Overview

Assessment details To complete this assessment you must analyse and deconstruct one of three articles/media clips (details provided below).

To “deconstruct” something is to look beyond the surface of what is being said or written; it is to pull an argument apart and look for the assumptions and agenda that informs a person’s viewpoint and argumentation. Each article / media clip more or less embodies a particular paradigm, although they are not perfect or “ideal” fits with the paradigms. We tell you which paradigm each article exemplifies.

Your task is to demonstrate your knowledge and skills by explaining why the article/media clip embodies this paradigm. Note that there is no functionalist article/media clip available to deconstruct for your assignment. Instead, we will workshop a functionalist article in class, to demonstrate how you might approach the assignment and analyse your chosen article/clip. Rest assured we will workshop ALL the articles/readings in class.

The article/media clip for you to choose for your deconstruction is: Radical humanist/neo-humanist exemplar: IWD 2019: Intersectionality at work. Accenture. March 5, 2019. YouTube. How to approach the assessment

1. Listen to Lectures 1 – 5 closely, taking notes as you go on the characteristics of each paradigm.

2. Attend your tutorials, where the paradigms will be discussed.

3. Read/listen to the three articles/media clips, and choose one that you wish to deconstruct.  We provide a worksheet to help you identify the relevant characteristics of the paradigm that the article/media clip exemplifies. We will be workshopping each article in class. The relevant worksheet can be found here: Worksheet for assessment 1 Download Worksheet for assessment 1Do NOT submit the worksheet as your assignment.

4. Review the following text, focusing particularly on your chosen paradigm: Burrell, G. & Morgan, G. 1979, Sociological paradigms and organizational analysis.

For access, see the Reading List (essential reading).  Highlight passages that distill the characteristics of your chosen paradigm. See the worksheet as an example. Highlight passages in your article/media clip (type out the relevant quote/feature of the clip) where you see these characteristics in operation. See the worksheet for an example.

5. build your case as to why your chosen article/media clip exemplifies its given paradigm. Below are guiding questions to consider and respond to. Students must respond to the first question, but you do not need to answer all questions:

What features of the paradigm can you see in operation in the article/media clip? What paradigm do these features best reflect and why?  You should place considerable weight on this question, as if you answer this question well, it will enable you to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of your chosen paradigm. What is the topic of interest to the authors? Are they challenging the way the existing political and economic system operates, or are they seeking to improve the performance of organizations within the existing system?

What paradigm do these interests best reflect and why? (Consider the order & regulation/radical change & conflict axis of the typology of the four paradigms). Who has written the article/who is constructing the argument in the media clip? Who are they affiliated with, and what are their interests/agenda?

What paradigm do these interests best reflect and why? What are the aims of the article/media clip? (Note: these may be undeclared) What does the author/speaker wish to achieve? What paradigm do these aims best reflect and why? What issues or aspects of organizations and management does the article/media clip ignore, or not engage with?