BUS3067 : Critical Perspectives into Representations of Management and Organisation in Popular Culture
- Offered for Year: 2026/27
- Available for Study Abroad and Exchange students, subject to School approval at module registration
- Module Leader(s): Dr Sara Zaeemdar
- Lecturer: Dr Paul Richter
- Owning School: Newcastle University Business School
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Pre-requisite
Modules you must have done previously to study this module
Pre Requisite Comment
N/A
Co-Requisite
Modules you need to take at the same time
Co Requisite Comment
N/A
Aims
In a society defined and patterned by multiple discourses on ‘how to organise’, the media represents perhaps the most influential voice of all. Individually held perceptions and expectations of organisation and work, and our own likely (and hoped for) roles in them (and our resistance to them) are greatly influenced by media content such as film and television however they are delivered. The media offers us insights into organisations, but only from particular and often limited perspectives. The importance of the perceptions and expectations subsequently encouraged, lies in the fact that, once established, they are then able to influence how organisations (and ultimately society) are themselves patterned. Our expectations of the organisations we become a part of will ultimately help to shape them.
The module aims to present a framework for critical thinking about organisational behaviour and practice. It introduces students to Critical Organisation Studies. The module seeks to explore the principal debates within the field, and their consequences for empirical research. This module seeks to raise awareness among students of management/organisation of how certain theorists have emphasised the influence of media/culture over representations, and therefore understandings of and expectations for, management and organisation. It also seeks to develop the abilities of students to be critical analysts, an aptitude which is in high demand by today’s employers and social organisations.
Outline Of Syllabus
The module will cover key debates in Critical Organisation Studies on topics such as:
- Semiotics, sensemaking and organisational life
- Structure and poststructuralism
- Knowledge
- Power, a Foucauldian framework
- Ideology, resistance and feminism
- Self and identity
- Culture
- Representing Organisation/Management in Popular Culture
- Critical approaches to Popular Culture
- Semiotic and Discursive analytical approaches to cultural texts
- Entrepreneurship and Popular culture
- Representation of professional workplaces in TV drama
- Representations of future organisation
- Hollywood representations of women in leadership positions.
There will also be space for preparing students for the module assessment.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | PiP Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 14 | 2:00 | 28:00 | PiP Lectures |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 63:00 | 63:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 66:00 | 66:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Pre-assessment Clinic |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 38:00 | 38:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Scheduled on-line contact time | 2 | 0:30 | 1:00 | Online drop-in |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The lectures, planned as present-in-person, combine the setting out of key ideas and concepts that underpin the module’s knowledge outcomes in lecture mode with a high level of interaction via practically-focused activities, giving students the opportunity to discuss in small and larger groups the module's themes, drawing on their own multi-cultural experiences. Hence, these activities will support students in achieving the module’s skill (as well as knowledge) outcomes. Lectures also provide students with the opportunity to consider the relationship between the module material and the module assessment. Students will also be expected to broaden their knowledge of the module's debates through engaging with the wider reading list. Additional support will be provided through scheduled online contact time to enhance student learning.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2 | A | 100 | 3,000 words |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 2 | M | essay plan (linked to summative assessment Essay) - 400 words |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The essay assesses the students' depth of understanding of a particular topic presented in the module, drawing on further extensive independent research and reading. Such a mode of assessment will allow assessment of students’ ability to apply concepts underpinning philosophy and social theory to the study of organisations, to draw on the critical perspective developed in the module and to demonstrate a critical understanding of the main debates in the study of management and organisation in relation to popular culture texts.
The formative component will provide the students with the opportunity to draft out an essay plan and receive peer and lecturer feedback on its development for the final submission.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- BUS3067's Timetable