GRA 6026 Advanced Topics in Organisation Science

GRA 6026 Advanced Topics in Organisation Science

Course code: 
GRA 6026
Department: 
Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Thorvald Hærem
Course name in Norwegian: 
Advanced Topics in Organisation Science
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc - Core course
Semester: 
2022 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

A primary objective of this course is to provide the students with an in-depth understanding of organisations. Organisations are the main tool that modern society applies to meet the challenges of innovation and resolution of complex tasks. Understanding how to organise to resolve the challenges organisations encounter is the main focus of this course. The course reviews the main contributions to organisation research. Another objective is to provide students with a background to understand the changes in organisational structures that we observe in both the private and public sector. Understanding new organisational forms - why they are emerging and which characteristics they bear - are of key importance for managers acting in these sectors. Therefore, the course also aims at giving the students a deeper understanding of the present "experiments" in organisational structures and processes.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge
  • Know the fundamental research streams in organisation science
  • Know how to organise to facilitate the resolution of different types of tasks
  • Know how to adjust the organisational structure to the influence of different types of environment
  • Know about the effectiveness of major organisational mechanisms
  • Know about the workings of major organisational mechanisms such as power, authority and goal setting
Learning outcomes - Skills
  • Be able to analyse organisational problems
  • Be able to identify mismatches in different organisational settings
  • Know techniques to adjust an organisation to environmental demands
  • Know techniques to adjust an organisation to internal technological demands
  • Be able to apply theoretical frameworks to specific organisational problems
  • Be able to pinpoint generic organisational problems
General Competence
  • Developed a measured understanding about the relevance and scope of organisations
  • Be able to understand how organisations can analysed in different perspectives
  • Have a realistic and empirically based attitude to the strengths and limits of rational organisational theories
  • Developed a measured and empirically based understanding of how micro and macro conditions interact in organisations and how to analytically disentangle them
  • Understand how organisation theory is the foundation for leadership and management
Course content
  • Introduction, Organisations as rational, natural & open systems
  • Organisations as Rational systems
  • Organisations as Natural systems
  • Organisations as Open Systems
  • Designing Organisations & Combining Perspectives
  • Organisations & Environment
  • The Nature of the Firm
  • Boundary Spanning & Boundary Setting
  • Technology & Structure: Coordination & Routines
  • Environment & Structure
  • Modern Organisational forms
Teaching and learning activities

The course is structured as seminars, combining lectures with active dialogues. The course will combine textbook readings with research articles. The lectures will utilize current business cases to illustrate the main points in the literature. There are two mandatory assignments, one may be case-based and one may be simulation-based. The assignments are designed to train the students in the application of the theory to real situations.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Additional information

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course start.

At resit, all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.

Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Disclaimer

Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.

 

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Activity
Form of assessment: 
Presentation
Weight: 
10
Comment: 
Case work
Exam code: 
GRA60261
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
30
Grouping: 
Group (1 - 3)
Duration: 
4 Week(s)
Comment: 
Paper/assignment. Duration approximately 4 weeks.
Exam code: 
GRA60261
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Invigilation
Weight: 
60
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • Bilingual dictionary
Duration: 
3 Hour(s)
Comment: 
Written examination under supervision.
Exam code: 
GRA60261
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Continuous assessment
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Total weight: 
100
Sum workload: 
0

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.