Management & Organizational Analysis – (M.A.)

Contents

Our course draws on many disciplines to help you understand organisations and their management. The skills you learn are applicable across many fields of functions of work. Because we are recognised for our research training by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the course provides a sound footing for going on to doctoral research.

Our study programme consists of:

• Six core modules
• General & Practioner seminars
• One elective module
• A dissertation.

Modules are assessed primarily by written assignments, with examinations taken if you do not meet the required standard in those assignments. Class presentations form part of the assessment in some modules.

Core modules

Our course covers all the key areas you will need through six core modules.

• Foundation in Management & Organisational Analysis
• Organisational Behaviour
• Globalisation & Governance
• Researching Organisations
• Organising Identity
• Innovation & Knowledge Work.

Elective modules

Elective modules allow you to explore your own interests in the field, building on the solid foundation of your core modules.

Choose two modules from those below:

• Ethics & Values in Organisations
• Managing in Multinationals.

General & Practitioner seminars

The taught modules are complemented by our General & Practitioner seminars. These non-assessed events develop your general skills and competencies, and broaden your exposure to contemporary issues and practice. Some seminars are followed by an informal social event to help you to get to know your tutors and fellow participants.

This seminar series gives you access to senior practitioners within industrial relations with whom you can discuss contemporary issues. Additionally, graduates of our previous course return to speak about their post-MA experience giving you an insight into different career opportunities.

Workshop sessions are also run about general academic issues, such as writing essays in the field of industrial relations. There are also sessions covering personal career development strategies, with an introduction to the services of the University of Warwick's excellent Career Advisory Service.

Recent events include:

• Rebalancing trade: the need for global labour standards
  Sam Gurney, Trades Union Congress, European Union and International Relations Department
• The journey to becoming a Top 100 company - can you start it too?
  Michael Doolin, Director of Human Resources and Training, GeoPost UK
• How HR adds value
  Carla Barnett, HR Adviser, Britvic
• The cooperative perspective
  Bob Cannell, Suma
• Exploring HR directions - Generalist, Specialist & Consulting
  Reman Singh, Human Resources, Hewitt Associates, New Delhi
• Enforcing labour rights in the UK
  John Page, Trainee Employment Relations Barrister, Hackney Community Law Centre and TSSA union

Dissertation

Your 12,000 word dissertation is the cornerstone of the MA. We will give you the skills to plan and write your dissertation during the Researching Organisations core module. You can see from the range of examples shown below, from our previous MA in Organisation Studies, what a wide range of subjects are open for you to explore.

• 'Emotional Labour' in a call centre: an ethnographic study
• A demise of management? A historical analysis of management through fictional film
• Aesthetic labour in hairdressing salons: a case study
• Gender and identity in women's soccer
• Hail the snail: a Laclauian perspective on the resistance approach of the Slow Food Movement
• Homosexuality in the police: a qualitative study
• How corporate social responsibility has changed the marketing strategy of Johnson & Johnson in Greece
• Is what is beautiful good? An experimental investigation in physical attractiveness bias and gender bias in employment selection process in the UK
• Managerial strategies of control towards professional employees with reference to Google
• Organization culture adaptation in Hong Kong Disneyland
• The city as brand - the dream of 1001 nights in Dubai
• Signage, slogans & semiotics: the study of organisational identity
• Consumerism: what do people really gain from consumption? A case study of Häagen-Dazs in China
• What does the 'John Lewis Partnership scheme' mean to different levels of Partners?
• Workers in the arts sector: self-identity, aesthetics and the dialectic between art and business

Funding details

We strongly advise you to arrange funding for your time at WBS as early as possible.

Scholarships

In 2011-2012, we are offering more than 80 WBS scholarships for UK/EU students,
worth over £400,000. We automatically consider all eligible applicants to WBS courses, while funds are available.

We strongly recommend that you apply for a place on your chosen course as early as possible if you'd like to be considered.

WBS Scholarships

WBS Scholarships are intended for participants who are likely to be in the top 20 percent of their class. You must bring both outstanding experience and diversity of background to the class, and be a successful ambassador for WBS following graduation.

Warwick Scholarships

The University of Warwick Graduate School also offers some scholarships which may be available to applicants. You will generally need to apply for these separately.
Scholarships are usually awarded towards payment of your academic fee. Some funding sources have deadlines, some closing as early as February in the year of entry.

Banks & loans

Your bank might be able to offer you preferential borrowing rates on a loan, or an interest-free overdraft. You might want to make an early appointment with a bank representative to discuss your requirements.

Some United Kingdom banks may offer you a Career Development Loans (CDL), backed by the Government. The scheme is available to those intending to work in the United Kingdom or European Union countries. It can help fund up to two years of study.

Overseas students

There is some funding available for overseas students who are studying in the UK. However, available funding is usually awarded on a competitive basis and there are often many applicants for few awards.

The University of Warwick International Office's web site holds lots of information on funding for overseas students.

It may be possible to apply in your own country for British government awards. Talk to your local British Council office. In particular, overseas students are able to apply for a British Chevening Scholarship.

Check the conditions of eligibility in the booklets produced by the different grant-awarding bodies to see if you are eligible. Sometimes you may be able to put together small grants from different agencies, one paying fees alone while another contributes to your living expenses or travel.