Main themes

This course aims to explain, on the basis of theories and research in behaviour sciences, what organisations are and how they work; it will also seek to develop students' abilities to analyse and transform structures and organisational processes.

Content and teaching methods

Content
1. The concept of organisation: Descriptive and systemic approaches, analytical levels, and factors and properties.
2. "Design": Structural differentiation and integration; the impact of technology, rôles and the environment; and a typology of units and devices of coordination.
3. Processes: Power and authority; communication and information; action and decision-making; planning; and innovation.
4. Forms of organisation: Bureaucratic, professional, decentralised, participative, and matrix-based; and an examination of how they are configured, of how they function, of the effects they have on individual and collective behaviour, and of the conditions and limitations of their application.
5. The ecology of organisations: The nature of the interfaces, kinds of relations, and inter-organisational networks.
6. The dynamic of the organisation: Growth and cycles of development, adaptation, and change.
7. The effectiveness of the organisation and its development.
Methodology
The course will include talks and discussions, and will be complemented by practical work in small groups on a theme drawn from the subject-matter.

Other credits in programs