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HU Credits:
3
Degree/Cycle:
2nd degree (Master)
Responsible Department:
business administration
Semester:
1st Semester
Teaching Languages:
Hebrew
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
Tammar Zilber
Coordinator Office Hours:
By appointment
Teaching Staff:
Prof Tammar Zilber
Course/Module description:
According to post-modern thinking, academic theories and research do not simply describe and analyze reality, but actually participate in constructing it. Theories order the way we understand the world and act upon it, and thus take part in creating our world. Our goal in this course is to analyze and evaluate the way organizational theories (and we, as part of this epistemic community) define and understands organizations. Towards that goal, we will follow the evolution of macro organization theory in the West, especially in the USA. We will start from classic texts of organization theory, deconstruct their basic theoretical assumptions, and situate them – with the help of a critical and comparative approach – within their wider theoretical and paradigmatic traditions. We will aim to understand the disciplinary contexts within which the thinking of organizations developed, and the interrelations between theory and practice, ways of thinking, social and political contexts and the cultural fashions at work in the historical period a specific theory was developed.
Course/Module aims:
To analyze and evaluate the way organization theories (and we, as part of this epistemic community) define and understands organizations.
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Describe the fields of organization theory, outlining its historical development, scope and methodologies
• Identify major theoretical schools and define their key concepts and ideas
• Analyze aspects of modern organizations and illustrate them in terms of different schools of organization theory
• Critically evaluate the added value, as well as limitations, of various school of organization theory
Attendance requirements(%):
75
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
Lectures, class discussions, written responses on the readings
Course/Module Content:
The social construction of scientific knowledge
Mechanistic approaches
Natural approaches
Economic approaches
Open system approaches: Resource environments and the meaningful environment
Cultural approaches
Political approaches
Critical approaches
Required Reading:
Astley, W. G. (1985). Administrative Science as socially constructed truth. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30: 497-513.
Taylor, F.W. (1916). The principles of scientific management. In: Shafritz, J.M. & Ott, S.J. (Eds.) 1996. Classics of organization theory. Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Pp. 66-79.
Mayo, E.G. (1945). The social problems of an industrial civilization, Ch. 3 & 4.
Alchian, A.A. & Demsetz, H. (1972). Production, information costs, and economic organization. American Economic Review, 62(5): 777-795.
Burns, T. & Stalker, G.M. (1961). Mechanistic and organic Systems. In: Shafritz, J.M. & Ott, S.J. (Eds.) 1996. Classics of organization theory. Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Pp. 209-213.
Meyer, J. W. & Rowan, B. 1977. Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83: 340-363.
Schein, E.H. (1985). Defining organizational culture. In: Shafritz, J.M. & Ott, S.J. (Eds.) 1996. Classics of organization theory. Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Pp. 430-441.
Minzberg, H. (1983). The power game and the players. Shafritz, J.M. & Ott, S.J. (Eds.) 1996. Classics of organization theory. Harcourt Brace College Publishers, pp. 412-419.
Acker, J. 1990. Hierarchies, jobs, bodies: A theory of gendered organizations. Gender & Society, 4(2): 139-158.
Additional Reading Material:
Recommendations for further reading will be given throughout the classes
Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 20 %
Project work 40 %
Assignments 40 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %
Additional information:
Prerequisite: Course 55922, grade 70 and up
Please refer to the detailed syllabus on the course website for more details re the course and its requirements
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