DRE 6005 The Theory and Practice of Conducting Process Research in Organisational Settings
APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2012/2013
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DRE 6005 The Theory and Practice of Conducting Process Research in Organisational Settings Responsible for the course Andrew Pettigrew Department Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Term According to study plan ECTS Credits 6 Language of instruction English Introduction The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of the key theoretical and practical challenges of conducting process research in organisational settings. A process here is taken to mean “a sequence of individual and collective events, actions and activities unfolding over time in context”. Pettigrew (1997.338). The organisational processes explored in the course include decision making, change, innovation and strategy making. The course readings will be organised around the research practices and writing of a limited number of key process scholars. The scholars are Robert Burgelman, Kathy Eisenhardt, Ann Langley, Henry Mintzberg, Andrew Pettigrew and Andrew Van de Ven. Since a process analysis needs to deal with past, present and future time, the course will “give time for time”. We will explore the challenges of analysing processes in real time and retrospective time and the combination of the two. One day in the course will be devoted to the power of the historical perspective and method. In that day we will benefit from the experience of two members of the Business History group at BI, Associate Professor Sverre Christensen and Dr Eirinn Larsen. Learning outcome At the end of the course students will be in a better position to appreciate: 1. The varieties of research practice now available in process scholarship. Practice will include the meaning and significance of key terms such as process and process analysis, the role of temporality in social science, and the relationship between context and action in studying core organisational processes. 2. The power of diachronic analysis and the policy significance of knowing how things happen and not just what is happening. 3. The data collection and data analysis challenges in process work. 4. The challenges of holism and analysing phenomena across multiple levels of analysis. 5. The potential of the historical perspective and method for analysing organisational processes. 6. And finally, the special challenges of writing and publishing for process scholars. Prerequisites Admission to a PhD programme is a general requirement for participation in PhD courses at BI Norwegian Business School. External candidates are kindly asked to attach confirmation of admission to a PhD programme when signing up for a course with the doctoral administration. Students will not be permitted to “sit in” on this course. Active participation will be critical to the educational experience and all enrolled students must engage in the sequence of classroom presentations and end of course assignment. Compulsory reading Collection of articles: A compendium will be made available to the PhD candidates taking the course Recommended reading Course outline The course consists of six sessions each of 5 hours each. Session 1: What is process and what is a processual analysis? Session 2: The Pettigrew et al approach to process scholarship Session 3: The process scholarship of Ann Langley and Henry Mintzberg Session 4: The historical perspective and method Session 5: The process scholarship of Robert Burgelman and Kathy Eisenhardt Session 6: The process scholarship of Andrew Van de Ven. Review, synthesis and critique To a large extent, the value of this course will depend on the level and quality of student preparation and participation in classroom discussion. |