Dr Sarah Marks

MN-3015 Power and Organisation

Organisations are imbued with power. Power is integral to interacting and organising; it defines, constitutes and shapes both people and activities in organisations. As competition, power is intrinsic to our economic system. In the relationships between organisations and the wider society, power takes the forms of regulation of, influence on and ordering of human activities. Understanding the nature and dynamics of power is crucial for future managers. This module investigates the ways in which power takes form, functions and has effects in and through organisations. Students will be asked to identify, analyse and question power and power relations both in terms of theory and in organisational practice. Discussions on, for example, how power and rationality, power and knowledge or power and organisational routines are related inform our examination of power in the organisational context. We will explore a number of attempts to systematically conceptualise and analyse power to understand its heterogeneous nature. This module brings together developments on analysis of power from across the social sciences to management and organisations, and will appeal to students who want to critically explore power as a vehicle for improving their organisational and management skills.