Social Organizations (SOC 302L/01) |
Web Page: http://home.southernct.edu/~blochj1 Office: EN C023 B Office Hrs: T 3:30-4:30 PM, W 11:00 AM-12:00 PM, R 4:00-7:00 PM (and by appointment) |
|||||||||||||
COURSE SYLLABUS Welcome to Social Organizations. In this course, you will be asked to develop skills in critical thinking—the ability to look at something from more than one perspective. To accomplish this, you will be asked to master and apply contrasting sociological ideas pertaining to organizational structure and process, and to be conversant in empirical studies on these same topics. In so doing, it is hope you will be able to apply course materials to organizational issues in your daily life, as well as to society at large. Catalog Description: 2) Students will collect, analyze and interpret data relevant to personal, work-related and/or social issues from the perspective of sociology. 3) Students will identify the value of
pro-active citizenship in the form of community/university service,
and/or professional
activities. |
||||||||||||||
| Course Goals | Outcome Measures | |||||||||||||
| Students can distinguish between major sociological theories and concepts pertaining to social organizations | Essays, objective measures, writing assignments, final project, class participation | |||||||||||||
| Students can cite key findings of empirical studies on social organizations | Writing assignments, final project, class participation | |||||||||||||
| Students can apply this information to key social issues and/or their daily lives | Essays, writing assignments, final project, class participation | |||||||||||||
| Students can apply this information to problem- based, writing intensive assignments that emphasize critical thinking | Writing assignments | |||||||||||||
| Students can demonstrate state-of-the-art computer technology skills | Final project | |||||||||||||
| We will pursue this material in a manner consistent with the goals of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), as elaborated through the principals of SAILS (Scholarship, Attitudes and Dispositions, Integrity, Leadership, and Service). In so doing, we will be preparing you for your capstone experience as a sociology major, in which you will pursue either an internship, senior seminar or sociology honors. | ||||||||||||||
Required Readings: A series of online readings from scholarly journals, listed listed at the end of the syllabus.. Students will receive copies as attachments to their SCSU e-mail account one time only. Otherwise, students will be responsible for acquiring copies themselves through online data bases available through Buley Library. Required Online: There is also an online
study guide available at: http://home.southernct.edu/~blochj1/org.html Generally, students should expect two hours per week of homework for each in-class credit hour. Therefore, you should spend an average of six hours per week keeping up on readings and doing other projects for this course. |
||||||||||||||
1.How to contact me: USE E-MAIL!!!! I am more happy than set up an appointment to answer your questions, but I like to avoid “phone tag.” However, if you e-mail me, I will answer your question in a timely manner. If you have not yet set up an e-mail account, you can do so online by going to "MY SCSU" on the SCSU Home Page: http://home.southernct.edu. Normally, your log-on will be your last name, first initial, and numeral 1, with NO SPACES (e.g., Blochj1). Your password is your six-digit date of birth. If this does not work, there are further instructions on the Web Site, or you can consult the help desk at 392-5123. (Note: If you want to meet with me during my regular office hours, you do not need to set up an appointment.) I often send e-mails to the entire class using My SCSU, so it is important that you set up your SCSU e-mail, and check it on a regular basis. Do not ask if you can use a different e-mail address. Through “MY SCSU,” I can e-mail the entire class at once. Important messages might be sent out to the class, and you will be expected to regularly check your SCSU e-mail to know this information. Also, increasingly, outside e-mail addresses are posted as spam by the SCSU server. Thus, if you use a different address, your message might be listed as spam, and I will not see it. Furthermore, you can transfer your SCSU messages to another e-mail address, if that is more convenient. NOTE: My e-mail address is available for matters pertaining only to academia, and is not to be used for any other purpose. |
||||||||||||||
| 2. Grading: Your grade will be determined as follows: | ||||||||||||||
| Two Exams (100 pts each): | 200 | |||||||||||||
| Two writing assignments and one rewrite (100 points each): | 300 | |||||||||||||
Group Presentation: |
150 | |||||||||||||
Particiaption: |
50 | |||||||||||||
TOTAL
|
700 | |||||||||||||
During the semester, you will receive a raw scores, not letter grades. Thus, an “89” is recorded as an “89,” instead of as a “B+.” The raw scores then are added together for a final grade. This should maximize the likelihood of your doing well in the course. Final grading will use the following scale:
F = 419 or less |
||||||||||||||
| 3. Cut-off points are strictly enforced. For example, if your final average is 629.89, your final grade is B+. | ||||||||||||||
| 4. Your grade is based on the criteria defined herein. Exams and so on provide the basis for your grade. Please do not waste your time and mine by stating that you should have received a higher score because you “worked hard.” It is taken for granted that students should work hard; as noted above, it is normal to expect an average of six hours of homework per week. Obviously, all students would rather get a high score than a low one. Saying you should have received a higher grade despite your score is like saying you should have won the gold medal in figure skating even though you missed all your jumps, because you practiced more hours than the person who won. Moreover, effort is taken into account through grading policies regarding participation and attendance. | ||||||||||||||
| 5. Participation: If you regularly participate in every class, you can receive upwards of 50 points for participation. If you participate less than that, you can expect fewer points for participation; if you rarely or never participate, your score might be as low as zero. For example, if you have earned 605 points for your exams, papers and presentation, and get 50 points for participation, your final score will be 655, which is an A. However, if you earn zero points for participation, your score is still 605, which is a B+. Asking questions simply for the sake of asking questions, or asking simple procedural questions such as when an assignment is due, does not count for participation. Instead, you must make interesting contributions to class discussions and exercises that integrate course materials. In other words, you must learn to speak the language of the course. You will be expected to be familiar with reading and lecture materials in advance of class; I might call on you to explain the next terminology, and you will be expected to provide an answer. You also will be expected to participate in class exercises. If it is apparent that most students are not keeping up with the readings, I reserve the right to start giving in-class quizzes on the reading assignments. |
||||||||||||||
| 6. Attendance: Attendance will be taken toward the end of every class period. You will be permitted four absences; beginning with your fifth absence, you lose five points off your final score per absence. For example, if you miss four classes and your total score is 562 (B-), your final score is 562 (B-). However, if you miss five classes and your total score is 562, your final score goes down to 557 (C+). With six absences, your score goes down to 552, and so forth. Remember, it is only with your fifth absence that you start to lose points. Thus, if you miss one to four classes, you do not need to alert me as to why you missed class. You will not be able to sign off as present before the attendance sheet is passed around. If you fail to sign the attendance sheet, you will be marked absent, period. I am not able to look up previous attendance sheets to see if you signed. | ||||||||||||||
| 7. Exams: Exams will be objective (Multiple choice, T/F, matching). The exams will be held in class. | ||||||||||||||
| 8. Late Exam Policy: If you miss the in-class exam, you lose five points for each subsequent class session that goes by without taking it. No exceptions will be made. | ||||||||||||||
9. Writing Assignments: There will be two five-page writing assignments. Each assignment will be evaluated; you then will revise and resubmit your first paper. The re-write does not “erase” your earlier score. Each paper assignment will require a synthesis of a certain number of course readings as applied to a particular topic. It is very important that you always provide the correct number of readings—otherwise, you will lose major points for not following instructions. Two radically different answers can receive full credit, provided that in each instance the student bases his/her answer on course materials. Pay strict attention to the comments I make on your papers; I will refer to them when grading future papers, to make sure you do not keep making the same mistakes. Thus, if you continue to make the same mistakes, you will lose more points on the rewrite—and even more on the next assignment. Detailed instructions for your writing assignments is available at the following link: http://home.southernct.edu/~blochj1/lcourse.html The assignments themselves will be posted at the following link: http://home.southernct.edu/~blochj1/assignments.html |
||||||||||||||
| 10. Revisions on Papers: All students are required to revise their first paper. Regardless of your original score, revising your paper will involve much more than superficial improvements; you might be asked to reconsider your entire argument, in addition to clarifying your usage of key terms. In these ways, the revision process will increase your capacity for critical thinking—the ability to approach a situation from more than one perspective. | ||||||||||||||
| 11. Late Assignment Policy: For each business day your writing assignments are late, you will lose five points. No exceptions will be made. | ||||||||||||||
12. Final Project: During the final exam period, there will be a series of group presentations. Groups will be assigned by about the second week of class. Some class time will be set aside during the semester for groups to meet. Each group will have 15 minutes (unless informed otherwise) to make its presentation, plus a few minutes for questions. This process will include each group being asked spontaneous questions from another group, on the basis of the presentation given. Each group will pick a topic pertaining to organizations for sociological analysis. Each group should have a different topic; the sooner a group decides on a topic, the sooner it can “reserve” it. You will then use at least three course readings and at least three key ideas from lecture to analyze this topic. It must be apparent that you are basing your analysis on these course materials. Presentations must utilize PowerPoint. This will help ensure a professional presentation, as well as help groups to concisely organize their main points. No homemade posters, etc. will be permitted. A working knowledge of programs such as PowerPoint will prove extremely useful upon graduation. |
||||||||||||||
| 13. Grading presentations: Generally speaking, all members of a group receive the same grade. However, when it is apparent that a given member of a group has either contributed much more or contributed much less, a student’s grade will go up or down accordingly. | ||||||||||||||
| 14. Voting Out Group Members: Through unanimous vote, a group can recommend to me that a member be removed form their group. I will then consider the matter, and make a decision. Grounds for removing a group member should not be based on mere difference of opinion, but on the failure a group member to attend group meetings, and/or do a fair share of the work. | ||||||||||||||
| 15. Missed Presentation: All students are expected to stay for all presentations. Students who arrive late or leave early will get 20 points deducted from their grade (the other members of their group will not be effected). Students who do not show up for the presentations or who have been removed from their groups have a choice of receiving a score of “zero” for their presentation grade, or writing a 10-page, double-spaced paper on the topic of the missed presentation, with one-inch margins and 10-12 point type. The paper will be due by 5:00 PM on the last day of class. | ||||||||||||||
16. General Responsibilities: ° If you miss class, you will need to get lecture notes from another student. ° Films will not be shown on an individual basis. ° If you lose your syllabus, you must acquire another copy from another student or from my web page. ° The only opportunities for extra credit, if any, will be ones assigned to the entire class. There will be no special extra credit assignments for individual students. ° You are expected to make back-up copies of your papers and presentations. You should also e-mail them to yourself, to have as many copies as possible. Students who save their work on only one disk and who then cannot open the disk will not be given extra time to make up the work. ° You are expected to complete all the assignments for the course, and by the last day of the course. Students who do not do so will receive a final grade of F. Per SCSU policy, grades of “Incomplete” (I) are given rarely, and only in extreme situations that were truly unavoidable. |
||||||||||||||
| 17. Students with Disabilities: As a student with a disability, before you may receive accommodations in this class, you will need to make an appointment with the Disability Resource Center located in EN B 222 to arrange for approved accommodations. However, if you would like to speak with me about other information, such as emergency medical information, or arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment as soon as possible. | ||||||||||||||
| 18. Academic Misconduct: Students are expected to conduct themselves within the guidelines specified in the Student Handbook. Any student who violates the expected code of conduct is subject to serious reprimand, up to and including academic dismissal from the university. | ||||||||||||||
| 19. Plagiarism: All students must produce original work. Outside sources are to be used only as specified in the instructions, and are to be properly referenced and/or quoted. Lifting copy from web sites or other sources and trying to pass it off as your original words constitutes plagiarism. Such cases can lead to academic dismissal from the university. | ||||||||||||||
20. Grading Criteria: When grading assignments, I pay attention to three general areas: 1) your ability to apply sociology to your topic, 2) your writing skill, and 3) your ability to follow instructions. More information on how I grade can be found at: http://home.southernct.edu/~blochj1/lcourse.html. In assigning a grade to your papers (as well as presentations), I use the following scale: 100-98: Professional Caliber. This is work you proudly could show to a prospective employer, or to a graduate school admissions committee. You fully followed the instructions. There were no spelling or grammatical errors. Your thesis is clear. There is a clear beginning, middle and end. Paragraphs begin with a topic sentence that the subsequent sentences adhere to. You fully explain yourself. Course materials have been correctly defined and applied to the topic, and demonstrate thought and effort. It is clear that you learned by writing this answer—that a proverbial “light bulb” went off on top of your head. 97-90: Excellent. You could still show this work to a prospective employer or graduate school, but there were a few minor errors. Perhaps there was a typo or two, or a few misuses of grammar. Or maybe one of your assertions was slightly confusing to read, or your usage of a course terminology somewhat stretched credibility. But you followed the instructions the assignment, and it is obvious that you made some compelling intellectual connections between ideas. 89-80: Good. Before showing this to a prospective employer or graduate school, you would want to make some improvements. You still followed the instructions, and you have some good ideas that basically make sense. But there might have been a fair number of spelling and/or grammatical errors, or maybe two or more of your assertions were unclear or incorrect. Perhaps you also failed to make clear synthesis of ideas—your paper may have lacked focus and specificity. Still, it is obvious that you tried your best and felt you were onto something. 79-70: Fair. Unless it is radically rewritten, your work has too many flaws to show to a prospective employer or graduate school. You followed the instructions for the assignment, but you seem to have chronic problems with grammar and/or spelling, and/or with the overall organization of your work. Perhaps your transitions between paragraphs is unclear, or maybe you wrote an entire answer as one long paragraph. Maybe, too, your ideas are hard to follow, or your use of course ideas were blatantly incorrect. The reader senses you tried, but the presentation of your ideas is hard to understand, and/or unconvincing. 69-60: Poor. You definitely should not show this work to a prospective employer or graduate school. You obviously tried, and you followed the basic instructions. But your work is not at a university level. Your spelling, grammar, organization, usage of key terms, and/or the clarity and validity of your arguments are highly problematic. You definitely should see me outside of class to discuss your work. You also should visit the SCSU Writing Center. 59 or less: Failure. You should keep your paper locked in a safe deposit box so that no one can blackmail you with it in the future. You probably had excessive difficulties with grammar, spelling, the organization of your work, the correct use of key terms, and/or the clarity and validity of your arguments. Perhaps you also wrote answers that were much too short, and did not demonstrate a working knowledge of course concepts. |
||||||||||||||
| TOPICS,
READING ASSIGNMENTS, AND DUE DATES |
||||||||||||||
| PART ONE: ORGANIZATIONAL FOUNDATIONS | ||||||||||||||
Topic 1: Organizations
and Rationality Topic 2: Organizations
as Systems Topic 3: Organizations
as Networks Topic 4: Organizations
and Rational Choice
|
Topic 5: Environments
and Resources Topic 6: Power and Oligarchy Topic 7: Organizational
Goals and Strategies |
|||||||||||||
| EXAM #1 on Topics 1 through 7 PAPER #1 due |
||||||||||||||
| PART TWO: ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES AND TENSIONS | ||||||||||||||
Topic 8: Organizational Structure REWRITE OF PAPER due Topic 9: Organizational
Culture Topic 10: Organizational
Conflict Topic 11: Power, Control
and Change
|
Topic 12: Alternative
Organizational Models Topic 13: Organizations,
Ideology and Identity Topic 14: Organizations
and Inequality |
|||||||||||||
| EXAM #2 on Topics 8 through 14 Group presentations during Final Exam Period, Tuesday 12/14, 12:45-2:45 PM |
||||||||||||||
LIST OF COURSE READINGS: 1. Feldman, Daniel C. “The Dilbert Syndrome: How Employee Cynicism is Changing the Nature of Careers in Organizations.” American Behavioral Scientist, 43: 1286-1300. 2. Verschraegen, Gert. 2002. “Human Rights and Modern Society: A Sociological Analysis from the Perspective of Systems Theory.” Journal of Law and Society, 29: 258-81. 3. Wellman, Barry. 1999. “From Little Boxes to Loosely-Bounded Networks: The Privatization and Domestication of Community.” In Sociology for the Twenty-First Century: Continuities and Cutting Edges, edited by Janet Abu-Lughod, 94-114. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 4. Iannaccone, Laurence R. and Sean F. Everton. 2004. “Never on Sunny Days: Lessons from Weekly Attendance Counts.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 43: 191-207. 5. Bratt, Rachel G. and William M. Rohe. 2004. “Organizational Changes Among CDCs: Assessing the Impacts and Navigating the Challenges.” Journal of Urban Affairs, 26: 197-220. 6. Wittberg, Patricia. 1989. “Non-Ordained Workers in the Catholic Church: Power and Mobility Among American Nuns.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 28: 148-161. 7. Ward, Jane. 2000. “A New Kind of AIDS: Adapting to the Success of Protease Inhibtors in an AIDS Care Organization.” Qualitative Sociology, 23: 247-265. 8. Scott, Alan J. 2004. “The Other Hollywood: The Organizational and Geographic Bases of Television-Program Production.” Media, Culture & Society, 26: 183-205. 9. Nybell, Lynn M. and Sylvia Sims Gray. “Race, Place, Space: Meanings of Cultural Competence in Three Child Welfare Agencies.” Social Work, 49: 17-26. 10. Bodtker, Andrea M. 2001. “Emotion in Conflict Formation and its Transformation: Application to Organizational Conflict Management.” The International Journal of Conflict Management,12: 259-275. 11. Butterworth, John, et. al. 2000. “Because it was the Right Thing to Do: Changeover from Facility Based Services to Community Employment.” Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 14: 23-35. 12. Dordick, Grewndolyn A. 2002. “Recovering from Homelessness: Determining the ‘Quality of Sobriety’ in a Transitional Housing Program.” Qualitative Sociology, 25: 7-32. 13. Nelson, E. D. (Adie). 2001. “The Things that Dreams are Made On: Dreamwork and the Socialization of Stage Mothers.” Qualitative Sociology, 24: 439-458. 14a. Pierce, Jennifer L. 2003. ”‘Racing for Innocence’: Whiteness, Corporate Culture, and the Backlash Against Affirmative Action.” Qualitative Sociology, 26: 54-70. 14b. Grant, Jan. 2000. “Women Managers and the Gendered Construction of Personal Relationships.” Journal of Family Issues, 21: 963-985. |
||||||||||||||
Additional readings: Students with particular interest in certain topics of the course might find it helpful or interesting to pursue books from the following list: Ashkenas, Ron, et al. 1998. The Boundaryless Organization. New York: Jossey-Bass. Beitler, Michael A. 2003. Strategic Organizational Change. New York: Ppi. Handel, Michael J. 2003. The Sociology of Organizations: Classic, Contemporary, and Critical Readings. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Hatch, Mary Jo. 1997. Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. 1993. Men and Women of the Corporation, 2nd Edition. New York: Basic Books. Luhmann, Niklas, et. al. 1995. Social Systems. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Martin, Joanne. 2001. Organizational Culture: Mapping the Terrain. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Miles, Raymond E. and Charles C. Snow. 2003. Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Murphy, Kevin R. and Jeanette Cleveland. 1995. Understanding Performance Appraisal : Social, Organizational, and Goal-Based Perspectives. Thousand Oak, CA: Sage Publications. Scott, John P. 2000. Social Network Analysis: A Handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Senge, Peter M., et. al. 1994. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization. New York: Currency. Taylor, Frederick Winslow. 1967. The Principles of Scientific Management. New York; W. W. Norton & Company. Weber, Max. 1978. Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Wolf, Thomas and Barbara Carter. 1999. Managing a Nonprofit Organization in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Free Press. Zey, Mary. 1998. Rational Choice Theory and Organizational Theory: A Critique. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
