Organizational Studies 148: The Nature of Work
Fall Semester, 2002

Meeting Time: Tuesdays from 2:45 to 5:30 pm	Room: Fletcher Hall, Room 106
Professor: Jeff Lewis	Office: Fletcher 214 Phone: 607-3069
E-Mail: jeff_lewis@pitzer.edu	Web page: http://www.pitzer.edu/~jlewis
Office hours: Tuesday at 11:00 am and Thursdays at 12:00 pm, or by appointment
Texts: Assorted xeroxed readings

Goals of the Course: This course explores psychological and societal issues related to the changing nature of work. With a primary focus on the human side of organizational life, we will examine how social expectations, multicultural and intercultural relations, and changes in technology shape present and future understanding of work in our contemporary world.

Insights into the workings of organizations can be gained through an examination of the human side of these entities, and these aspects are often realized via the formal and informal practices within a given organizational context. This course is designed as an exploration of the work context and an investigation of how we can answer questions when studying organizations. We will examine the changing nature of work, various conceptions of what work entails, how organizational practices can impact the lives of its members, and pertinent concerns of the relevant stakeholder groups within this context. This course is also designed to prepare students for the internship course (Org. Stds. 110), and it should be taken after completing Org. Stds./Psych 135 and Org. Stds. 100.

Course Requirements

Portfolio (55% of the course grade) - Your work in this class will center upon independent projects (e.g., reflection, in-class exercises, short reviews and interviews) that will form a portfolio reflecting the material covered during the semester. Each week you will be asked to discover or review an article (from a popular or academic source such as a newspaper, magazine or journal) relating to the current topic under discussion and prepare to present a summary and your impressions to the class. While you may be not called upon each week, a written form of these summaries will go into your portfolio. In addition, your response to various in-class exercises, homework assignments, and your impressions of the reading and class discussions will also be recorded there. The portfolio will be evaluated at various times during the semester, and a more detailed description of its composition will be distributed separately

Case analyses and article presentations (35%) - Every week, as part of the class, you will be asked to work on a case, exercise or article presentation that highlights the day's topic. At times these cases will be taken from your reading, presented as part of an article analysis that goes into your portfolio, or in the context of a group exercise during class time.

Class participation (10%) – Each week you are expected to contribute your thoughts and analysis of the readings and to complete any weekly assignment. While your journal will be the place for a written collection of your work, it is important to interact and support your fellow classmates as we construct our learning environment.

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

Week and Topic	Readings and assignments
Sept. 3^rd The nature of work
Sept. 10^th: The changing work environment	Reading 1: Howard, "A Framework for Work Change", and Rousseau & Wade-Benzoni, "Changing Individual-Organization Attachments", from Howard (1995), The Changing Nature of Work.
Sept. 17^th: Strategic issues	Reading 2: Davis, "Form, Function and Strategy in Boundaryless Organizations", from Howard (1995), The Changing Nature of Work.
Sept. 24^th: Intercultural and Multicultural concerns	Reading 3: Dass & Parker (1999), "Strategies for managing human resource diversity: From resistance to learning", Gilbert & Ivancevich (2000), Valuing diversity: A tale of two organizations", and Osland & Bird (2000), Beyond sophisticated stereotyping: Cultural sensemaking in context" from Academy of Management Executive
First Draft of Portfolios Due in Class on October 1st
Oct. 1^st: Technology and change	Reading 4: Chapter 1 of Kanter (2001), Evolve: Succeeding in the digital culture of tomorrow.
Oct. 8^th: Jobs and careers as vanishing concepts	Reading 5: Hall et al., "Part 1: What's Happening in the New Organization?", from Hall and Associates (1996), The Career is Dead - Long Live the Career.
Oct. 15^th: Development and training	Reading 6: Osterman, "The Youth Labor market" and Carnevale, "Enhancing Skills in the New Economy", from Howard (1995), The Changing Nature of Work.
Fall Break – October 19^th through October 22nd  (no class on October 22^nd)
Oct. 29th: Learning individuals and organizations	Reading 7: Weick & Wesley, "Organizational Learning: Affirming an Oxymoron", from Clegg, Hardy & Nord (1996), The Handbook of Organizational Studies.
Nov. 5^th: Economics, Leading, and Organizational Rewards	Reading 8: Martin & Freeman, "The economic context of the new organizational reality", from Gowing, Kraft, & Quick (1998), The new organizational reality: downsizing, restructuring and revitalization.
Second Portfolios Drafts Due in Class on November 12^th
Nov. 12^th: Wellness and Safety	Reading 9: Douglas & Martinko (2001), "Exploring the role of individual differences in the prediction of workplace aggression", from Journal of Applied Psychology.
Nov. 19^th: Employee Involvement	Reading 10: Mohrman & Cohen, "When People Get Out of the Box", from Howard (1995), The Changing Nature of Work, and Jaffe & Scott, "Rekindling work commitment and effectiveness through a new work contract", from Gowing, Kraft, & Quick (1998), The new organizational reality: downsizing, restructuring and revitalization.
Nov. 26^th: Organizational Exit	Reading 11: Rosse & Noel, "Leaving the Organization", from Murphy (1996), Individual Differences and Behavior in Organizations, and Burke & Nelson, "Mergers and acquisitions, downsizing and privatization: A North American perspective", from Gowing, Kraft, & Quick (1998), The new organizational reality: downsizing, restructuring and revitalization.
Thanksgiving Recess
Dec. 3rd: Future directions	Reading 12: Hage, "Post-Industrial Lives" and Howard, "Rethinking the Psychology of Work", from Howard (1995), The Changing Nature of Work.
Final Portfolios Due in Class on Dec. 10^th
Dec. 10^th: Wrap-up	Portfolio overview
Final Portfolios Due in Class on Dec. 13^th