Formal Organizations

(Graduate students register for 260.) Organizations are ubiquitous: they educate us, manage our finances, and structure our daily routines. They also distribute resources, status, and opportunities. This course will explore the role of formal organizations in contemporary social life, and their consequences for individuals. Drawing on a range of research in the social sciences and examples from the real world, we will examine several topics, including: the origins of organizations, how decisions are made in organizations, why some organizations survive while others die, incentives and employment relationships, how social networks shape social stratification, and what kinds of organizational policies promote diversity.