The overarching objective of the course is to enable potential managers to understand the influence of the wider societal context on the operations within their organizations. At the end of the course you should have, as part of your tools of management, an appreciation of industrial society and its place within human society. The course aims to provide you with an understanding of the ways in which the process of industrialization has shaped societies. Central to this endeavor is the treatment of work as a sociological phenomenon. Some of the areas that are covered in this regard include technology and its influence on the workplace, and the influence gender and class in the study of work.

To those of you involved in human resource management, the course will provide you with an understanding of some of the salient factors that influence job satisfaction. It will also review the nature of relations among workers, and between workers and management.

As an instructional exercise, the course aims to foster the development of the following skills: comprehension; application; analysis; and synthesis of information.