This course introduces central theories and debates about formal organizations. Much of modern life occurs within organizations and involves interacting with a wide variety of complex, interconnecting organizations. Many of us were born inside an organization, you are pursuing your education inside an organization, many will work inside organizations, and most of us will end our lives in, and be buried by, organizations. We work hard and craft expressions of our self-identity to gain access to some organizations (e.g. Greek communities, medical school) and we conform our behavior to avoid others (e.g. prison).
In this course, we will think analytically about the key features of organizations, and the reciprocal relationships between organizational features and individual behaviors. We will address the origins of organizations, why society has organizations, how authority and compliance are maintained within organizations, the nature of their success and failure, and the relationship between individuals, organizations, and society.