NATIONALUNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

School of Business

Department of Management & Organisation

GEK1047 Organisational Culture and Power

Course Instructor:Assoc Prof Audrey Chia

Session:Semester 1, 2007/2008

Course Description

This course will prepare you for working life in organisations by introducing you to non-rational but essential aspects of organisational life: power, politics and culture. Topics include the influence of culture and values on behaviour and interpretations of events; culture as a tool of management and control; politics and conflict; negotiation; and power and responsibility.

Who this course is for

Almost every graduate who works does so in an organisation. It is to your advantage to understand the cultural and political intricacies of organisational life, beyond technical skills and knowledge and beyond a rational-functional view of work. This course is for students who want to better understand the non-rational but essential aspects of work organisations: power, politics and culture.

Learning outcomes

Having taken the module, you should be able to (a) analyse organisational life from the perspectives of culture and power and (b) analyse the external cultural and political pressures on organizations and the internal cultural and political forces that influence the behaviour of organizations and employees.

Modes of learning and learners’ responsibilities

Classes will be conducted in a seminar format.

The course will be learner-centred. I will set norms of openness, participation and preparedness because much of the learning in this course will be through peer and self-learning. Before each class, you will be given a set of questions to think about. You are expected to come to class having completed the relevant readings and being fully prepared to answer the questions and discuss the issues.

You will also learn from the variety of readings and resources that we will examine throughout the course. Learning activities will include analyses of cases (local/regional and foreign), debates, critiques of papers, laboratory exercises and talks by speakers from industry.

Outside of classes, my main mode of communication with the class will be via IVLE and e-mail. It will be your responsibility to check your NUS mailbox regularly, and to also read the announcements, updates and other materials uploaded to the IVLE.

Some of the sessions will include group exercises as part of the learning process. You have a responsibility to the class to be prepared for the exercise and show up for the class to play your part.

Learning resources

You will read journal articles, book chapters/books and published cases.

The reading list is still being compiled. Below are some samples of readings that will be used in this course.

Academic honesty

Please acknowledge all references and sources that you use in your work. This is not just good manners but also academic honesty.

Course Outline

Week 1: Theories of organization

Week 2: Organisations as cultures

Week 3: Are women from Venus? Cultural variations and differences

Week 4: Learning to work together: Diversity and inclusiveness in organizations

Week 5: Do as the Romans do? Societal culture and its influences

Week 6: “Watches tell more than time” Organisations as purveyors of culture

Week 7: Who’s got the power? Theories of power

Week 8: Power in organizations

Week 9: Power and responsibility

Week 10: The “semi-permeable membrane” – the external environment of organizations

Week 11: Integrating power and culture

Week 12: Your project presentations

Text and References

There is no textbook for this module. The major readings will be made available on IVLE e-reserves. Other books that will be referred to include:

Cialdini, R.B. (2001) Influence: Science and Practice. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Jordan A.G. (2001). Shell, Greenpeace and the Brent Spar. New York: Palgrave.

Kasser, T. and Kanner. A.D. (Eds.) (2004). The psychology of consumer culture: The struggle for a good life in a materialistic world. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Salancik, G. & Pfeffer, J. (1977). The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective.

Sethi, S. Prakash (1994). Multinational corporations and the impact of public advocacy on corporate strategy: Nestle and the infant formula controversy. Boston:Kluwer Academic.

Trice, H.M., Beyer, J.M. (1993). Thecultures of work organizations. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Methods of Assessment

Participation 30%

Response paper and discussion at relevant class session 30%

Project (report and presentation) 40%