DOWT4001: Foundations in Management Theory and Practice

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas 
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to introduce students to the fundamental aspects of management by exploring key theoretical foundations, themes and debates and linking them with contemporary issues and practices. The module emphasises critical thinking about the core concepts and complexities of management today.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to:

1. Understand and clarify the fundamental concepts and functions of management theory and practice.
2. Critically analyse and compare various management approaches and organisational theories by examining major trends and ideas in management.
3. Evaluate the relationship between theoretical frameworks and practical applications in emerging areas of management and leadership.
4. Explore current issues, debates, and contested perspectives within the field of management and organisation studies.
5. Apply and develop professional and study skills in a supportive environment, allowing for testing, experimentation, and refinement through critical reflection.

Outline Syllabus

This module is structured into two mutually supportive parts, to provide a comprehensive understanding of management. In Part One, students are introduced to the foundational ideas and theories that underpin contemporary management practice. This begins with the question, “What is management?”, which is addressed in week 2 through a brief history of key developments in management thought and practice through the Twentieth and early Twenty-First Centuries. In weeks 3 to 5 some of the key ideas and movements that are covered in the overview are studied in greater detail (Scientific Management, Bureaucracy and the Human Relations movement).

In addition to providing students with a contextual introduction to topics, themes and debates, this first part emphasises critical approaches to studying management, encouraging students to challenge traditional perspectives through diverse learning activities (see 5.2). The final week of part 1 addresses the topic of Managerialism, analysing management’s ideological roots and implications for contemporary practice, bringing the first part of the module together.

Part One:

Week 1: Module Outline and Critical Thinking

Week 2: What is management and how will you study it?

Week 3: Scientific Management

Week 4: Human Relations

Week 5: Bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy

Week 6: Managerialism: Power and Ideology

Having explored the historical foundations of management, Part Two focuses on four key contemporary concerns of management theory and practice. Each topic is critically examined to reveal the underlying influences, mechanisms and organisational dynamics inherent in them. The module concludes with an in-depth discussion of power and politics, helping students understand how these forces shape organizational behaviour and decision-making.

Part Two:

Week 7: Leadership

Week 8: Motivation

Week 9: Corporate Culture

Week 10: Organisational Change and Technology

Week 11: Power and Politics

Assessment Proportions

The summative assessment is in the form of a critical essay.

DOWT5001: Understanding People and Management

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to

• Provide the resources that can help students explore the assumptions that underpin how people are understood in the workplace
• Demonstrate how these understandings of people lead to the implementation of certain management practices.
• Encourage students to question the strengths and limitations of these management practices
• Explore changing forms of management control
• Consider how the meaning and identity of employees are shaped through the use of corporate culture, workspaces and emotions
• Give students to the opportunity to explore the ideas presented throughout the module with a group of their peers and present their own collective interpretations
• Develop and demonstrate their individual engagement with the content through a reflective piece of writing

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Understand the role that psychological ideas play in management and organisational people practices
2. Analyse how people are managed and might be managed effectively within organisations
3. Identify trends in the changing context of management, including both the environment of the organisation and changes at the level of the organisation;??
4. Discuss management as a social process, rather than simply as a technical or rational activity;??
5. Better understand day-to-day organisational experience as it relates to management
6. Be able to develop an argument and defend this with relevant fact and theory;?
7. Will have developed critical thinking skills and be able to analyse perspectives coming from different sources

Outline Syllabus

This module will help you understand people and how they are managed and controlled in the workplace. It will draw on social and organisational psychology and explore how these ideas with this field of study have been used to design management and work practices. It starts with a focus on understanding people in the workplace through psychological perspectives. You will be introduced to practices such as psychometric personality testing, as well as different techniques of motivation. The module will then move from the individualistic to the organisational. You will explore new forms of control and how work changed from something we do, to who and what we are. We examine how managers and management practices shape the meaning and identity of employees, using corporate culture, workspaces and work environments, humour and emotions, to align individuals with organisational goals.

Assessment Proportions

This module is core for a number of management programmes and optional for others. All the programmes to which it contributes are within the management school and have therefore a strong management focus with critical, reflexive and transferrable skills being a fundamental necessity for all modules/programmes. The learning, teaching, and assessment strategy for this module has been designed with that in mind. Assessment 1: Individual piece: students will be asked to use Moodle discussion boards on a weekly basis to reflect on the learning that has taken place in the weekly lectures. They will be given a week, following the lecture, to do this. These weekly reflections will form the basis of Assessment 3 (to be highlighted below). (10%) Assessment 2: Group Work: this written assessment will ask students to develop a critical resource for managers, based on perspectives and ideas (critical understandings of people in the workplace, and social contextual and relational approaches to management) discussed and introduced on the module. The assessment aims to encourage students to challenge assumptions around traditional management theory. Students will be asked to critique and problematise specific traditional and mainstream ideas and accounts, by employing the critical perspectives, theories and concepts from the module. The assessment aims to bring the topic, practice and experience of management alive, allowing students to reflect on and appreciate the realities of managing with appropriate analytical tools and concepts. (40%) Assessment 3: The individual reflective piece will utilise the individual learning log (assessment 1) and the groupwork report (assessment 2) to get students to reflect on their learning throughout the module. They will also have to reflect on the process of developing as a group the critical resource for managers and to draw on academic literature introduced throughout the module to further reflect on the content and criticisms that they offered as a group in Assessment 2. This will allow them to consider what their learning throughout the module means for workers/managers/management and, in turn, to use insights from the module to consider their potential future management or leadership roles and how they may manage the behaviour of people in the workplace. (50%)

DOWT5002: Human Resource Management: Managing Our Working Lives

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module invites you to explore how Human Resource Management (HRM) shapes organisational cultures, our working lives, and our ideas about what work is and what it ought to be. An important feature of HRM is that it happens to all of us, all the time, when we work.

Moreover, every manager is always a human resource manager – because all management decisions are decisions about human work: how people are meant to work, what is expected of each individual, and how work is valued and revalued permanently. Every manager must know how to recruit people, how to communicate decisions, and how to understand people and their motivations at work. Focusing on contemporary debates, you will engage with conceptual frameworks that illuminate how HRM influences employability, employee motivation, personal development, performance and perceptions of effort and effectiveness in the workplace.

You will see how HRM has developed over time and learn to interpret its evolution as a mirror of wider social, cultural, and organisational questions: how is the value of work decided for each of us? Where and when does work take place? What do notions such as commitment, creativity, or potential, mean? How do emerging digital technologies such as AI reshape management practices and experiences of work?

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to:

1. Analyse historical developments and key theoretical foundations of Human Resource Management (HRM) and interpret its evolution as a reflection of broader social, cultural and organisational changes.
2. Critically evaluate the role of HRM in shaping workplace cultures, individual and collective identities, and contemporary expectations of life at work.
3. Examine conceptual frameworks to explore how HRM practices influence employability and job market expectations, employee motivations, identities, performances, and views of personal development.
4. Critically appraise and effectively communicate how HRM decisions are made in areas such as: recruitment and selection, performance management, and human resource development.
5. Reflect on the wider implications and challenges inherent in managing people at work, understanding how HR practices are influenced by emerging digital technologies and how these technologies influence the human experiences of work.

Outline Syllabus

Human Resource Management (HRM) reflects the growing emphasis on personal identity and individual growth in contemporary cultures and societies. HRM is therefore more than just a business function because it deals with fundamental questions concerning the value and meaning of human work. This module offers a critical introduction to HRM, illustrating how it shapes strategic organisational practices whilst reflecting broader cultural trends.

First, students will explore what HRM is and how we will study it. We examine its roots and the conceptual foundations that give HRM its shape and tools. Students will understand how HRM establishes and normalises an idealised language and understanding of human potential, both inside and outside the workplace. Second, we will examine how HRM touches key aspects of our selves at work: e.g., subjectivity, performativity, self-actualisation, potentiality, and employability. This will show how HRM influences not just managerial decisions and policies, but the very way we view ourselves at work.

We will then focus on how the key concepts, discourses and contexts covered previously are enacted in practices across the HR life cycle. We will address recruitment and selection, workplace culture, performance management, and human resource development. This part of the module examines critically how the language of HRM translates into manifold practices which reflect, produce and maintain a certain conception of work, individuality and work cultures in everyday organisational life.

By the end of the module, students will have a clear understanding of how HRM influences individuals, teams and organisations, and why HRM is central to shaping our working lives.

Assessment Proportions

The assessment principle for this module is the practical application of understanding and analysis of HRM in an authentic, experiential manner. This will be a comprehensive recruitment campaign for one of three selected companies. This two-part project will include an element of collective project work to develop the campaign in detail, followed by an individual analysis, argumentation and justification of the decisions made for the final product of the project.

Students will work collaboratively (in groups of 5) to develop a detailed recruitment campaign for one of three selected companies. The campaign must be grounded in an understanding of the company’s core values and organisational culture. Students will have to produce an articulate and detailed approach to attract, motivate, and engage prospective employees by aligning the campaign materials with HR practices that reflect the company's core values. They will have the opportunity to show the ability to integrate key concepts, ideas and modes of analysis from the module. Students will then articulate their arguments and justifications for their decisions and final materials in an individual essay.

This task is an authentic assessment aligned with the core themes of the module, seeking to simulate real-world HR scenarios in which students are tasked with designing and representing graduate recruitment initiatives that reflect the company culture, and the key concepts covered in the module. This assessment requires students to connect theory, concepts, and practices, considering how HRM influences workplace identities, performance, and contemporary discourses about work and life. The presentation of the campaign will be assessed on its creativity and strategic coherence. The individual critical essay will be assessed according to the level of analysis of the work that went into producing the campaign, and according to the engagement with the subject-specific knowledge and concepts covered in the module.

Through this task, students will develop the practical skills required to interpret and apply HRM concepts to real-world challenges, demonstrating their understanding of HRM’s role in reflecting, shaping and constructing ideal forms of the individual at work.

DOWT5004: Organising in the Digital Age

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to explore organising as a social practice. It examines how digital technologies profoundly reshape society, organisations and our modern lives. The module positions organising as a complex social phenomenon with significant societal and business implications. The module moves beyond a technical view of information systems. It fosters a critical perspective on the contemporary digital landscape. We will investigate how digital platforms, data, and artificial intelligence create new forms of control, collaboration, and value. The curriculum connects modern business challenges with pressing societal issues. Key themes include algorithmic management, the future of work, digital ethics, and data justice. Students will analyse how organising in the digital age affects power structures and social inequalities. A key aim is the development of strong analytical and research skills. Students learn to apply social and organisational theories to complex, real-world case studies. The module provides opportunities to enhance academic writing and critical argumentation. Through research led teaching and interactive workshop discussions, students also refine their communication and teamwork abilities. The module cultivates a deep and critical understanding of the contemporary organisational world. It prepares students to navigate and shape the future of organising in a complex digital society. Our intention is to equip students with the critical perspectives needed for responsible and reflective action within modern organisations.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Explain key theoretical concepts of organising as a social phenomenon in the context of digital transformation.
2. Analyse organisational practices to differentiate between forms of digital control, collaboration, and resistance.
3. Apply social and organisational theories to interpret the changing nature of work and power structures in the digital age.
4. Evaluate the societal and ethical implications of digital organising, with reference to issues such as algorithmic bias, inequality, and data justice.
5. Deconstruct popular discourses to identify underlying assumptions and values in relation to digital innovation.
6. Interpret qualitative evidence from societal and organisational settings to support a reasoned analysis of a specific digital phenomenon.
7. Construct a coherent and critical written argument that synthesises theoretical concepts and empirical evidence.

Outline Syllabus

This module provides a critical exploration of organising in the contemporary world. It charts a course from foundational concepts of organising as a social practice to a detailed analysis of its transformation through digital technology. The curriculum is designed as a cumulative journey. We begin by establishing core theoretical frameworks for understanding organisations, power, and control. The module then investigates the key mechanisms of the digital age, from platforms to algorithms to AI. Through case studies, we will examine phenomena such as algorithmic management, the platform gig economy, and new forms of digital collaboration. This structure systematically equips students with the theoretical and analytical tools needed for the assessment. A central feature of the module is its decolonial perspective. This lens is used to assess how digital technologies can reproduce historical patterns of power and marginalisation. We will directly address how issues of race and colonialism are embedded in digital systems. Topics include data colonialism, the perpetuation of bias through algorithms, and the global inequities of digital labour. In response, the syllabus intentionally incorporates scholarship and case studies from diverse, non-Western contexts. This challenges the dominant narratives of technological progress. Ultimately, the module challenges students to synthesise these insights. It develops their ability to construct critical, theoretically-grounded arguments about creating more just and equitable futures for work and organisation.

Assessment Proportions

The learning strategy is constructively aligned with the summative assessment: a 100% reflective journal. Each student will maintain an online reflective journal throughout the module. Entries will be concise, using Moodle (including written and alternative formats considering inclusive learning requirements). Students will reflect critically on how the content of each theme relates to real-world examples. Reflections should draw upon recommended academic readings, industry reports, relevant news coverage, or personal and professional experiences, to demonstrate how theories and concepts manifest in practice. By linking academic material to contemporary issues students will develop a more nuanced view of how relevant theories and frameworks apply in real-life work organisations and society.

DOWT5006: Management in International Businesses and Organisations

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas 
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to develop students’ understanding of key challenges associated with the management of international business organisations – a core knowledge base for students on the International Management and other management programmes. From fundamental questions about the purpose and structure of international business organisations, to questions about approaches to management control and impacts on economy and society, the module aims to provide students with a critical and analytical approach to understand international organisations in a range of sectors. The module also aims to provide students with knowledge to inform decision-making about the management of international organisations and experience of making and defending decisions individually and as part of a team.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Apply a range of academic frameworks and theories to make and justify decisions relating to the management of international organisations.
2. Analyse the way a range of industry, political and place-specific factors affect the activities of international business organisations.
3. Evaluate the different impacts of international business organisations, including on workers and the natural environment.
4. Demonstrate an ability to construct concise and effective arguments using appropriate evidence and academic literatures.

Outline Syllabus

This module introduces key debates relating to management in international business organisations. The module begins with fundamental questions about the purpose and organisational structure of international organisations. It then proceeds to explore questions about the geographies of international organisations in terms of location choices and different approaches to managing activities spread across a range of international contexts. This includes examination of the way national and international politics and regulation affect international business organisations. The module also considers different styles of management and the implications for how international business organisations are controlled.

Across the module an important theme is the impacts on economy and society of international business organisations. This includes consideration of post-colonial perspectives on international business in terms of both theorisation and geographical inequalities.

The module adopts an approach that allows students to apply their learning to make decisions in a simulation exercise and informed by a site visit to an international business organisation based in the Lancaster area. Students will learn about the kinds of challenges the managers face when working in an international business organisation, use the knowledge gained from the module to devise responses to typical challenges and then defend those responses as part of the module assessment.

Assessment Proportions

This module is based around a learning strategy designed to allow students to, firstly, develop knowledge of key challenges faced by international business organisations and their managers, secondly learn about key academic frameworks and theories, drawn from global perspectives, that help explain the challenges and ways of responding to them, and thirdly apply understanding of the academic frameworks and theories through a site visit to an international organisation in the Lancaster area, a simulation exercise, and through the module assessment.

The module begins with a series of lectures in which the challenges and relevant academic frameworks and theories are introduced. The lectures provide the foundational knowledge that students will then apply to a site visit, simulation and in the assessment. The site visit will involve students experiencing firsthand through an on-site talk and visit the challenges and responses of an international organisation. The simulation will be delivered as part of workshop activities. Students will work in groups to setup a fictional international business organisation which they will then have to manage through a series of events/challenges, introduced in each workshop over a period of three weeks.

Assessment will be centred around the site visit and simulation. Students will submit individual portfolio entries after the site visit and each of the simulation workshops. Formative feedback will be provided on the first portfolio submissions. The portfolio submissions will not be marked separately but will be compulsory submissions that are summatively assessed as part of the module coursework.

The module assessment will be 100% coursework and will comprise:

• 4 portfolio submissions (1 relating to the site visit, 3 relating to the simulation).
• A 2000-word analysis of two of the challenges covered in the portfolio submissions. Students will select two of the challenges covered in the 4 portfolio submissions and use knowledge gained from the module to apply relevant academic framework and theories as part of an explanation of the cause of the challenges and potential responses. Students will also explain and evaluate the decisions made by their team in response to these challenges as part of the simulation.

DOWT6001: Global Sustainable Development

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to explore and synthetically evaluate different perspectives on, and positions in, global sustainable development — what it is, how it is distributed, what it could be, and what kind of global sustainable development is realistically achievable. A key focus is examining how businesses and management engage with nature, critically assessing political, ecological, social, and economic interconnections and what that means. Students will be equipped with the ability to think critically, make connections, and present meaningful diagnoses and recommendations toward global sustainable development and sustainability

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Critically evaluate different conceptions of, and perspectives on, global sustainable development.
2. Critically analyse the history and current forms of human interactions with the natural environment.
3. Critically apply and adapt modes of systemic thinking to ecological, social and economic sustainability issues.
4. Critically evaluate and assess the implications of management responses at global, societal, organisational and individual levels to inter-related ecological, social and economic issues.

Outline Syllabus

This module will examine the history, ideas, varieties, materialities, and critiques of how global sustainable development has been prefigured in business and management. This will occur by:

• Looking at the differing conceptions of sustainable development – political, economic, social and ecological – from the lenses of organisations and social systems.
• Examining the social and material realities of material, energy, and symbolic flows and trajectories – from extraction, production, distribution, exchange, consumption, use, disposal, to ‘waste’ (and their transformations) in the Earth System.
• Critically examining various ‘levers’ for influence and change as they have been advocated for, or applied, in relation to making organisations, systems, societies or the world more ‘sustainable’. These include prescriptions around ecological modernisation, the circular economy, new sustainable business models, net zero, ESG or SDG agendas, eco-socialism and degrowth.

Students will gain a critical understanding of global sustainable development, enabling them to critically question and navigate complex challenges in a socio-ecological system vulnerable to unsustainability.

Assessment Proportions

The module is designed around students applying ideas and concepts of the module to global, societal, organisational and individual experiences and issues related to global sustainable development from the perspective of business and management, and critically reviewing how these ideas and concepts make sense of these issues and experiences and whether they offer opportunities for meaningful change. This approach will be integrated across interactive lectures, guided reading and other sources, workshops exploring cases and developing and assessing change prescriptions, and student activities. The module will thus involve a combination of lectures, seminars, interactive discussions, experiential learning activities, case studies, and self- and group-directed applied research.??

The initial lectures will set the context of the course and introduce the key questions, perspectives, and dimensions of analysis. The focus will then move to exploring and critically evaluating perspectives on global sustainable development, and on modes of governance, business, and management in response to inter-related ecological, social and economic issues.

The assessment strategy for this module is focused on building up individual and group-level knowledge and expertise through formative and summative assessments.?

Formative and summative assessments are integrated throughout the module, connected to lectures and workshops:?

• The first assessment is a portfolio and reflective diary on contemporary global sustainable development issues and global, societal, organisational and individual responses to inter-related political, ecological, social and economic issues. This will involve formative feedback on the developing portfolio and diary, followed by summative feedback.
• The second assessment is a group project leading to an in-workshop presentation on a selected topic related to the module content, from the perspectives of different communities and/or countries across the planet. The presentation task is to compare, contrast and evaluate different perspectives on the organisational and systemic interactions between organisations and the political, economic, social and planetary contexts in which they operate. They will receive summative feedback on this assessed presentation.

DOWT6003: Contemporary Perspectives on Work and Human Resources

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

The aim of Contemporary issues in Work and Human Resources is to develop an informed, critical and current understanding of how people management is undertaken in organisations and the implications of this for all stakeholders. What it is not is a prescriptive course providing ‘how to do it’ set of rules and practices, the focus here is on a critical understanding of employment relationships within the organisational context. Some students are interested in becoming HR professionals in their future careers, many wish to become a manager of some form and all are likely to be ‘managed’ in some way. In all cases the module provides a solid foundation to evaluating different approaches to managing people and gain a critical understanding of where they may be appropriate and the impacts they may have. The module will develop your ability to analyse work and HRM debates using a variety of forms of evidence to develop informed appropriate responses to complex issues.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to:

1. Understand and critically evaluate different people management approaches and the impact that they may have on workers, organisations and society
2. Be knowledgeable about prescription and practice of contemporary issues in HRM
3. Be aware of theoretical, conceptual and empirical evidence underpinning debates in this area
4. Articulate complex arguments, debates and ideas explored in this module
5. Apply theoretical and empirical ideas to practical workplace issues

Outline Syllabus

This module explores the challenge of managing people, reflecting the view that people are a distinct resource. It is the ‘Human’ in HRM which creates this challenge and here we explore the different ways in which this potential labour may be converted into actual work. We look at the conceptual, theoretical and practical issues, using a variety of forms of evidence, to explore different approaches to managing people and exploring policies and practices in relation to specific, contemporary people management issues. At the start we look at the underlying questions of HRM and Work, notably the gap between rhetoric and reality, the importance of context and the need to use different forms of evidence so that we can recognise the complexity and variety of experiences of work, from a range of perspectives. We introduce the changing nature and meaning of HRM, and the potential future directions of this as a phenomena and as an organisational function. We then build on these foundational ideas to facilitate a critical understanding of current Human Resource Management issues including; Flexible working and work-life Balance, health and wellbeing in the workplace. In all themes we ask questions as to why these topics might be considered important? What are developments in these areas and what might be driving any transitions? What are the impacts on people at work, and for organisations more broadly, and to explore how this may be different for different groups and contexts? Through such critical questioning you will be able to garner an in-depth understanding of the complexity of people management and why it remains an on-going challenge.

Assessment Proportions

The assessment is a library-based coursework essay to be submitted at the end of the module providing the opportunity to demonstrate the study skills and subject specific content from this module. This summative assessment is buttressed through formative learning opportunities. This includes group discussions, interactive materials, engagement with office hours and the submission of formative essay plans. Reviews of individual essay plans provides students with feedforward guidance for their summative essays.

DOWT6004: Managing People Globally

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

In this module, you will learn about managing people in international businesses. You will explore how cultural differences, regulations and employee expectations are experienced and managed when firms operate globally. Using examples from different types of international businesses operating in various sectors, you will learn about the design, use and impacts of different people management strategies. You will also examine how different groups experience human resource management practices and will develop an understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusion considerations.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of key concepts and debates in the field of international human resource management
2. Analyse the challenges and complexities of managing people in cross-cultural and institutional settings
3. Critically evaluate how power, politics, and postcolonial structures influence human resource policies and practices in multinational corporations
4. Examine the role of global mobility and migration in shaping international workforces
5. Explore approaches for promoting inclusion and managing diversity and reflect on their implications for ethical and sustainable IHRM
6. Articulate complex debates and ideas introduced by the module and apply these to case studies to develop arguments about how to manage people globally.

Outline Syllabus

This module critically examines the complexities and challenges of managing people globally and across cultural environments. It explores how the management of people is shaped by diverse institutional, socio-political, legal and cultural contexts, and how multinational enterprises respond to these dynamics when managing global workforces and cross-border assignments. Students will engage with key theoretical frameworks in international human resource management, including institutional theory, cross-cultural management and critical perspectives on global labour governance. Particular emphasis is placed on the tension between global integration and local responsiveness in approaches to managing people globally. Students will also explore the role of power and politics in the global HR landscape and how a range of perspectives challenge assumptions of standardisation, best practice, equity, and fairness in people management.

Assessment Proportions

• 100% Report - case study exercise report, submitted at the end of the module, ~3000 words

DOWT6005: Power, Technology and Society

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to provide a critical and advanced exploration of power, technology, and society. It moves beyond organisational analysis to interrogate how technological systems and societal power structures are fundamentally intertwined.

A further aim is to equip you with sophisticated conceptual tools from social theory, science and technology studies, and decolonial thought. We will analyse pressing issues from surveillance capitalism to technologies of liberation. Through this, the module develops your capacity for theoretical synthesis and independent argumentation, empowering you as a critical analyst capable of envisioning more just technological futures.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Analyse the co-constitution of technological systems and societal power structures, drawing on advanced social and political theory.
2. Critique competing theoretical approaches from management studies, social theory, and decolonial thought regarding power and technology.
3. Evaluate the relationship between digital technologies and social justice, with reference to concepts such as data colonialism and algorithmic governmentality.
4. Deconstruct the political and ideological assumptions embedded within the design and discourse of specific technological systems.
5. Synthesise diverse theoretical concepts and empirical evidence to build a sophisticated analysis of contemporary socio-technical phenomena.
6. Articulate a sophisticated critical analysis of a contemporary socio-technical issue, supported by sustained, evidence-based, and theoretically-informed reasoning.
7. Consider alternative approaches to technology grounded in principles of social justice and decolonial thought.

Outline Syllabus

This module deals with critical inquiry into the nexus of power, technology, and society. As a final-year module, it assumes foundational knowledge and immediately engages with advanced concepts to challenge students to think critically about the forces shaping our world. The learning journey is structured as a progressive intensification of critique.

We begin by assembling a sophisticated theoretical toolkit, drawing from advanced social theory, management studies, and decolonial thought. This foundation is used to interrogate concepts such as algorithmic governmentality, surveillance capitalism, and the politics of infrastructure. The module then uses this lens to unmask how historical power relations are reproduced and contested within digital architectures. We will critically analyse phenomena like data colonialism and racial capitalism to understand how technology is implicated in social and political life.

The final part of the module focuses on imagining and articulating pathways toward more just technological futures. We will explore technologies of resistance, movements for digital sovereignty, and abolitionist design principles.

This intellectual progression is designed to build the capacity for theoretical synthesis and independent argumentation, preparing students to formulate and defend their own critical positions on technology and society.

Assessment Proportions

This module’s strategy is designed to cultivate the intellectual independence and advanced critical skills expected of final-year students. Students learn to navigate complex problems and articulate nuanced, evidence-based positions, which is a critical capability for future leaders in the technology and management sectors.

The learning process follows a clear structure. Weekly research-led lectures introduce the advanced theoretical toolkit, drawing on organisation sciences, critical social theory, and decolonial thought to situate contemporary phenomena like generative AI within critical debates. These dialogue-intensive sessions prioritise diverse voices to foster an inclusive intellectual environment. The module complements this, with formative workshops acting as laboratories for argumentation. Here, students analyse cases, test emerging ideas for their research projects, and receive iterative peer and tutor feedback, allowing them to refine their own line of inquiry throughout the term.

This strategy is constructively aligned to culminate in a 100% coursework essay. This assessment method is deliberately chosen over an exam as it directly assesses the module's core learning outcomes: the ability to sustain a sophisticated theoretical synthesis, conduct independent research, and formulate a nuanced argument. The essay is not a standalone task but the final product of the scaffolded learning process.

DOWT6006: Work and Employment Relations in the Global Economy

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

The module considers work and employment issues in their international dimensions. It aims to:

• Introduce students to the foundational concepts of work and employment studies including who is an employee and what defines the contours of the employment relationship and explore the relevance of these ideas to their future professional lives.
• Examine different ways power and inequality pervade work and employment relations across different sectors, geographies and types of work, considering parameters that inform the great variability in the organisation and experience of work, such as class, gender and forms of labour regulation.
• Consider how globalisation shapes the way people work across different parts of the world.
• Explore the role international organisations (such as International Labour Organisations, Transnational Unions, Voluntary Standards) play in negotiating workers’ rights in a global economy.
• Discuss the rise of precarious and non-standard work in the ‘gig economy’ and engage in debates around who has responsibility for workers and working conditions in global supply chains.
• Explore the future of work and working lives, employee rights as well as worker voices in the workplace, and how we can organise and call for decent and fair work across the globe.
• Develop students’ ability to reflect critically on contemporary economic trends, to synthesise ideas from multiple sources, and to develop sophisticated arguments.

Educational Aims

By the end of the module, students will be able to:

1. Understand key conceptual and contemporary debates in the field of work and employment studies
2. Explain the different ways that power and inequality pervade work and employment relations
3. Analyse the changing nature of employment relations in the wake of contemporary globalisation
4. Investigate the factors that influence, shape and constitute decent and indecent work in non-standard and atypical employment contexts
5. Develop a critical understanding of how the employment relationship is shaped across industrial work, service work and professional work in the global economy

Outline Syllabus

This module begins by exploring the fundamentals of employment relations, outlining relevant theories and concepts to understand the key actors in ER and how it can be defined (economically, legally and psychologically). The changing nature of ER will be focused on through looking at the shift from industrial to service-based economies, the dynamics of professional work, and the impact of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs). We will consider issues of power, control and inequality in the employment relationship, exploring the role of regulation. In the global economy, we consider the impact of international frameworks and organisations and raise the question of who has responsibility for workers within global supply chains. We also highlight the key role employee voice has in the employment relationship. We consider different mechanisms of voice and discuss the role of trade unions, highlighting the influence this form of collective action has in different country contexts, but also acknowledging its limitations. We look at alternative forms of collective organisation for workers’ rights and consider the role technology plays within this. Finally, the module explores key issues for ER in the contemporary context. This includes looking at the challenges for ER in relation to non-standard work and the gig economy. We also consider how technology will shape ER through looking at hybrid work, the use of technology to ‘manage’ people and the potential impact of AI. The themes of the module are drawn together into a final question as we consider the prospect for decent work in the contemporary global economy.

Assessment Proportions

The coursework asks students to identify an occupation/choose from a list of occupations and, using material covered in the lectures and workshops alongside their own independent research, analyse the key influences on work and employment relations. Throughout the module, students will receive regular feedback and will engage in collaborative work with their peers. This will include an assessment surgery, where students will bring along their ideas for the assessment to a workshop to gain peer feedback. They will also be given the opportunity to submit an essay plan to gain formative feedback.

DOWT6007: Technological Futures

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to…

• Provide students with an understanding of ways to think about the role of technology in creating futures.
• Facilitate students develop an appreciation of how digital technologies may be linked with re-producing societal and digital inequalities
• Engage students in different techniques and methods for designing, analysing, and reflecting on speculative technological futures.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Explore key concepts and theories concerning the role of technology in shaping futures for organisations and society.
2. Develop a critical understanding of how technology promises can mirror or contribute to the perpetuation of increasing inequalities.
3. Stimulate creative thought in the approach and methods to explore technological futures.
4. Synthesise the different elements of understanding through design, analysis, and reflection on a speculative design artefact.

Outline Syllabus

Technological Futures will provide you with an understanding of how to think about the role of technology in shaping futures for organisations and society. You will explore how different potential futures can be imagined, understood, predicted, and brought into being. You will also explore how digital technologies are implicated in re-producing societal and digital inequalities and disadvantage for some social groups.

This is a topic of great importance as emerging technologies, such as AI, robotics and biotechnology, are affecting at an unprecedented pace the way we live, work and operate – particularly in a world of environmental and political instability. The lectures and workshops are interactive, multi-modal, and practical, and they involve various exercises based on design studio principles that help you understand and employ multiple ways of thinking about technological futures and develop an understanding how social and digital inequalities are interlinked and influence individual practices.

Assessment Proportions

The teaching and assessment strategy for this module aims to equip students with integrated knowledge and learning through two connected forms of assessment.

This comprises and focuses on multidisciplinary theoretical knowledge, evidence and latest research-based insights, together with practical individual and group-based skills and development. Insights from reflective practice inspired by the academic content and experience of learning to collaborate in groups are integrated throughout the module.

The teaching and assessment approach in this module is designed to help students develop an advanced understanding of the following:

• Social scientific concepts and ideas applied to technology and future imaginaries.
• The relationship of technological futures and perpetuating/addressing social and digital inequalities.
• Reflective thinking and insights applied integrating academic concepts and practicum-inspired group work experience.

The module has two assessments:

Assessment 1: Group poster (40%) - Students working in groups to progressively develop (during workshops and independently) a design fiction poster on a technological near future.

Assessment 2: Individual reflection (60%) - Students produce an individual reflection on their groupwork poster with a focus on the relationship of technological futures and perpetuating/addressing social and digital inequalities.

DOWT6008: International Political Environment

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

The module aims to:

Explore how domestic and international political environments impact businesses and organisations. Based on knowledge you have developed throughout your studies, you will examine current affairs and geopolitical issues across the globe and discuss their implications for management decision making. Responding to events in real time we aim to analyse the global influence of various economic actors, the rise of new political movements, and the impact of technology on the global business environment. The module aims to equip you with the skills to navigate the complex political landscape and dynamics that influence management strategies and decisions.

Educational Aims

By the end of the module, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the global political environment
2. Critically assess how current events impact on the actions and activities of organizations at a national and international scale
3. Apply lessons from history to assess longer term trends in the global economy

Outline Syllabus

The module will be designed around themes related to the international political environment. In order to remain up to date and relevant these themes will be refreshed each year to reflect current events. Some themes will remain live and run each year, others will run for a year or two before being replaced. For example, each year would cover global politics, elements of economic history and colonialism, global finance, systems of government and their impact on business, and the rise of the BRIC economies, and global production and destruction networks. If the module had run in 2025 then these core themes would have been supplemented with live debates on Trump and Tariffs, business in the context of global conflict, the climate crisis and the Anthropocene and the politics of labour and migration . The module will draw from political theory, political economy and current affairs to unpack live issues in the global economy and apply them to the concepts of management and business. From Juvenal’s ancient question of ‘who guards the guardians’, through Tony Benn’s five questions about power and to current rethinkings of ‘who’ public value is for we explore how, over time, politics, the State and business have shaped the global economy and the political environment we live and work in today and how that impacts upon organizations and society.

Assessment Proportions

The assessment for the module comprises of a group presentation (25%) and an individual piece of coursework (75%) in which the students will be asked to reflect on a live issue from the news and its implications for business. The lectures, games and panel debates will prepare the students for these assessments by allowing them to practice giving voice to their opinions, working in different groups and developing a reflective appreciation of the impact of the international political environment on the everyday practice of organisations and businesses.