Module THMN40215: The Organisational Context of Mission and Ministry

Department: Theology, Ministry and Mission

THMN40215: The Organisational Context of Mission and Ministry

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To develop students as effective consultancy practitioners with the ability to gain an in-depth understanding of the organisational context in which they operate.
• To enable students to gain the conceptual understanding to employ appropriate methods for the analysis, design and evaluation of church and community work.

Content

• Understanding organisations in their political, social, religious and economic contexts.
• Interpreting metaphors of organisation, in particular the use of systems, power and culture in organisational writing.
• Benefits and critiques of the various disciplines that contribute to an understanding of church and community organisations.
• Organisations as entities which do work
• Decision-making, leadership and governance in church and community organisations and their relationship to religious polity and theological understanding.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the module students will have knowledge of:::
• A variety of key approaches to understanding and analysing organisations.
• The central concepts in understanding organisations and how to critique them.
• Decision making, leadership, governance in church and community organisations and how they relate to religious polity and theological understanding.

• Upon successful completion of the module students will have
• critically engaged with a variety of disciplines, particularly the human sciences, to analyse and understand the range and roles of organisations
• used theory based analysis to evaluate their own and others’ models and assumptions about organisations.
• critiqued existing practice and proposed new approaches for the development of supportive organisational structures and cultures in complex and unpredictable contexts.

• Upon successful completion of the module students will have
• Demonstrated their ability as self- reflective, critically aware practitioners
• Analysed in-depth a number of different contexts using a variety of disciplines.
• Effectively communicated complex interdisciplinary ideas both orally and in written assignments.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The core module will be taught by an ecumenical team of staff working with the whole group of students which will be co-led by Sue Miller and David Dadswell

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

A critical review of Elliot Jaques’ article ‘In Praise of Hierarchy’ in terms of its applicability to church and community organisations with particular reference to a church setting. 1,500 words

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University