Human beings and the power of collectivities

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
	Queralt Prat Pubill	Ciencias Sociales	ENG

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM

Traditionally in management studies students focus in organizing for the creation of ideas, products and services and developing certain entrepreneurial knowledge, abilities and attitudes to take those to the market. We often forget that entrepreneurs and managers need to be able to mobilize a diverse group of people with different knowledges and experiences.

It is entrepreneur's talent in cohering and motivating a collectivity that propels the group to accomplish this creative feat. Often, this ability to cohere and motivate teams is left to chance.

Specifically, in this course, we will work on developing axiological projects that stimulate a collective towards developing their creativity in creating products and services. This process requires a re-imagining, a new way of working and a new way of thinking about collectivities, not as the union of autarchic individuals, but as the focus of the entrepreneurial effort.

Axiological projects allow the entrepreneurial team to dynamically develop purposes and valued motivations that cohere the team towards dynamically defined creative objectives. We are going to study how was this done in the past, what can we learn from it and how to hone our skills to create for the future.

Furthermore, because we do not know what the future holds, and which knowledge and skills will be relevant in the near and distant future, it is for this reason that we would need to ensure that we develop this meta-capacity of engaging the collaboration of others with specialized knowledge. We can confidently affirm that nothing can happen within a collective without the ability to harness this cooperation.

Course Learning Objectives

This course is a historical and epistemological journey to understand what constitutes human beings and the power of collectivities. The course starts in prehistoric times with Hunters and Gatherers progressing to the 21st century. We will study the narrative structures that create viable human beings and the main conditions of successful collectivities (large and small). This course profits from a multidisciplinary approach, we will draw on the disciplines of anthropology, epistemology, and linguistics. The objective is to allow students to understand and thus be free of the conditioning of collective structures and their power.

19. Mediation and conflict management
17. Influence
18. Teamwork and collaboration
3. Taking decisions / making judgments
10. Intellectual curiosity (`enlightened professionalism')
9. Creativity and innovation
5. Ability for continuous learning/Ability to learn continually

Assessment criteria

Final individual project - 40% of the course grade
Group projects - 60% of the course grade (6 projects to choose the best 4)

our focus is on entrepreneurs ability to be able to mobilize a diverse group of people with different knowledges and experiences (collectives). It is entrepreneur's talent in cohering and motivating a team towards collaborating that propels the group to accomplish this creative feat. Although, as we have seen, our effort is not just conceptual but requires a new way of observing, imagining, interpreting and communicating. Recognition of both of these aspects, axiological knowledge and the use of our cognitive abilities in particular ways, results in harnessing the power of collectivities

The assignment for the final exam is to write the axiological project for your selected organization. The total amount of pages cannot exceed 10 pages.

What to do?
During the course we have worked on different milestones geared towards building up the final project. Our focus is on your organization's purpose. For this reason, I ask you to create an axiological project for your organization. This project needs to be able to convince others (the chosen audience) about the interest and the value of joining and being part of your project.

How to do it?
Start your text by writing an opening paragraph where you describe what is your project about (max. 100 words). It should contain enough information so the reader is able to contextualize the protocols you will develop next. Then follow up with the seven protocols we have studied in class and customize them specifically for your project. Once you have finalised the seven protocols please devote some space to:
describe the challenges you encountered in developing your axiological project (max. 500 words).
describe the axiological image you have of the organization in the eyes of a new recruit, ie. a thought experiment (max. 500 words).
Finally, in case is required, as an appendix, you may include any links, images, videos, etc. with a brief explanation of their purpose.

Evaluation Criteria for the exam
customized use of the seven protocols. Are they specific?
ability to reach the targeted audience by applying axiological theory. Are they axiological?
breadth and depth description of the challenges.
reflective quality of the challenges encountered.
link between the protocols and the thought experiment (suggested practical relevance).

Exam deadline: 1 week after last class

Type:	OP	Curs:	1	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	2 ECTS

Human beings and the power of collectivities (18BBA00838)

General information

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Prerequisites

Previous Knowledge

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM

Course Learning Objectives

Competences

Assessment criteria

Bibliography

Timetable and sections

Timetable