Sociology of Organization and Business Communication

Objectives and competences

• Awareness of group characteristics and group dynamics.
• Gathering theoretical and practical assumptions for effective leadership of a group of people and decision.
• Understanding communication skills that are the base for successful international relations in an organisation.
• Understanding and using intercultural differences that the leader needs to take into account according to the international placement of the organisation.
• Competences in the field of good listening as a base for successful communication in an international space.
• Taking starting points of successful business communication into account; it is the base for general success, in the domestic and international market.

Content

  1. Presentation of purpose, goals, literature and means of work.
  2. Introduction to social sciences; general and specific sociology, the subject and methods of sociology as science.
  3. Presentation of basic recognitions about successful communication in interpersonal and group relations.
  4. Direct examples of successful communication in everyday practice and advice on clear distinction between informing and communicating.
  5. Definition of basic recognitions about group functions, types and characteristics, how they are formed and characteristics of a working group – with special emphasis on forming, building and leading groups of individuals.
  6. Definition of group dynamics (key recognitions in relation between mutual trust and cooperation), and other processes in a group...
  7. Causes for formation and development of conflict relations in a group and how to approach them with the intention to solve them – actual excercises – role play – execution of all 5 strategies of solving conflicts. Special emphasis is devoted to the strategy of agreeing (acheiving goals and maintaining a high level of trust).
  8. The relation group – team, or how to form a team from a group, ingredients of a team, team decisions.
  9. Formal and informal groups (characteristics and differences); coalitions, lobbies, clics in organisation.
  10. Organisational atmosphere and organisational culture.
  11. The ingredients of leadership (planning, organisation, motivation and control) and the motivation for leadership; types of power and influence in leading – definition of a leader, types of leading (democratical, mentoring, autocratic...) and building a personal style of leading.
  12. Characteristics of a leader (planning, executing, control, leadership).
  13. Deciding in a leadership process; the ingredients of successful decision making, routine, adaptive and inovative types of decisions.
  14. Obstacles during successful communication in organisation; internal communication – communication that never stops, means of internal communication in an organisation.
  15. Successful running of meetings, achieving goals of meetings and motivation for the future.
  16. Ethics and morale in management, basic key words.
  17. Basic characteristics of successful business communication in an organisation (in relation to customers, suppliers, direct and interested public, the country...)
  18. The influence of ethics and morale on the decision process; the ethics of benefit and duty, obstacles and support of ethics and morale of management.
  19. Design of ethical management codex.
  20. Exceptions in work and communication in an international space:
    • Recognition of foreign market opportunities, and improvement of an individual's personal work at home or abroad.
    • Recognition and introduction of new cognitions in the field of communication, leadership in domestic and international working space.
    • Establishement and conservation of productive business relations with leaders and organisations from the international market.

Intended learning outcomes

The students will receive:
• Basic knowledge in the field of sociological processes and occurrences, which they will need on a daily basis in the economy.
• Skills of recognising processes and occurrences (a group, group dynamics, successful communication, active listening, leadership, delegation, solving conflicts).
• Knowledge and skills to understand the organisation climate, culture, commitment to work in all fields.
• Recognising the most successful communication practices in the international space (emphasis on the EU countries).
• Basic knowledge of successful leadership as a base to a development of a successful career through the content, necessary for an individual's development, who wants to become a successful leader.
• Respecting the intercultural differences, which are a base for success in an international field of work.

Readings

  • Možina, S. in drugi. 2002. Management: nova znanja za uspeh. Radovljica: Didakta. Catalogue
  • Drucker F., P. 2004. Kako postati učinkovit manager? Ljubljana: Manager. November 2004.
  • Hočevar, M., Jaklič, M. in Zagoršek, H. 2003. Ustvarjanje uspešnega podjetja: akcijski pristop k strateškemu razmišljanju, vodenju in nadziranju. Ljubljana: GV Založba.
  • A. N. Kneževič, Možina, S., M. Tavčar., N. Zupan. 2011. Poslovno komuniciranje. Maribor: založba Pivec. Catalogue
  • Ferjan, M. 2017. Poslovno komuniciranje. Maribor: Univerzitetna založba Univerze v Mariboru. E-version
  • Mihalič, R. 2010. Kako pravilno komuniciram. Ljubljana: Mihalič in partnerji, založba poslovne literature.

Assessment

Seminar work: Writing a seminar thesis and presentation of the written work. Oral exam: practical use of the new knowledge. 20/80

Lecturer's references

Lecturer mag. Tomica Dumančić, univ. dipl. sociolog, bab. field sociologija

Fields of work:
Successful communication as a condition for an organisation's success, formation, development, and solving conflicts, negotitations and general problematic of communication on the level of individuals and working groups, public relations and conditions for successful public speaking in front of a group...

Employment / career:

1983 – 1985 Slovin Ljubljana (vodja izobraževalnega centra/leader of an educational center),

1985 – 1986 Gimnazija Nova Gorica (profesor sociologije in filozofije/sociology and philosophy professor),

1986 – 1994 PDG Nova Gorica (direktor gledališča in vodja izgradnje matične hiše današnjega SNG Nova Gorica/theater director and leader of the main SNG Nova Gorica building construction).

1994 - 2015: Hit d.d. Nova Gorica (vodja priprave strategije razvoja kadrov v podjetju, delavski direktor, svetovalec v razvoju kadrov, pomočnik direktorja igralništva in turizma, vodja projekta »Uvajanje kompetenčnega modela v podjetju Hit«, interne raziskave organizacijske klime v podjetju, interno komuniciranje, razvoj kadrov, odgovorno igralništvo itn./leader of the company strategy development, worker director, adviser in the field of employee development, director's assistant, the leader of the ''Introduction of a competence model in the company Hit'' project, internal research of organisational climate in the compant, internal communication, personnel development, responsible gambling etc.).

od 2015 dalje / from 2015 – direktor Stanovanjskega sklada Mestne občine Nova Gorica; analize stanovanjske politike države in občin, priprava predlogov za spremembo stanovanjske zakonodaje, primerjalna analiza stanovanjskih politik v državah EU, priprava strategije SS MONG za obdobje do leta 2025. / Director of the housing fund of Nova Gorica; analysis of the country's and municipality's housing policy, suggestions for improvement of the housing legislation, comparative analysis of housing policiesin the EU countries, development of the SS MONG strategy for the period until the year 2025.

achievements: Multiple scientific articles published; mainly regarding the field of responsible gambling, executing professional workshops (leadership, team work and decision making, solving conflicts, organisational climate research, mentorship) with employees...