In this RMIT BUSM1100 Organisations task you write a 1,500-word first-person story about yourself as an organisational thinker. You place your world view in one (or two) of the four Burrell and Morgan paradigms, show where that view came from in your own life, critique its blind spots, discuss the paradigm you struggled with most, and describe the manager you hope to become, all tied to an artefact you create.

What you must submit

1. An autobiographical narrative of 1,500 words (+/- 10%)
2. An artefact that represents your experiences and world view

Part 1: Draw on the paradigms of organisational analysis

Reflect on your understanding of formal organisations and the four paradigms, and explicitly identify the paradigm that best represents your current world view and shapes the way you see the world and interact with organisations. Explain why you believe you belong to that paradigm (for example, a radical humanist). Your explanation must justify your perspective in three ways:

• Demonstrate that you understand the features of the paradigm that most shapes the way you see the world and interact with organisations and society.
• Explain how these features present themselves in your own view of the world and in how you interact with organisations and society.
• Consider your lived experiences and social conditioning, and conjecture why you have come to hold this paradigm.

If you believe your world view reflects two paradigms, you may make this case.

Part 2: Engage with reflexivity and imagine your future self

Drawing on the module’s theoretical concepts on reflexivity and your knowledge of the paradigms, reflect on and discuss:

• The limitations of your world view (your paradigm) and how you might offset them.
• The paradigm that has challenged you most this semester (for example, the one you found hardest to grasp or liked least) and why this might be so. Consider seriously, and discuss, the potential value of learning more about this paradigm.
• The kind of manager you aspire to become and the qualities that will inform your management approach.

Requirements for the narrative

• Write in the first person and discuss your experiences beyond generalities; examples must be specific to you.
• Explain how your artefact represents your experiences and world view, and add value to the assessor’s experience of the artefact.
• Cite the Consolidation and Springboard readings from Canvas (paraphrase where possible; no page numbers are needed).
• Cite Burrell & Morgan (2019) and Hirschheim & Klein (1989).
• Cite at least three additional scholarly texts from the Reading List, so that a minimum of six texts are used meaningfully throughout the narrative.

Suggested readings supplied with the brief

• Burrell & Morgan – Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis
• Hirschheim & Klein – Four Paradigms of Information Systems Development
• Topic 1 and Topic 2 Consolidation and Springboard
• Topic 7 Thought Diversity, Topic 8 Knowledge Management & Learning Organisations, Topic 9 Ignorance