Organizational Structures of 21st Century (2235.YR.014573.2)

General information

Type:	OPT	Curs:	1	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	5 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 1	Manel Peiró Posadas	Dirección de Personas y Organización	ENG

No prerequisites

No prerequisites

The final assignment is the biggest workload of the course. Teams of two students analyze the organizational structure of a company of their choice.

During the course, students must submit two reports based on two exercises, and for each guest speaker the students have to submit in advance at least two question for ther invited executive.

The course is focused on the understanding and the design of the organizational structure concerning all kind of companies. The design of the structure must be a direct consequence of the implementation of the strategy and therefore is a core activity for a CEO.

At the end of the course, students should:

1 Understand the fundamentals of the design of organizations in a context of transformation

2 Apply the design parameters that are critical for the performance of an organizational structure

3 Recognize and use the main principles that guide the design of an organizational structure, under what circumstances should transform the struture and how to lead the change.

By the end of the course students are expected to have acquired the strong organization design fundamentals and be capable of analyzing and solve organizational structure issues. They should be able to understand, discuss and define organizational solutions coherent and consistent with the strategy of the business and the nature of the firm.

1. Dimensions of Organization Design - Why Organizational Design matters? - A short evolution of Organization Theory and Design - Strategy and Structure - Contingency Factors

2. Fundamentals of the Organizational Structure - Division and coordination of tasks - Design Parameters - Design of Positions: job specialization, formalization, indoctrination - Redesign tools

3. Design of Superstructure - Grouping: functional, product/market and matrix structure - Horizontal Structure - Hybrid Structure - Span of control

4. Coordination under Uncertainty - Mind the gap: uncertainty and information - The need for information processing - Increasing the capacity to process information - Creation of lateral relations

5. Structures for Cooperation - The nature of cooperation - Different forms of cooperation: alliances, networks and other structures - Managing the cooperation

6. Environment and Structural Configurations - The changing environment - The need of organizational fit - Different types of configurations

7. Structural Configurations - Simple Structure - Machine Bureaucracy - Divisionalized Form - Professional Bureaucracy - Adhocracy

8. Designing Organizations in the International Context - Centralization-Decentralization dilemma - The Corporate Center - Organizational typologies: multinational, international, global, transnational - National approaches to coordination and control - Strategy, Structure, People

9. Organizational Culture - Purpose of Culture - Interpreting Culture - Organization Design and Culture

10. Organizational Change - Strategies for implementing Change - Change Management Models - Transforming the Organization - New organizational models

To achieve the objectives of the course, the format of it would be based on group exercises, a mix of lectures and class discussions with guest speakers.
The first half of the sessions follows a lecture/discussion format. These sessions are devoted to presentation and discussion of frameworks, concepts and theories that are useful for organizational design practice The lecture/discussion sessions are often accompanied by assigned readings to complement the content of each session.
The second half of the sessions will be devoted to the discussion with guest executives of different sectors. The invited executive will introduce the company and will attend the questions prepared in advance by the students. It is a great opportunity to discuss with the executives their experiences in managing the organization.
Attendance to the course is compulsory.

- ALFRED D. CHANDLER, JR (1962): "Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise?. MIT Press.
- JOHN CHILD; DAVID FAULKNER (1998): Strategies of Co-operation. Managing Alliances, Networks, and Joint Ventures. Oxford University Press.
- RICHARD L. DAFT (2013): Organization Theory and Design. South-Western. Cengage Learning. Mason OH.
- AMY KATES; JAY R. GALBRAITH (2007): Designing your Organization. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco CA.

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 1	Manel Peiró Posadas	Dirección de Personas y Organización