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Duration
LevelCritical Management Studies (CMS) (B-KUL-S0D00A)
Aims
To teach and allow students to reflect on historical and present day management conceptes. After taking this course, students should be able to clarify the way in which these management modes are socially embedded. There is also attention for the way in which such concepts originate, spread, are applied and eventually disappear again. This orientation in sociological knowledge is solidified by acquainting students with the methodological to measure and analyse the course of life of such a concept.
Previous knowledge
Students are expected to
- have knowledge and insight into classic concepts and theories of labour and organisation sociology
- be able to situate approaches of labour and organisation sociology among the question of general sociological theory
- have an interest in the critical treatme,t of present day management approaches
- have the basic methodological knowledge to critically research management thinking and implementations in the field
Content
In the curriculum of many university degrees, various management concepts are taught, often displaying an instrumental orientation. Students are, as it were, taught to understand and implement the management concept.
This course, however, primarily aims to critically approach those concepts. The course treats the social embedding of such concepts from the tradition of critical theory and the Anglo-Saxon school in it known as "Critical Management Studies". It looks at which social conditions are needed for a management concept to originate and flourish. At the same time, the course explores which social processes can cause the rise, spread, application and eventual dissappearance of such a concept. It is demonstrated that such processes are not neutral and technocratic, but happens within specific interest configurations. Management concepts that will be discussed include: learn production, business process reengineering, modern sociotechnique, human resources management, learning organisation etc.
Course material
Articles and literature
Slides, transparencies, courseware
Toledo / e-platform
Is also included in other courses
Activities
4.0 ects. Critical Management Studies (CMS) (B-KUL-S0D00a)
Content
The content of the college and the study material consist of the following elements
- What is a management concept? How does it originate, which are its evolutionary stages, how is it applied?
- how can management concepts be measured?
- how can social and economic importance of a management concept be measured?
- Critical screening of various management concepts such Taylorism and Fordism, the human relations approach, modern sociotechnique, learn production, business process reengineering, human resources management, learning organisations...
- study of a concrete case through text material, testimonies and multimedia material
Aims
Students are acquainted with insights of critical management studies by means of lectures, presentations and discussions. They learn to critically compare both historical and contemporary management concepts. They discover and learn the life cycle of such concepts and and are taught to situate them in relation to the interest groups they originate in. They also discover the general social (including economic) background against which they arise. This also teaches students to relate CMS to general sociological theory and critical theory in particular.
Course material
- text bundle Critical Management Studies
- overhead slides and multimedia material on Toledo
