Course Outline

 Course: Sociology of Organizations, Theory and Design

 Type: Mandatory course for EPGDHRM – 30 hours, 2 credits

 Instructor: Dr Soumya G. Rajan

 Background of the instructor: The instructor brings with her over 15 years of
experience in the Corporate and Academia with interests in building dignity and
sustainability in work-spaces. You may follow the link to know more on the
credentials - https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumya-g-rajan-phd-2076b15a/

 Description: This course delves upon Organization Theory and its implications on
design, as the title says and helps student attain conceptual foundation on what
Organizations have been created to be. The course is curated to familiarize the
students with the evolutionary thoughts on organizations, sociology of work,
augmentation of its structure while acknowledging the influences of the
environment both external and internal. The sessions would touch upon key drivers
and determinants of design after firming up on the theories which underpin
organizational study.

 The sessions would be largely hands on in nature which would combine lectures and
class reflections. Using a variety of readings, case examples, discussions, experiential
exercises, and team projects, students explore and apply the theme almost naturally
into their lives. This would be augmented with assignment and essays to help the
learner grasp the nuances of the theme. Class participation would earn additional
laurels for the student.

 The detailed day-wise deliverable is given below:

Schedule Theme Reading for the class

Day 1 1. Introduction to Class Reflection #1:
Organizations The Social Organization of Work
(The Sociology Reference Guide
Series)-Salem Press (2011). Refer
 Chapters - Taylorism, Fordism &
Post-Fordism; Labor Theory: Division
of Labor
Day 2 2. Organization Theories – Class Reflection #2:
Part 1 Chapter 1 from Organizational
(Classical School) Theory: A Practical Approach by
Henriette Bjerreskov Dinitzen, Lars
Krogh Jensen
Day 3 3. Organization Theories – Class Reflection #3:
Part 2 Scott, W.R. 2004. Reflections on a
(Modern School) half-century of organizational
sociology. Annual Review of
Sociology, 30: 1-21.
Day 4 4. Organizational Strategy and Class Reflection #4:
Structure (Structural design, How Competitive Forces Shape
Strategy and Effectiveness) Strategy by Michael E. Porter in the
context of The Money Heist Series
(Seasons 1 & 2)
Day 5 5. External factors and design Class Reflection #5:
a. Harvard Case of The Dabbawala
System: On-Time Delivery, Every
Time
b. Visit the link: The unsurpassed
125-year-old network that feeds
Mumbai - BBC Future
c. Visit the link: The ingenious
codes of India’s ‘dabbawalas’ -
BBC Future
Day 6 6. Managing Organizational Class Reflection #6:
Processes Reading Who gets power and how
(Conflict and Decision they hold on to it
making)
Day 7 7. Managing Organizational Class Reflection #7:
Processes In-class reflection
(Culture and Innovation)
Day 8 8. Internal factors and design Class Reflection#8:
Harvard Case of Virgin Galactic:
Diffusion of Innovation in Space
Tourism?
Day 9 9. Incorporating the interests Class Reflection #9:
of the Bottom of the Reading Doing good and doing
 Pyramid business at the bottom of the
pyramid
Day 10 Concurrent Research – Presentation by students

Hello everyone!

Hope all of you are well. Here are some course expectations for you to go through. We can
discuss your doubts and queries in our opening session. Look forward to knowing you all
better. Good day!

I. Session expectations:

✓ The above course outline will give you an overview of what is being planned each
day for the next 30 weekend hours we would be working together.

✓ The students are expected to read through the ‘Reading for the class’ articles prior to
the session.

✓ Since each session would have a class reflection exercise based on the ‘Reading for
the class’ and often the article reading can take time (if done during the session), the
students may lose out on the essence of the group exercise.

✓ Each team exercise of the session will find a unique set of students in a group except
for the ‘Concurrent research assignment’. The team exercises will also be evaluated
for individual contributions, as feasible.

✓ Let us jointly endeavor to follow the timelines as much as possible.

II. Textbooks:
Mandatory Reading:
1. Richard L Daft, Organization Theory and Design, 11th Edition, 2007 (10th edition is
also quite fine)

Additional Reading
2. Gareth R. Jones and Mary Mathew. Organizational Theory, Design and Change,
Pearson Education, 2009
 3. The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization: Early Sociology of Management
and Organizations. (The Making of Sociology) Routledge. 2003.
4. Henriette Bjerreskov Dinitzen, Lars Krogh Jensen. Organisational Theory: A Practical
Approach. Hans Reitzels Forlag (2010)
5. Charles Lemert. Social Things: An Introduction to the Sociological Life, Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers, 2011
6. Baum, J.A.C., & Rowley, T.J. Companion to organizations: An introduction. (ed) 2002.
7. Thomas W. Malone. The Future of Work How the New Order of Business Will Shape
Your Organization, Your Management Style, and Your Life. 2004.
8. W. Richard Scott and Gerald F. Davis. The subject is organizations, the verb is
organizing Chapter 1 in Organizations and organizing: rational, natural, and open
systems perspectives (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2006
9. Chapter 3 of Bruno Lussato’s A Critical Introduction to Organisation Theory-Palgrave
Macmillan UK (1976)
10. Davis, G. F. & Marquis, C. Prospects for Organization Theory in the Early Twenty-First
Century: Institutional Fields and Mechanisms. Organization Science, 16(4): 332-343,
2005
11. On Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (University of Chicago)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUxQywQ-BEk
12. Scott, W.R. Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Opens Systems. Chapter 1, 1992
13. Pfeffer and Salanick. The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence
Perspective (1978, Ed.2003)
14. Henry Mintzberg. Organization Design: Fashion or Fit? HBR.1981

III. Evaluation for the course:

Evaluation 1 (Marks – 30) - Essay
1. Reflections and Review in the form of an Essay on The Short and Glorious History of
Organizational Theory. By: Perrow, Charles. Organizational Dynamics, Summer 73, Vol.
2 Issue 1, p2-15
a. Sketch the relevance of understanding the history of organizational theory.
b. As practitioners, where do you think this reflection will be helpful in your day
to day lives.
 Deadline of submission: March 20, 2023
Assessment Metric:
1. The minimum word count is 900 and maximum 1500.
2. There must be a title page which includes the name of the student, the
enrolment number and the title of the essay mentioned explicitly.
3. Font must be Times New Roman/Calibri with headers at 14 font size and
content at 12 font size. The linespacing must be 1.5.
4. Please ensure to justify the document. Please avoid spelling and sentence
construction errors.
5. The assignment can be in a free writing style and must evidence the
reflections and learning of the student.

Evaluation 2 (Marks – 50) - Examination

2. Written examination
a. The students would need to take a One Hour examination which would
encompass Short to Long answer questions.
b. We would give you a Question Paper with designated space to write your
responses in the examination.
c. The Exam would be conducted after the completion of 30 hours of the course.

Evaluation 3 (Marks – 20) - Concurrent Research

3. Learning an organisation
a. Identify an organization of your choice.
b. No two groups can work on the same organization.
c. Engage in a team work wherein as the session progresses you get to
i. identify the elements covered in each session vis a vis the organisation
ii. investigate/research on the organisation thoroughly
iii. begin with understanding the origins, structure, structural adjustments,
design elements, strategy, environment etc of the organization
iv. come up with one/multiple decision dilemma/problem faced by the
organization as well as the strategies created to resolve them
 d. The assignment is hoped to give an in-depth insight to each of the groups on
what leads to the sustenance of the organization.
e. A presentation is expected from each of the groups wherein they bring
together the nuances of the organization, decision dilemmas/problems and the
solutions.
f. The team must explain the ways in which the organisation has grown, survived
as well as thrived over the years.
g. The best team and organization would get to prepare and potentially publish a
Case Study in collaboration.
h. About the presentation
i. Duration - 15 minutes will be assigned to each team, followed by Q&A
of 5 minutes by other teams.
ii. Each of the team members is expected to present his/her thoughts
during the presentation.
iii. The slides must mandatorily (not exhaustive though) include the
understanding of the organization, structure and design elements
followed by the problem under discussion (a minimum of 5 slides)
iv. The solution by the organization can be supplemented by the
perspectives of the team on what could be the alternate solution or
thought process to resolve the issue.
v. The collaborative spirit of the team and detailed understanding of
organization must be reflected in the presentation.
vi. Creative presentations will receive brownie points
vii. Evaluation - The marks attained by the team will be equally distributed
as the assignment marks against each of the team member.

Assessment Metric:
1. Relevance of the organisation and its dilemma (25%)
2. Involvement and depth of engagement with case (25%)
3. Infographics/ presentability of the deck/power-point (25%)
4. Solutions proposed and their acceptability (25%)
Presentation: Day 10 of the course.
Welcome aboard!

- Dr Soumya G. Rajan,
CHRM, SMLS