Sociology of Organizations

Catalog description

Three lecture hours per week Prerequisite(s): SOC 100 , SOC 201 , and SOC 202 (SOC 201 and/or SOC 202 may be taken concurrently) Examines role of organizations in modern life, focusing on organizational structures (bureaucracy, vertical and horizontal networks) and dynamics (internal processes, origins, development, collapse, isomorphism). Students will be introduced to dominant perspectives on organizations (rational, natural, and open systems perspectives, as well as institutionalist approaches focusing on culture and legitimacy). Students will examine both classical and contemporary empirical research on organizations, as well as contemporary empirical case studies.