AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide cognitive and interpretative tools for organizational design and organizational change issues relating to the environmental transition, with particular attention to the energy sector. The objectives and the organizational design path are studied, the various steps in which it is divided into the perspective of identifying the most suitable structures for each organization in the different contexts in which the company operates are presented; organizational change is examined as a process to be implemented and managed, deepening its various steps, goals and difficulties . The course combines theoretical and practical study, through lectures and cases and testimonies.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course introduces organization theories and models, enabling the students to diagnose and implement organizational change. Specifically, it enables you to understand and manage the structural, individual, and group-level dynamics and challenges that occur when organizations change, have to change, or you (alternatively, other people) want to change them. Since sustainability and ‘green management’ represent a significant – in some cases even painful – change for many organizations, a thorough understanding of change processes and the proven tactics to manage them is fundamental to your ability to support positive change.

To make this complexity manageable, we will decode the structural, individual, and power dynamics in organizations that must be considered for any strategic initiative to succeed. Once we have covered these three aspects of organizations, we will develop a simple yet effective change framework - to enable you to influence people and groups to change, design and implement change, and ensure that the changes you envisioned actually “stick” and do not disappear after the change project is finished.

We will do this by combining a rigorous theoretical approach with the discussion of cases, simulations (role-playing), group projects, and exercises that will enable you to gain a solid understanding and command of the complexities of modern organizations.

The course is based on the notion that satisfactorily understanding organizations requires the application of different lenses drawn from different disciplines, including management studies, sociology, political science, economics, and cognitive science. Moreover, such an understanding also requires looking at different organizational levels. We emphasize the behavioral processes (individual effectiveness, social interaction, groups, and teams) and the macro-level, such as organizational design, organizational change, people management, and organizational culture.

Mastering such a dialectic mindset is challenging but will allow participants to understand better and address complex organizational phenomena and to become more aware of the limitations and dangers of simplistic and formulaic “solutions” for organizational and managerial challenges. More specifically, I expect students to be more knowledgeable about the science and art of managing change and how leaders and organizations engage in the effective deployment of change programs.

As such, the course is especially useful for students who plan careers in management consulting, general management (whether in line or staff positions), and entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship.  After the successful completion of this course the students will be able to:

TEACHING METHODS

From a methodological point of view, the course combines a rigorous theoretical approach with the discussion of cases, simulations, role-playing, group projects, and exercises that will enable students to gain a solid understanding and command of the complexities of modern organizations and how to use and manage the structural, individual, and group-level dynamics and challenges that occur when organizations change, have to change, or you (alternatively, other people) want to change them. Specifically, I report in the table below the link between the teaching methods used and their contribution to the intended learning outcomes.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The material for this course is a mix of slides provided by instructors and research and practitioner articles. In class, we will use slides to present the main ideas and guide the discussion. The slides and the articles are posted on the e-learning platform (AulaWeb). Students can download copies directly from their computer and read them. In addition, case studies, role-playing, and self-assessment exercises will be distributed in class as part of the teaching material for the course. Notes taken in class are fundamental to integrating all the course materials the instructor provides.

For students who prefer the guidance of a textbook, we recommend the following “course companion” textbooks:

1. Organizational Behavior Managing People and Organizations

Ricky W. Griffin, Jean M. Philips and Stanley M. Gully (Authors)

Imprint: South-Western        
Pub Date: 2016 
Edition: International Edition 12th Edition

Publisher: Cengage Learning, Inc        
Published in: United States

This book can support the attending students while it is mandatory for non-attending students, and the chapters to be studied are listed in the detailed schedule presented at the end of the syllabus. It can be useful because it incorporates most of the topics discussed in the course and places them into coherent intellectual contexts (in particular: Individual differences, motivation, groups, culture, Teams and Leadership, Organizational Design, and Organizational Change). Note, however, that for attending students, this book is not a replacement for the assigned lecture notes and slides, as they may follow a different organization: some issues that we cover in-depth in the course in class receive only brief treatment in the book, and vice versa.

1. Leading change                         

John P. Kotter (Authors)

Pub Date: 2012 

Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Published in: United States

This book and Lewin’s framework will be the base of our processual view on change. We will move from using our tools for diagnosis (understanding why and what) to how to implement changes and make them stick. For non-attending students, the entire book is mandatory for the exam.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

For non-attending students, the assessment is based exclusively on their performance in the final exam. The final exam is a multiple-choice test (31 questions) and is “closed-book”, and “no-notes” (i.e., no materials can be used during the exam). Each question has four options with just one correct answer. The exam will consist of a mix of (i) pure theoretical questions and (ii) applications of models and theoretical concepts from the whole textbook (i.e., Leading Change) and the selected chapters of the book “Organizational Behavior Managing People and Organizations”. It is graded with a range of 0-31 points (from 0/31 to 17/31, the exam is failed) and no penalization for wrong answers.

The exam will last 45 minutes.

ATTENDING STUDENTS

To become attending, students should respect two conditions: class participation (1) and field project assignment (2).

1. Class participation. To get the most out of this class and maximize students’ chances of doing well, students must attend class regularly and participate actively in class discussions and other class activities (e.g., class exercises, guest lectures, and experiments sessions).

Grading will be based on the QUALITY of your contribution, but a minimum quantity may be necessary to deliver on quality. This can involve, for example, (1) taking a previous comment a step further (e.g., applying it to a different context, drawing attention to logical consequences not originally mentioned), (2) pointing out related concepts and experiences (e.g., personal experience, confirming and disconfirming case evidence), (3) asking insightful questions, and (4) proposing a constructive alternative or counter-idea (see also for an example, appendix A on specific ways to grade such contribution). 

Field Project. The aim of the Group Field Project (GFP) is to give the opportunity of applying theory to reality and, in particular, to real organizations. So that, each group has to find an interesting company and analyze it from an organizational frame, trying to use the concepts and the models that are presented during the course.

Group’s composition and the case study chosen by each group should be determined by students by the first week of October. Group size should be around 4/5 people for a total number of 2/3 groups.

Each student group:

1)              Select an interesting and accessible case study (a company which sounds interesting regarding theories and models presented in class and is facing a change process or need to change)

2)            Analyze the case and verify the fit strategy/structure, strategy-people management system, and the company's strength.

3)             Write a case report which contains a description following a structure given in class (max. 12 pages, references and appendixes excluded)

4)            Prepare and deliver a slide presentation in class (around 15 minutes for each group project) at the end of the course during the last 3 sessions.

The deadline for submission of the topic of GFP is 17th October (11:59 pm).

The deadline to submit the GFP is 15th December (11:59pm). Groups will submit their written reports through AulaWeb and in case of problems with the procedure by email to the instructor.

Deadlines must be respected.

In case attending students encounter problems with non-responsive or free-riding members in their group and they are not able to resolve these problems with the group, they are invited to notify the instructor. 

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Assessment for attending students consists of their performance in: 1) the class participation; 2) final exam; and 3) their performance in the group field project.

Participation. It will account for 15% of the final grade (see above for the details and Appendix A below).

Final exam grading. The final exam is written and composed of one open questions (7 points each) a multiple-choice exam of 24 questions with four options each and just one correct answer. The exam will consist of a mix (i) pure theoretical questions and (ii) applications of models and theoretical concepts from the course materials, and is “closed-book”, “no-notes” (i.e. no materials can be used during the exam). The exam is graded with a range of 0-31 points. It will account for 45% of the final grade.

Field Project Grading. The grade of the final project is composed of two parts. 1. Written report. This part weights 90% of the grade. A non-exhaustive list of items that we will consider at the time of grading is: a. The report should be well-written, b. it should be much more than just a simple description, it should contain analysis. c. It should show the ability to relate different topics. 2. Presentation. This part weights 10% of the grade. A non-exhaustive list of items that we will consider at the time of grading is: a. Clarity in the presentation, b. ability to answer questions during the presentation, c. ability to relate different topics of the class, d. quality of the slides used. It will account for 40% of the final grade.

The grade for attending students is the weighted average calculated as follows:

Total course grade = 0.15 x Participation + 0.45 x FE + 0.4 x GFP

Component                                        Grading policy

GFP (Group Field Project)            =  0-31 points, written report + group presentation

FE (Final Exam)                              =  0-31 points, fixed grade distribution

Participation                         =  0-31 points, fixed grade distribution

Attending students that fail to submit the Group Field Project by the deadline will automatically become non-attending students. 

Passing the course requires a final grade of minimum 18/31. As an example, a grade of 30 in the group field project and a grade of 10 in the final exam and participation will result in a final grade of 18.

Total course grade = 0.4 x 30 (GFP) + 0.45 x 10 (FE) + 0.15 x 10 (Participation) = 18

The exam will last 50 minutes.

Field Project grades will expire after the session of February 2024, meaning that it is possible to be considered attending only until the above-mentioned session.

NON ATTENDING STUDENTS

For non-attending students, the exam is exclusively based on the textbooks, and the grade is derived by the following assessment based on the final exam during the regular university session.

Course grade = Final  Exam (FE)

FE= 31 MCQ with four options each and only one correct answer. The exam is “closed-book” and “no-notes” (i.e., no materials can be used during the exam), and there is no penalization for the wrong answers.

The exam will last 45 minutes