This course is self-paced and introductory. You will learn multiple theories about organizational behavior and how to apply them in real cases of organizational change.
An organization is a group of people who coordinate their actions to achieve a common goal. You can find them almost everywhere today: Universities, schools, hospitals, classrooms and hospitals, non-profits as well as government bureaus, corporations, restaurants and grocery stores. As complex and diverse as they are, organizations can be as numerous and varied as they are common. They vary in size and structure and can have multiple goals and tasks. Some of these are planned and some are unplanned. They are composed of people whose goals and motivations might differ from the group's; they have to interact with other organizations and manage environmental constraints. This complexity often causes a multitude of problems for the organizational participants and threatens their survival. This course will teach you how to use organizational theories to analyze the organization's operations and determine how it can be managed. Organizational theories focus on the structure and environment of an organization, as well its processes of production, negotiation, and change. Each theory can be used to interpret new organizational situations and help you understand how individuals and groups behave. Because most organizational problems are unique and cannot be solved with simple rules of thumb, theories are invaluable for managers and analysts. With a toolkit of organizational theories at your disposal, you can identify the key features and events that are transforming an organization; select the most appropriate theoretical framework to explain the observed organization mode; then use that theory to decide which actions will lead the organization to desired destinations. The course has three main goals. It aims to familiarize students with real-world organizational phenomena, to expose them to different theoretical perspectives and help them to understand these phenomena and to then apply those theories to their own cases. The course bridges theory and practice by exposing students to new concepts and methods of negotiating novel situations.
