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Unit information: Introduction to Management in 2018/19

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Unit name Introduction to Management
Unit code EFIM10015
Credit points 20
Level of study C/4
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director Professor. Beck
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

School/department School of Management - Business School
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit aims to prepare students to engage with the concept and practice of management. It aims to develop their understanding of management as a social science, with an introduction to the basic concepts, tools and analytical frameworks standard to the field. The unit starts with an introduction to the history of Management thought and the important thinkers and paradigms which form the foundations of the subject. Key issues such as the dilemmas of motivating and controlling, and decision-making, hierarchy and culture are explored. The unit aims to develop students’ critical thinking and analytical skills to prepare students to engage in the major debates in the field of management. These include an examination of the ways in which organizational culture, ethics, identity, values, leadership and cognition come to shape how management is practised. Simultaneously, we focus on the ways in which management and its practice will, in turn contribute to the shaping of issues in wider society. This leads us to consider and problematise the ways in which discourses and practices of management are increasingly salient and pervasive in everyday life. We end by speculating on how the various topics within management interact with each other in a dynamic and systemic way. Students who take this unit will gain an understanding of the basic language and concepts which will allow them to engage with the content of advanced Management units.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe a range of issues relevant to management and to the interplay between management and society.

2. Explain and discuss theoretical approaches to management.

3. Recognise different perspectives on management and appreciate the implications that each has both for managers and other organisational members.

4. Analyse and appraise management and organisational practice through the application of relevant theory.

5. Critically evaluate the theory and practice of management.

Students will learn transferable skills of problem analysis, argumentation, presentation, and team working through class work.

Teaching Information

The unit will be taught through Lectures and Classes.

Lectures (approximately two-thirds of contact hours) will have the principal purpose of introducing the content of the course, including vocabulary, concepts, theories, perspectives, practices and trends. Lectures will also expose students to critical evaluation of management theories and concepts, and to the conceptual tools and frameworks employed in undertaking such critique. Lectures will include an element of discussion and debate in order to enhance understanding.

A variety of teaching methods will be employed in the classes, including: discussions based on readings and student experiences; case study work involving analysis, problem-solving and decision-making; group and individual exercises; presentations, discussion, and debate.

Students will be expected to undertake additional reading designed to develop a depth of understanding.

Assessment Information

Summative assessment 1:

Students will critically analyse one of the case studies discussed during seminars and argue for theoretically informed developments and improvements for the chosen case study organisation (ILOs 1, 2 and 4). A 1,500-word assignment will be due at the end of week 6, i.e. half way through TB1. Weighting: 40%

Formative assessment:

In groups and based on the case studies they have analysed in summative assessment 1, students will make a presentation on the range of potential developments and improvements in the chosen case study organisation and consider how these may reflect the interplay between management and society (ILO 1). They will be provided with immediate verbal as well as written feedback. Presentations will take place as part of revision activities in the last weeks of TB1.

Summative assessment 2:

A 2-hour exam in the January assessment period during which students are asked to answer two questions (out of four set questions, one each from part A and B) (ILOs 1, 3 and 5). Weighting: 60%

Summative assessment 1 and 2 must both be passed to achieve an overall pass on the unit.

Reading and References

Hendry, J. (2013) Management, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Linstead, S., Fulop, L. and Lilley, S. (2009) Management and Organization (2nd edition), Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Grey, C. and Willmott, H., eds. (2005) Critical Management Studies: A reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Tadajewski, M., Macklaran, P., Parsons, E. and Parker, M. (2011) Key Concepts in Critical Management Studies. London: Sage.

Selected readings from journals including:

Human Relations

Journal of Business Ethics

Leadership

Organisation

Work, Employment and Society

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