The course will provide students with the opportunity to evaluate, discuss and apply the dominant theories in contemporary organisational and strategic research. The course has three primary objectives. The first objective is to provide an overview of eight of the more widely used theoretical perspectives currently applied to the study of organisations and their strategies. The second objective is to enable students to critically evaluate those theories of strategy and organisation - as well as other theories you may come across. This initially involves a more general discussion of the characteristics of good theory. After establishing some of the characteristics of good theory, we enter the debate on whether the existence of multiple good theories is beneficial for the management field or whether one best theory should dominate. Each of the currently prominent theories will then be examined in terms of: the question they address; the nature of the assumptions; the logical cohesion of the theory; and the nature of the implications for our view of strategy and organisation. The third objective is to apply the theories - both in class as participants and seminar leaders and more formally in the development of a case study which applies at least one of the theories.

This paper is taught via conversation. You will therefore need to engage. I do not mind whether this course runs in person or online, but it will be one or the other. I will therefore poll people before the course starts and let you know how it will run before the first class. In the past the course has attracted students from around New Zealand and overseas and online was the required option. But I have also run it face-to-face many times. If we run online it will operate no differently than face-to-face in that cameras are on and you must engage in the synchronous conversation.