MGMT 223 : Understanding Work and People
Business and Economics
2023 Semester One (1233) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
This course is about understanding the forces that shape the nature of work and about understanding the factors that influence employee well-being. We will discuss major models of work organisation, including Taylorism and Fordism, socio-technical work systems, lean production, and ‘post-industrial’ forms of work, relating them to the contexts in which they occur. We will discuss expressions of employee voice in the working environment, including the role of unions in collective bargaining for better working conditions. You will develop skills in how to analyse your work-life preferences and how to use relevant theories to analyse the quality of jobs. This is intended to enhance your ability to improve the quality of work for yourself and for others you work with (for example, if you occupy a management or supervisory role). You will also advance your skills in communication.
The learning in this course is based on flipped classroom principles. The course has an online, asynchronous component that guides students, each week, to complete learning tasks in their own time in preparation for the weekly workshop. In the weekly on-campus workshop, students will apply and extend their learning in a facilitated and interactive discussion with the course lecturer and peers (scheduled for Wednesdays, 2-3pm).
Course Requirements
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 2: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 3: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 4: | Communication and Engagement |
Learning Outcomes
- Explain and discuss concepts, theories, trends and controversies associated with work and employment. (Capability 1 and 2)
- Identify their own working life preferences and critically analyse the pathways to attainment (Capability 1, 2 and 3)
- Evaluate and reflect on the applicability of theory to personal experiences, to identify opportunities for future development (Capability 2 and 3)
- Demonstrate a range of communication skills (Capability 4.1 and 4.2)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Individual written assignments | 70% | Individual Coursework |
| Individual video presentation of visual board | 30% | Individual Coursework |
| 2 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| Individual written assignments | ||||||||||
| Individual video presentation of visual board | ||||||||||
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, each week you are expected to engage with 2 hours of online, asynchronous learning tasks, a 1-hour interactive workshop on campus, and 5-7 hours of reading and thinking about the content and working on assignments.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
This course is designed using flipped classroom principles. The activities for the course are structured into two components:
1) An online, asynchronous 'workshop preparation' that students engage with in their own time prior to the weekly workshop. Weekly content is made available on Canvas. Students will need to complete a short 'workshop preparation' assessment prior to the on-campus workshop.
2) Attendance is required at the on-campus weekly 1-hour workshop to complete components of the course. The weekly workshop sessions are live, interactive and discussion-based workshops, and therefore will not be recorded.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.