1 TYPE THE DOCUMENT TITLE
STRATEGY AND ORGANIZATION: GUIDELINES FOR GROUP REPORTTYPE 1
THE DOCUMENT TITLE
Science in Management
Course Guideline
Autumn 2013
Course Guideline: Science in Management
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 3
LEARNING OUTCOMES ..................................................................................................................................... 3
STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE AND SCHEDULE .............................................................................................. 3
2. ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................................... 5
EXAM .................................................................................................................................................................. 5
ASSIGNMENT 1: THESIS PRESENTATION ...................................................................................................... 6
ASSIGNMENT 2: ARTICLE REVIEWS .............................................................................................................. 6
ASSIGNMENT 3: SHIFTING PARADIGMS ........................................................................................................ 7
ASSIGNMENT 4: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................................... 7
SUBMISSION CHECKLIST ............................................................................................................................... 10
GRADING ASSIGNMENTS:.............................................................................................................................. 10
ola.bergstrom@handels.gu.se
2
1. Introduction
Management is a field of knowledge with a long history including a wide range of
perspectives. This advanced course provides a starting point for the Masters of
Science in Management. The purpose of the course is to provide an understanding of
the historical development of research in the field of management and its scientific
and philosophical underpinnings. This includes ontological, epistemological and
methodological problems.
After completing the course students will be able to understand the different
scientific and philosophical assumptions in the field of management as well as
analyse, identify and account for the broad range of methodological and scientific
perspectives in management research.
Learning outcomes
After completion of the course you are expected to be able to:
1. Understand how different scientific approaches lead to differences in focus as well
as results in the historical development of management research
2. Apply this understanding to the field of management, both historical and current
research
3. Critically and constructively analyze previous and present research in the field of
management
•
Learning outcome 1 will be examined through a written exam and written
reports.
•
Learning outcome 2 will be examined through written reports and oral
presentations
•
Learning outcome 3 will be examined through oral presentations in front of an
audience.
Structure of the course and schedule
The course is divided in three modules. The first module – Management Classics provides an overview of key contributions in management thinking in the early 20th
century. The second module – Scientific paradigms – provides a deeper analysis of
the philosophical underpinnings of various scientific paradigms in management
research. In the third and final module some of the recent developments of
management research is discussed and elaborated upon. The main idea of this module
is to provide a general understanding of the theoretical perspectives discussed more
thoroughly in later courses in this programme.
3
Course Guideline: Science in Management
The course consists of twelve lectures and six seminars. Lecturers are asked to discuss
and illustrate some of the key ideas in the field of management research. The key idea
is that you should get a good overview of the historical background and recent
developments in the field of Management as a starting point for your own research.
Please note, you are expected to read the articles before the lecture. Reading the
articles before the lecture not only enhances your learning, it also gives you a great
opportunity to participate and ask critical questions.
All lectures and seminars are on Mondays and Tuesdays. They are all located in the
School of Business, Economics and Law. For location see schedule on the course
portal. Active participation in seminars is compulsory. The discussions will be
organised in a way that guarantees every participant a possibility to contribute.
Lectures
Teacher
Literature
Part 1: Management classics
L1 Course introduction
AS
L2 Scientific management
GKK
S1 Assignment 1
AS
S2 Assignment 1
AS
L3 Systems rationalism
ÖO
Burns & Stalker, Lawrence & Lorsch
L4 Human relations
UEZ
Acker & Van Houten, Merret
L5 Decision making
AS
Cohen et al, March
L6 Scientific paradigms
VO
Burrell & Morgan
S3 Literature seminar
VO
S4 Literature seminar
VO
Rosen, Gibson, Watson, et.al., West &
Zimmerman
Rosen, Gibson, Watson, et.al., West &
Zimmerman
Taylor, Fayol
Part 2: Scientific paradigms
Part 3: Theoretical developments
L7 Actor-network theory
FL
Latour, Akrich
L8 Institutional theory
MN
Meyer &Rowan, DiMaggio& Powell
L9 Gender
UEZ
L10 Organizational learning
AD
West & Zimmerman, Acker & Va n
Houten
Levitt & March, Spender
L11 Organizational culture
GK
Rosen, Barley & Kunda
L12 Summing up
AS
S5 Assignment 4
AS
S6 Assignment 4
AS
ola.bergstrom@handels.gu.se
4
Lecturers
AD: Andreas Diedrich
AS: Alexander Styhre
GKK: Gary Kokk
FL: Fredrik Lavén
GK: Gideon Kunda
MN: Maria Norbäck
VO: Vedran Omanovic
UEZ: Ulla Erikssom-Zetterquist
ÖO: Östen Ohlsson
2. Assessment
The course will be assessed through four individual assignments and one individual
exam. To obtain a pass in the course, the student must have at least a pass in all
individual tests (The exam and the four assignments). To obtain a Pass with
Distinction students need to have a pass with distinction on the exam and assignment
3 and 4.
Exam
Assignment 1
Assignment 2
Assignment 3
Assignment 4
Points Form
Learning outcome
50
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
1, 2 and 3
2, 3
1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3
Written exam
Written paper and oral presentation
Written papers
Written paper
Written paper and oral presentation
In the following sections you will find more detailed instructions for the three forms
of assessment in the course.
Exam
The purpose of the exam is to assess your knowledge and understanding of how
different scientific approaches lead to differences in focus as well as results in the
historical development of management research. The basis for the exam is the
lectures and the articles provided in the reading list above.
The exam is an individual exercise and will take place on October 31, 8.00-12.00,
Viktoriagatan 30.
The exam consists of six questions, each giving a maximum of 10 points and in total a
maximum of 60 points. Pass: 30 points, Pass with distinction: 45 points.
Please consider the following when you write the exam:
- Plan your answers carefully. Don’t just start writing. Start by making clear in
each answer how you have understood the question, how you will answer it
and what your focus is.
- Try to reflect upon each question in your answer, and use theoretical models
and concepts from the literature to explain and argue for your point. Aim for a
balance between writing both about the theory and practical realities.
- You are expected to use the course literature (without explaining and offering
summaries of theories, models and perspectives). You may also use references
5
Course Guideline: Science in Management
-
-
-
-
to other articles or other sources of information. You may also refer to your
own practical experiences (but you do NOT have to), during or outside of the
course, if you find this to be relevant to support your arguments.
Argue as clearly as you can for all your statements, showing your thinking and
assumptions explicitly. Avoid generalizing statements. Showing nuances
(complexity or multiple perspectives) is seen as a sign of critical thinking and
is highly appreciated.
Please try to structure your answers so that we can understand your text easily.
Focus on the most important and present it logically. Doing so, there is no
need for more than one page per question.
Remember that we are not examining your English, but try your best to make it
understandable. We will try our best to understand what you mean.
Dictionaries may be used.
The exam results will be published on GUL four weeks after the exam.
Assignment 1: Thesis presentation
Write down a 200 words description of the research that you have done at the
bachelors level, according to the following structure:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Title
The research question and purpose
Your theoretical approach
What methodology was adopted for the collection of data?
How was the data analyzed?
What were the key findings?
•
Deadline: Submit your paper by the 6th of September, at 13.00, preferably as a
hard-copy in the brown mailbox outside of Alexander Styhre’s office on floor
5, the J-building, or, by e-mail to alexander.styhre@handels.gu.se.
•
Oral presentation: Papers will be presented orally on the first two seminars on
the 9th and 10th of September.
•
Prepare a 5 minutes presentation (no more, no less). Power points may be
used.
Assignment 2: Article reviews
Before each lecture: Submit a short summary of the scheduled readings for each
lecture. List two or three questions related to your research or area of interest.
•
Maximum 150-200 words per article.
ola.bergstrom@handels.gu.se
6
•
Print out and give to lecturer a hard-copy of the paper before the lecture. No
e-mail, please!
•
Do not forget to label with your name and title of articles.
•
Deadline: Before each lecture.
Assignment 3: Shifting paradigms
Write a short paper where you position your own research as presented in Assignment
1 in relation to the four scientific paradigms suggested by Burrell & Morgan. Please
consider the following three questions:
(1) What ontology have you adopted? (i.e. How far do you consider the thing you
have investigated real/objective, or social/subjective), and
(2) What epistemology have you adopted (positivist, relativist, or social
constructionist)?
(3) What assumptions have you adopted in terms of harmony or conflict?
Write down a 200 word description of how your research would change if you change
paradigm, including
– The research question and purpose
– Your theoretical approach
– How you would conduct the study (methodology)
– How data would be analyzed
– Possible results
•
Deadline: Submit your paper electronically (e-mail:
alexander.styhre@handels.gu.se) to the course leader on October 1st..
Assignment 4: Literature review
The purpose of assignment 4 is to develop your ability to critically and constructively
analyze previous and present research in the field of management. Reviewing
previous research is one of the corner stones of scientific work. Literature reviews can
be related to a particular topic, for example business ethics, studies of knowledge
management or cross-cultural management, or they can be related to a particular
theory or concept. Each of you will write a literature review according to the structure
suggested below. Your literature review will be presented in a written report and an
oral presentation in the end of the course. These guidelines should answer many of
your questions about how to write and submit your literature review.
7
Course Guideline: Science in Management
Procedure
1. The report should be written individually. It is possible that you coordinate
your project with other students’, but your literature review should be written
individually.
2. The following steps are recommended:
-
-
-
-
•
Read guidelines carefully.
Select two journal articles that you find interesting and relevant. You may
identify articles based on previous literature in the course, theoretical
ideas/problems or relevant topics in organizations.
Your selected articles must meet the following criteria:
o The selection should be made from the list of journals below.
o The first should have been published within the last five years and
the second should have been published before 1995.
o Both articles should be empirical. Review articles are not accepted.
o The first article should have been cited at least 1000 times.
o Both articles should address the same theme, but they should be
representatives of different scientific paradigms.
To find good articles you may use google scholar or the university library
databases. One possibility is to search for an old article, which is often
cited, and search for a later article that cites the old. You may also start
with a new article, which is using an older article as a key reference.
Start writing your literature review as soon as possible.
Deadline: Oral presentation of your final report will be made on the 28th
and 29th of October. Prepare your presentation carefully. The quality of
your presentation will affect the grading of your report.
Do not hesitate to ask your lecturers about interesting articles.
List of Journals
– Administrative Science Quarterly
– Organization Studies
– Organization Science
– Academy of Management Journal
– Human Relations
– Organization
– Gender, Work and Organization
– Journal of Management Studies
ola.bergstrom@handels.gu.se
8
2. Structure of the report. Your task is to identify the following themes in each
article and compare them:
–
–
–
Introduction
•
Introduce the topic. Why is it relevant?
•
Why did you choose the two articles?
•
How many times have the articles been cited?
Comparative analysis
•
What theoretical approach and philosophical position underpins
each article?
•
What method was adopted for the collection of data?
•
What were the nature and the size of the sample?
•
How were the data analyzed?
•
What were the key findings?
Concluding remarks
•
•
What did you learn from the two articles regarding:
•
The development knowledge in the field
•
The scientific development
Other reflections
3. Length of the review. The text of each review should not exceed 1,000
words. Large graphs, tables and images can be placed in an appendix.
4. Use of previously published material. Your report should include references
to scientific articles, books, and reports. Relevant references may be found in
the electronic databases in the library. Google Scholar is the easiest way to
find academic articles, but please make sure that you are logged in through the
university.
5. Submit your literature review electronically to the course leader. Deadlines:
I. Choice of articles:
October 1st
II. Submission:
October 25th, 10.00, as hard-copy to AS
9
Course Guideline: Science in Management
III. Oral presentation:
October 28 and 29
Submission checklist





All reports should be formatted with justified alignment, 1” margins all around, in
Times Roman 12, line spacing at 1.5.
Your reports should be in Word (for Windows).
Please proof-read your reports.
Illustrations, such as tables, figures, and graphs should be presented in appendixes
with full information of sources. Illustrations will not be regarded as included in
the number of pages required.
Always keep electronic and hardcopy copies of your reports. Also keep copies of
your source material in case questions arise during the examination process.
Grading assignments:
Assignment 1
Assignment 2
Assignment 3
Assignment 4
Fail
Pass
No presentation,
key elements
missing.
Submission not on
time.
Name and titles
missing
Submission not on
time
Well structured
presentation, within time
limit
Relevant questions and
summary. All articles
covered.
Submission not on
time
Limited scope of
review. Grave
misunderstanding
of key elements.
Well-structured
presentation, within time
limit. Written paper,
including references
following the Harvard
Citation System. All
relevant aspects covered.
All elements covered.
Discussion including
references following the
Harvard Citation System.
ola.bergstrom@handels.gu.se
Pass with
distinction
Elaborated insightful
and well-motivated
discussion in relation to
the Burrell and Morgan
model.
Elaborated, well
motivated and structured
discussions and
conclusions comparing
the two articles in
relation to the Burrell
and Morgan model.
10