organization anayisis
To pass this course, you must complete 4 short (3-4 page) papers providing description and analysis of an organization (selected by you and approved by me by the end of the second week of class). Throughout the semester you are required to immerse yourself in one organization, perform observations, keep field notes, and interview at least two members of the organization. You must do this by gaining access from the appropriate members of the organization. By the end of the second week of class you will turn in a brief description of the organization, with a sentence or two on why you think it is interesting, and a description of how you have negotiated access to observe and interview participants.
Using the data you collect, you will construct a series of papers on the following topics: The first will cover the formal aspects of the organization, its structure, and the way people act/behave/are controlled inside of it. The second paper will deal with the organization’s environment, how it is affected, and sometimes how it affects its environment. The third will deal specifically with inequality within the organization using the framework we will learn about from the Relational Inequalities text, and finally the fourth will be a topic selected by you, possible topics should become apparent as we go along, and should relate to some important theoretical process. Specific instructions will be posted at the appropriate times.
Finally, a fifth dimension of this category is a group presentation on a comparison between yours, and three peers’ organizations.
Each of the five parts are equally weighted.
