This course addresses classic and contemporary principles for organizational design, focusing practical application of existing knowledge as well as critical reflection on how business ideas, stakeholder interests, fashion and theoretical perspectives influence what we experience as proper organizational design. The course begins by providing a comprehensive overview of alternative approaches to organizational design and their application on various types of real-life organizations. Subsequently, the course turns its focus to the historical and stakeholder dependency on favored design choices – hence reducing the possibility to find one rational and objective design solution. Instead, different design choices will have different consequences. In the concluding part of the course, emphasis is placed on developing a holistic understanding on how to take advantage of the design of an organization while at the same time being aware of and dealing with the allied disadvantages.
After completing the course, the student should be able to:
- identify basic principles for organizational design and analyze their suitability in different empirical contexts
- critically assess, evaluate and compare design choices in various types of organizations
- identify and solve organizational design problems taking the business idea and different stakeholder interests as a point of departure,
- contribute to a creative dialogue on organizational design issues