While this course is labelled "Organizations, Institutional Change and Sustainability II", the participation in the first part of the course is no requirement. Everybody with an interest in the topic is welcome to attend.
Please note: This course will be an Online Plus course. This means that for some sessions we will meet on Zoom, for other sessions the venue will be the seminar room in Bachstraße. In our course, active participation and interaction will be essential elements. You will get opportunities to work on and discuss your own ideas. Thus, as participation and interaction rely on seeing and hearing each other, even in an online setting, two things are very welcome. a) From the technical side, please ensure a stable internet connection, a functioning microphone and camera. b) For the Zoom sessions, I would also recommend to participate from a relative quiet environment that allows for sound oral participation. Further information will be found on Moodle.
This course discusses new sustainability research in the sociology of organizations and organizational theory. The focus of the papers is on institutional theory and qualitative research to better understand institutional and organizational change triggered by sustainability considerations. We will discuss for example institutional entrepreneurship, institutional logics or institutional decoupling; we will also discuss the issue of social and ecological sustainability of organizations and/or institutional change. The topics covered rely mainly upon journal articles. At the beginning of term, we will read, excerpt and discuss several academic papers, with the aim to develop own criteria to understand, evaluate, synthesize and critique recent research. In the second part of the term, you will deepen your knowledge by conducting small research projects. You can work jointly with your peers in a small group of (up to three) students. We will spend the time during class to discuss and/or work on these projects, but you are also asked to meet outside class. In the final weeks of the course, the student groups will present their results.
Requirements:
To meet the requirements for earning a certificate (Teilnahmeschein) participants are asked
- to prepare excerpts of all academic papers we read in class (2 pages each)
- to participate actively in the group work, to prepare a written output (2-4 pages) of your small research project (together as a group) and a presentation.
Additional: To meet the requirements for earning a certificate (Leistungsschein) participants are asked
- to take an oral examination (mündliche Prüfung) or to write a term paper (Hausarbeit) or to prepare a portfolio exam (oral examination plus short term paper).
Course language is English. We will read English texts and discuss in English. It is, however, no language course and most likely the majority of participants will have learned English as a second language. Examinations can be held in English or German. |
