Business Administration C5 Organisations - Change, Innovation and Learning, 5 credits Syllabus, course C5 Business Administration, 5 credits (Advanced level) Course code: FEKC33 Responisble Department: The Dept of Business Administration Subject: Business Administration Level: C Field of education: Social Science This course is at advanced level in a Bsc- or a Msc-degree at the University of Umeå. The course is intended for exchange students within particular exchange programmes. This course is a part of the course MANAGEMENT ; Organising in the 21th Century C10/D10, 10 credits http://www.fek.umu.se/svl/lwc29.txt 1 Resolution to arrange the course The course is established by the Faculty of Social Science at Umeå University and the syllabus is confirmed by the Board of Business Administration on May 16 2000. 2 Objective and contents The courses in management consist of "Strategy and Structure in Organi- sations", "Leadership and Human Interaction in Organisations", " Organi- sations - Change, Innovation and Learning" and "New Perspectives on Mana- gement". Economics concerns making choices between different alternatives and the basic thinking behind the management courses is also that both management and co-workers are placed in different choice-situations in their work, for example between specialisation and integration, between conflict and co-operation, between change and allowing things to remain as they are. The different course are aimed at throwing light on what these choices are in the management field and what consequences can be expected from any particular choice made for the organisation, its co-workers and for external relations. In order for a company to satisfy the conditions for corporate success, there should be a business idea and an understanding about how it should be realised. One aspect of the idea's realisation is choosing the "right" organisational structure from the many old and new solutions of offer. This is the theme of the course "Strategy and Structure in Organisations". More important than structure is, however, the issue of how people in the organisation can work together towards pre-established goals in an effective way such that people are, at the same time, stimulated and granted opportunities for personal development. This is the theme of the course "Leadership and Human Interaction in Organisations". There are, however, no perfect solutions that suit all situations: the conditions for both the company and the enterprise function are changed constantly such that there are permanent demands for adaptation and deve- lopment. The course "Organisations .-.Change, Innovation and Learning" deals with changes prompted by external or internal pressures and how changes in the organisation are implemented and how they affect those concerned. In the course "New Perspectives on Management", finally, the premises and assumptions previously made about enterprise, the firm and its co-workers are subjected to scrutiny from a critical/analytical perspective. The aim is partly to show the relativism of people's social constructions, and partly to foster a sound degree of scepticism towards what is otherwise taken for granted. Organisations - Change, Innovation and Learning, 5 credits The purpose of the course is to give the student an understanding of the nature of change and learning in organisations, and knowledge of theories and methods on change and learning. Change is dealt with from two perspectives - one external and one internal. From the external perspective change is discussed as responses to external pressure. External pressure can emanate from general economic changes in the society, uncertainty, growth, crises, but also from political condi- tions and mimetic processes, that is, fashion. The external perspective answers the question why organisations change. An important part of the perspective is also how actors in the single organisation interpret the external environment. In the second, internal perspective the focus is on how organisations change, that is, the actual implementation of change projects. Organi- sations are in this perspective described as political arenas, where successful change not only requires managerial decisions, but also acceptance of change ideas, motivation and learning. One important basis of successful implementation is the importance of engaging personnel in the change projects to create organisational learning. Organisational learning is thoroughly treated in a special part of the course. Learning is described both from the traditional, cognitive perspective, and from a more modern, constructivist perspective. In a concluding part of the course it is discussed how innovative and learning organisations can be created. 3 Prerequisites Students are reguired to have a minimum of 30 credits from the A- and B- level courses in Business Administration for entry to the course. Students are reguired to have a minimum of 30 credits from the A- and B- level courses in Business Administration for entry to the course. Exchange students require a minimum of 40 credits from the A-and B-level courses in Business Administration for entry to the course. It corre- sponds to 60 ECTS-credits in basic courses in Business Administration (Management,Accounting,Financial Investments,Cost Accounting and Marketing). 4 Teaching methods The core topics of the course will be covered through seminars, case- studies and lectures. Students are expected to participate actively in lectures, seminars and case analyses and presentations, given oral and written presentations on a number of occasions. Guest lectures might be used in examination. 5 Examination Attendance at seminars and case presentations are required to pass the course. A written comprehensive examination (tentamen) is also required. The quality of the case studies and the oral presentations can be a part of the grading. The following grading system will be used: Pass with distinction (Väl godkänd, VG), Pass (Godkänd, G) and Fail (Underkänd, U). For exchange students the ECTS grading scale will be used upon request. When a student has failed an examination on two occations, he or she has a right to have another grading teacher. A written request should be handed to the director of studies no later than two weeks before the next examination opportunity. 6 Utilization et cetera Autumn semester Organisations - Change, Innovation and Learning, (September - October) New Perspectives on Management, (October - November) Spring semester Strategy and Structure in Organisations, (January - February) Leadership and Human Interaction in Organisations, (February - March) Timetable other courses, see http://www.fek.umu.se/svl/lwcourse.html 7 Readings and other material, Business Administration C5, Organisations - Change, Innovation and Learning, 5 credits. Starkey, Ken., How organizations learn London : Routledge : International Thomson Business Press 1996 ISBN 0-415-12610-X (hft.) Dept of Business Administration, Article Compendium. (Studentexpeditionen) UMEÅ UNIVERSITY Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Business Administration S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden www.fek.umu.se