One of the most widely discussed topics in the social sciences is the structure and dynamics of bureaucratic work organizations such as private businesses, government agencies, health facilities, schools and universities. Organizations such as these are common subject matter for print and electronic news magazines, late-night TV comedians, and radio humor shows. Daily newspapers feature them in their news, business, science, sports, or comic sections. Political discourse, from talk shows to the campaign trail, decries the ineffectiveness of public organizations such as schools, or denounces inefficiencies in private organizations like hospitals. In this course, we explore these issues through the world of research and analysis.

Our interest in such a seemingly dry topic as bureaucracy probably comes from the unprecedented growth of large-scale formal organizations in modern societies and their pervasiveness in the lives of both adults and children today. Big business, big government, big labor, large schools, large hospitals, and large sports franchises are just a few of the hierarchical social organizations that are often seen as posing dangers to the freedom, spontaneity, and individuality of employees and clients, and to democracy itself. They are the settings for social issues such as glass walls and ceilings, sexual harassment, and preferential hiring and promotion. At the same time, they are the setting for bold experiments and an informal, spontaneous, and "human" approach to work and problem solving.

In this course, we explore both the formal and informal side of large-scale work organizations. To some extent, the range of organizations and issues studied depends on the interests of the students enrolled. In general, however, we will look at the structure and internal dynamics of bureaucracies in business-oriented societies such as our own, consider how environmental factors influence these organizations, and how large-scale organizations shape the social world.