• 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.

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

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).