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ECGE1326 - Humans and organization
[1 Q. • 30 Th. • 3 ECTS - credits]
| Lecturer :
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Struyven Ludo |
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| Language of instruction :
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Dutch; English (passive knowledge).
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| Learning outcomes :
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The aim of this course is to provide the students with a sociological introduction to the fields of work and organization, management. Work - and more specifically wage work - is a social regular and standardized activity, which has to be performed according to specific rules. In this course, we will study the social conditions under which the labour exchange between employee and employer is established and the question of who determines these conditions. The individual conclusion of an employment contract and the ensuing exchange of services and performance takes place in a system of collective labour and regulations by the government. Conditions, rules of the institutions are related to the process of allocation and remuneration (who goes where?), the process of exploitation (how to deploy manpower?) and the regulatory process (under what conditions of pay and working hours?). The course will be based on some empirical developments in each of these fields: growing tensions on the labour market, more women on the labour market, elderly people have to work longer, work should cope with more performance-requirements, work relations become more flexible, social dialogue model is under pressureÖ These developments will be studied scientifically and based on recent empirical research.
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| Prerequisites :
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No specific prerequisites. The students should have a fundamental knowledge of sociology. The course is designed for students studying economics, applied economics, political sciences, communication, sociology and anthropology - thus also designed for non-sociologists.
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| Course contents :
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As an introduction to the subject, we will study notions as ìworkî, the different forms of work, the place of the individual relationship in management and in work, and the development in the long term. Then, the course will study the different social fields in which employment relationships are established:
(1) the development in the labour market, such as employment opportunities, unemployment, inactivity and labour participation;
(2) the work organization (management), from Taylor and Ford to the rise and further development of the modern management principles;
(3) the system of collective relations in work, intended to conclude collective agreements and the impact of the Government thereto.
Each time, we will wonder about what is the importance of the international context, especially the E.U., in each of these fields.
The course is based on several chapters of the following work: Van Ruysseveldt & van Hoof (2006), Arbeid in verandering (Kluwer).
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| Mode of delivery :
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In each course, a specific subject will be studied. Each of the studied subjects is very important in our society and politics; therefore, examples out of the practice and recent researches will illustrate the theory. The students will be asked to follow the news and to give examples by themselves. For one or two subjects, a guest lecturer will be invited. During the course, the professor will clarify the objective to be reached for each subject (what the students should know). He will also mention the texts (chapters in the reference work or other texts) that belong to the subject matter. Finally, some assignments will be given as a preparation for the examination. The slides used in class and assignments also belong to the subject matter.
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| Assessment methods and criteria :
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The assessment is an oral examination including a written preparation, which will have to be handed out to the professor.
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| Recommended or required reading :
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Van Ruysseveldt & van Hoof (2006). More texts will be referred to during the lecture.
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