Formal Organizations
Coordinator: Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of American Business and Economic Enterprise Gerald A. Gunderson
Formal organizations are people organized into a social unit for the explicit purpose of achieving certain goals. Such
organizations include governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, political parties, and the court systems. They do
not include informal organizations such as the family, culture, and social groups. Formal organizations are
characterized by endurance beyond the participation of individuals and require detailed rules for internal
operations.
Course requirements:
- *SOCL 361. Organizations and Society, the core course in the minor. (In years when SOCL 361 is not offered,
FORG 201 is the acceptable substitute.)
- A history course that demonstrates how formal organizations were developed and employed, ECON 214.
Business and Entrepreneurial History, or ECON 249. The Political Economy of Western Civilization.
- Three other courses, each originating in different departments or programs, drawn from the following approved
list. (FORG courses are considered part of the appropriate program.)
- ECON 207. Alternative Economic Systems (prerequisite: ECON 101)
- ECON 306. Public Finance: Economics of the Public Sector (prerequisite ECON 101)
- ECON 308. Industrial Organization and Public Policy (prerequisite: ECON 101)
- FORG 201. Formal Organizations and Market Behavior
- FORG 291. Entrepreneurship and Markets
- FORG 302. Seminar in Entrepreneurship
- ITAL 233/LACS 233. Mafia
- POLS 218. Urban Politics
- POLS 301. American Political Parties
- POLS 309. Congress and Public Policy (prerequisite: POLS 102)
- POLS 355. Urban Politics (prerequisite: POLS 102)
- A presentation given during the senior year on an interdisciplinary topic from the courses the student has completed in
the minor.
If students wish to complete the track with entrepreneurship, add FORG 291. Entrepreneurship and Markets or
FORG 302. Seminar in Entrepreneurship, for a total of six courses.