MGT 405 Fall 2022

Week 1: intro to gig economy

Week 2-3: this ain’t a new problem, folks! (changing nature of work trends, employment classification and its implications)

Week 4-6: exploring platforms and organizing what we know about them

Week 6-7: evidence-based management 

Week 9: measuring the gig economy

  • Observer: Data about the creator economy varies so widely no one knows how many influencers there are (Jones, 2022) https://observer.com/2022/10/data-about-the-creator-economy-varies-so-widely-no-one-knows-how-many-influencers-there-are/
  • Online Labour Index/Observatory http://onlinelabourobservatory.org/oli-demand/
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics: Electronically-mediated employment https://www.bls.gov/cps/electronically-mediated-employment.htm
  • Pew Research: Online selling & home sharing http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/17/gig-work-online-selling-and-home-sharing/
  • Pew Research: “Super users” http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/30/sharing-and-on-demand-services-attract-a-small-but-active-group-of-super-users/
  • Pew Research: The state of gig work in 2021 https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/12/08/the-state-of-gig-work-in-2021/
  • Pew Research: Ride-hailing apps https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/04/more-americans-are-using-ride-hailing-apps/
  • Problems at BLS: https://www.bls.gov/cps/electronically-mediated-employment-faqs.htm

Week 9-10: being a gig worker – first- and second-hand experiences; reports on the “typical” or “profile” of gig workers

Week 11-12: worker issues – including universal basic income, occupational health, collective action and cooperatives

Week 13: fairness – general review of the evidence so far re: gig economy and fairness; fairness in ratings; the digital divide; reputation inflation 

Week 14-15: so what? – considerations of how MGT concepts apply/don’t; intersections of gig economy and traditional biz; norms and ethics in the gig economy; the “dark side” of the gig economy; what gig work means for us (personally, as workers, as managers)