Scarisbrick-Hauser and William J. Hauser.
1999. Solution-Centered Sociology: Addressing Problems Through Applied Sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

METHODS OF EVALUATING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Attendance (Note: Attendance at 90% of all class sessions is a precondition for a semester grade of “C”).
Graded reaction papers.
Midterm and final essay exams.
Research report (making use of primary data gathered by you by means of a research design of your own creation).
Class participation.
Evidence that you have read the assigned materials, and that you have read these by the respective dates of their assignment on the syllabus.

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READINGS

Week 1
8/27 Introduction

Week 2
9/1 Labor Day holiday

9/3 Kerr, “On the Folly of Rewarding A While Hoping for B” (pass-out)
Steele et al, Preface, and Chap. 1: “A World of Problems”

Week 3
9/8 Parkinson, “Parkinson’s Law” (pass-out)
Steele et al, Chap. 2, “When Structure is the Problem,” begin (to p. 30)

9/10
NOTE: FRIDAY, 9/12, IS THE LAST DAY TO ADD/DROP CLASSES

Week 4
9/15

9/17

Week 5
9/22

9/24
NOTE: FRIDAY, 9/26, IS THE LAST DAY TO CHANGE GRADE MODE IN A CLASS

Week 6
9/29

10/1

Week 7
10/6

10/8

Week 8
10/13 Midterm exam

10/15

Week 9
10/20

10/24

Week 10
10/27

10/29
NOTE: MONDAY, 11/3, WILL BE THE LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW FROM A CLASS (that is, with a “W”).

Week 11
11/3

11/5

Week 12
11/10

11/12

Week 13
11/17

11/19

Week 14
11/24

11/26-11/28 Thanksgiving holiday

Week 15
12/1

12/3

Week 16
12/8

12/10

Week 17
Final Exam

DEPARTMENT NEWS

KATZ JOINS DEPARTMENT

C. WRIGHT MILLS AWARD APPLICATION 07-08