Aims

The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to the comprehensive and critical analysis of the functioning of market sector and non-market sector organisations. This analysis will draw on recent developments in Management Science and the Sociology of Work and Organisation, as well as on Philosophy and Epistemology. To complement these rational economic approaches, the course also introduces a number of referents to make students aware of the range of different rationalities in organisations, and the relationships they have with each other. As such, the course hopes to offer an in-depth insight into the functioning of organized entities and to encourage dialogue between the various disciplines that deal with the concept of organisation.

As a result, the course does not merely intend to pass on knowledge. It also aims to equip students with a "scientific way of thinking" and a "way of working". Their scientific way of thinking should be developed through the detailed, critical analysis of human action. Their way of working will be based on the constant alternation between practical examples and theoretical insights, current issues and fundamental concerns, individual and group learning. In global terms, the course hopes to take students further down the path of understanding the economic and social world. It does not aim to reveal "the whole truth", but rather to encourage them to think for themselves about the issues.