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2012/2013  KAN-CBL_SOMW  Strategizing, Organizing and Managing Work

English Title
Strategizing, Organizing and Managing Work

Course information

Language English
Exam ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Course period Autumn
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study board
Study Board for BSc og MSc in Business, Language and Culture, MSc
Course coordinator
  • Dan Kärreman - Department of Intercultural Communication and Management
Secretary: Birgitte Hertz, bhe.stu@cbs.dk
Main Category of the Course
  • Corporate and Business Strategy
  • Economic and organizational sociology
Last updated on 07-02-2012
Learning objectives
  • define “strategy,” “organisation,” and “management” from multiple perspectives, and explain the differences between those perspectives
  • define and compare in detail the theoretical foundations and practical consequences of the systems control perspective and the process relational perspective on strategy, management and organisation
  • explain the ways that these two very different perspectives define such central concepts as strategy, management, organisation, motivation, culture, control, change and business ethics
  • define and compare the key conventional and alternative schools of thought regarding the nature of strategy making and implementation
  • define in detail key process relational concepts including strategic exchange, strategic enactment, and sense-making
  • apply these concepts and perspectives to analyse a wide range of cases chosen to exemplify strategic, organisational and managerial issues and dilemmas that confront contemporary management practitioners.
Examination
Strategizing, Organizing and Managing Work:
Type of test Oral with Written Assignment
Marking scale 7-step scale
Second examiner External examiner
Exam period Winter Term, Please notice that the exam will be in January
Aids Please, see the detailed regulations below
Duration 20 Minutes
Individual oral examination on all material covered in the course, based on a three pages written synopsis, which is to be handed in two weeks prior to the exam. The content of the synopsis is chosen by the student. It is not graded and may be written with one or two fellow students, and it serves as a starting point for the discussion. Duration including marking: 20 minutes.
Course content

This course prepares students for careers as effective managers by exploring the key practical and conceptual tasks and challenges facing contemporary managers and by emphasising theoretical approaches to these challenges that build on the experiences and activities of people actively engaged in work organisations. The course stresses that strategic, organisational and cultural aspects of management practice always intersect and overlap. At the same time, the course explores several theories that link these dynamics tightly together. The course also pursues the notion that attention to the emergent and strategic nature of individual and organisational identities provides a solid foundation for a fresh approach to the practice of management. The course, therefore, includes discussion of those aspects of organisational life that are often marginalised in standard texts, including the politics and complexities of managerial decision-making, the personal stresses associated with managerial work, the roles played by ordinary human interaction, relationships, and humor in organisational

Teaching methods
Class time will include lectures and discussions, in which participants will explore theoretical perspectives and apply them to specific case studies.
Expected literature

To be announced on Learn, but most likely:
Tony Watson (2002) Organizing and Managing Work (Financial Times/Prentice Hall)
Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand, Joseph Lampel (1998) Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through The Wilds of Strategic Management (Free Press)
Selected pages from Karl Weick (1995) Sensemaking in Organizations (Sage Publishers)
Selected pages from Robert G. Eccles, Nitin Nohria, and James D. Berkley (1994) Beyond the Hype: Rediscovering the Essence of Management (Harvard Business School Press).

Last updated on 07-02-2012