Delivered at:: Department of Sociology

Course type:: Elective course

When:: 3 year, 1-4 module

Instructors

Nemirovskaya, Anna

Sorokin, Alexander

Full Syllabus Ask Question

Abstract

This seminar is primarily intended to provide students with an overview of academic reading and to assist them in preparing for their own yearly term paper / bachelor thesis. Research seminar participants will be introduced to highly cited academic articles and chapters from books in human resource management and organizational research, examine problematic cases, develop research questions and research designs, and discuss research methods and methods. Research seminar "HR and organizational studies" focuses on modern approaches to the study of human resources, people behavior in the workplace, and management issues related to human resources. Through a comparative analysis of the theory and practice of management models and organizational culture, this seminar will provide an overview of current approaches to human resource management and organizational research in Russia, the United States, Europe and Asia. In the seminars, the focus is on theories, practices, and systems of social coordinates, as well as the conceptual framework within which they were conceived. These seminars provide sociology students with a solid foundation for their professional worldview and will enable them to conduct effective research in any of the existing country management models and management models. Students will learn about the implementation of AI instruments and big data for organizational studies and HR management, cross-cultural organizational and management issues, current trends in qualitative and quantitative research in organizations, the application of various sociological research methods for human resources, and modern management approaches to teamwork in applied projects. Since efficient teamwork in organizations requires skills of cooperation, effective interaction and collaboration, students will study methods of evaluating teamwork, team dynamics research and team coaching.

Learning Objectives

• Critically analyze and evaluate academic literature in the field of HR and organizational studies.
• Identify key issues and explore emerging research trends in organizational design, leadership and organizational behavior.
• Apply major sociological, psychological and management theoretical frameworks to solve practical HR problems and address complex research questions.
• Develop and defend rigorous research designs for organizational studies.
• Develop and defend rigorous research designs for organizational studies.
• Integrate professional standards of human resource management into practical scenarios.
• Address real-world personnel management challenges from the sociological perspective.
• Analyze the features of team dynamics and implement appropriate management methods across different stages of team development.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Develop research tools for professional tasks
Know the stages of team dynamics
Be acquainted with the management methods necessary to work with a team at different stages
Know the core social problems in HR and organizational studies and basic theories to tackle them
Gain skills in designing their own research on HR and organizational problems
Find their personal career paths in HR
Learn trends and goals in organizational behavior research
• Be able to analyze practical issues in HR and organizational studies by applying sociological theories and concepts
Have practiced methods of working in teams
Locate and critically analyze relevant academic literature in the field of HR and organizational studies.
Identify core social problems in the workplace and apply foundational sociological, psychological and management theories to address them.
Analyze practical HR challenges through a sociological lens.
Design and develop independent research projects focused on organizational issues.
Evaluate current trends, methodologies, and objectives in organizational behavior research.
Develop applied research tools to solve professional human resource tasks.
Define professional goals and map potential career trajectories across human resources and organizational consulting.
Analyze the stages of team dynamics, select appropriate management strategies for each stage, and demonstrate effective collaboration skills in practice.

Course Contents

Module 1. Topic 1. An introductory class on academic reading. A review of recent literature in HR and organizational studies.
Module 1. Topic 2. The nature of managerial work and structural configurations
Module 1. Topic 3. Managerial styles and behavioral coordinates
Module 1. Topic 4. Entrepreneurial leadership and the identity perspective
Module 1. Topic 5. Modern leadership in hybrid and network organizations
Module 2. Topic 1. Classification of country management and organizational models: approaches, concepts, schools.
Module 2. Topic 2. Soviet and Russian organizational studies: scientific organization of labor, industrialization, qualification systems, Soviet Schools and Skolkovo School of Management.
Module 2.Topic 3. Studying the American management model: from Taylorism to Silicon Valley innovation management.
Module 2. Topic 4. Asian management model: studies of the “Japanese” and “Chinese” Economic miracles.
Module 2. Topic 5. Scandinavian management model: management in the north. A study of the experience of Sweden and Finland.
Module 3. Development of the students’ research proposals
Module 4. Topic 1. Stages of team dynamics
Module 4. Topic 2. Forming
Module 4. Topic 3. Storming
Module 4. Topic 4. Norming
Module 4. Topic 6. Ending. Retrospective
Module 4. Topic 5. Performing

Assessment Elements

Class activity
Homework
Homework for module 1 is an individual elaboration of applied research design. Objective: to design a robust, methodologically sound applied research proposal that addresses a specific human resources, organization management or organizational behavior challenge, based on a real-word organization or firm. Students will synthesize theoretical frameworks discussed in Module 1 and apply them to a real-world organizational context. Format: a written academic proposal (approx. 2000-3000 words), formatted according to APA style guidelines. Required sections of the research design 1. Title and abstract 2. Introduction and Problem Statement (select the company that will be the object of the research; clearly state the HR or organizational management problem; formulate a set of specific, researchable questions; justify the relevance of the problem from both an academic and practical perspective). 3. Theoretical framework and concise literature review (critically integrate not less than 10 highly cited academic sources on topics discussed in Module 1; define the core concepts and explain how the chosen management or sociological theory frames the research questions) 4. Methodology and empirical object (define the target empirical object (e.g., specific departments, startup founders, cross-cultural teams); collect the available data from open sources and describe it as a research case; specify and justify the research methods based on Module 1 paradigms. (Example scenario: a student might choose a qualitative design aimed at conducting a content and management analysis of interview transcripts from the senior managers of IT company. The methodology section would detail how these interviews will be coded by themes and categories to evaluate formal versus informal leadership styles). 5. Expected results and practical implications (outline what the study expects to discover; explain how the findings could be translated into actionable HR interventions or organizational consulting recommendations).
Class activity
Homework
Class activity
Class activity: individual comments on any other person's or a group`s proposal
Homework
Homework: preparation and presentation of the presentation of research proposals (for the 2nd and the 3rd year –presentations in class in groups of 3 students). The task for the 2nd and 3rd year students: make a brief plan for a possible research on issues of HR and organizational studies in the framework of a quantitative, qualitative or mixed methodology, including a description of the relevance of the topic, the degree of development of the problem under study in sociology and related disciplines (a brief analytical review of academic sources), the formulation of a research question, the setting of research objectives, and the choice of methods of data collection and analysis. The volume of the presentation should not exceed 10 slides. The topic is chosen by the student (or a group of students) independently.
In-class Participation
All classes are held in an interactive format. Students will be assigned to mini-groups at the beginning of the module and perform the task together throughout the module. In the classroom, students receive and complete assignments.
Homework (Project Presentation)

Interim Assessment

2026/2027 2nd module
Attestation 1st module: Estimation formula: Class activity * 0.3 + Homework (Applied research design) * 0.7 Attestation 2nd module: Class activity * 0.3 + Homework * 0.7
2026/2027 4th module
Attestation 3rd module: Class activity * 0.3 + Homework (Project presentation) * 0.7 Final grade Estimation formula: The final grade is calculated as a mean value of the all grades for the modules 1-4 (for the 2nd and the 3rd year students): Module 1 grade + Module 2 grade + Module 3 grade + Module 4 grade / 4

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Contemporary perspectives in human resource management and organizational behaviour: research ove..., Singh, Riann, 2023
Essentials of organizational behavior, Robbins, S. P., 2022
International Human Resource Management, , 2023
International Human Resource Management, 5th edition. (2018). Sage Publications Ltd. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsnar&AN=edsnar.oai.tilburguniversity.edu.publications.e8a0c5fa.6722.4383.abb1.51ca685b3229
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2017). Essentials of Organizational Behavior, Global Edition (Vol. 14th). Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1594479

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Alan Bryman, & The Programme Aims. (2001). Social research methods. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.151A861A
Handbook of research on strategic leadership in the fourth industrial revolution, , 2024
Jones, G. R. (2013). Organizational Theory, Design, and Change: Global Edition (Vol. 7th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1417956
Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations., Griffin, R. W., 2017
Ricky W. Griffin, Jean M. Phillips, & Stanley M. Gully. (2019). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations, Edition 13 (Vol. 13e). Cengage Learning.

Authors

Lukoianov ALEKSANDR ANATOLEVICH
Nemirovskaia Anna Valentinovna
Sorokin Aleksandr Nikolaevich

Bachelor’s Programme 'Sociology and Social Informatics'

Coronavirus Live

Research Seminar "HR and Organizational Studies" (2026-2027 Academic Year)