DSOC 25A15 - The Organizational Society

In contemporary societies, organizations are among the most important actors influencing policy design, implementation and evaluation. This course will analyse how such organizations –often giant public administrations and private companies– operate. It provides the basic concepts of organization theory from a sociological perspective: control and efficiency; bureaucracy (for organizing routine work) and collegiality (for organizing innovative work); resource interdependencies and power; social exchanges and market exchanges. Within this framework, it puts special emphasis on the meaning of the notion of ‘organizational society'; and on struggles to promote new institutions and to encourage innovation to face global challenges such as climate change.

Emmanuel LAZEGA

Séminaire

English

Autumn 2021-2022

1. Midterm: critical analysis of an academic paper on a course-related topic. 2. Short critical essay due by the end of the semester on a topic reflecting one of themes discussed in the course (or on topic suggested by the students and approved by the teacher). Students can produce the essay individually or work in pairs. Grading weights: Midterm exam: 30%, Critical essay: 70%.