ORGL 615: Organizational Theory & Behavior

STATED OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this course is to invite candidates to a deeper understanding regarding the complexities of organizations. It is designed to provide exposure to theories of organization, important organizational issues and processes, and a variety of strategies and tactics useful to successful organizational leaders and followers alike.

Students will develop an understanding of how to plan, establish, and maintain an organizational structure and the importance of organizational strategy. Students will develop an understanding and the capacity to build a network of effective relationships exploring the nuances of working with varied demographic backgrounds and the advantages and disadvantages of different communication and influence strategies. Students will understand the leader’s role in designing and leading effective teams by understanding the multiple factors that shape the design, dynamics, and effectiveness of groups. Students will develop the knowledge and skills related to understanding and reinvigorating or changing organizational culture. Students will develop an understanding of systems dynamics.

IMPACT QUOTE:

“Lorenz’s butterfly effect is a physical manifestation of the phenomenon of complexity— not “complexity” in the sense that we use the term in daily life, a catchall for things that are not simple or intuitive, but complexity in a more restrictive, technical, and baffling sense. This kind of complexity is difficult to define; those who study it often fall back on Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart’s comment on obscenity: “I know it when I see it.” Things that are complex— living organisms, ecosystems, national economies— have a diverse array of connected elements that interact frequently. Because of this density of linkages, complex systems fluctuate extremely and exhibit unpredictability. In the case of weather, a small disturbance in one place could trigger a series of responses that build into unexpected and severe outcomes in another place, because of the billions of tiny interactions that link the origin and the outcome. In an ecosystem, one slightly mutated virus may spread like wildfire, causing a huge population depletion that, in turn, propagates through the food chain, transforming the local biological order. In the case of economies, the capsizing of a single bank can have no effect at all, or cause cascading failure throughout the system" -- Gen. Stanley McChrystal, from Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World.

Competencies Gained:

Organizations are necessary but complex “beasts.” They exist for the simple reason that groups of people can accomplish more than individuals working alone. At the same time, there is complexity in such collective social action, and organizational life is often marked by some recurring and challenging problems. While there is some consensus about the problems of participating in modern organizations, such as the possibility of worker frustration and alienation in complex systems; the difficulties in utilizing the human resources available; the problems in walking the fine line between necessary specialization, coordination, and bureaucratic red tape; and so on, little agreement exists about how to solve the problems. Organizational hierarchies, Management by Objective (MBO), quality circles, company songs, sensitivity training, job redesign, employee training programs, and shop-floor quality-of-work life efforts are a sampling of the many ways in which organizational theorists and participants have attempted to tame the unruly beast. Implicit in each of the solutions are a particular perspective on organizational life and a focus on organizational structures, human relationships, team processes, or organizational symbols.

Course Instructor:

Dennis Conners, Ph.D.

Reference Materials:

Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency Books.
Bolman, L. & Deal. (2008). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. (4th edition) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Helgesen, S. (2005). The web of inclusion: A new architecture for building great organizations. New York: Currency/Doubleday.
Morgan, Gareth. (2006). Images of organization. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.
Collins. (2002). Good to great. New York: Harper Collins.
Anderson, V. and Johnson, L. (1997). Systems Thinking Basics: From concepts to causal loops. Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications Inc.