Summary Organization and Power
Master: Beleid, Communicatie en Organisatie (BCO)
S_OAP
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
2025 – 2026
[1]
,Inhoud
Week 1 .................................................................................................................... 3
College 1 – Introduction ........................................................................................ 3
College 2 – Forms of control .................................................................................. 5
Week 2 .................................................................................................................. 19
College 3 – Structure & Agency ............................................................................ 19
College 4 – Dimensions of Power ......................................................................... 24
Week 3 .................................................................................................................. 30
College 5 – workplace surveillance ...................................................................... 30
College 6 – Democratization and Distributed Power .............................................. 36
Week 4 .................................................................................................................. 45
College 7 – ecosystems and climate change ......................................................... 45
College 8 – Diversity, Work & Intersectionality ....................................................... 54
Week 5 .................................................................................................................. 61
College 9 – Identity Regulation ............................................................................. 61
College 10 – Consultancies & Workplace friendship ............................................. 68
Week 6 .................................................................................................................. 75
College 11 – leadership, complexity and power ..................................................... 75
College 12 – Paradoxes and Complexity ............................................................... 84
[2]
,Week 1
College 1 – Introduction
Definitie van organisaties:
The objectives of Organization and Power
• … aims to deepen your knowledge about organizations, organizational processes
and power.
• ... sets the stage for researching, analysing and theorizing processes of
organizing in a variety of contexts.
• … raises the awareness that power in, outside and between organizations is
important to understand how they function, and what role they play in society.
• … builds on original texts and their application through the analysis of classic,
contemporary and critical texts (and some case studies).
Theorizing about organizations and power
- Substantiated knowledge claims
- General structure of the nature of events
- Deepening our understanding
- Conceptualization
- Forms: explanatory, interpretative, emancipatory
What is theory
- A series of interconnected constructs, definitions, and propositions that present
a systematic picture of phenomena by specifying relationships between
variables, with the aim of explaining and predicting the phenomena (Kerlinger)
- Grounded theory = a complex iterative process. The research begins by asking
generative questions that help guide the research. As the researcher collects
[3]
, data, core theoretical concepts are identified. Preliminary connections are
developed between theoretical concepts and data. (Glaser and Straus)
Theorie en conceptueel model Social Identity:
Social Identity = is het gevoel over wat voor soort persoon hij is, gebaseerd het
groepslidmaatschap. Groepen zijn een belangrijke bron voor trots en zelf waardering.
[4]
Master: Beleid, Communicatie en Organisatie (BCO)
S_OAP
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
2025 – 2026
[1]
,Inhoud
Week 1 .................................................................................................................... 3
College 1 – Introduction ........................................................................................ 3
College 2 – Forms of control .................................................................................. 5
Week 2 .................................................................................................................. 19
College 3 – Structure & Agency ............................................................................ 19
College 4 – Dimensions of Power ......................................................................... 24
Week 3 .................................................................................................................. 30
College 5 – workplace surveillance ...................................................................... 30
College 6 – Democratization and Distributed Power .............................................. 36
Week 4 .................................................................................................................. 45
College 7 – ecosystems and climate change ......................................................... 45
College 8 – Diversity, Work & Intersectionality ....................................................... 54
Week 5 .................................................................................................................. 61
College 9 – Identity Regulation ............................................................................. 61
College 10 – Consultancies & Workplace friendship ............................................. 68
Week 6 .................................................................................................................. 75
College 11 – leadership, complexity and power ..................................................... 75
College 12 – Paradoxes and Complexity ............................................................... 84
[2]
,Week 1
College 1 – Introduction
Definitie van organisaties:
The objectives of Organization and Power
• … aims to deepen your knowledge about organizations, organizational processes
and power.
• ... sets the stage for researching, analysing and theorizing processes of
organizing in a variety of contexts.
• … raises the awareness that power in, outside and between organizations is
important to understand how they function, and what role they play in society.
• … builds on original texts and their application through the analysis of classic,
contemporary and critical texts (and some case studies).
Theorizing about organizations and power
- Substantiated knowledge claims
- General structure of the nature of events
- Deepening our understanding
- Conceptualization
- Forms: explanatory, interpretative, emancipatory
What is theory
- A series of interconnected constructs, definitions, and propositions that present
a systematic picture of phenomena by specifying relationships between
variables, with the aim of explaining and predicting the phenomena (Kerlinger)
- Grounded theory = a complex iterative process. The research begins by asking
generative questions that help guide the research. As the researcher collects
[3]
, data, core theoretical concepts are identified. Preliminary connections are
developed between theoretical concepts and data. (Glaser and Straus)
Theorie en conceptueel model Social Identity:
Social Identity = is het gevoel over wat voor soort persoon hij is, gebaseerd het
groepslidmaatschap. Groepen zijn een belangrijke bron voor trots en zelf waardering.
[4]
