Ph.D. Courses

OVERVIEW

Dr. David Harrison
Ph.D. Faculty Advisor
CBA 4.242 - (512) 471-4930

• MAN 390 Longitudinal Analysis of Organizations
  This doctoral seminar gives students the tools to conduct rigorous analyses of organizational and other phenomena that evolve and change across time. Upon completion, students should be able to intelligently analyze large-sample, longitudinal data sets such as those obtained from multi-wave panel designs or from archival sources like COMPUSTAT, which contain multiyear time-series. This course emphasizes application. We will focus on what you need to know to be an informed user and evaluator of longitudinal methods. Relatively little attention will be given to derivation and much more to understanding the mechanics of available software packages. In a typical class, about half the time will be spent discussing published research papers. The other half will be devoted to lecture and laboratory exercises using SAS and Stata. The techniques that we cover include (1) event history analyses of qualitative, dichotomous outcomes; (2) longitudinal analyses of continuous dependent variables using fixed-effects, random-effects, and generalized least squares models; and (3) longitudinal analysis of limited dependent variables, such as ordinal counts, using Poisson regression, negative binomial models, and generalized estimating equations.
• MAN 390.2 Introduction to Research Methods in Management
  This course is a conceptual introduction to scientific inquiry in organization studies and related fields with a focus on qualitative methods in theory building (see MAN 390.3 for a focus on theory testing). The goal of the course is to acquaint you with some of the fundamental conceptual issues surrounding the design, implementation, and evaluation of inductive theorizing using qualitative methods. We will focus in particular on the processes of observing, discovery, theorizing, analysis, and writing, all of which constitute research efforts regardless of the type of data methodology utilized. Thus, this course is relevant for all those interested in theory development using qualitative methods, whether alone, or in conjunction with other types of methodologies, as well as for those interested in becoming better consumers of publications based on qualitative data.
• MAN 390.3 Research Methods in Management
  This course gives you a chance to learn about the toolbox of idea testing research strategies (see MAN 390.2 for idea generation tools), designs, and operations you can use as a doctoral-level scholar in organizational science as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each one. We will repeatedly return to a '3C' theme of methodological choices, constraints, and compromises. By the end of the term, you should get a full appreciation of the complexity of those choices (and how such complexity is typically hidden in published articles). You should also get a basic appreciation of how each choice is affected by previous choices and factors external to the research itself. Our ongoing premise will be that knowledge about organizational phenomena accrues only through a triangulation of methods, each with its own inherent drawbacks. Over the length of the semester, we will use the 3C framework to understand many different design steps in organizational research. They include formulating: theories or hypotheses, general strategies, (e.g., experiments, field studies), specific designs (including classic quasi-experimental formulations and threats laid out by Cook and Campbell), operationalization or measurement techniques, ways to convert raw observations into numerical data, statistical approaches (from an outside-in rather than an inside-out perspective; this will not be a statistics class), and importantly, ethics in the scientific process, including choosing conclusions from one's results. 
• MAN 390.4 Seminar in Organizational Behavior
  The purpose of this seminar is to introduce doctoral level students to behavioral science literature relevant to the study of behavior in organizational settings. Topics covered will include theories of individual differences, motivation, leadership, decision making, interpersonal relations, etc. The course will concentrate on the individual, although some discussion will center on groups as the unit of analysis.
• MAN 390.5 Organizational Theory and Design
  This seminar is a Ph.D. level survey of major topics and perspectives in organization theory. It is intended for Ph.D. students interested in conducting research on organizations, strategic management, organizational information systems, marketing, and related topics. The first half of the course will focus on the design of effective organizations and will examine topics such as the effect of technology on organizational structure, organizational learning, innovation, and change, and the assessment of organizational effectiveness. The second half of the course will focus on four major perspectives on organization/environment relationships: resource dependence, population ecology, transactions costs, and institutionalization. For each topic, both theoretical and empirical contributions will be examined. Particular emphasis will be placed on the integration of diverse theoretical perspectives.
• MAN 393.2 Contemporary Issues in Strategic Management
  This doctoral seminar surveys the major theoretical approaches and ongoing debates in the field of strategy, as well as major strategy phenomena that scholars typically investigate using these theoretical perspectives. Broadly speaking, strategy research focuses primarily on firm conduct and firm performance, comprising both theories of firm heterogeneity and theories of the firm. Strategy research draws upon theoretical perspectives from several disciplines, such as economics, sociology, and organization theory. This seminar does not exhaustively cover any particular domain of strategy research; instead, it exposes students to some of the classic statements of the major approaches that have helped shape the field of strategy, traces the history of ideas as the field has developed up to the present, and introduces students to several lively debates within the field that inform current research. With this roadmap in hand, students should be well prepared to generate original research ideas that significantly advance the discourse in a particular research stream in the field of strategy.

For additional information, please contact Alexis Chavez.

Not all the courses listed are offered every semester. Please refer to the Course Schedule at the Office of the Registrar.