SOCIOLOGY OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS

Academic year
2025/2026 Syllabus of previous years
Official course title
SOCIOLOGIA DEI SISTEMI SOCIALI COMPLESSI
Course code
EM1121 (AF:561230 AR:328256)
Teaching language
Italian
Modality
Blended (on campus and online classes)
ECTS credits
6
Degree level
Master's Degree Programme (DM270)
Academic Discipline
SPS/08
Period
1st Term
Course year
1
Where
VENEZIA
Moodle
Go to Moodle page
The course presents the structural and behavioral characteristics of the complex organizational systems, having as reference, in comparative terms, the Public Administration (PA), the non-profit and profit organizations.
The aim is to provide students with the ability to critically analyze the dynamics of the governance processes of network systems and the characteristics of the regulatory mechanisms used in integration processes by organizations that produce public goods or manage common goods.
The first part of the course is of a theoretical nature – characterized by a historical and social recognition from the Weberian concept of bureaucracy up to the most recent orientations on the possibilities and limits of a post-bureaucratic organization of work, such as the corporate case of Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention. The theoretical part consists of five face-to-face lectures and five asynchronous lessons in self-learning and self-assessment mode.
The second part—planned as synchronous online lessons—consists of workshops (working groups) in which students are invited to apply the concepts and theories presented during the lessons using social research techniques (semi-structured interviews). There will also be at least one seminar in which an external expert will present their experience in managing complex organizations.
The course aims to enable students to:
- know the evolution of the different theories of analysis of bureaucratic processes
- know the socio-cultural dynamics of complex social systems
- know and be able to use the main sociological concepts in the analysis of bureaucracies
- be able to recognize the mechanisms of "hybrid governance"
The basic concepts of Sociology
PART ONE
Organization and bureaucracy: theoretical references and historical-social context

- Organizational thinking and bureaucracy: classical theories (5 lectures, in person)
The in-person teaching units aim to outline the basic concepts of organizational theory and share direct experiences of governance in complex organizations (workshop with an expert). This first in-person phase is preparatory to the development of online teaching units, which are geared towards a more participatory and cooperative form of learning on the part of students, aimed at acquiring practical knowledge (conducting a semi-structured interview) and analytical skills (critically analyzing new models of governance in complex organizations).


- Innovative theories and approaches for the governance of complex organizations (5 asynchronous online lessons)
The objective of the asynchronous teaching unit—which continues the theoretical approach of the in-person teaching—is to critically study the most recent contributions in terms of governance in complex organizations, at the corporate and public administration levels.

PART TWO
Workshop-based lessons (5 synchronous online lessons)
The objective of the synchronous teaching unit is to develop students' ability to conduct and analyze a semi-structured interview, a qualitative social research technique, and to apply the concepts presented during the lesson in an analytical form.

- G. Bonazzi (2008, 14th edition), Storia del pensiero organizzativo, vol. 2, 'La questione burocratica', FrancoAngeli, Milan.
- Other texts indicated in the document 'Guida dell'Insegnamento', Moodle page and collected in the 'Course materials' folder.

Students are kindly requested to register on the Moodle page in advance of the start of the course to familiarise themselves with the documents entered.
The learning assessment is conducted by an oral examination based on the course bibliography and the documentation contained in the 'Course Materials' folder (only the texts indicated as compulsory). During the oral examination the student must demonstrate knowledge of the topics covered in the course and be able to critically analyse them.

Students will be invited to carry out laboratory activities during the course (interviews with stakeholders, textual analysis of the contents and presentation of the results with the support of power points). The workshop activity will be graded in thirtieths. The marks for the oral examination will be supplemented by the points obtained in the laboratory activity by means of an arithmetic mean.





oral
The marks for the oral test are awarded as follows:

A. marks in the range 18-22:
- sufficient knowledge and applied understanding with reference to the syllabus;
- limited capacity for analysis;
- limited ability to make independent judgements;

B. marks in the range 23-26:
- fair knowledge and ability of applied understanding with reference to the syllabus;
- discrete ability to analyse syllabus topics and concepts;
- fair communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language relating to the
subject of bureaucracy and complex social organisations;

C. marks in the range 27-30:
- good or very good knowledge and ability of applied understanding with reference to the syllabus;
- good or very good ability to analyse the themes and concepts of the syllabus;
- fully appropriate communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language relating to the subject of bureaucracy and complex social organisations;

D. award of 'lode':
It will be awarded in the presence of knowledge and applied understanding with reference to the syllabus, excellent judgement and communication skills.
The course favors student-centered teaching, which emphasizes the active participation of the student by placing him at the center of the teaching process to facilitate a reflective approach, critical and analytical learning and greater autonomy.

The initial part of the course includes traditional teaching methodologies (lectures).

In the final part of the Course, some meetings are scheduled in seminar form with external experts, which will be followed by a debriefing activity in which students will be invited to reflect on the experience to understand it and bring it back to the general theoretical frameworks, with the aim of building a semantic map of the relevant concepts and themes that emerged. Small working groups will be formed followed by plenary discussions in which students are invited to comment and provide feedback on the work of others.
The course is carried out in collaboration with the extended partnership AGE-IT Age-It - Ageing well in an agening society” (PE0000015), CUP H73C22000900006, public notice no. 341/2022 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan ("NRRP"), Mission 4 - Component 2 - Investment 1.3, funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU. As part of the course, meetings with companies’ testimonials involved in the project may be offered, focusing on the development of practical knowledge in the subject matter, as well as the results of the project itself. This course covers topics related to Spoke 10 Mainstreaming ageing by building institutional mechanisms for better and future-oriented policy making – WP3.
Definitive programme.
Last update of the programme: 02/09/2025