Organisational Politics, Culture and Management
2250 words in length
due on 12 September
Choes one question from the following question

First pair
1. Most managers pay little attention to the findings of social scientists. Is this a good or a bad thing?

2. Is management an art, a science or neither?

Second pair
1. Is organizational politics mostly a good thing or a bad thing?

2. Explain how we can use the concept of power to understand public sector management.
Third pair

1. What types of organizational cultures do we encounter within public sector organizations? You may use a particular organization as an example.

2. Examine how cultural differences affect the practice of management. You may use a specific country or countries or organization/s as examples.

In your essay you are expected to construct an argument that answers the question. What academic assessors look for in a student’s essay is evidence of your understanding of the issues that the question raises. This is gauged by the quality of your argument. A good argument is one that shows evidence of independent thought and of wide reading. It shows that the student has sought to answer the question by thinking about what it means and what it requires of them, reading widely on the topic and constructing an argument rather than simply presenting information piecemeal or undigested. It is also one in which the claims made are supported by evidence. Typically students will cite the various authors whose work they read in their essay. You need to cite the sources of any information that you use in the essay. If you do not do this then you are guilty of plagiarism. This is where someone takes the work of another person and presents it as their own. This happens when you do not acknowledge the source of that material by citing it in your essay. If you commit plagiarism then you are guilty of a breach of academic integrity and you can be punished for this by being failed or awarded a mark of zero for the essay.

• Harvard System

Write your essay using 12 point font and leave space in the margins for comments.

The following criteria will be used in grading essay

• Depth of research
• Relevance of material cited
• Readability and grammar
• Correct spelling and punctuation
• Appropriate citation and referencing
• Depth of analysis
• Originality
• Strength of argument
• Understanding of issues
• Theoretical and conceptual knowledge
• Use of evidence
• Clear identification of issues
• Clear structure
• Integration of evidence, synthesis
• Logical development of an answer
• Appropriate contextualization
• Appropriate citation and referencing

References:
Management: an art or a science?
Thomas, A. 1993 “The social sciences: can they help managers?” from Controversies in Management: Issues, Debates, Answers, Routledge, London.
Forster, J and Browne, M. 1996. Principles of Strategic Management, Macmillan, South Yarra. pp. 158-161 and 169-184.
Management as a science
Hilmer, F and L. Donaldson, 1996. “Zen Archery” from Management Redeemed: Debunking the Fads that Undermine Corporate Performance, The Free Press, New York.
Watson. A. 1994. “Theory, practice and emotion” from In search of management, Thomson Learning, London.
Stewart, R. 1983. “Managerial Behaviour: how research has changed the traditional picture” in Perspectives on management: a multi-disciplinary analysis, edited by M. J. Earl, Oxford University Press, New York.
Mintzberg on management
Mintzberg, H. 1989. “The Manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact” from Mintzberg on Management: Inside our Strange World of Organizations, The Free Press, New York.
Mintzberg, H. 1973. “Science and the Manager’s Job” from The Nature of Managerial Work, Harper and Row, New York.
Matheson, C. 1998. “Is the higher public service a profession?”,Australian Journal of Public Administration, 57 (3): 15-27.
Management as an art
Huczynski, 1996. “Requirements of managers” from Management Gurus: What makes them and how to become one, International Thompson Business Press, London.
Pattison, S. 1997. The Faith of the Managers: When Management Become Religion, Cassell, London and Washington.
Flyvbjerg, B. 2001. “Rationality, body and intuition in human learning” from Making Social Science Matter. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
Koestler, A. 1970. The Act of Creation, Pan Books, London.
The sources of organisational politics
Buchanan, D. and R. Badham 1999. Power, politics, and organizational change: Winning the turf game, Sage, London.
Pfeffer, J. 1981. “Understanding the role of power in decision making” from Power in Organizations, Pitman, Marshfield, Mass.
Forster, J and M. Browne 1996. Principles of Strategic Management, Macmillan, South Yarra. Pp. 138-151.
Defining power
Wrong, D. 1979. Power: Its Forms, Bases and Uses, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Hales, C. 1993 “Power, authority and influence” from Managing through Organization, Routledge. London.
Organisational politics
Mintzberg, H. 1989. “Politics and the Political Organization” from Mintzberg on Management: Inside our Strange World of Organizations,The Free Press, New York.
Mintzberg, H. 1983. Power in and around organizations, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Bacharach. S and E. J. Lawler, 1980. “Toward a Political Theory of Organizations” from Power and Politics in Organizations,Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
What is culture?
Kottak, C. 1999. Mirror for Humanity: A concise introduction to cultural anthropology,McGraw-HillCollege, Boston.
Fulop, L and Linstead, S. 1999. “Managing Culture” from Management: A Critical Text, Macmillan, South Yarra.
Trompenaars, F. 1994. Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business, Irwin, Chicago.
The concept of culture
Hatch, M.J. 1997. “Organizational Culture” from Organization Theory: modern, symbolic and postmodern perspectives, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Handy, C. 1995. “The Four Gods of Management” from Gods of Management, Arrow Books, London.
Davis, G. 1989. “Culture as a Variable in Comparative Politics: a review of some recent literature”, Politics, 24 (2): 116-124.
Hofstede’s theory of culture
Hofstede, G and G. J. Hofstede, 2005. “Introduction: The Rules of the Social Game” from Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind,McGraw Hill, New York.

Culture and organisational structure
Hofstede, G and G. J. Hofstede, 2005. “Pyramids, Machines, Markets, and Families: Organizing Across Nations” from Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind,McGraw Hill, New York.
Matheson, C. 1997. “Administrative and Management cultures in the Australian Public Service”, Labour and Industry, 8 (1): 37-55.
Kwang, N. 2001. “The Psychological Make-Up of the Asian and Westerner” from Why Asians are less Creative than Westerner,Prentice Hall, Singapore.