Business Administration C5 Strategy and Structure in Organisations, 5 credits Syllabus, course C5 Business Administration, 5 credits (Advanced level) Course code: FEUC01 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; Organisational Design and Leadership C10/D10, 10 credits http://www.fek.umu.se/svl/lwc19.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 in May 25th 1999. 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 Management". 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 development. 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. Strategy and Structure in Organisations, 5 credits The aim of this course is to enhance the student's understanding of the strategical and structural features of modern organisations. This aim includes the determinants of strategy and structure as seen in "classical" research, how organisations are and were designed in practice, and the theoretical foundations behind strategic management and structuring of organisations. The course starts out by identifying some recent trends in the management of organisations in Sweden and abroad. Reference is made to the reality of contemporary business life, where the external pressures for contin- uous renewal in most organisations are rapidly increasing in terms of both complexity and force. Issues dealt with include strategies for increased intrapreneurship in large companies, temporary and permanent alliances in and between organisations, the use of temporary project structures, and the emerging new work life of individuals. To explain how the organisation is related to its external environment, three different perspectives is described. Rational, where the standpoint of the perspective understand behaviour of organisations as action performed by purposeful and co-ordinated agents. Natural, which stress that behaviour structure is more important and they examine what is done rather then what is decided or planned. Finally, open system perspective is viewed where the emphasise is on how the organisation interact with its environment. To explain how the organisation can implement and make use of strategic insights, three aspects - environment, strategy and structure - and there interaction with each other are explored and questioned. Our conception of how organisational environment has evolved over time are discussed. Other questions that will be explored are; what social conditions that foster the development of organisations and industries? Finally, organi- sational boundaries and how they are set and managed are studied. 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. 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, Strategy and Structure in Organi- sations, 5 credits. Scott, W,R., Organizations : rational, natural, and open systems . London : Prentice-Hall Latest edition. ISBN 0-13-016559-X Handy, C,B., The hungry spirit : beyond capitalism - a quest for purpose in the modern world. London : Arrow 1998. ISBN 0-09-922772-X (pbk) Dept of Article Compendium. Business Studentexpeditionen. Administration UMEÅ UNIVERSITY Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Business Administration S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden www.fek.umu.se