Description
In this introductory, self-paced course, you will learn multiple theories of organizational behavior and apply them to actual cases of organizational change.
Organizations are groups whose members coordinate their behaviors in order to accomplish a shared goal. They can be found nearly everywhere in today’s society: universities, start-ups, classrooms, hospitals, non-profits, government bureaus, corporations, restaurants, grocery stores, and professional associations are some of many examples of organizations.
Organizations are as varied and complex as they are ubiquitous: they differ in size and internal structure; they can entail a multiplicity of goals and tasks (some of which are planned and others unplanned!); they are made up of individuals whose goals and motivations may differ from those of the group; and they must interact with other organizations and deal with environmental constraints in order to be successful. This complexity frequently results in a myriad of problems for organizational participants and the organization’s survival.
In this course, we will use organizational theories to systematically analyze how an organization operates and can best be managed. Organizational theories highlight certain features of an organization’s structure and environment, as well as its processes of negotiation, production, and change. Each provides a lens for interpreting novel organizational situations and developing a sense for how individual and group behaviors are organized. Theories are valuable for the analyst and manager because most organizational problems are unique to the circumstances and cannot be solved by simple rules of thumb. Armed with a toolset of organizational theories, you will be able to systematically identify important features of an organization and the events transforming it; choose a theoretical framework most applicable to the observed mode of organizing; and use that theory to determine which actions will best redirect the organization in desired directions.
In sum, the course has three goals: to become familiar with a series of real-world organizational phenomena; to learn different theoretical perspectives that can elucidate these phenomena; and to apply these different ways of “seeing” and managing organizations to cases. In such a fashion, the course is designed to actively bridge theory and practice, exposing students to a variety of conceptual tools and ways to negotiate novel situations.
What you will learn
Module 1 – Introduction
Module 2 – Decisions by Rational and Rule-based Procedures
In this module, we will present a general introduction and discussion to decision-making in organizations. We will relate various rational system views of organizations that tend to focus on administrative units, or leaders of organizations.
Module 3 – Decisions by Dominant Coalitions
This module will give a more elaborate depiction of that model, and focus on its core process of exchange and coalition formation. Within organizations, you will frequently confront coalitions of interests, and you will come to realize that collective action and organizational reforms are impossible if you do not build and manage a coalition to get things done. Therefore, we turn now to Coalition theory. To relate this theory, throughout this chapter we will draw heavily on the writings by James G March (1962, 1994: chapter 4) and Kevin Hula (1999) concerning coalition formation.
Module 4 – Organized Anarchy
This module introduces you to the basic features of decision making in organized anarchies, or what some call a “garbage can theory’ of organizations. What do we mean that the decision process resembled an organized anarchy? Well, for example, some of them have a hard time coming up with their group’s platform and identity. Also, some of the group’s proposed solutions changed over the course of bargaining – some initially proposed universal vouchers only to promote targeted vouchers in the end. Almost all of the groups thought in terms of an identity and what that entailed. And they also thought about other’s identities and interests when trying to manipulate the situation in their favor.
