| Unit name | Researching Organisations, Institutions and Management |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIMM0045 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Beck |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
The unit will investigate empirical research approaches and activities focusing on organisations and institutions, including management. It will identify the different streams and core concepts of research in management and organisation studies and map these against dominant methodological traditions and issues. Individual methodologies and methods (including mixed methodologies, natural experiments, ethnography, action research, comparative analysis, case studies and ‘evidence-based’ approaches) will then be examined and assessed in the specific context of organisational and institutional research using ‘classic’, current and/or innovative organisational and management research studies and with a focus on addressing specific challenges including those of access, analysis, ethics, stakeholder engagement, making research ‘impactful’ and promoting and communicating findings to both academic and user audiences.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Building on standard methods units that cover quantitative and qualitative approaches, as well as the foundations of research methodologies and research philosophy, this unit builds an applied and practical understanding of the research process. It is highlighted how research is rarely as clear cut and ‘clean’ as is made out in many methods text books. The interdisciplinary and, in many cases, applied nature of management research is also explored. The unit is designed in a way that allows students to discuss and explore the content covered in application to their own research ideas and plans.
An overview of content
The unit includes sessions on: an introduction to the unit; research access; issues of power and participant voice; researching organisational strategies; feminist research and empowering methodologies; process methodology and researching organisations from ‘the inside’; partisan scholarship and participatory action research; visual methods in organisational research; futures methods for organisational studies; engagement and impact. Individual sessions may vary from year-to-year depending on the availability of staff.
How will the students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
Students will have the opportunity to explore a range of approaches, methodologies and theories in application to their own research ideas and plans. As a result, they will have a more developed understanding of their own research strengths and weaknesses, as well as their plans by the end of the unit.
Learning Outcomes:
Students successfully completing this unit will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions including lectures, tutorials, drop-in sessions, discussion boards and other online learning opportunities.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative, in class feedback will be provided during lectorials throughout term to help students develop their ideas and arguments.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
There will be two forms of summative assessment that students can chose from. They will undertake either:
A standard, 2,000 word academic essay answering a question set by the unit director. Questions set will be on aspects of the subject matter covered in teaching sessions.
OR
Students will review research on an organisation or institution of their choice and write a 2,000 word report for the main stakeholders, explaining the distinctiveness of the research and the implications of the research findings for the organisation's/ institution's stated vision and mission and/or strategy/policies and practices.
The assessment of this essay/report will contribute 100% to their unit grade.
Students will be assessed on both the synthesis of research data and where it fits within organisation studies overall (ILOs 1 and 4), including an assessment of methodological strengths/weaknesses of the major studies in question and how challenges were addressed (ILOs 1, 2 and 3), and their ability to translate research findings into 'useful/usable' information for stakeholders (ILO 4 and 5).
When assessment does not go to plan
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, failed components will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis.
The reassessment will be a 2,000-word individual assignment weighted at 100%, covering all intended learning outcomes (ILOs 1-5) for the unit. The resit will consist of an individual essay or report covering the various topics of the unit.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIMM0045).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
