Organizations are complex and can be difficult to manage well. So managers need tools to help them better understand and deal with the many complexities and challenges associated with organizational life. In this course, you will learn theories, principles, and frameworks that will help you to design more effective organizations. We will view organizations from different perspectives that we will use as lenses to help us bring common organizational challenges, and solutions to those challenges, into focus.
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Some of these common challenges include clarifying the organization’s purpose, setting up effective governance systems, measuring organizational effectiveness, choosing an appropriate organizational structure, dealing with growing pains, and responding to changes outside the organization. As you learn and apply the principles from this course, you will be better prepared to effectively navigate the challenges that you face in your own organization.
Course 3 of 7 in the Strategic Leadership and Management Specialization.
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Course Orientation
You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.
Corporate Governance and the Role of Managers in Value Creation
What is management and what role do managers play in creating economic value? These questions are critical in understanding corporate governance and defining managerial responsibilities.
WEEK 2
Environment of Organizations: External and Internal Contingencies
What factors should be taken into account in designing organizations? This is the fundamental question in understanding the role of external and internal contingencies in developing organizational design alternatives.
WEEK 3
Organization Design – Differentiation
What are the critical building blocks of organization design? This central question helps us focus on how the allocation of resources, authority, and tasks provide the managers the choices for structuring the organization.
WEEK 4
Elements of Organization Design – Integration
How is organizational integration achieved with the use of coordination and control tools? Coordination and control are the essential parts of organization design, and we need to describe how these tools are used to design the organization.
