Course Title: Culture, Diversity and Collaborative Management

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Culture, Diversity and Collaborative Management

Credit Points: 12


Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

BUSM2242

City Campus

Postgraduate

150H Health Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2007,
Sem 2 2008,
Sem 2 2009,
Sem 2 2010

BUSM3894

City Campus

Research

150H Health Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2007

Course Coordinator: Dr Wendy Harding

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 1492

Course Coordinator Email:wendy.harding@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 108.16.018


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Pre-requisite Courses:
BUSM 2240; BUSM 2241

Capability Linkages:
Links to BUSM 2240 (knowledge of different theoretical approaches to organisations), and BUSM 2241 (team-work and interpersonal skills and communication), and BUSM 2243 (communication skills).


Course Description

The course will examine issues of diversity and how these affect or are affected by organisational culture and collaborative ways of working. Dimensions of diversity to be examined include: age, race, colour, sexual orientation, and religion, plus hierarchy, task and education. Individual and collective meanings attributed to the experience of being Australian will also be explored. Investigation of dynamics associated with diversity will include a consideration of both conscious and unconscious processes, from anthropological, sociological and psychoanalytic perspectives.

If you are undertaking this course in Melbourne from semester 2, 2012 onwards your teacher will advise you if you require access to a computer for the course. It is recommended that you have access to a mobile computing device to allow greater flexibility in terms of where you can work on campus outside class times.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Course Capabilities:

  1. Knowledge application and critical analysis of social science and systems psychodynamic concepts and theories as applied to diversity within organisational settings.
  2. Critical analysis of the cognitive, emotive and motivational stances taken by self and others in role in respect to diversity.
  3. Ability to communicate verbally and in writing about human diversity.
  4. High level interpersonal communication.
  5. Ability to work with tacit and unconscious communication in groups.
  6. Working with cross-cultural issues with an international orientation in the study of diversity in organisations and in organisational change.
  7. Ability to work professionally in the field through the application of learning from the course to work within organisations.

Enabling Knowledge and Skills for Capabilities:

 

  1. Knowledge or awareness of concepts and theories of social science and systems psychodynamics as applied to diversity in organisations.
  2. Methods of critical analysis including analysis including analysis of conceptual, emotional and motivational stances of self and others with respect to diversity.
  3. Development of verbal and written communication skills.   <!--[endif]-->
  4. High level interpersonal skills within diverse groups.
  5. Skill and capacity in relation to tacit and unconscious communication.
  6. Knowledge of cross-cultural issues with an international orientation.    
  7. Application of learning to organisational settings.


Learning Objectives:

  • Develop a greater appreciation of intra and inter-personal, and group and inter-group dynamics associated with diversity in organisations.
  • To develop a capacity to identify and work with dynamics related to diversity within classroom and workplace groups.
  • To develop conceptual frameworks for reflecting upon culture and diversity.
  • To develop an appreciation of relations between self and other as external expressions of internal conflicts and struggles.


    Overview of Learning Activities

    Seminars:
    For development of knowledge, critical analysis and communication skills. Also for the application of learning to organisational settings.

    Personal and group level exploration of the underlying dynamics of ‘identity’:
    For development of interpersonal skills, critical self analysis in relation to diversity.


    Overview of Learning Resources

    References will be discussed.


    Overview of Assessment

    Individual Assessment:
    Experience-based and theoretically informed paper on dynamics related to culture and diversity.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Group Assessment:
    Group paper on dynamics of culture and diversity in the classroom.