Dr. Julian Dierkes
271 Choi, 822-6237
j |dot| dierkes |at| ubc |dot| ca
Office hours: Wed 12-13h

University of British Columbia
Institute of Asian Research

Preliminary Syllabus

IAR 507: East Asian Organizations in Comparative Perspective

Graduate Seminar
Term II, January - April 2007
Thu 10-12h [not Wed as listed in Course Calendar]
Choi 129

Course Calendar

Click here for more specific information on the course and on readings.

Course Objectives

This 3-credit graduate seminar will familiarize participants with theoretical conceptualizations of modern business organizations from economic sociology, organizational behaviour, and public policy perspectives. Participants will gain insights on economic activities that emphasize the historical and regional specificity of market institutions.

The course will open with brief historical and theoretical discussions. The major share of the course will be devoted to an examination of contemporary East Asian business organizations from a comparative and theoretical perspective. These theoretical perspectives will be highlighted in terms of their applicability to East Asian organizations. Although Japanese firms will be emphasized in this comparison, South Korea, Taiwan and the PRC will also be considered. This consideration will provide a brief introduction to various schools of thought on the relations between enterprises and the state.

Although the seminar will emphasize social-scientific theories of the firm, the inclusion of a significant number of empirical readings will give participants a chance to see such theories in their empirical application in order to equip them for applications in other contexts.

Teaching Philosophy

"Higher education" implies that students acquire applicable skills, but especially that they learn to understand the world around them more thoroughly. While such an understanding does require specific techniques (writing and analytical tools, etc.), the biggest leap that social science students make is to find ways in which social relations can be analyzed to arrive at conclusions that can be accepted by other analysts and that can therefore form the basis of further research or applications.

This view of higher education dictates that the central objective of teaching is to foster a familiarity with the fundamental logic of social-scientific reasoning and to use applications of such reasoning to equip students with some specific tools, but to also enable them to apply such reasoning to other areas of inquiry.

I see my role in graduate seminars as providing a structured framework for the investigation of the research literature on a particular topic, guiding discussions towards an analytical understanding, and being available for further discussions and applications of the materials covered.

Following my focus on the development of analytical reasoning skills, I expect seminar participants to be self-directed learners and to come to discussions very well-prepared and eager to engage in an analysis and evaluation of reading materials. Accordingly, I use the majority of seminar meetings to lead participants in challenging some of the knowledge transmitted and to develop more complex analytical reasoning skills in the process of this challenge. My role is primarily that of a facilitator.

Course Format

The seminar will meet weekly for two hours. The focus of meetings will be discussion of the readings and of questions arising from the readings. During Parts I and II of the seminar, the instructor will provide introductory remarks to situate readings within the literature. Otherwise, the instructor will facilitate discussions that will be dominated by participants' contributions.

Reaction memos prepared by participants will provide a basis for a discussion of the readings. Discussions will be focused by required and recommended readings, but will be wide-ranging in their empirical application of theoretical issues raised in readings.

The breadth of a subject like organizational behaviour in East Asia dictates some flexibility in responding to variations in participants' specific interest. Depending on these interests, the instructor is quite happy to talk about a re-orientation of course content as it seems appropriate to participants. Past re-emphases have responded to participants' request for a greater focus on specific regions and countries, as well as specific topics (for example, women in East Asian businesses) and more historical themes.

Any shifts of the course content will be discussed at the first seminar meeting on January ??, 2007.

Course Requirements

Prerequisites:

• No specific course prerequisites, though prior exposure to theories of organizational behaviour and/or knowledge of East Asian organizations would be very useful.

Preparation (25% of course grade)

Expectations:

• All assigned readings (120-180 pages/week).
• Attendance of all seminar meetings prepared to discuss readings and reactions to them.
• Comments on fellow participants' paper outlines and especially one outline treated as commentator.
• Peer reviews of assigned seminar papers.

Reaction Memos (30%):

• Four reaction memos in the course of the term, one in response to readings in Parts I or II, three during Part III of the seminar.
• Memos should offer reactions to readings. Critiques, questions and elaborations are all good subjects for memos, as are sketches of research or policy questions that can be derived from the readings. Memos should be seen as opportunities to experiment with questions and arguments that may guide the writing of the seminar paper. Reactions to individual texts or parts thereof are as useful as comparisons of several readings or connections to additional readings. Summaries of readings are not acceptable as the main content of a reaction memo.
• While the memos are open in terms of their substance, participants should take care to strive for an analytical reaction to the writings. The memos should be concrete in both, parts of the readings they are reacting to, and in issues, examples, critiques, etc. that they raise.
• Memos are due at noon on the Wed before the seminar meeting. Memos are to be distributed to other participants by email. No paper copies need to be handed in.
• Memos will generally be 2-4 pages long and should be double-spaced and formatted using standard formats as to their margins, fonts, etc. Please put your name somewhere at the top of the memo to help others keep the various memos in some order.
• Participants should assure themselves that their memo has been distributed to others and to the instructor in a timely manner and should turn in a paper copy of their memo to the instructor should there be any delay in the distribution of the message due to server issues.

Seminar Paper (45%):

• The paper will generally not exceed 25 pages in length (double-spaced, standard margins; including all charts, endnotes or footnotes, and tables, but excluding the bibliography).
• Papers have to be submitted in correct English. Participants are encouraged to seek help in proofreading should they struggle with paper-writing.
• Papers should follow standard formatting guidelines and include proper citations and references. The "Pacific Affairs" Style Guide is recommended for style guidelines.
• Papers should either address a policy question in terms of the theories and empirical evidence examined for the seminar, or they should raise and possibly answer an analytical question about the readings.
• Outlines of papers are due one month before the end of the term. These outlines should specify the question or policy problem to be addressed by the paper and show the overall structure of the paper. Outlines should include the beginnings of a bibliography or list of sources to be consulted. They can be schematic rather than fully elaborated, but at least the question to be addressed should be specified in detail.
• Papers are due at the end of the term.

Last updated: February 2007