Culture, Organization and Management Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam - Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen - P Culture Organization and Management -

(1)

Culture, Organization and Management

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen P Culture Organization and Management -2010-2011

(2)

The pre-Master’s course in Culture, Organization and Management (COM) provides necessary skills to research and describe cultural dimensions of management. The anthropological approach implies that students develop theoretical and practical skills to analyse different ‘realities’ within an organization or company. The pre-Master’s course is designed to acquire academic knowledge and skills in the field of Culture, Organization and Management and consists of two courses that cover the field of organization theories and two courses that deal with change in organizations and intercultural management. The academic character of the study is emphasized by organizational research, academic writing and philosophical reflection.

More information on the pre-Master’s course in Culture, Organization and Management (COM)

(3)

Inhoudsopgave

Premasterclass in Culture, Organization and Management 1

Vak: Culture and Organization 1

Vak: Multicultural Organizations and Networks 2

Vak: Organizational Culture and Change 4

Vak: Organizational Space and Technology 4

Vak: Pre-Master's Thesis in Culture, Organization and Management 6

Vak: Qualitative Research Methods 7

Vak: Social Research Methodology 1 8

(4)

Premasterclass in Culture, Organization and Management

Vakken:

Culture and Organization

Course objective

Students

- acquire knowledge of and sensitivity for the (re)production of culture in organizational settings;

- learn to recognize cultural themes in everyday organizational life; - learn to present an academic argument based on the analysis of ethnographic data.

Course content

Culture can be studied in different contexts and from various perspectives. In this course we look at culture in organizational

settings, using an ethnographic approach. Whereas in organization and management studies the concept of (organizational) culture is often presented in terms of models aimed at establishing new, or changing old cultures, the ethnographic position focuses on revealing its empirical richness, complexity and ambiguity. In the first view developing practical tools for organizational behaviour and management are

Naam Periode Credits Code

Culture and Organization Semester 1 10.0 SCO_O

Multicultural Organizations and Networks

FSW Period 3 5.0 SMON_O

Organizational Culture and Change

FSW Period 2 5.0 SOCC_O

Organizational Space and Technology

FSW Period 1 5.0 SOST_O

Pre-Master's Thesis in Culture, Organization and Management FSW Period 4 15.0 SPMTCOM_O Qualitative Research Methods FSW Period 3 10.0 SQRM_O Social Research Methodology 1 FSW Period 1 5.0 SSRM1_O Social Research Methodology 2 FSW Period 2 5.0 SSRM2_O

Course code SCO_O (703136)

Period Semester 1

Credits 10.0

Language of tuition English

Coordinator dr. F.H. Kamsteeg

Teaching staff dr. H. Wels, dr. F.H. Kamsteeg

(5)

central. Ethnographers tend to warn against such quick (cultural) fixes emphasizing that to really grasp the importance of organizational culture a solid understanding of sensemaking processes at all organizational levels is required.

The course starts with Fineman's Understanding Emotion at Work. This book explores the role of feelings and emotions in a broad variety of organizational settings. Organizational storytelling is a rich source for understanding how emotions are culturally embedded. This is why Gabriels Storytelling in Organizations takes a central in the course. The various themes and perspectives finally come together in a close reading and thorough analysis of Watson's In Search of Management, a classical ethnography on the cultural management of a

telecommunications firm. This book shows in full depth the complexity of organizing and managing by focussing on the way managers and employees make sense of everyday organizational life. During the course concepts and theories will be constantly contextualized, in order to deepen the understanding of cultural processes in organizations. Additionally, students will regularly practice the basic skills of academic writing and presenting in intensive seminars.

Form of tuition

Lectures and seminars. During the first weeks lectures will be given; thereafter lectures and seminars; will alternate. In the interactive seminar sessions students present and discuss assignments.

Type of assessment

Testamur based on a written take home examination (50%) and a final written assignment (50%). Both have to be satisfactory.

Course reading

* Gabriel, Yannis (2000) Storytelling in Organizations. Facts,

Fictions, and Fantasies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (appr. 30). * Fineman, Stephen (2003) Understanding emotion at work. London, etc.: Sage (appr. 45).

* Watson, Tony (2001 [1994]) In search of management. Culture, chaos & control in managerial work. London, etc.: International Thomson

Business Press (appr. 33)

Target group

Bachelor, premaster, minor; and exchange students.

Registration procedure

It is obligatory to; sign up; for a course, for more information on dates to sign up; go to www. fsw. vu. nl/schedules.

Multicultural Organizations and Networks

Course code SMON_O (703133)

Period FSW Period 3

Credits 5.0

Coordinator dr. H.L. Duijnhoven

Teaching staff drs. T.A. Onderdenwijngaard, drs. M. Berendse, dr. H.L. Duijnhoven

(6)

In this course students will be introduced to the different

sub-clusters in which researchers from the department of COM are currently active. The aim of the course is for students to acquire an insight into the different research areas of the department, as well as to acquire an ability to critically reflect on this knowledge and to select their own research object, in line with their personal interests.

Course content

The research staff of the Department Culture, Organization and Management (COM) consists of active intellectuals participating in various academic debates on cultural processes in organizations, management and organizational networks around the world, by means of academic publications and other activities. All research is based on empirical data obtained predominantly through ethnographic fieldwork. The geographical fields of research vary from Europe to southeast Asia, southern Africa and the Caribbean Basin. Nevertheless, all individual research activities, wherever they take place, have to contribute to answering the central research question of the departmental research programme: "Cultural Change in Organizational Networks (CuCON), processes of identity formation in organizations under globalisation". The central research question is: In which ways do global, national and local politics of culture affect the partly converging and partly

conflicting, but constantly changing, constructions of meaning in (transnational) organizations and networks?"

This implies that the COM research staff shares a common set of leading concepts, all contextualised and embedded in three empirical fields, or trajectories, of research: "Transnational partnerships, "Cultural

change and interventions", and "Diversity in Organizations".

Form of tuition

Lectures.

Take home exam.

Course reading

Required readings are taken from electronic journals, complemented with some additional texts that will be made available through blackboard.

Entry requirements

Mandatory course for students involved in the Bachelor track Organization Anthropology and the pre- Master's Course COM.

Target group

Bachelor, PMC and exchange students.

Remarks

Students involved in the Bachelor track Organization Anthropology will follow this course in combination with the course Regionale en

thematische specialisatie. They should sign up for both Multicultural Organizations and Networks and Regionale en thematische

(7)

course Regionale en thematische specialisatie..

Please note: this course is not taught during the academisch year 2011-2012. Only a clean sweep test is provided.

Organizational Culture and Change

* Knowledge of processes of change within different types of organizational settings with a focus on the cultural dimensions of change;

* Understanding of different approaches and perspectives on the management of cultural change;

* Analysis of academic text, and the application of theoretical debates to case studies, group and individual presentations reflecting on the connection between theory and

change strategies.

Course content

The debate on whether cultures can be deliberately changed is one of the fundamental debates in organisation culture studies. Do

organisation cultures have a unchangeable core? Or is cultural change part of the daily life of organisational members? The relation of

culture and agency will be discussed in order to understand the dynamics of cultural change. Contemporary organisational change programs will be analysed to support the discussion.

Form of tuition

Lecture: weekly lectures discuss most important strategies of cultural change and intervention.

written examination.

Course reading

* Bate, P. Strategies for Cultural Change (2008, reprint), Butterworth, Heinemann, Oxford, (45 Euro)

* Additional literature will be announced on blackboard.

Target group

Bachelor, premaster and exchange students.

Organizational Space and Technology

Course code SOCC_O ()

Credits 5.0

Coordinator prof. dr. M.B. Veenswijk

Teaching staff prof. dr. M.B. Veenswijk

(8)

Acquiring knowledge and insight in the relationship between organizational space and technology.

Course content

Space and material culture have been notoriously neglected in organizational theory and organizational cultural analysis. However, there currently is a renewed interest in organizational space, in which the material dimension of organizations is advanced as a crucial pre-condition to any form of human organization. In this course

organizational space is broadly defined as referring to architecture, interior design, material artifacts, the human body, and all kinds of organizational tools and technologies. A central point of concern, are the spatial conditions and consequences of the new digital technologies characteristic of the information age and the network society. The digital information and communication technologies (ICT's), question the time- spatial construction of organizations, and lead to new organizational concepts like the virtual organization. However, the relationship between the "virtual" and "real" appears to be highly complex. Paradoxically, the increasing virtualization of organizations at the same time leads to a renewed interest in the material context of organizations, as can be demonstrated in the case of the persistence and use of an ancient, and apparently simple, technology like "paper". The course is structured thematically. Themes that will be addressed include spatial theory, virtual worlds, the "paperless office", work and technology, spatial design and management, identity and boundary construction, panoptic spaces and complex organizational spaces like omnitopia.

Form of tuition

Lecture.

Testamur based on written examination and written assignment.

Course reading

To be announced.

Basic knowledge of sociological and anthropological theories.

Target group

Bachelor and exchange students.

Course code SOST_O (703139)

Credits 5.0

Coordinator dr. ir. S.F. Kingma

Teaching staff dr. ir. S.F. Kingma

(9)

Remarks

Pre-Master's Thesis in Culture, Organization and Management

The student is able to:

- Formulate an academic problem definition;

- Critically assess and report on academic theories and their adhering concepts in view of academic articles with a strong empirical basis. - reflect, adopt a critical attitude, and intellectual integrity;

Students have acquired the skills to:

- independently trace, study, summarize and critically discuss primary and theoretical literature;

- develop and account for a research question;

- analyse a COM issue with the help of different theoretical insights and deliberately select a theoretical approach;

- correctly cite and refer to literary sources; - give a clear oral and written account of theories.

Course content

The Master's Thesis is an individual paper that completes the Pre-Masterclass COM. Building on acquired theoretical knowledge, insights and skills, the student writes an academic paper about a theme that is related to research carried out within the Department of COM. The core of the thesis is formed by a literature review, a comparative

discussion of a number of books and articles from recent volumes of important academic journals. The size of the thesis should be 30 pages. The thesis is assessed with regard to the following: the use of

academic writing conventions, proper text structure and design (including that of the references), problem definition, a critical assessment of theory and empirical data, and contribute to an actual academic debate.

Form of tuition

Thesis groups. The students participate in a so- called Pre- Master thesis group consisting of six to nine students and one COM-supervisor. The thesis groups have regular meetings and stick to a strict time- scheme. Each group makes use of Blackboard.

Testimonium based on an individual paper.

Course reading

Depends on the selected theme.

Course code SPMTCOM_O (703134)

Credits 15.0

Coordinator dr. M.H.G. den Uyl

Teaching staff drs. T.A. Onderdenwijngaard

(10)

Target group

Pre- Master students.

Remarks

Participation in thesis groups is mandatory.

Qualitative Research Methods

* To develop the ability to be analytically critical through peer review, which in turn should improve the quality of one's own work. * To develop a better understanding concerning the ontological and epistemological nature of qualitative research and more specifically ethnography.

* To become acquainted with different phases of qualitative research. * To develop skills for collecting research data.

* To develop analytical skills through the interpretation of the research material.

Course content

This course is aimed to give students both theoretical knowledge and practical experience concerning interpretative qualitative research and more specifically in relation to ethnographic methods. It will give students insight into ontological and epistemological issues regarding interpretative qualitative research, giving them a general idea as to what makes qualitative research different than other types of research. In addition, the students will learn to apply diverse research skills in the different phases of research including:

- The pre-fieldwork phase: making choices in regard to theory and research question.

- The fieldwork stage: data collections methods (observation,

participant observation, interviews, focus groups, internet/documents) - Analysis: Coding and making of analytical statements based on analysis of interviews, documents and fieldnotes.

- Writing up: How to make interpretive conclusions and write them up. The course has been designed to provide students with practical knowledge while simultaneously receiving theoretical insights on methodological issues such as the objectivity vs. subjectivity, the importance of reflexivity in research, researcher's and research subject's identity, research ethics and the research relationship .

Form of tuition

Course code SQRM_O (704130)

Credits 10.0

Coordinator dr. L.S. Nencel

Teaching staff dr. L.S. Nencel

(11)

Lecture, tutorial.

Attendance is mandatory.

Testamur based on an essay, assignments, peer review assignments and a presentation of the (group) report. The final grade will be based on

the satisfactory completion of all components.

Course reading

To be announced.

Target group

Pre- Master students.

It is obligatory to sign up for a course, for more information on dates to sign up, go to www. fsw. vu. nl/schedules.

Remarks

Social Research Methodology 1

This course provides an introduction to the process and techniques of social science research. Students learn how to organize and analyze data. On completion students have the skills and knowledge to evaluate social science research and to apply elementary descriptive and

inferential statistical techniques. Provisionally, part of this course is a brief introduction to important mathematical skills that are needed to understand fully the content of this course and its books. The course ends with an exemplary topic presented by someone from PS, SCA, and/or COM in cooperation with the concerning teacher of this course. This topic differs from year to year.

Course content

The empirical research process, research types, research design, observation methods, formulating hypotheses, operationalization, descriptive statistics, working with SPSS, assignments.

Form of tuition

Lecture and practical.

Written examination (multiple choice). The examination will also test skills and knowledge as transferred through the assignments (which are not mandatory). Each assignment that is delivered timely and is of sufficient quality will be rewarded with one bonus point. The final

Course code SSRM1_O ()

Credits 5.0

Coordinator dr. G.G. van de Bunt

Teaching staff dr. D. Pavlopoulos

(12)

grade can be increased with at most one point by the average of the bonus points.

Course reading

* Babbie, E. (2006). The Practice of Social Research. (10th edition) (approx. 60 euro).

* Agresti, A. & B. Finlay (2008) Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences (4th edition). Pearson Education. (approx. 60 Euro) (SEE REMARKS).

* Grotenhuis & Matthijsen. Basiscursus SPSS. Koninklijke Van Gorcum. (approx. 10 Euro).

* SPSS software, for sale via Surfspot (https://www.surfspot.nl/) (approx. 20 Euro). It is always possible to use SPSS in the practical rooms, but space is limited and often there are courses in these rooms. SPSS cant be used in those cases.

* Methodic/substantial article exemplary for PS, SCA, and/or COM (to be announced).

Target group

Premaster.

Remarks

* It is not allowed to keep the exam after you have taken it. * It is absolutely necessary to buy Agresti and Finlay and to install SPSS. The book is delivered with a code that is needed to use the online learning system which will be used intensively during the course. The assignments often require this system and SPSS. * Purchase Agresti and Finlay at the VU bookstore, otherwise you will not receive the necessary code.

Social Research Methodology 2

This course is the follow up to the study to the process and techniques of social science research. Students learn how to organize and analyze data, and how to test hypotheses. On completion students have the skills and knowledge to evaluate social science research and to apply inferential statistical techniques. The course ends with an exemplary

topic presented by someone from PS, SCA, and/or COM in cooperation with the concerning teacher of this course. This topic differs from year to

year.

Course content

The empirical research process, testing hypotheses, sampling and sampling techniques, design and analysis, elaboration techniques,

Course code SSRM2_O ()

Credits 5.0

Coordinator dr. G.G. van de Bunt

Teaching staff dr. D. Pavlopoulos

(13)

methods of qualitative research, working with SPSS, assignments.

Form of tuition

Lecture and practical.

Written examination (multiple choice). The examination will also test skills and knowledge as transferred through the assignments (which are not mandatory). Each assignment that is delivered timely and is of sufficient quality will be rewarded with one bonus point. The final grade can be increased with at most one point by the average of the bonus points.

Course reading

* Babbie, E. (2006). The Practice of Social Research. (10th edition) (approx. 60 euro).

* Agresti, A. & B. Finlay (2008) Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences (4th edition). Pearson Education. (approx. 60 Euro) (SEE REMARKS).

* Grotenhuis & Matthijsen. Basiscursus SPSS. Koninklijke Van Gorcum. (approx. 10 Euro).

* SPSS software, for sale via Surfspot (https://www.surfspot.nl/) (approx. 20 Euro). It is always possible to use SPSS in the practical rooms, but space is limited and often there are courses in these rooms. SPSS cant be used in those cases.

* Methodic/substantial article exemplary for PS, SCA, and/or COM (to be announced).

Topics discussed and studied during Social Research Methodology part 1.

Target group

Premaster.

Remarks

* It is not allowed to keep the exam after you have taken it. * It is absolutely necessary to buy Agresti and Finlay and to install SPSS. The book is delivered with a code that is needed to use the online learning system which will be used intensively during the course. The assignments often require this system and SPSS. * Purchase Agresti and Finlay at the VU bookstore, otherwise you will not receive the necessary code.