“A lot of what we do and accomplish in the world is done through organizations,” noted SPP Visiting Professor Elena Krumova. Teaching the core class “Organizations in Practice,” Krumova aims to prepare her students to understand and thrive in the world of organizations.
This core course is an important part of the MPA curriculum. When graduating students enter the workforce, their ideals often clash with the realities of working in bureaucratic organizations. By teaching students about organizational sociology, Krumova gives them “the tools they need to help them understand their [workplace] situations and to create change within organizations.”
Krumova says that she includes both theoretical and practical perspectives on organizations in the course. In the first part, she focuses on providing some analytical tools to help student understand the mix of organizational practices they might face in any particular organization and how those practices support or suppress member autonomy and commitment to their organization. In the second half, students will look at case studies that draw theoretical inspiration from social movement research to explore the process of organizational change.
Krumova’s research interest in organizational sociology emerged from her personal experience. Living in post-communist countries in transition during the 1990s and working in growing technology companies in New York City in the early 2000s, she had an insider’s perspective on how a variety of organizations change over time. These experiences led her to pursue an academic career in this field.