Unit information: Global Production, Work and Employment in 2020/21

Unit name	Global Production, Work and Employment
Unit code	EFIM30037
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Schwartz
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Management - Business School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit aims to advance the students’ knowledge and understanding of the global economic processes as they affect the nature of production, work and employment, and to consider the global processes of investment, production and management in relation to a number of key social problems related to work.

By drawing on a range of theories and frameworks this unit will consider economic and organisational processes in their social and political context, providing students with the understanding and capacity critically to appreciate the scope of the contemporary global economy.

In particular, the unit will consider how global production is socially shaped by the institutions and relationships between different corporate, national and transnational actors. The problem of global rules governing investment and production will be assessed alongside those of the developing networks of producers of goods and services, and the effects these have on the governance of labour via various supra-national and inter-organisational standards and regulations. The problem of the uneven and combined nature of markets will be examined by considering the disparities between labour in developed and developing economies, between manufacturing and service sector employment, and between standard and non-standard work. Problems of work and employment will be examined in relation to the gendered division of labour, migration and forced labour, and by examining the different dimensions of workers’ voice and consumer power in the global economy. Finally, problems of automation and the futures of work will be examined in relation to the consequences they bear on different nations and regions.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this unit, students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of the forces shaping global production, employment and work
2. Have an in-depth understanding of the nature of different activities and actors that establish and contest the global processes under study
3. Use different theories to explain the range and complexity of processes under study
4. Appreciate the problems of management and organisation in relation to social and political processes
5. Analytical distinguish the effects and consequences of management and organisational processes shaping global production, employment and work
6. Critically analyse and represent evidence gathered in their study and research
7. Effectively communicate the complex ideas and empirical examples studied in the unit.

Teaching Information

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.

Assessment Information

• An annotated bibliography (20%) – ILOs 1-7

• A 3,000 word written assignment (80%) – ILOs 1-7

Reading and References

Students will be offered a range of journal articles and book chapters from scholarly monographs that reflect weekly themes/topics to be covered in lectures. These will be supplemented with business or popular case studies to be read for discussion or group work (some of it for formative assessment) in seminars. In addition, the following is indicative of the key texts available:

Coe, N. and Yeung, H.W. 2015 Global Production Networks: Theorizing Economic Development in an Interconnected World (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

Peck, J. 2017 Offshore: Exploring the Worlds of Global Outsourcing (Oxford: Oxford University Press)