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2023/2024  BA-BISHO1002U  Organizational Analysis

English Title
Organizational Analysis

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Spring, Third Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc in International Shipping and Trade
Course coordinator
  • Christian De Cock - Department of Organization (IOA)
Main academic disciplines
  • Organisation
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 14-02-2023

Relevant links
Learning objectives
At the end of the course, the students should be able to:
  • • Explain and practically apply key concepts and ideas of organizational analysis as presented in the course
  • • Show the ability to relate these different concepts and ideas
  • • Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the concepts and ideas
  • • Understand the usefulness and limitations of concepts and ideas in guiding concrete decisions in practice when applied to case examples
  • • Demonstrate appropriate communication skills, including the ability to present information together with analysis, argument and commentary
Examination
Organizational Analysis:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance, see also the rules about examination forms in the programme regulations.
Individual or group exam Individual oral exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 2-3
Size of written product Max. 15 pages
Assignment type Project
Release of assignment An assigned subject is released in class
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Spring
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If a student does not pass the regular exam, the examiner of the ordinary exam decides whether a new, revised or the same project must be handed in by the submission date for the re-exam.

If a student is absent from the oral exam due to documented illness but has handed in the written group product she/he does not have to submit a new product for the re-take. However the group product must be uploaded once again on Digital Exam.

If a whole group fails the oral exam, they must hand in a revised product for the re-exam.
Description of the exam procedure

 

In the oral exam, the written report is used as basis for the discussion. The examination will cover both the report itself and the theories and concepts taught in the course
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course aims to familiarize you with key ideas and concepts of organization, such as organizational structure, culture, change, leadership, technology and power. We will explore the ways these have been understood historically in organization studies and will ask you to engage critically and practically with these concepts both individually and in groups while analyzing texts and cases and presenting them in class.

Beware that potential company visits are mandatory and part of the course.
Description of the teaching methods
The course will be taught over 8 weeks with bi-weekly sessions consisting of 2x2 hours per week (except for week 7 which will have 5 hours because of a company visit) = 33 hours in total
Feedback during the teaching period
there will be two formal feedback mechanisms.

1. Coaching session: Starting in the second week of the course (and continuing to the penultimate week), the lecturer will work intensively with 2 groups of students for 50 minutes every week, where the students have to prepare a presentation for the next week. One group will also act as a ‘coach’ for the other group (and vice versa). A lecture on coaching skills will be prerecorded on Panopto so the student always have that background information at hand. The whole idea of the ‘coaching session’ is working with student groups and helping them to see how concepts/theories can apply to their very concrete working situations, thus leveraging their experiences. They get feedback from the lecturer and their paired group, and then will organize an interactive 20 minute session on how a particular theory/concept (discussed the previous week in the lectures) applies in a specific organization (or organizations) with the whole cohort the next week. The use of coaching sessions and group presentations will be a central part of the course.

2. Exam supervision. For their oral exam the students will choose at least three key concepts discussed in the course and apply them to a case company of their choosing, thus allowing them to demonstrate the learning outcomes. In preparation for the exam they will produce a 15 page report. Each student group (2/3 students) will receive a 30 min supervision/feedback session from the lecturer in the week after the final lectures.
Student workload
teaching in class (3X13) 42 hours
reading (3x14) 42 hours
qualifying oral group work (2x3) 6 hours
examining written individual report (1x48) 48 hours
general preperation 68 hours
Expected literature

Core Text: 

Buchanan, D. & Huczynski A. (2017). Organizational Behaviour (9th edition). Pearson: London.

Additional readings are all from:

 The Oxford Handbook of Management (2017):  Edited by Adrian Wilkinson, Steven J Armstrong, and Michael Lounsbury (Oxford University Press: Oxford)

Available online (with CBS login) from: http:/​/​www.oxfordhandbooks.com/​view/​10.1093/​oxfordhb/​9780198708612.001.0001/​oxfordhb-9780198708612

  1. Management – Past, Present, and Future: Adrian Wilkinson, Steven J. Armstrong, and Michael Lounsbury
  2. Scientific Management: Lucy Taksa
  3. Human Relations: Kyle Bruce and Chris Nyland
  4. Management as an Academic Discipline?: Damian O’Doherty and Christian De Cock
  5. Managing Meaning – Culture:  Violina P. Rindova and Santosh Srinivas
  6. Culture, Context, and Managerial Behaviour: Luciara Nardon
  7. Management and Leadership: Ronald E. Riggio
Last updated on 14-02-2023