BUS4075S - Management Theory in Practice

Welcome

The first section of this course focuses on different "mind-sets" or conceptual management frameworks, and is based on Gareth Morgan's (1986) seminal work on metaphors of organisations. Over the first seven weeks of this course, the following topics will be covered:

1. Structuring an organisation - Organisations as machines

2. Towards self-organisation - Organisations as brains

3. Unfolding logics of change Organisation as flux and transformation

4. Organising power - Power and conflict in organisations

5. Nature intervenes - The ecology of organisations

6. Developing a culture - The culture of organisations

7. Developing the art of organisational analysis

A sound grasp of Morgan's metaphoric concepts and how to apply them, will set you up for the last quarter which will aim to enable you to better understand and manage the competing values and demands of organisations.

The aim of the second half of this course is to learn about the dynamics regarding what we shall term loosely, "management effectiveness." In this course you shall learn about the key areas (people, projects, change and control) within organisations that make or break a manager - and perhaps more importantly, how to work smarter and effectively within these areas.

You will also be taken into the world of post-modernity and its effect on organisational practice both in the global and immediate contexts.

Finally, we shall also be examining what we mean by effective leadership. Here, through the works of Quinn, Senge and Covey, and others we shall look at how we can better master our lives as organisational managers.