Fundamentals of Organization (Coursera)

Offered by Politecnico di Milano,
Fundamentals of Organization (Coursera)

Organization is a fundamental theme to understand the real functioning of each company or, more in general, of any institution, and it is part of the basic know-how of each manager. Organization design implies decisions on how work is subdivided and how coordination between the various activities and people who autonomously perform them is guaranteed.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Moreover, organization design is willing to consider also the interdependences between people daily activities (namely processes): in fact, processes are the real lever to achieve organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Lastly, organization design should also consider how people and units take their decisions, given that organizing and deciding are two central and complementary activities of the managerial function.
To achieve these goals, this course aims at explaining you the main concepts of organization, with a strong practical orientation: illustration of typical organizational problems through real corporate examples will be used. But a solid theoretical background is provided as well: the main theories behind organizational design will be used to dig into the main areas of investigation.
The course investigates three main areas:

  • the analysis and design of a proper organization, at the micro level (individual) and at the macro level (group of multiple individuals);
  • the analysis of how to effectively manage processes, in terms of activities, performance and principles;
  • the analysis of how to rapidly take decisions, in terms of process, constraints, models and game theory approach.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Organizational design
In this week the main concepts of organizational design will be presented, related to the basic definitions, the organizational dimensions of individual work, the different choices to group activities in organizational units, and the different organizational structures.

WEEK 2
Business Process
In this week, the main concepts of business processes will be presented, related to the basic definitions, the main dimensions of process performance and principles, together with an overview of business process reengineering.

WEEK 3
Decision making
In this week, the main concepts about decision making will be presented, related to basic definitions of decision making process, the main issues related to problem setting and problem solving, and an overview of the game theory.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Creative Problem Solving (Coursera) Coursera
University of Minnesota

Creative Problem Solving (Coursera)

This course deals directly with your ability for creativity which is a critical skill in any field. It focuses on divergent thinking, the ability to develop multiple ideas and concepts to solve problems. Through a series of creativity building exercises, short lectures, and readings, learners develop both an understanding of creativity and increase their own ability.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Machine Design Part I (Coursera) Coursera
Georgia Institute of Technology

Machine Design Part I (Coursera)

“Machine Design Part I” is the first course in an in-depth three course series of “Machine Design.” The “Machine Design” Coursera series covers fundamental mechanical design topics, such as static and fatigue failure theories, the analysis of shafts, fasteners, and gears, and the design of mechanical systems such as gearboxes. Throughout this series of courses we will examine a number of exciting design case studies, including the material selection of a total hip implant, the design and testing of the wing on the 777 aircraft, and the impact of dynamic loads on the design of an bolted pressure vessel. In this first course, you will learn robust analysis techniques to predict and validate design performance and life.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Managing Social and Human Capital (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Managing Social and Human Capital (Coursera)

Based on their popular course at Wharton, this course will teach you how to motivate individual performance and design reward systems, how to design jobs and organize work for high performance, how to make good and timely management decisions, and how to design and change the your organization’s architecture. By the end of this course, you'll have developed the skills you need to start motivating, organizing, and rewarding people in your organization so that you can thrive as a business and as a social organization.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
New Product Development - develop your own new product (Coursera) Coursera
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

New Product Development - develop your own new product (Coursera)

New product development is essential for the survival of many companies in the Hi-Tec sector, as well as other sectors. The percentage of sales of successful business organizations tied to the successful Introduction of new products and services is high. However, the failure rate of new products development projects is also high and therefore there is a need for a methodology based on a well-designed process as well as tools and techniques to manage New Product Development (NPD) projects. Since most companies develop new products, it is important to you as a manager to be familiar and understand the basic concepts and terminology of NPD projects. This course will give you holistic view of the new product development arena and will help you gain specific knowledge in how to select, plan, monitor and control a new product development project, using the proper tools and techniques.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Design Thinking and Global Startup (Coursera) Coursera
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology - KAIST

Design Thinking and Global Startup (Coursera)

This course offers a systematic engineering design methodology: Stanford Design Thinking for preparing global startup. The course empathizes the whole Stanford design thinking process, "Empathy-Define-Ideation-Prototype-Test," for building a startup with a business model that has a “customer truly need” component.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Marketing Plan (Coursera) Coursera
IE Business School

The Marketing Plan (Coursera)

Create your own Marketing Plan for your own product or service idea. In this course you will learn how to produce arguably the most important marketing tool for any business. Rather than simply learning the stages of The Marketing Plan, you will be asked each week to complete a peer graded assignment which will help you complete a simplified version of the plan.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Doing Business in Europe (Coursera) Coursera
ESCP Europe

Doing Business in Europe (Coursera)

Europe is a major world trade partner as well as a place where to acquire significant business experience. This is the reason why this MOOC has been designed with the view to explaining and guiding you in doing business in Europe. Do you really know Europe? How should you consider and approach the European continent? What business lessons can be drawn in a European perspective?

Aug 24th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Subsistence Marketplaces (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Subsistence Marketplaces (Coursera)

The foundation for this course lies with unique synergies between pioneering research, teaching, and social initiatives through the Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative. Unique to this approach is a bottom-up understanding of the intersection of poverty and the marketplace. The goals of this course are to help you develop an understanding of marketplace activity in the radically different context of subsistence where much of humanity resides and survives, and for you to design solutions that can be implemented by individuals, businesses, and social enterprises through economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable products for subsistence marketplaces.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
IBM Data Privacy for Information Architecture (Coursera) Coursera
IBM

IBM Data Privacy for Information Architecture (Coursera)

Data privacy controls how information is collected, used, shared, and disposed of, in accordance with policies or external laws and regulations. In this course, students will gain an understanding of what data privacy is along with how to identify and understand typical data protection and privatization objectives that an enterprise may have, and how to choose a data protection approach.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Managing the Company of the Future (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,London Business School

Managing the Company of the Future (Coursera)

The aim of the course is to provide you with a comprehensive framework for understanding both the traditional principles of management inside companies today as well as the alternative principles that are becoming increasingly important. It provides both theoretical and practical perspectives on the nature of management in today’s organisations.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Managerial Accounting Fundamentals (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Managerial Accounting Fundamentals (Coursera)

This course will teach you the fundamentals of managerial accounting including how to navigate the financial and related information managers need to help them make decisions. You'll learn about cost behavior and cost allocation systems, how to conduct cost-volume-profit analysis, and how to determine if costs and benefits are relevant to your decisions.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks