BUSI3332: Advanced Topics in Critical Organisational Studies

• BUSI2311 Business Research Methods and Statistics

• None

• BUSI3232 Dissertation BUSI3342 Innovation Accelerator BUSI3422 New Venture Creation Project AND BUSI3412 Strategising for Sustainable Futures

• The module aims to:
• Expose students to the wide range of qualitative inquiry methods available for application in academic and organisational research.
• Equip students with the skills needed to design, conduct, critically evaluate and disseminate the results from qualitative fieldwork in critical organisational studies (e.g., justice, equality, diversity and inclusion)
• Provide an opportunity for students to undertake extended blocks of supervised practical work, carrying out independent qualitative fieldwork research on a substantive topic in critical organisational studies (e.g., justice, equality, diversity and inclusion)

• Indicative Content
• Qualitative approaches to critical organisation studies, such as justice, equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Areas of application academic, organisational
• Qualitative methodologies relevant to critical management research e.g., phenomenology, critical discourse analysis (as methodology), decolonizing methodologies, critical ethnography, feminist methodologies
• Qualitative methods and their ethical implications e.g., interviews, focus groups, participant/traditional observation, arts-based inquiry, text/archival collection
• Analytic approaches e.g., critical discourse analysis (as method), constant comparison, thematic analysis, fictocriticism, poetics, rhizomatic analysis
• Interpreting and reporting critical qualitative findings.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• A comprehensive understanding of a broad range of qualitative inquiry methods available for application in academic and organisational research.
• Appreciation of various schools of thought associated with critical theory (e.g., the Frankfurt School) and how critical theory informs organisation studies.
• Extended knowledge of a relevant topic of interest in the field of critical organisation studies, which could include topics associated with justice, equality, diversity and inclusion.

Subject-specific Skills:

• To have acquired skills of independent research and project management.
• To demonstrate an ability to present and analyse data in a clear and appropriate manner.
• To demonstrate an ability to present arguments and conclusions in an extended and coherent form.

Key Skills:

• Written communication - through summative assessment.
• Planning, Organisation and Working to deadlines.
• Problem Solving and Analysis - e.g. by designing research, manipulating concepts and applying analytical skills.
• Initiative by gaining access to relevant sources.
• Computer literacy - by production of the dissertation in word processed form, accessing literature and other sources via electronic means, relevant use of computer based experimentation and data analysis methods.
• Oral presentation skills.

• This is a tutorial-based module, supported by online learning materials, and centered around the design, execution, reporting and dissemination of a major organisational studies research project. Learning is facilitated via small-group tutorial. In Term One, introductory and plenary lectures frame the terms key activities and serve as their roadmap. Weekly small group tutorials during this term help students refine their topics, conduct initial literature searches and design an original piece of organisational research. Weekly online materials focused on key discipline-specific methods, including podcasts, interactive activities and self-assessed quizzes are also used to support the tutorials. During Term Two, students then conduct the empirical projects designed in the previous term under the supervision of the Module Leader, with fortnightly tutorials being used to provide continuous advice, support and monitoring of progress within a peer-review environment. The two-term learning journey culminates in the presentation of student research during a one-day conference, supported by key commercial and social research partners, a final project report being submitted in the format of a journal article being the key assessment component at the end of the module.
• Formative assessment is in two forms: evaluation of, and feedback on, work undertaken during the tutorials; and through feedback on the preparation of the project outline, draft chapter, tutorial discussions, and the maintenance of an individual project diary.
• Summative assessment is in three parts. The first component is a research proposal submitted at the end of Term One, outlining the intended project to be undertaken during Term Two. Students present their findings at a summatively-assessed mini-conference held at the end of Term Two which evaluates skills in the dissemination and communication of key research findings to a diverse audience. The main element of the summative assessment is the Practical Project Report, submitted at the start of Term Three, assessed as a scientific report conforming to a journal style and requiring students to demonstrate their evaluative, analytical and research skills in a single comprehensive piece of work.

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