GRA 6146 Media and Creative Industries Management

GRA 6146 Media and Creative Industries Management

Course code: 
GRA 6146
Department: 
Communication and Culture
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Peter Booth
Course name in Norwegian: 
Media and Creative Industries Management
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Digital Communication Management
Semester: 
2024 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

This course addresses the unique characteristics and managerial challenges of organizations in the media and creative industries. The course is relevant for those seeking work within, or will partner with, media and creative industries. It is equally relevant for anyone working in a broader range of industries where the traditional producer or retailer is increasingly expected to behave as an entertainment company. To address key management issues, media and creative organizations are analyzed from four perspectives:

The first perspective examines the major organizational forms and corresponding ecosystems occurring across the media and creative industries. This provides an introduction to the sector and offers a departure point for reflecting on how organizations in the media and creative industries differ from other firms. The second perspective examines different metrics of value and corresponding institutional logics that shape internal and external power relations, and can generate conflict. The third perspective concerns managing creative organizations and creative labour. Here we explore key leadership challenges faced by organizations in the media and creative industries, before discussing common leadership structures and solutions. We also review current theory on the managing and motivating creative labour. The fourth perspective considers the overall management of media and creative assets and assessment of their return. We firstly examine current practices of realizing efficiency in the media and creative industries through digital technologies and other means. We also examine the logic and implementation of a range of financial, cultural and social measures of ‘return on investment’.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge
  • Knowledge of the conditions that characterise the organization, processes, products, and environment of the media and creative industries
  • Recognize and distinguish different organizational models for media and creative organizations
  • Understand the structures and corresponding advantages of media and creative industry networks and clusters
  • Identify and explain key institutional logics that shape media and creative organizations, and how these may be a source of internal conflict
  • Distinguish between different leadership models in media and creative organizations
  • Knowledge of current theory on managing and motivating creative labour in organizations
  • Knowledge of current theory on the managerial challenges and strategies for implementing digital technologies in media and creative organizations
Learning outcomes - Skills
  • Can identify the economic and non-economic goals of media and creative organizations, the stakeholder groups these goals serve, and can employ suitable metrics for assessing how well an organization meets these goals
  • Can apply theory on managing creatives to real-life organizational situations
  • Can formulate and effectively communicate arguments around key management issues in the media and creative industries
  • Can formulate an issue of interest in the field of managing media and creative industries, identify a research area of relevance to the issue, formulate a research question, and suggest theoretical perspectives relevant to the research question
General Competence

Upon completion of this course, students will learn to:

  • Critically evaluate different sources of information relating to media and creative organizations
  • Apply abstract theoretical paradigms to empirical examples
  • Present own analysis in an academic manner, as a well as in a format that would be useful for a media or creative organization
  • Critically evaluate own work and the work by others
  • Understand societal, cultural, and relational management dilemmas (in the creative industries) through a communicative and interactional lens
  • Assess and reflect on the sustainability of creative work
Course content

Course content

1. Major organizational forms and corresponding ecosystems in the media and creative industries

  • Organizational forms in the media and creative industries
  • The media and creative organization and relationships with external actors and stakeholders
  • Media and creative industry networks and clusters

2. Metrics of value and institutional logics in creative organisations

  • Values, systems of valorization, and value conflict (value theory, institutional logics, and application)
  • Communicating value in the competitive marketplace

3. Managing creative organizations and creative labour

  • Managing and motivating creative labour
  • Leadership challenges in the media and creative industries
  • Organizational/management models in the media and creative industries

4. Management of assets and their return

  • Managerial challenges for realizing efficiency through digital technologies and other means
  • Evaluating and measuring the economic, creative and social goals of organizations in the media and creative industries
Teaching and learning activities

The course will be taught through a combination of discussion of current theory and literature, in addition to a case-studies that enable participants to observe real-life application of the managerial challenges discussed.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Additional information

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.

All parts of the assessment must be passed in order to get a grade in the course.

Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have spesific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Disclaimer

Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.

Required prerequisite knowledge

None

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Submission other than PDF
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
30
Grouping: 
Group (2 - 3)
Duration: 
1 Semester(s)
Comment: 
Students to submit powerpoint slide with voiceover, approx 20 minutes.
Exam code: 
GRA 61461
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Submission PDF
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
70
Grouping: 
Group (2 - 3)
Duration: 
1 Semester(s)
Comment: 
Group project
Exam code: 
GRA 61462
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
24 Hour(s)
Feedback activities and counselling
12 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
64 Hour(s)
Group work / Assignments
80 Hour(s)
Sum workload: 
180

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.