NEW DATES: Understanding Organizations – in Theory and Practice (JRs only)

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Objectives of the course:

This course will help you better understand how organizations work and how to succeed in organizational life. Organizations are complex entities that vary across many dimensions. The course will present theory about different organizational structures and how they affect internal processes. It will also focus on organizations as complex social systems and explain some of the reasons why some people tend to succeed in organizations much more than others. The course will enable you to better understand organizational dynamics and use such knowledge to pursue both your own and your workplace’s goals and targets. 

Learning outcomes and competencies:

Understanding organizational dynamics and why organizations work the way they do is paramount to be able to perform in organizational settings. Therefore, the objective of this course is to present theories about organizations that will help participants see through the organizational complexity and effectively work to obtain individual as well as organizational goals.

At the end of the course participants should be able to:

• Describe and analyze different organizational structures, and how they relate to organizations external opportunities and challenges and internal processes.
• Understand and apply organizational behavior theories including how employees are motivated and how organizational influence is obtained and used
• Diagnose and analyze organizational problems and propose solutions and how they should be implemented

Taken together these learning objectives relate to some of the most fundamental elements of organizations. The course will enable participants to understand why different types of organizations adopt different strategies and structures, and how these affect employees and what they do. No matter the specific work task, be it more technical or more administrative or managerial, such knowledge is important and help answer questions about how work is affected by organizational structures, values, decision making, and culture.

Compulsory programme:

3 course days with active participation. Participation in all course days is expected.

The course takes place over two modules:

• Module 1: 23-24 November 2020 (2 days) 09:00 - 15:00
• Module 2: 14 December 2020 (1 day) 09:00 - 15:00

Group assignment which is part of the assessment. Each group will be asked to identify a “real challenge” in an organization, which should be examined based on the course topics and theories. Group work will end with a presentation on the last day of the course. Groups consist of 4-6 participants.

Course contents:

• Organizational elements: Structure, Strategy, Technology, People, Culture
• Organizational life: Motivation and job satisfaction, Power and influence

Course practicalities:

Registration deadline:  

 Language: English

Level of course: AU talent course

Course Structure:

1.    Module: November 23. 2020, building S2610,  room 313 a and b + 24. November 2020, building S2610, room 515 a and b. Aarhus BSS, Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210 Aarhus V.

2.     Module: December 14. 2020  building S2610, room 313 a and b.  Aarhus BSS, Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210 Aarhus V.

Course participants will also be doing individual and group assignment between the two modules

Capacity limits Min. 12 and max. 24 participants

Lecturers:

• Course Coordinator & lecturer: Professor Anders Villadsen, Department of Management + possibly a guest lecturer

Type of course/teaching methods:

Lectures, exercises, cases, group work, discussions, group assignment analyzing an organization, and presentations

Literature:

·       Most chapters from: Daft, Murphy, and Willmott: Organization Theory and Design. 4 ed. Cengage. 2020. (ISBN: 9781473765900) 

·       Selected journal papers

·       Optional: Fisman, R. and Sullivan, T. The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office. Princeton University Press. 2015

Course assessment:

Presentation of organizational analysis in groups. 

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Please note that this event does not provide access to credit transfer of ECTS points.