Do you want a career managing people instead of finances or things? Are you interested in how teams are replacing assembly lines in some workplaces or how bureaucracy is changing in global corporations? A focus on Work Organization and Management will prepare you for a variety of jobs in business, public agencies, and/or community organizations. We offer this focus either as a concentration within the Labor Studies and Employment Relations major or as a minor!
Careers related to Work Organization and Management
- Manager. Line Managers (such as first-level supervisors, department heads, plant managers, or a variety of middle managers) nurture the talents of other employees and get them to apply their energies to the job at hand. Learning how to manage people well is probably the most important thing that you will learn in this concentration or minor.
- Human resource specialist. Human resource (HR) professionals help employers manage talent strategically in order to increase firm performance. They may be generalists or may concentrate on a single area like recruitment or benefits. A Master of Human Resource Management degree is the ticket to higher-level jobs in this field. But this concentration or minor can lead to an entry-level position in HR. You also should investigate pursuing a Minor in Human Resource Management, which can be combined with this concentration in the Labor Studies and Employment Relations major.
- Consultant. Management consultants typically need a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). This concentration or minor is an excellent way to prepare for an MBA program. It gives you an understanding of many key contemporary issues affecting the management of people at work without duplicating much of the content you will be exposed to in your later MBA program. And, it also builds the key analytical, verbal and interpersonal skills you will need as a consultant.
- Community, non-profit, or union leader/manager. These organizations also need to manage people well and require individuals with many of the other skills involved in running a business – from understanding budgets to creating effective marketing programs. This major concentration will give you the freedom to combine your dedication to social change with the skills needed to successfully run such an organization.
For the minor: To complete a minor in Work Organization and Management, six courses are required. You must take (a) One 100-level Labor Studies & Employment Relations course, (b) one course in category A and three in category B from the list below, and (c) one other course at the 200 level or higher offered by the Labor Studies and Employment Relations Department.
For the major concentration: To complete a concentration in Work Organization and Management, you must fulfill all the requirements of the major, including one course in category A and three or more courses in category B from the list below. Courses in the concentration count toward the major.
Courses specific to the Work Organization and Management concentration or minor:
A. Must take at least one:
- 37:575:308 Dynamics of Work and Work Organization
- 37:575:311 Organizational Design and Structure
B. Must take at least three:
- 37:575:220 Law for Business & Non-Profits
- 37:575:230 People, Work and Organizations
- 37:575:308 Dynamics of Work and Work Organization
- 37:575:311 Organizational Design and Structure
- 37:575:313 Technological Change and the World of Work
- 37:575:317 Contingent and Nonstandard Work
- 37:575:318 Leadership in Work Organization
- 37:575:325 Economics of the Employment Relationship
- 37:575:326 Negotiation
- 37:575:338 Occupational Safety and Health
- 37:575:345 Organizational Behavior and Work
- 37:575:361 Labor and Corporate Restructuring
- 37:575:362 The Work Education Connection
- 37:575:367 Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
- 37:575:368 Professional Development Strategies
- 37:575:375 Benefits and Social Insurance
- 37:575:385 Finance for Organizational Leadership
Labor Studies & Employment Relations Faculty Involved in this Area
Vik Advani, Instructor, J.D., Rutgers-Camden
Joseph Blasi, Professor II, Ed.D., Harvard
Ashley Conway, Instructor, MA, American University
Rebecca Givan, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Northwestern
Charles Heckscher, Professor, Ph.D., Harvard
Doug Kruse, Professor, Ph.D., Harvard
Sheila Lawrence, Instructor, Ph.D., Rutgers
Carmen Martino, Instructor, M.A., Rutgers
Anne-Michelle Marsden, Instructor, M.S., Florida State
Saul Rubinstein, Professor, Ph.D., MIT
For more information contact our undergraduate advisors Amy Marchitto at lobelo@smlr.rutgers.edu or 848-932-8559 and Talia Schank at talia.schank@rutgers.edu or 848-932-1749 and the Director of Student Services, Akhila Naik at an332@rutgers.edu or 848-932-1981.