12 Weeks or equivalent

NIL

This unit aims to help students critique organisational design through conceptualising organisations as dynamic entities that respond
to shifting stakeholder pressures. Students will critique organisational boundaries, forms and structures, decision-making processes, complex adaptive systems, innovation models and communication systems to promote organisational agility in complex and fast oving
environments. This unit raises contemporary issues such as organisational responses to sustainability challenges, building  collaborative capability, conflict, power and politics, and the strategic value of social networking.

 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

1. Explain how organisational design assists coordination of activities in an organisation, delivers information to decision makers and supports the application of this knowledge in the workplace.

2. Critique generic forms of organisational design and their capacity to facilitate agile responsiveness.

3. Critique the benefits of supportive cultures and dynamic organisational design in responding to sustainability challenges.

4. Critique innovation models as organisational design elements and apply these skills and knowledge to workplace learning.

5. Critically apply design concepts as decision-making frameworks for stakeholder management and alignment.

Face-to-Face, Online, Blended

 

Online delivery is supported by a unit website, learning materials and online activities. Voluntary face-to-face
workshops may also be offered.

Group-based discussion: 10-30%,

Individual project: 30-50%

Case-based project: 30-50%.

1. Strategic competence to align organisational decision making with environmental challenges.

 

2. Holistic and systemic thinking across business and commerce to support decision making and risk management in complexity

 

3. Analytical and problem solving skills that include rational-analytical, sense making and anticipatory competencies relevant to a    

    shifting and turbulent business environment.

 

4. Communication, teamwork and advocacy skills to support the building of social capital in diverse project environments.

 

5. Capacity to apply normative ethical standards in the context of the business/society interface.

· The importance of organisational design for sustainable business practice
· Organisation theory and design: towards the reconfigurable organisation
· Organisation design factors
· Organisation structure and forms
· Complexity perspectives around organisational design
· Decision-making in complexity
· The RBV and Project organisation for fast and flexible knowledge organisation
· Leading and managing for effective organisation learning
· Organisational agility and social computing
· Innovation models
· Innovation and organisational culture
· Building collaborative capability
· Conflict, power and politics

Daft, RL 2010, Organization Theory and Design, 10th Edition, South-Western Cengage Learning, OH, USA.

Espinosa, A, Harnden, R & Walker, J 2007, Beyond hierarchy: a complexity management perspective’, Kybernetes, vol. 36, no. 3 / 4, pp. 333-347.

Galbraith, JR 2010, ‘The Multidimensional and Reconfigurable Organization’, Organizational Dynamics, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 115-125.

Govindarajan, V & Trimble, C 2010, ‘Stop the Innovation Wars’, Harvard Business Review, July / Aug

Hobday, M 2000, ‘The project-based organisation: an ideal form for managing complex products and systems?’ Research Policy, vol. 29, pp 871-893

Hoffman, AJ 2010, ‘Climate Change as a Cultural and Behavioral Issue: Addressing Barriers and Implementing Solutions’, Organizational Dynamics, vol. 39, pp. 295-305.

Li, Q, Nagle RN & Sun, L 2011 (in press), ‘Migrating to Agility 2.0: How Social Computing Creates Strategic Value’, Organizational Dynamics

Nidumolu, R, Prahalad, CK & Rangaswami, MR 2009, ‘Why sustainability is now the key driver of innovation, Harvard Business Review, September

Sydow, J, Lindkvist, L & DeFillippi, R 2004, ‘Project-Based Organizations, Embeddedness and Repositories of Knowledge, Organization Studies, vol. 25, no. 9, pp. 1475-1489.

Snowden, DJ & Boone, ME 2007, ‘A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 85, no. 11

Stacey, RD, 2007, Strategic Management and Organizational Dynamics: The Challenge of Complexity, 5th edn, Pearson Education, Essex, UK