Master

In this seminar, current issues concerning the transformation of work will be discussed from an interdisciplinary perspective and reflected upon with a view to the central aspect of sustainability. Specifically, approaches from the sociology of work and organization as well as psychology and human resource management will be included and the current international state of research will be reviewed. The observed changes in the world of work will be considered from a sustainability perspective and starting points for the design of labor relations will be identified. Students will identify their own relevant questions within this thematic framework and develop and implement adequate research designs.

Organizations are confronted with fundamental changes and complex issues in the course of digitalization and through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Particularly the utilization of and interaction with AI affects processes and collaboration within organizations. At the same time, organizations are faced with the task of actively participating in the sustainable transformation of society and the economy. Key challenges include enhancing the ethical and sustainable design of AI, as well as its appropriate application for a sustainable transformation of society and the economy.

Within the framework of the master seminar, participants will gain insight into the current international scientific discourse on the ethical and sustainable design of AI, as well as its application for greater sustainability, and will work on specific topics in this context in the seminar project.

The students get to know different methods of qualitative research to apply in organizations. They identify research questions and apply methodically appropriate designs. They are able to use various qualitative methods. They also deal with research ethics and will be able apply theoretical perspectives on empirical findings and discuss them critically.

The course (3 teaching hours per week) deepens the methods of qualitative organizational research. The students get introduced to different survey and evaluation methods. They  design their own research project and jointly develop a survey instrument, conduct qualitative interviews, apply transcription rules, coding methods and tools as well as different strategies of sampling and type formation.

In recent decades, the modern working world has been characterized, among other things, by an empirical and semantic decline in the so-called "standard employment relationship" or the increase in atypical forms of employment. On an individual level, this context also reveals forms of work boundarylessness and subjectivization.

Against this backdrop, the term "New Employment Relationship" indicates that, in the course of the aforementioned developments, the nature of the relationship between employees and employers has also changed. Instead of being characterized by permanence and socio-emotional aspects, work relationships are increasingly marked by temporariness and are evaluated more in terms of one's own advantage. This gives rise to specific and sometimes (actually or perceived) contradictory demands and areas of conflict in and with regard to work relationships, as well as new organizational principles and forms.

In this sense, the lecture addresses the transformation, selected areas of conflict, and organizational forms of work relationships on both individual and organizational levels, and discusses their connection to societal developments. The aim of the event is for students to develop a broad as well as deep and critical understanding of current work relationships.

In this course (3 teaching hours per week), students acquire in-depth knowledge of theoretical perspectives in the sociology of work, organizations, and economics. They are able to relate current societal trends to changes in work, organizations, and the economy. They become familiar with relevant and current research findings and can critically reflect on them, particularly regarding challenges facing employees and managers. The aim of the course is to illuminate the transformation of the working world from a social science perspective, critically reflect on it, and develop concrete measures for shaping work relationships.