Sociology for Business Management

bbasemester 4

The key components of this course comprise a basic orientation to sociology as a social sciencediscipline where the core of sociology and sociological perspectives are brought to the fore. Herelinkages between Sociology and Management Studies are elaborated.

Chapter Wise Notes Question Banks Syllabus Chapter Wise Questions

Sociology for Business Management

Subject Code: SOC 203

Course Title: Sociology for Business Management

Course No: SOC 203

Nature of Course: Theory & Practical

Full Marks: 100

Pass Marks: 50

Credit Hours: 3

Course Description

Business administration, business management and business information management have sociological embeddedness. The business leadership, entrepreneurship, business acumen, and corporate success emanate from the social network, social capital and cultural aptitude. This courseaims to share some of the key facets of sociological knowledge concerning business administration with graduate students of business administration and management. This course is developed by overlaying sociology with studies on business management.

Course Objective

The primary objective of this course is to provide students of business administration andmanagement basic orientation to sociological knowledge and insights.

Course Contents

Unit 1: Introduction to Sociology 8 LHs
a) Sociology (introduction and broad historical context of its emergence)
b) The core of sociology
c) Sociological perspective
d) Development of sociology as a discipline
e) The institutional history of sociology in Nepal
f) Sociology and Management Studies
g) Business application of anthropology
Required readings
Giddens, A., Duneier, M., Appelbaum, R.P. & Carr, D. (2018). What is Sociology? in Introduction
to Sociology, eleventh ed., W.W. Norton & Company, pp. 3-20.
Mills, C.W. (1959). The Sociological Imagination, London: Oxford University Press, (The
promise), pp. 3-13.
Macionis, J. J. (2010). Sociology as a point of view, Chapter 1, in Sociology, Thirteenth ed.,
Prentice Hall: Pearson Education, pp. 4-10.
Berger, P. & Luckman, T. (1991). The social interaction in everyday life, in The Social
Construction of Reality: A Treatise in Sociology of Knowledge, Irvington Publisher. pp. 13- 30; 43-48.
Luintel, Youba Raj. (2021). Sociology in Nepal: A brief disciplinary history, in Why Sociology and
Anthropology Department at Tribhuvan University had to split? An inside story of political- academic muddling, Gaurab KC and Pranab Kharel (eds.), Practices of Sociology in Nepal, Kathmandu: Bajra Publications, pp. 38-45.
Smith, J.H. (1960). Sociology and Management Studies. The British Journal of Sociology, Vol.11,
No.2, pp. 103-111.
Covert, B. & Heilborn, J. (2007). Where did the New Economic Sociology come from? Theory and
Society, Vol. 36(1), pp. 31-54.
Pant, D.R. & Alberti, F. (1997). Anthropology and business: reflections on the business
applications of cultural anthropology, Liuc Papers No. 42, Serie Economia e Impresa 11,
giugn, pp. 1-19.

Unit 2: Understanding Society Sociologically 5 LHs
a) The building blocks of society
b) How does society shape individuals?
c) Consumer behavior and organizational culture
Required readings
Tischler, H. L. (2011). Culture, in Introduction to Sociology, tenth ed., Belmont: Wadsworth
Publishing, pp. 51- 70.
Shankar Rao, C. N. (2019). Basic sociological terms: role and status; Social control: social norms
and social values, in Sociology: Principles of Sociology with an Introduction to Sociological
Thought, Chand and Company, pp. xx-xx.
Macionis, J. J. (2010). Social interaction, Chapter 5, in Sociology, thirteenth ed., Prentice Hall:
Pearson Education, pp. 102-109.
Vasavi, A.R. (1996). Co-opting culture: managerialism in age of consumer capitalism. Economic
and Political Weekly, Vol. 31(21), pp. 22-25.
Guiso, L., Sapienza, P. & Zingales, L. (2015). Corporate culture, societal culture, and institutions.
The American Economic Review, Vol.105(5), pp. 336-339.

Unit 3: Social Institutions and Business Acumen 7 LHs
a) Family (and business)
b) Economy and work
c) Power and authority
d) Religion, business acumen and work ethics
Required readings
Macionis, John J. (2010), Religion (chapter 13), education (chapter 14) and political and economic
systems, Chapters 13-15, in Sociology, thirteenth ed., Prentice Hall: Pearson Education, pp.
294- 363.
Ritzer, G. & Wiedenhoft Murphy, W. (2019) Politics and the economy, chapter 15, in Introduction
to Sociology, fifth ed., Los Angeles: Sage Publication, pp. xx-xx.
Coleman, J. S. (1984). Introducing social structure into economic analysis. The American Economic
Review, Vol. 74(2), pp. 84-88.
Simon, H. A. (1979). Rational decision making in business organizations. The American Economic
Review, Vol. 69(4), pp. 493- 513.
Davies, C. (1992). The Protestant Ethic and the comic spirit of capitalism. The British Journal of
Sociology, Vol. 43(3), pp. 421-442.
IP, P. K. (2009). Is Confucianism good for business ethics in China? Journal of Business Ethics,
Vol. 88(3), pp. 463-476.
Van Buren III, H.J., Sayed J. & Mir, R. (2020). Religion as a macro social force affecting business:
concepts, questions, and future research, Business and Society, Vol. 59(5), pp. 799-822.

Unit 4: Social Differentiation and Inequality 5 LHs
a) Social inequality and social stratification
b) Dimension of social stratification
c) Theories of social stratification (brief overview)
d) Class and class division
e) Gender inequality and women’s subordination
f) Caste, livelihoods and caste hierarchy in Nepal
Required readings
Haralambos, M., Holborn, M., Chumpman, S. & Moore, S. (2018). Stratification, Class and
Inequality, Chapter 1, in Sociology: Themes and Perspective, eighth ed., London: Collins
Publisher Limited, pp. 21-82.
Ritzer, G. & Wiedenhoft Murphy, W. (2019). Dimension of social stratification, from Chapter 8, in
Introduction to Sociology, fifth ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publication, pp. 188-197.
Luintel, Youba R. (2018). Gender and women’s subordination, in Gender and Development: Some
Essays, Kathmandu: Academic Book Center, pp. 1-28.
Luintel, Youba R. (2018). Caste and the dynamics of change in livelihoods, in Caste and Society:
Changing Dynamism of Inter-Caste Relations in Nepal, Kathmandu: Academic Book Center,
pp. 13-31.
Luintel, Youba R. (2018). Disposition of contemporary caste hierarchy, in Caste and Society:
Changing Dynamism of Inter-Caste Relations in Nepal, Kathmandu: Academic Book Center,
pp. 69-99.

Unit 5: Groups, Organizations, Bureaucracy and Leadership 7 LHs
a) Social groups (primary and secondary)
b) Organizations (type, origin, management, and work organization)
c) Institutional theories of organizations
d) Leadership and organizational performance
e) Corporate governance
f) The sociology of labor market
Required readings
Macionis, J. J. (2010). Social groups and organizations, Chapter 6, in Sociology, thirteenth ed.,
Prentice Hall: Pearson Education, pp. 120-137.
Zucker, L. G. (1987). Institutional theories of organization, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 13,
pp. 443-464.
Blau, P. M. (1968). The hierarchy of authority in organizations, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 73(4), pp. 453- 467.
Lieberson, S. & O’Connor, J. F. (1972). Leadership and organizational performance: a study of
large corporations, American Sociological Review, Vol. 37(2), pp. 117-130.
Dobson J., Gorospe N., and Jeong S. S. (2017). Third-wave feminism, ethics of care, and corporate
governance: The case of gender quotas on corporate boards, International Handbooks in
Business Ethics, New York: Springer, pp. 283-295.
Davis, G. F. (2005). New directions in corporate governance, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 31,
pp. 143-162
Kalleberg, A. L. & Sorensen, A. B. (1979). The sociology of labor markets source, Annual Review
of Sociology, Vol. 5, pp. 351-379.

Unit 6: Social Change and Transformation 5 LHs
a) What is social change?
b) Sources of social change
c) Modernity and progress
d) Post-modernity
e) Globalization and social change
f) Urban Sociology and the sociology of the city
Required readings
Macionis, J. J. (2010). Collective behavior and social change, Chapter 18, in Sociology, thirteenth
ed., Prentice Hall: Pearson Education, pp. 417- 429.
Tischler, H. L. (2011). Collective behaviour and social change; globalization and social Change,
Chapter 18, in Introduction to Sociology, tenth ed., Belmont: Wardsworth Publishing, pp.
267- 289.
Wu, C. (2016). Moving from urban sociology to the sociology of the city, The American
Sociologist, Vol. 47(1), pp. 102-114.

Unit 7: Social Science Research Method 5 LHs
a) Basics of sociological investigation
b) Three ways of doing Sociology (Positivist, Interpretative, and Critical)
c) Methods of sociological inquiry
d) Sociological research: processes and procedures
e) Research ethics
f) Problem-solving sociology
Required readings
Tischler, H. L. (2011). Sociological investigation, Chapter 2, in Introduction to Sociology, tenth ed.,
Belmont: Wardsworth Publishing, pp. 29-47.
Giddens, A., Duneier, M., Appelbaum, R.P. & Carr, D. (2018). Asking and answering sociological
questions, in Introduction to Sociology, eleventh ed., W.W. Norton & Company, pp. 25-35.Prasad, M. (2018). Problem-solving sociology, Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 47(4), pp. 393- 398.

Unit 8: Sociology of Management and Business Administration 6 LHs
a) Understanding sociology of management
b) Price, authority, and trust
c) Social network analysis and the sociology of economics
d) Sociology of work, leisure and entrepreneurship
Required readings
Bradach, J. L. & Eccles, R. G. (1989). Price, authority, and trust: from ideal types to plural forms,
Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 15, pp. 97- 118.
Baker, W. E. (1984). The social structure of a national securities market, American Journal of
Sociology, Vol. 89(4), pp. 775-811.
Bögenhold, D. (2013). Social network analysis and the sociology of economics: filling a blind spot
with the idea of social embeddedness, The American Journal of Economics and Sociology,
Vol. 72(2), pp. 293- 318.
Thornton, P. H. (1999). The sociology of entrepreneurship, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 25,
pp. 19-46

Text Books

Tischler, H. L. (2011). Sociological investigation, Chapter 2, in Introduction to Sociology, tenth ed.,
Belmont: Wardsworth Publishing, pp. 29-47.
Giddens, A., Duneier, M., Appelbaum, R.P. & Carr, D. (2018). Asking and answering sociological
questions, in Introduction to Sociology, eleventh ed., W.W. Norton & Company, pp. 25-35.
Prasad, M. (2018). Problem-solving sociology, Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 47(4), pp. 393- 398.