Instructor: David Diehl
david.diehl@duke.edu
Office Hours: Wednesdays 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm or by appointment
223 Gross Hall
Organizations and Management
Sociology 355
Fall 2013
Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 4:40 to 5:55
Location: Old Chemistry 116
This is a survey course designed to provide an overview of the development of the modern
organization and of organizational analysis as a field of study. While primary focus will be on
for-profit firms, we will also look at complex organizations in other sectors such as schools and
voluntary associations. The goal of this course is to provide students with a theoretical “toolkit”
to help them understand different perspectives on how organizations work, how they fail, how
they should be managed under rapidly changing conditions and how they connect to other
aspects of the social and cultural world. Drawing on case studies and contemporary and classical
organizational theory, students will learn to think critically about the many organizations in the
world around them, as well as learn practical skills for engaging with them.
Class Information
• Syllabus, reading material (additional to the required book), announcements, and
assignments are all listed on Sakai.
• Lecture slides will be posted on Sakai immediately before class begins.
Requirements
• Attendance and participation in class sessions are required. See grade instructions for
further specifications of related requirements.
• Students should prepare for each session by reading all articles. Reading material, except
for case studies and the required book, will be available on Sakai.
• To assist in this preparation, students should submit short daily reading commentaries,
phrased in the form of questions, based on the reading material. Details below.
• Students should choose a particular organization to follow throughout the semester.
• A mid-term paper based on applying class readings to this organization due Oct 21.
• A final paper, topic to be distributed in advance, due Dec 6.
• All work must be submitted in person at the beginning of the class period.
• Submitted work will be graded. Any late submission will result in grade penalty.
Grading:
• 15% Daily Responses
• 25% Midterm Paper
• 35% Final Paper
• 25% Attendance and participation in class discussions and in-class quizzes
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Reading Materials:
Bolman, Lee G. and Terrence E Deal. 2008. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and
Leadership (4th edition), John Wiley & Sons.
Harvard Case Study website: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/20491727
All other readings are available on Sakai site for the class. Posted reading material is subject to
fair use clause: it is to be used for class activities only and not to be distributed or used in any
other way. https://sakai.duke.edu/portal/site/d079073f-f8d7-42a8-bb20-93e8ac3d3956
Attendance:
Attendance and participation in class sessions are required. In case one has to miss a class
session, the student must make an arrangement with the instructor in advance. Any excused
absence requires a submission of an additional reading commentary.
Reading Commentaries:
To assist with preparation for each class discussion, students should submit short reading
commentaries, based on the reading material at the beginning of each class. Each commentary
should include 2 distinct questions related to the reading material, thus revealing your
commentary on the issues discussed. The questions should reflect remarks, interpretations,
opinions, or views on issues arising from the reading material. Questions should be of the sort
that raise a discussion as an answer, rather than “closed” (yes/no) questions or questions whose
answer is evident in the text. Commentaries will be evaluated based on the thoughtfulness,
clarity and boldness of the argument and on the quality of the composition. Each commentary
will be graded pass/fail (thus giving full-, or no, credit for the work). Commentaries must be
submitted in person.
Choosing an Organization to Follow:
During the first two weeks of class, choose an organization that you think is interesting enough
to follow throughout the semester. Any kind of organization will do — large or small, startup or
well-established, for-profit or otherwise — as long as you are not already too familiar with it,
and information about it is available in the news, the business press, or similar sources. Plan to
say a few words about your organization in class on September 4th. You should also expect to
make use of what you learn about your chosen organization in class discussion and in written
assignments.
Mid-Term Paper:
Midterm paper. (About 2,000 words.) Use two of the four frames discussed in class to write a
case-study of your organization. You might find it useful to look at the HBS case studies as
examples to work from, though your paper does not have to be written in this format. More
details will provided later in the semester.
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Final Paper:
Final paper. (About 4,000 words). Topics for the final paper will be assigned in advance. The
paper must be submitted via email by 5pm on Friday December 6.
Computer Use in Class:
To encourage engagement in lectures, discussions and group activities laptops may not be used
in class. As wonderful as computers are, we know from research that they tend to be a distraction
in classrooms, even to students who are not using laptops but sitting close to them.
Class Schedule and Readings
Class Overview and Logistics
Mon Aug 26
Introduction
Wed Aug 28
Bolman & Deal Chapter 1: The Power of Reframing
Bolman & Deal Chapter 2: Simple Ideas, Complex Organizations
Frame 1: Organizational Structural
Mon Sep 2
Bolman & Deal Ch 3: Structural Form
Weber, Max. 1922. “Bureaucracy” Excerpt
Jacques, Elliot. 1990. “In Praise of Hierarchy” Excerpt
Wed Sep 4
Bolman & Deal Ch 4: Structuring and Restructuring
“Standard Oil Co.: Combination, Consolidation, and Integration” (HBS Case 391287).
Mon Sep 9
Bolman & Deal Ch 5: Organizing Groups and Teams
Guzzo, Richard and Marcus Dickson. “Teams in Organizations: Recent Research on
Performance and Effectiveness.”
Frame 2: Organizational Cultural
Wed Sep 11
Bolman & Deal Ch 12: Organizational Symbols and Cultures
Schein, Edgar. “Defining Organizational Culture.” Excerpt
Mon Sep 16
Bolman & Deal Ch 13: Culture in Action
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Martin, Joanne. “Organizational Culture: Pieces of the Puzzle.” Excerpt
Wed Sep 18
Bolman & Deal Ch 14: Organization as Theatre
Goffman, Erving. “The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life. Excerpt
Frame 3: Organizational Politics
Mon Sep 23
Bolman & Deal Ch 9: Power, Conflict, and Coalition
Vaughan, Diane. 1990. “Autonomy, Interdependence, and Social Control: NASA and the Space
Shuttle Challenger.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(2): 225-257.
Wed Sep 25
Bolman & Deal Ch 10: The Manager as Politician
Jackall, Robert. “Moral Mazes: The World of Corporate Managers.” Excerpt
Mon Sep 30
Bolman & Deal Ch 11: Organizations as Political Arenas and Political Agents
“Thomas Green: Power, Office Politics, and a Career in Crisis” (HBS Case 2096)
Frame 4: Organizational Psychology
Wed Oct 2
Bolman & Deal Ch 6: People and Organizations
Follett, Mary Parker. “The Giving of Orders.” Excerpt
McGregor, Douglas. “The Human Side of Enterprise.” Excerpt
Mon Oct 7
Bolman & Deal Ch 7: Improving Human Resource Management
“Treadway Tire Company: Job Dissatisfaction and High Turnover at the Lima Plant” (HBS Case
2189).
Wed Oct 9
Bolman & Deal Ch 8: Interpersonal and Group Dynamics
Edmondson, Amy C. 1999. “Psychological Safety and Learning Behaviors in Work Teams.”
Mon Oct 14 - No Class: Fall Break
Organizations and Environments
Wed Oct 16
Institutions
DiMaggio, Paul and Walter W. Powell. “The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and
Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields.” Excerpt
Meyer, John and Brian Rowan. “Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and
Ceremony.” Excerpt
Mon Oct 21
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Institutional Change
Scott, Richard et al. “Institutional Change and Health Care Organizations.” Excerpt
Wed Oct 23
Resource Dependency and Population Ecology
Pfeffer, Jeffrey and Gerald Salancik. “External Control of Organizations: A Resource
Dependence Perspective.” Excerpt
Carroll, Glenn and Michael Hannan. “Demography of Corporations and Industries.” Excerpt
Organizations and Networks
Mon Oct 28
Networks I: Intra-organizational Networks
Burt, Ronald. “Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition.” Excerpt
Granovetter, Mark. “The Strength of Weak Ties.”
Wed Oct 30
Networks II: Network organizations
Walter W. Powell, “Neither Market nor Hierarchy: Network Forms of Organization.”
Mon Nov 4
Social Capital
Small, Mario “Unanticipated Gains: Origins of Network Inequality in Everyday Life.” Excerpt
Organizations and Individuals
Wed Nov 6
Leadership
Bolman & Deal Ch 17: Reframing Leadership
Bolman & Deal Ch 20: Bringing it all Together: Change and Leadership in Action
Mon Nov 11
CEOs
Khurana, Rakesh “Searching for a Corporate Savior: The Irrational Quest for Charismatic
CEOs” Excerpt
Wed Nov 13
Entrepreneurship
Shane, Scott and S. Venkataraman. “The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research.”
“Zipcar: Refining the Business Model.” (HBS Case 803096)
Organizations and Society
Mon Nov 18
Diversity
Cox, Taylor. “Creating the Multicultural Organization: The Challenge of Managing Diversity.”
Excerpt
Castilla, Emilio. “Gender, Race, and Meritocracy in Organizational Careers”.
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Wed Nov 20
Social Movements
Rao, Hayagreeva. “Market Rebels: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovations.” Excerpt
Mon Nov 25
Social Responsibility
Soule, Sarah. “Contention and Corporate Social Responsibility.” Excerpt
“Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices” (HBS Case 700047).
Wed Nov 27 – No Class: Thanksgiving Break
Organizations and Careers
Mon Dec 2
Modern Careers
Sullivan, Sherry. “The Changing Nature of Careers: A Review and Research Agenda.”
Wed Dec 4
Uncertain Careers
Barley, Stephen and Gideon Kunda. “Gurus, Hired Guns and Warm Bodies: Itinerant Experts in
a Knowledge Economy.” Excerpt
“Eden McCallum: A Network-Based Consulting Firm” (HBS Case 410056).
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