Kursinformation

Welcome to this elective course module on Management Paradigms. This course consists of 56 contact hours of lecturing and facilitated group work delivered during a two-week, Mondays through to Tuesdays, block / workshop format. Classes will be running from 9:00am to 16:00pm each day. Lectures, seminars and study group exercises will be holistically integrated for maximum learning effectiveness, and all required literature for self-study and exam preparation will be provided well in advance in digital format on the Moodle platform

This course module has been designed to meet the demands of Bachelor as well as post-graduate students. It will be facilitated in English. It is a management theory safari with an emphasis on the historical emergence of today’s basic management theories and leadership concepts, strategic planning, operations and project management, organisational development, organisational culture and institutional reform practices (though it is not a course on change management), as well as the implementation of quality management and customer-relationship management systems.

Although the course will not focus on the management of specific resources and support systems (such as finance, facility, fleet or information management), it will introduce key generic management concepts which can be applied to the management of these systems. Thus, this course will provide (i) an overview of the different management theories, their conceptual approaches and historical development; (ii) different styles of management, their underlying value assumptions and resulting structures and forms of institutionalisation; and (iii) the roles and functions managers need to perform in order to create and maintain an enabling environment, in which others can work efficiently in, and meet the goals of, the organisation.

The perspective this course takes is twofold. On the one hand, it is aimed to develop a critical mind-set and understanding among learners about the underlying values and assumptions of the diverse management approaches employed in places of work, with notions of power and contextual appropriateness being raised repeatedly. Both bottom-up and top-down perspectives will be taken. Hence, this course it not just about theoretical content but the critical deconstruction of modern management thinking. On the other hand, it focuses on practical analysis, planning and control methods, techniques and tools, and on making those work in reality in public, private and non-profit sectors in a way that organisational sustainability, product and services quality, and customer / client satisfaction will be achieved throughout the organisation. Hence, it is a very practical course, transferring real life management and administration skills to the learners.