Management and Society Major

General Statement

Industrial Relations was first offered as Graduate and Undergraduate Curricula at the University of North Carolina in 1947. The Graduate School later dropped the Curriculum, leaving only the Bachelor’s Degree Program in the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1999, the name of the curriculum was changed to Management and Society. The number of students in the program has steadily grown, and today Management and Society is one of UNC’s largest undergraduate degree programs.

What is Management and Society?

The term “management and society,” in its broadest sense, encompasses not only the societal context of management actions, but also issues such as governmental policy with respect to labor, industrial psychology, industrial sociology, personnel administration, worker education, and human resource management.

Students who expect to work in one or another of the specialized areas of the broad field require knowledge of such techniques as statistics, administrative practices, tests and measurements, and guidance. Even more essential is a broad knowledge and deep understanding of such disciplines as economics, history, sociology, psychology, and government.

A Management and Society major provides background orientation and useful general knowledge, rather than advanced professional training. The latter requires on-the-job experience and, for persons seeking opportunities for advancement, further academic training at the master’s and even doctoral level.

The Curriculum is an interdisciplinary social science program focusing on modern work environments and their social contexts. Essentially a liberal arts curriculum, Management and Society also possesses a professional orientation. Majors will acquire an understanding of the conceptual foundations of interpersonal and institutional relations and the ways these foundations can be applied in the workplace. General areas of study are employer-employee relations, the development of human resources, and the institutional context of work.