Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides doctoral students with a comprehensive, up-do-date understanding of the principles and practices of organizational ethnography as a staple qualitative methodological approach to the study of organizations, communities, and institutions. Both the historical developments and contemporary debates will be discussed. The specific topics covered include: process and stages of ethnography (entering the field, conducting fieldwork, writing); traditional and contemporary varieties of ethnographic research methods (incl. shadowing and diary interviews); contemporary styles and varieties of ethnographic inquiry (incl. videography and affective ethnography); and ethics of doing organizational ethnography. The course is mainly targeted at doctoral students in management and organization, marketing, and organizational communication but it is designed to benefit all students, across disciplinary boundaries, who wish to employ qualitative fieldwork methods in their doctoral research (e.g. accounting, information systems science, logistics). During the course, students will also have the opportunity to received individualized feedback on their own research projects from the instructors and fellow students of the course.

After completing the course, students will be better able to

• plan, conduct, and present ethnographic research

• understand the historical background of organizational ethnography and its contribution to the theoretical development of organization and management studies
• position their research projects in relation to different ethnographic traditions and styles
• evaluate the strengths and limitations of ethnography as a cultural perspective to organizational and institutional life
• critically consider the ethical and political implications of doing ethnographic research in organizational and institutional settings

Credits: 6

Schedule: 15.06.2022 - 17.06.2022

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Johanna Moisander, Ana Lafaire

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

Course coordinator: 

Ana Paula Lafaire 

email: ana.lafaire@aalto.fi

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• applies in this implementation

  Please see the course syllabus sent to you.

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  6 ECTS Grading: Students will be graded on a scale of 0 to 5 based on their final course paper.

Workload

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  The course will be delivered over a period of 3 days (24h). Instruction will be based on the philosophy and methods of learner-centered instruction. Before the course, students are expected to complete a set of learning assignments that will be discussed in class. Class sessions consist of a) lectures, b) collective discussion and group work on the learning materials; c) panels and Q&A sessions with the instructors; and d) student presentations and feedback. To successfully complete the course, students need do all the learning assignments, participate actively in class, and write a final course paper (5000-8000 words) that will be due six weeks after the course.

DETAILS

Study Material

• applies in this implementation

  Package of readings.

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

Description