Hello and welcome to the course. Together, we will be exploring management concepts and organisational theory through the lens of metaphor and music. We all know what music is. It's often referred to as the universal language but what has it got to do with management and organisations? And what about metaphor? What exactly is it? How can exploring and analysing music and metaphors help us to better understand management, work organisations, working lives, and ultimately ourselves too? As you set out on your journey through this course, the answers to these questions will be revealed. You will gain new insights and develop ideas which you will be able to take away with you and apply in your own organisations and your own working life. So what is metaphor? You may not be aware of it, but it is highly likely that you and those around you are already using metaphors in your everyday speech. In fact, I have used a metaphor already. Did you spot it? Don't worry if not. As you progress through the course, you will become skilled in identifying and analysing metaphor. To explain what a metaphor is, let's start with an example. Have you ever heard someone say that life is a rollercoaster? Rollercoaster is a metaphor. By using this metaphor, a person is drawing attention to aspects of their life that are similar to the experience of a ride on a rollercoaster. Namely that there are lots of highs, but also lows, ups, but also downs. Things feel slightly scary and out-of-control, but also thrilling and exciting. One word, rollercoaster, captures a great deal of meaning. We can think of metaphor as a word or a phrase we use to help communicate and explain the key features of one thing, such as an experience, by comparing it to the features of another unrelated thing, which is already well understood. Metaphors can be enormously helpful in generating new insights and helping us to see things in a fresh light from a different angle and from a new perspective. By applying them to the study of management and organisations, we can learn a great deal. The course is arranged over three weeks. In Week 1, we start by focusing on two musical organisational metaphors, orchestras and jazz bands to help us better understand the different ways in which organisations can be designed and managed. Next, we will turn our attention to the seminal work of Gareth Morgan, focusing in particular on his machine metaphor. We will use this to open up a window onto classical management theory, including scientific management and Taylorism, Fordism, and assembly lines, and McDonaldization. The Machine Metaphor will help us to critically analyse the potentially dehumanising and de-skilling impact of some of these systems on employees. In Week 2, we will draw on both metaphor and music to help us to understand and gain unique insights into the lived experience of work. We will explore the concept of the Mcjob, itself a metaphor. We will analyse work-related music, including folk songs and sea shanties, as well as the metaphors employees and managers use to describe their own careers within organisations. You will undertake some creative writing and develop your own career metaphor. In Week 3, we will explore the power of music to influence the way we feel and behave. We will critically examine the ways in which music has been used by managers to try to improve work motivation and productivity levels by exploring company songs and corporate anthems. Finally, we will draw on a musical metaphor to help us better understand what it takes to become a great manager and leader. The module has been designed to be highly interactive and creative, using a mixture of readings, video and audio clips, research activities, quizzes, and lots of opportunities for you to share your ideas and engage in discussion and debate with your fellow students. You will develop your own original organisational and career metaphors, write lyrics to your own company song, write and record your own short radio play, and develop your own motivational music playlist. By the end of the course, your understanding of management, organisations and the lived experience of work will have increased considerably, and you will have lots of new ideas to take away with you and apply in your own working life. I hope you enjoy the learning journey and most importantly, have fun.