| FORG 105 |
| Introduction to Formal Organizations and Private Governance |
| An interdisciplinary seminar about governance in private organizations. The first half will cover key social units: close-knit groups, households, communes, and religions. The second half will cover a broad range of market organizations: firms, criminal organizations, sports leagues, not-for-profit organizations, clubs, and online platforms. Topics include: hierarchy, informal control, freedom of contract, organizational autonomy, mission, diversity, tournaments, deviance, discrimination, and openness. The course has a seminar format. Students will conduct policy debates about contentious governance issues of private organizations. Students will complete two individual (or small-group) research projects on topics chosen in consultation with the instructor. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 201 |
| Formal Organizations and Market Behavior |
| This course will consider the likely behavior within Formal Organizations using the benchmark of economic thinking and market mechanisms. The course will discuss the role of prices, property, and profit and loss in a market economy, and it will ponder to what extent such arrangements might be applied within firms. It will discuss potential problems of organization when concerns for opportunity cost, economic calculation, or entrepreneurial thinking are lacking. Students will read classic and modern economic texts and then read business case studies to explore when and where the lessons of economics might apply. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 211 |
| Normative analysis of organizations |
| This seminar is designed to complement internships in formal organizations (public or private; for profit or not-for-profit). The topic is “normative analysis of organizations.” We will compare and contrast positive and negative assessments of organizations by outstanding social scientists. Students will analyze their field experiences in light of concepts from these studies. We will consider also how liberal-arts education might prepare students to achieve ethical standards in organizations. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 212 |
| Issues in methodological individualism |
The course studies common methods used for conducting research about how formal organizations pursue, or ineffectively pursue, collective goals. Where the sociologist and political economic historian Max Weber maintains that one can only describe social phenomena by looking at individual motivations and actions, the sociologist Emile Durkheim maintains "determining cause of a social fact should be sought among the social facts preceding it and not among the states of the individual consciousness." Certain methodological positivists, in contrast, argue that empirical studies with predictive capacity are the only findings that matter. This reading and writing intensive course studies different perspectives of when particular research methods help understand social phenomena. Students learn to use a method to conduct a case study of organizations of their choice. (SOC)
Prerequisite: C- or better in Formal Organizations 201, or consent of instructor |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 220 |
| Prototypes and Models of Formal Organizations |
| An exploration of the origins and growth of the basic types of formal organizations. Particular attention is given to the historical appearance of patterns of human action and the creation of organizations to maximize their effectiveness, the development of property rights and their adaptation to changing conditions, and practices and procedures devised to deal with limited information and uncertainty. There will be numerous case studies of the creation and performance of formal organizations such as financial markets and rules for land usage. This course is central to the Formal Organizations minor and strongly recommended for those anticipating completing the minor. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FORG 226 |
| Entrepreneurship and Society |
The course analyzes social entrepreneurship and evaluates its special role in meeting human needs and solving societal problems. The course compares and contrasts social entrepreneurship to two other kinds of organizations: traditional kinds of not-for-profit organizations, and for-profit firms. The course provides a systematic account of motivations and behaviors in social entrepreneurship and in social enterprises. The course assesses a variety of theories of social entrepreneurship. The course draws on historical and institutional examples throughout and has a strong emphasis on urban and global issues. (SOC)
Prerequisite: C- or better in Formal Organizations 201, or consent of instructor |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 233 |
| The Godfather: The Art of Hard Choices |
| The Godfather and The Godfather Part II films are narrative masterpieces that provide many insights into the interplay of character and culture in decision-making in high-stakes situations outside the law. We will interpret the films as illustrations of strategic interaction in stylized mafia settings. We will focus on the psychology of motivations: rationality, interest, emotion, justice, and the mafia’s code of honor (vendetta, omertà, and gender norms). And we will discuss narrative techniques and the relationship between art and life (fiction and reality). (HUM) |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FORG 272 |
| Mafia |
| In contemporary societies there is an intimate contest between two kinds of social order: The rule of law and criminal organization. A remarkable instance may be found in the workings and metamorphoses of the Mafia. From its origins in Sicily, an agrarian society on the periphery of Europe, the Mafia has acquired intercontinental dimensions and a grip on high politics and finance capital. This shadowy phenomenon has been approached and explained in very different ways by historians, anthropologists, sociologists, economists, and political scientists. It has also been the subject of literature and film. We shall discuss outstanding examples of each approach and treatment. The purposes of the course are to make sense of the Mafia, to explore a basic problem of social order and to compare the different styles of reasoning and representation that characterize the various disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Course requirements: seminar reports, several short papers, and full attendance and participation. (Listed as both LACS 272 and ITAL 272.) (GLB2) |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| FORG 280 |
| College |
| An interdisciplinary analysis of selective liberal-arts colleges and kindred universities. Topics include rankings, admissions, diversity, athletics, social life, governance, and payoff. The course has a seminar format. The seminar serves as an introductory case study in formal organizations. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 291 |
| Entrepreneurship and Markets |
| The course evaluates the role and nature of entrepreneurship and the market process, and contemporary public policy issues concerning business culture and the entrepreneur in modern society. A variety of theories of market competition and the significance of the entrepreneur are developed and contrasted in terms of innovation, uncertainty, market coordination, and economic growth and development. Market and political entrepreneurship are contrasted, and the topics of social corporate responsibility, insider trading, the environment, and the global economy are discussed in detail. Historical and institutional examples are drawn upon throughout the course. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 302 |
| Seminar in Entrepreneurship |
| An examination of the scholarship of creating value in the economy. There will discussions of the primary literature and case studies which include non-profits and governments as well as private enterprises. There will also be visits by several successful entrepreneurs. Each student will participate in creating a business plan that combines elements of the theory with a proposal for innovation. The seminar is intended to be helpful to a student of any major which is anticipating creative projects after graduation. Limited to juniors or seniors. There are no prerequisites as to courses but almost all students will have basic economics. Discuss this with the instructor if you are uncertain of your preparation. This seminar fulfills the track for an emphasis in entrepreneurship which is an option in the Formal Organizations Minor. Each student should bring a suggested entrepreneurial project. This section will illustrate entrepreneurship by using examples from current environmental-enterprise opportunities. Several places are reserved for students with a concentration in the environmental sciences. See instructors for admission pins. As much as ½ the class is held open for Environmental Science and other Engineering and Science Majors. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 303 |
| Exit, Voice and Power in Organizations |
Although individuals form organizations to advance collective goals, oftentimes some members of organizations use power at the expense of others. Albert Hirschman analyzed ways in which members use voice or exit to agitate and exert influence for change. Students will study ways in which structures and organizational setups perpetuate power and study examples of non-coercive cooperative alternatives. An emphasis will be on historical New England and NY based normative organizations including the New England Non-Resistance Society of William Lloyd Garrison, the Women's Peace Society (Helen Frances Garrison Villard), and the Catholic Worker Movement(Dorothy Day),& some modern examples. Students will explore the role of individual and collective agency in social transformation will learn imagine alternative possible systems in modern times. (SOC)
Prerequisite: C- or better in Formal Organizations 201, or consent of instructor |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 308 |
| Leaderless and autonomous organizations |
| People form organizations to pursue collective goals and although most formal organizations have people in charge and varying degrees of hierarchy, this is not necessarily the case. The course will study examples of what potentially could be classified as leaderless organizations including communal Owenite cooperatives in nineteenth century America or communally run kibbutzim in modern Israel. The course will also study recent examples of digitally autonomous organizations built on blockchain and cryptocurrency technology and algorithmically enforced "smart" contracts. Although many intentionally leaderless organizations have encountered challenges that led to their demise, others seem to be flourishing. This reading and discussion intensive course will study the extent to which intentionally leaderless organizations can offer alternatives to or lessons for traditional hierarchical formal organizations. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 309 |
| Matching Markets |
| An introduction to qualitative analysis of matching in society. Matches are pairings, exchanges, and allocations where a person must choose a match, and also be chosen. Matching is a crucial part of life. We will examine the roles of formal organizations, markets, social norms, and signaling behaviors in matching. We will study a wide array of examples: assortative mating (dating and marriage), jobs, college admissions, adoption, visas, kidney exchanges, medical residencies, judicial clerkships, college bowl games, dormitory room allocation, and software matching (Uber, Airbnb). (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 310 |
| Theory and Philosophy of Markets |
| Why are some nations rich and some nations poor? Why are some brimming with entrepreneurship and economic activity and others are not? To what extent or when should markets be considered immoral or moral? Building off of the economic ideas of the first famous economist, Adam Smith, this course will discuss the potential importance, or pitfalls, of institutions, private property rights, and contracts for economic innovation.The course will focus on the formal and informal organizations that underpin and help support exchange. Students will also focus on writing a case study of a formal or informal organization designed to advance economic activity. The course will be reading-intensive and discussion-based. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 315 |
| Prohibitions |
| This seminar tackles two questions: Why do we outlaw some consensual
behaviors by adults? And should we? Our common work will focus on prohibitions against lifestyles, markets,international migration, and making and taking life. Topics in contested lifestyles are recreational drug use and free marriage.Topics in contested markets are sex, adoption, organs for transplantation, secrecy (blackmail), and wagering on political predictions. Topics in contested ways of making and taking life are genetic engineering, abortion, and assisted suicide. Students will conduct policy debates about various prohibitions. We will devote several weeks towards the end of the semester to individual (or small-group) research projects by students. The research projects may be about topics we have covered or about other prohibitions. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 320 |
| Behavior and the Design of Organizations |
Advanced topics in human behavior with particular emphasis on behavior within the constraints imposed within organizations. The interaction of the structure of such formal organizations as bureaucracies, matrix organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and organizations specializing in the production of knowledge with the expected behavior of internal and external participants. (SOC)
Prerequisite: C- or better in Formal Organizations 201, or consent of instructor |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 325 |
| Players, Organizations, and Markets |
| An introduction to the social science of sports. We will focus on motivations and behaviors in sports organizations and markets. We will compare and contrast college, professional, individual, team, and international sports. Specific topics are stakeholders (agents, athletes, fans, clubs, leagues, media, owners, and sponsors), governance (rules and informal honor codes), and dysfunctions (bias, corruption, discrimination, and doping). An overarching topic is: What are sports for? We will review answers from economics, sociology, and psychology, and develop our own. The course has a seminar format. Students will lead classes with presentations about assigned materials and debates about policy issues; for example, pay-for-play for college athletes, performance-enhancing drugs, and Title IX. There will be guest visits by experts from the field. (SOC) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| FORG 399 |
| Formal Organizations Independent Study |
| Obtain registration form from the Registrar's Office. (SOC) |
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0.50 units min / 1.00 units max, Independent Study
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| FORG 466 |
| Teaching Assistantship |
| Submission of the special registration form, available online, and the approval of the instructor are required for enrollment. Guidelines are available in the College Bulletin.
(0.5 - 1 course credit) |
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0.50 units min / 1.00 units max, Independent Study
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