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2021/2022  KAN-CCMVI2116U  The Changing Nature of Work: Towards a Digital Future

English Title
The Changing Nature of Work: Towards a Digital Future

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration Summer
Start time of the course Summer
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 60
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Liana Razmerita - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Chee-Wee Tan and Thomas Rousing are also involved in the course. For academic questions related to the course, please contact course responsible Liana Razmerita (lra.msc@cbs.dk).
Main academic disciplines
  • Information technology
  • Management
  • Organisational behaviour
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 01/12/2021

Relevant links
Learning objectives
Throughout the course, students are expected to critically reflect on the changing nature of work, both in terms of the opportunities and challenges accompanying digital work practices as well as the potential consequences brought about by such work practices at different levels of analyses (e.g., individual, organizational or
societal). In order to achieve the grade 12, the students should be able to:
  • Define and formulate a research problem around the changing nature of work
  • Identify and discuss opportunities and challenges that are brought about by digital work practices in the selected case(s)
  • Apply key concepts and theoretical frameworks from the course to analyze the case(s) of new digital work
  • Reflect critically on your experience and learning process during the course
Course prerequisites
Completed Bachelor degree or equivalent
Examination
The Changing Nature of Work: Towards a Digital Future:
Exam ECTS 7.5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 15 pages
Assignment type Project
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
The 1st and 2nd retake is a 72-hour, maximum 10-pages home assignment.
Description of the exam procedure

Mini-project individual exam based on a group project that would be develop during the course period. The students will be allowed to work on a topic of their choice connected to the course.

 
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

Knowledge work continues to develop and evolve as we have witnessed recently through the emergence of remote or hybrid workplaces, the advent of the gig economy, as well as the surge in digital nomads. The pandemic has further accelerated the transition to digital work practices due to a compelling need to continue organisations’ businesses operations and sustain employees’ livelihood. By harnessing the capabilities of digital technologies, digital work practices allow for more dynamic and fluid work arrangements regarding where and when work is done. This is especially relevant for high-skilled knowledge workers in different fields of activity including creative, financial, and service industries.

 

This course is targeted at students interested in learning about the opportunities and callenges associated with the changing nature of work empowered by digital technologies. The course focuses on how digital technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, data analytics, digital platforms, and social media) are leveraged to support collaboration and innovation within cultural and institutional contexts as well as the consequences, intended or otherwise, stemming from their usage. Additionally, we will deliberate on the role of leadership and its associated strategies for managing the changing nature of work alongside the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) being implemented by organizations. To comprehend the changing nature of work, we will draw on several management theories (e.g., paradox, self-determinantion and social dilemma theories) to uncover the strategic considerations underlying organizations’ transition to novel, digital forms of working and innovating.

 

The course will offer a fundamental coverage of the following topics:

  • Opportunities and challenges associated with new work practices involving novel, digital forms of organizing
  • Implication of new work practices on knowledge and innovation
  • Dynamics of managing digital work practices for collaboration, competitiveness and innovation
  • Role of digital technologies in facilitating knowledge work
  • Influence of leadership and cultural conditions on digital work practices
  • Influence of changing nature of work on identities and work lives in the age of digitalization

 

Students will participate in group work that is aimed at synthesizing knowledge to produce solutions for addressing contemporary issues with digital work practices in actual case companies.
Description of the teaching methods
This course embraces a blended learning structure that comprises a mix of in-class lectures and workshops combined with online activities. Students, in groups or individually, will build on theoretical concepts and case studies covered during in-class lectures and workshops to construct a mini project for the examination.
Feedback during the teaching period
Students will receive instructors’ and peer feedback during assignements and workshops.

Students will have the opportunity to present their work in progress in relation with their project exam and receive developmental feedback on it.
Student workload
Lectures 24 hours
Workshops 9 hours
Preparations for lectures 73 hours
Preparation for workshops 20 hours
Preparation for exam 80 hours
Further Information

Short 3 weeks course that cannot be combined with any other course.

 

Preliminary Assignment : The course coordinator uploads Preliminary Assignment on Canvas at the end of May. It is expected that students participate as it will be included in the final exam, but the assignment is without independent assessment&grading.

 

Course and exam timetable is/will be available on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams

 

We reserve the right to cancel the course if we do not get enough applications. This will be communicated on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams in start March.

Expected literature

 

Some references for the course. The full list of readings will be available on Canvas.

 

Barley, S. R., Bechky, B. A., & Milliken, F. J. (2017). The Changing Nature of Work: Careers, Identities, and Work Lives in the 21st Century. Academy of Management Discoveries, 3(2), 111–115. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.5465/​amd.2017.0034

 

Dery, K., Sebastian, I. M., & van der Meulen, N. (2017). The Digital Workplace is Key to Digital Innovation. MIS Quarterly Executive, 16(2), 135–152.

 

Gal, U., Jensen, T. B., & Stein, M. K. (2020). Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Algorithmic Management: A Virtue Ethics Approach to People Analytics. Information and Organization, 30(2), 100301.

 

Newell, S., Morton, J., Marabelli, M., & Galliers, R. (2020). Managing Digital innovation. Springer Nature.

 

Razmerita, L., Brun, A., & Nabeth, T. (2021). Collaboration in the Machine Age: Trustworthy Human-AI Collaboration. forthcoming in M. Virvou, G. Tsihrintzis, & J. Lakhmi (Eds.), Advances in Selected Artificial Intelligence Areas - World Outstanding Women in Artificial Intelligence (p. 23). Springer Nature.

 

Schildt, H. (2017). Big Data and Organizational Design – The Brave New World of Algorithmic Management and Computer Augmented Transparency. Innovation, 19(1), 23-30.

 

Smith, W., & Lewis, M. (2011). Toward A Theory of Paradox: A Dynamic Equilibrium Model of Organizing. The Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 381–403. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.5465/​AMR.2011.59330958

 

 

 

 
Last updated on 01/12/2021