Social Relations in Organisations - MAN00109M

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  • Department: The York Management School
  • Credit value: 10 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2022-23

Module aims

This module aims to provide a comprehensive review of contemporary approaches to the study of organisations. It encourages a critical and reflexive orientation towards the various claims made for the effectiveness of organisation theory and management practice. The module is designed to provide a set of conceptual approaches, which can be used to place organisation studies in a social and critical context.

Module learning outcomes

Subject content

  • Frameworks for organizational behaviour

  • Origins of management theory: Scientific management, bureaucracy and human relations

  • Modern Organisations: analysis of structures and new organisational forms 

  • Organisational cultures

  • Organisation as power

  • Group and team dynamics

  • Gender and identity

  • Ethical considerations in organisation theory and analysis

Academic and graduate skills

Successful completion of the module will demonstrate that students are able to:

  • Develop creative, deeper and more challenging ways of understanding organisational activity, based on contemporary theoretical developments

  • Appreciate the advantages and limitations of particular theories and organisational practices

  • Demonstrate sensitivity to the complexity of social, political, ethical, economic and philosophical issues that shape contemporary organisations. 

  • Evaluate critically different approaches to managing people and appraise future directions.

Module content

Teaching material

  • Taught sessions will include lectures, case studies, and group work

  • Lecture slides and handouts will be available on the VLE

  • A detailed reading list giving a comprehensive coverage of the content of the module will be available on the VLE

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

The timescale for the return of feedback will accord with TYMS policy.

Indicative reading

Grey, C. (2009) A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying organizations. 2nd Edition. London: Sage Publications Ltd.

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., and Pitsis, T. (2016) Managing and organizations: an introduction to theory and practice. 4th Edition London: Sage Publications Ltd.