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SOCIOLOGY OF WORK AND ORGANIZATIONS

Guido Gabriele CAVALCA SOCIOLOGY OF WORK AND ORGANIZATIONS

0312300062
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL STUDIES
EQF6
SOCIOLOGY
2024/2025

YEAR OF COURSE 3
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2019
SPRING SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
640LESSONS
GUIDO GABRIELE CAVALCA T Curriculum
ExamDate
SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO E DELL'ORGANIZZAZI14/01/2025 - 14:30
SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO E DELL'ORGANIZZAZI28/01/2025 - 14:30
SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO E DELL'ORGANIZZAZI12/02/2025 - 14:30
Objectives
THE TEACHING AIMS TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF WORK AND THE MAIN THEORIES, NOT ONLY SOCIOLOGICAL, OF ORGANISATIONS. THE TEACHING AIMS TO GIVE STUDENTS THE NECESSARY THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ROLE OF WORK IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY AND IN THE HISTORY OF CAPITALISM AND THE FUNCTIONING OF ORGANISATIONS THAT GIVE STRUCTURED FORM TO WORK ACTIVITIES. SOME LECTURES ALSO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON WORK AND ORGANISATION. THE TEACHING FOCUSES ON THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF WORK, IN PARTICULAR THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FORDIST AND POST-FORDIST PHASES, THE TERTIARISATION OF THE ECONOMY AND DIGITAL WORK.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
THE STUDENT WILL:
- WILL KNOW THE DISCIPLINARY FOUNDATIONS OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF WORK AND ORGANISATIONAL STUDIES;
- WILL UNDERSTAND THE MAIN CRITICAL ISSUES OF CONTEMPORARY WORK AND ORGANISATIONAL MODELS;

ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO
- INTERPRET WORK AND ORGANISATIONAL PHENOMENA USING APPROPRIATE THEORETICAL REFERENCES;
- ANALYSE THE FUNCTIONING OF ORGANISATIONS AND ORGANISATIONAL ACTION;
- IDENTIFY POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THE MOST RELEVANT PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD OF WORK AND ORGANISATIONAL LIFE;
- PROCESS LABOUR MARKET DATA, A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEMS AND EXPLANATIONS OF INEQUALITIES IN THE LABOUR MARKET.

AUTONOMY OF JUDGEMENT
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO
- EVALUATE CRITICAL ASPECTS OF SOCIAL THEORIES AND PHENOMENA;
- USE THEORIES TO INDEPENDENTLY DEVELOP INTERPRETATIONS OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
THE TEACHING AIMS TO IMPROVE THE STUDENT'S ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE LEARNING CONTENT THROUGH DISCUSSION OF SPECIFIC TOPICS.
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO
- CONCISELY AND COMPREHENSIVELY COMMUNICATE SOCIOLOGICAL OR, MORE GENERALLY, SCIENTIFIC CONTENT;
- REPRESENT AND COMMUNICATE, BY MEANS OF TEXTS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS, THE RESULTS OF THEIR OWN RESEARCH OR ELABORATIONS;
- WRITE TEXTS ANALYSING SOCIAL PHENOMENA WITH THE USE OF BIBLIOGRAPHIES, RELIABLE WEB SOURCES AND STATISTICAL DATA;
- TO ARGUE ONE'S OWN CRITICAL REFLECTIONS ON SOCIAL ISSUES.

LEARNING SKILLS
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO:
- USE TRADITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL TOOLS AND IT RESOURCES FOR ANALYSIS AND ARCHIVING;
- CARRY OUT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES, UNDERSTAND AND INTERPRET COMPLEX TEXTS OF A PUBLISHING OR LITERARY NATURE;
- CONTINUOUSLY UPDATE THEIR KNOWLEDGE, USING TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.
Prerequisites
STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE A SOUND KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIOLOGY AND ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY.
Contents
THE TEACHING COMBINES TOPICS RELATING TO THE SOCIOLOGY OF WORK AND THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF WORK IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM WITH THOSE RELATING TO THE ORGANISATIONAL PROCESSES OF WORK AND ORGANISATIONAL THEORIES.
THE TWO DISCIPLINES WILL BE TREATED SYNOPTICALLY WITH REFERENCE TO THE MAIN ISSUES AND STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORK ORGANISATION MODELS IN CAPITALISM.
THE TEACHING WILL BE DIVIDED INTO TWO MODULES.
THE FIRST (26 HOURS) DEALS WITH THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE MEANING OF WORK BEFORE AND SINCE THE BIRTH OF CAPITALISM, ITS DEVELOPMENT OVER TIME AND THE TRANSFORMATIONS IT HAS UNDERGONE WITH THE PROCESS OF CHANGE IN THE CAPITALIST ECONOMIC SYSTEM, THE MODELS OF WORK ORGANISATION IN THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SPHERES.
THE SECOND MODULE (14 HOURS) DEALS WITH CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF WORK, SPECIFICALLY DIGITAL WORK AND TERTIARY WORK, NOW DOMINANT IN ADVANCED CAPITALIST SOCIETIES. PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO THE PROCESS OF TERTIARISATION AND TO WORKING CONDITIONS IN SERVICES, PARTICULARLY IN THAT SET OF ACTIVITIES WITH LOWER QUALIFICATIONS, HIGH LABOUR INTENSITY AND RELATIONAL CONTENT THAT CONSTITUTE PRIVATE CONSUMER SERVICES.
BELOW ARE THE PLANNED TOPICS DIVIDED BY MODULE.
FIRST MODULE: INDUSTRIAL WORK AND THE POST-TYLORIST TRANSFORMATION (26 HOURS)
THE SOCIOLOGY OF WORK AND THE MEANING OF WORK (4 HOURS)
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND MASS PRODUCTION; FACTORY WORK; TAYLORISM AND FORDISM, RATIONAL ORGANISATIONAL MODELS (6 HOURS)
CRITICAL THEORIES OF RATIONALIST APPROACHES (2 HOURS)
POST-FORDISM AND NEW BLUE-COLLAR WORK, THE SUBJECTIVIST TURN AND BOUNDED RATIONALITY (BARNARD AND SIMON), POST-TOYLORIST ORGANISATIONAL MODELS, FROM TOYOTISM TO THE WCM (6 HOURS)
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND ORGANISATIONAL INNOVATION. (4 HOURS)
LABOUR AND WELFARE, TRANSFORMATION OF LABOUR POLICIES (4 HOURS)

SECOND MODULE: TERTIARY AND DIGITAL WORK (14 HOURS)
THE DIGITAL WORK (4 HOURS)
THE TRANSITION OF WORK FROM INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION TO SERVICES AND THE NEW EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE (2 HOURS)
WORK IN THE TERTIARY SECTOR, THE VARIETY OF SERVICES AND CONSUMER SERVICES (2 HOURS)
STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE IN CONSUMER SERVICES (2 HOURS)
SERVICE WORKERS AND THEIR WORKING CONDITIONS (2 HOURS)
PROBLEMS OF REPRESENTATION OF SERVICE WORKERS (2 HOURS)
Teaching Methods
THE COURSE IS ORGANIZED WITH FRONTAL LECTURES, BUT STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE AND DEBATE ON SPECIFIC ISSUES. REGULAR ATTENDANCE ALLOWS DELVING INTO THE COURSE’S TOPICS, EVEN THROUGH READING AND DISCUSSION OF TEXTS RECOMMENDED BY THE LECTURER.
Verification of learning
THE LEARNING PROCESS WILL BE VERIFIED WITH AN ORAL EXAM ON COURSE THEMES AND COURSE TEXTS. THIS EXAM AIMS AT CHECKING STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND EVALUATING STUDENTS’ CAPACITY TO EXPLAIN AND SUMMARIZE SPECIFIC TOPICS.
THE EVALUATION OF STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE IS BASED ON THEIR CAPABILITY TO AUTONOMOUSLY ELABORATE THE THEORETICAL CONTENTS ILLUSTRATED DURING THE COURSE OR THROUGH TEXTS READING, MAKING ALSO EMPIRICAL EXAMPLES, AND ON THEIR ABILITY TO COMPARE DIFFERENT THEORIES ON SPECIFIC WORK AND ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES.
THE MINIMUN MARK (18/30) IS GIVEN TO STUDENTS WHO SHOW BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF WORK AND ORGANISATIONAL SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES. THE HIGHEST MARK (30/30) IS ASSIGNED TO THOSE STUDENTS WHO KNOW VERY WELL WORK AND ORGANISATIONAL THEORETICAL APPROACHES, PINPOINT FITTING EXAMPLES OF CASE STUDIES AND SHOW EXCELLENT ABILITY TO EXPLAIN AND DISCUSS THEORIES AND ISSUES.
THE EVALUATION OF THE ATTENDEES WILL CONSIDER ALSO THEIR LEVEL AND QUALITY OF ACTIVE PARTICIPATION DURING LECTURES: THEY COULD BE REWARDED WITH ADDITIONAL POINTS (UP TO 2 TO BE SUMMED TO THE ORAL EXAM EVALUATION).
Texts
SYLLABUS:
CAVALCA G., MINGIONE E., PUGLIESE E. (2024) IL LAVORO DALLA RIVOLUZIONE INDUSTRIALE ALLA TRANSIZIONE DIGITALE. TERZA EDIZIONE, CAROCCI, ROMA.
FELLINI I. (2017) IL TERZIARIO DI CONSUMO. OCCUPAZIONE E PROFESSIONI, CAROCCI, ROMA.
FURTHER TEXTS:
DORDONI A. (2017) SEMPRE APERTI. LAVORARE SU TURNI NELLA SOCIETA DEI SERVIZI 24/7, MIMESIS
FULLIN G. (2023) I CLIENTI SIAMO NOI. IL LAVORO NELLA SOCIETÀ DEI SERVIZI, IL MULINO.
SENNETT R., SUPIOT A., HONNETH A. (2020) PERCHÉ LAVORO? NARRATIVE E DIRITTI PER LAVORATRICI E LAVORATORI DEL XXI SECOLO, FONDAZIONE GIANGIACOMO FELTRINELLI.
AA.VV. LAVORARE OGGI IN FABBRICA. INCHIESTA SULLE CONDIZIONI DI LAVORO IN FCA/CNH, FONDAZIONE FELTRINELLI, MILANO
ROSSI P. (2019) L’INNOVAZIONE ORGANIZZATIVA. FORME, CONTESTI E IMPLICAZIONI SOCIALI, CAROCCI

OTHER TEXTS TO BE TO BE USED EXCLUSIVELY DURING THE COURSE WILL BE COMMUNICATED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE.
More Information
OFFICE HOURS: DURING THE TEACHING PERIOD WEDNESDAYS 10:30-11:30AM; OTHERWISE, PLEASE CONTACT THE LECTURER BY EMAIL
FOR ANY INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT ME BY EMAIL: GCAVALCA@UNISA.IT
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