[SOC 250] People, Organizations and Society

Introduction

One of the most widely discussed topics in the social sciences is the structure and dynamics of bureaucratic work organizations such as private businesses, government agencies, health facilities, schools and universities. Organizations such as these are common subject matter for print and electronic news magazines, late-night TV comedians, and radio humor shows. Daily newspapers feature them in their news, business, science, sports, or comic sections. Political discourse, from talk shows to the campaign trail, decries the ineffectiveness of public organizations such as schools, or denounces inefficiencies in private organizations like hospitals. In this course, we explore these issues through the world of research and analysis.

Our interest in such a seemingly dry topic as bureaucracy probably comes from the unprecedented growth of large-scale formal organizations in modern societies and their pervasiveness in the lives of both adults and children today. Big business, big government, big labor, large schools, large hospitals, and large sports franchises are just a few of the hierarchical social organizations that are often seen as posing dangers to the freedom, spontaneity, and individuality of employees and clients, and to democracy itself. They are the settings for social issues such as glass walls and ceilings, sexual harassment, and preferential hiring and promotion. At the same time, they are the setting for bold experiments and an informal, spontaneous, and "human" approach to work and problem solving.

In this course, we explore both the formal and informal side of large-scale work organizations. To some extent, the range of organizations and issues studied depends on the interests of the students enrolled. In general, however, we will look at the structure and internal dynamics of bureaucracies in business-oriented societies such as our own, consider how environmental factors influence these organizations, and how large-scale organizations shape the social world.

Description

UW Colleges Catalog Course Description for SOC 250: People, Organizations and Society - 3 credits. Role of organizations, such as business, government, education and religion in American society. Impact of organizations on members and clients, the internal dynamics of organizations, and the interchange between organizations and their environment, including the society as a whole. This course fulfills the UWC requirement for Social Sciences (SS).

Prerequisites: A previous SOC course is recommended. This course is not recommended for first-semester students except with consent of instructor.

Proficiencies

Institutional proficiencies assigned to this course

Successful completion of this course will enhance students' ability to

• interpret and synthesize information and ideas;
• analyze and evaluate arguments;
• integrate knowledge and experience to arrive at creative solutions;
• read, observe, and listen with comprehension and critical perception;
• communicate clearly, precisely, and in a well-organized manner;
• construct and support hypotheses;
• select and apply scientific and other appropriate methodologies.

Department-specific proficiencies assigned to this course

By completing this course, students will gain

• knowledge about organizations in modern society, and hence, about modern society;
• general analytical skills, including interpretation and synthesis of information and ideas, analysis and evaluation of arguments distinguishing factual information from opinion, and integration of knowledge and experience to arrive at creative solutions to problems;
• general communication skills, including ability to read, observe and listen with comprehension and critical perception and to communicate clearly, precisely and in a well-organized manner while increasing one's general and technical vocabulary; and
• general research skills, including the definition of an issue based on a review of the work of others, construction of hypotheses, selection and application of scientific methodologies, data collection, analysis and interpretation.

Requirements

Students are asked to locate and view two feature films, 9 to 5 and The Associate, both of which came out over 20 years ago. The films provide data for a time analysis of gender in the workplace. They will also be asked to view a current feature film, North Country. This requirement means that students will need access to a video rental service.

Software

• Microsoft Word.

  The most current edition of MS Office (containing MS Word and other valuable programs) is available to University of Wisconsin students at discounted prices through the Wisconsin Integrated Software Catalog.

• Adobe Acrobat Reader.

  This is freely distributed software that lets you view and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, please download it by visiting http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

About the Instructors

• Ann Herda-Rapp
  Associate Professor, Sociology
  BSE, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
  MA, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
  PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign