LOC 306: STUDIES IN ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Transcription

1 LOC 306: STUDIES IN ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Winter 2007 Professors: Louis Gomez Office: Tel: Office Hours: 337 Annenberg Hall (W) By Appointment James Spillane Office: Tel: Office Hours: 336 Annenberg Hall (W) By Appointment Teaching Assistant: Jessie Blank Office: Tel: Office Hours: 134 Annenberg Hall (W) By Appointment, Wednesday - Friday Class Time: Tuesday, 1:30 to 4: Annenberg Hall Overview Organizations are ubiquitous. For most of us, our initial encounter with the world is in an organization a hospital. We spend the bulk of our childhood and adolescence attending another organization the school. Most Americans approximately 90% will work in an organization as distinct from being self-employed. Organizations are a fixture in our lives at an early age. The ubiquity of organizations is such that we often take them for granted, rarely stopping to consider how they influence our lives. Organizational change has garnered considerable attention from academics, private consultants and policy-makers. This interest cuts across organizational sectors for-profit, non-profit, and government organizations. This class focuses on organizational change. Studies in Organizational Change is an advanced course in the Learning & Organizational Change major designed to introduce students to key constructs and ideas about change in organizations. The class is organized as follows: We will begin with a discussion of the notion of change in general and organizational change in particular. We will identify four levels of analysis that scholars who study organizational change focus on individual, group, organization, and institution. We will then examine different levers or resources for organizational change including routines, human capital, social capital, technology, culture, identity and organizational environments. We will conclude by considering how these resources interact with aspects of the organization such as time and developmental stage. Throughout the class, students will be expected to constantly apply the constructs and ideas to particular cases of organizational change.

2 Requirements The course is organized as a seminar. We expect each of you to come to class very well-prepared to take-up the discussion questions for each week, and be prepared to respond to objections from peers. To participate in this way, you will have to read the assigned texts carefully and critically before each class. We expect your comments to be referenced to the readings, and to use the readings thoughtfully and effectively. Voicing opinions without a basis in reference to the required readings or some other source is not very helpful. We expect you to bring copies of the readings to class, so you can reference them easily during discussions. Contributions to class discussions will count for 30% of the course grade and judged based on: 1. Clear well-organized arguments, the use of evidence from the readings (or from other sources), and the ability to respond to the critique of peers. 2. Two reaction papers (no more than two double-spaced typed, pages) where you react critically and thoughtfully to a particular reading or an issue (e.g., routines) that cuts across readings for a particular week. There will be a sign up sheet for these papers available at our first meeting. The first paper is for credit only. The second paper is worth 10 pts, included in the 30 total participation points. 3. Papers must be uploaded to Assignment section on Blackboard by 3:00 pm, the Monday before class. In addition there will be two other assignments. The first of these assignments should be turned in by February 13 and will account for 30% of your final grade. This paper will require you to use the constructs and ideas from the first half of the class to critically analyze a case of organizational change. The paper should be 5 6 typed, double-spaced pages using APA style. Upload your word document to the Assignment section on Blackboard by 12:00 noon, February 13. The final assignment will be a group project where students will pick a case of organizational change in a particular institutional sector and use the constructs discussed in the course (and where necessary additional constructs) to analyzed change. Students will present their case in class and submit a written summary of their analysis as a report 6 8 pages, typed and double-spaced, using APA style. It is due no later than March 13 th and will account for 40% of your final grade. Week 2, Jan 9: Organizational Change: Definitions and Dimensions Kanter, R. M., Stein, B. A., & Jick T. D. (1992). The challenge of organizational change: How companies experience it and leaders guide it. New York: The Free Press. Chapter 1, pp Poole, M. S. (2004). Central issues in the study of change and innovation. In M. S. Poole & A. H. Van de Ven (Eds.), Handbook of organizational change and innovation. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 1, pp LOC 306, Winter

3 Week 3, Jan 16: Routines Cohen, M. D., & Bacdayan, P. (1996). Organizational routines are stored as procedural memory: Evidence from a laboratory study. In M. Cohen & L. S. Sproull (Eds.), Organizational learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Chapter 18, pp Feldman, M. S., & Pentland, B. T. (2003). Reconceptualizing organizational routines as a source of flexibility and change. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(1), Case One: Phase Zero: Introducing New Services at IDEO Allison, G. (1971). Essence of decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. Boston: Little, Brown. Cyert, R. M., & March, J. G. (1963). A behavioral theory of the firm. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prenctice Hall. Week 4, Jan 23: Culture Required Readings Hatch, M. J. (2004). Dynamics in organizational culture. In M. S. Poole & A. H. Van de Ven (Eds.), Handbook of organizational change and innovation. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 7, pp Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. Schultz, M. (1994). On studying organizational cultures. New York: Gruyter & Co. Chapter 1 Case Two: Hewlett Packard: Culture in Changing Times Reference Materials Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. Schultz, M. (1994). On studying organizational cultures. New York: Gruyter & Co. LOC 306, Winter

4 Week 5, Jan 30: Human Capital Becker, G. S. (1993). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis with special reference to education (3 rd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapters II and III, pp Pfeffery, J. (1997). New directions for organization theory: Problems and prospects. New York: Oxford. Chapter 4, pp , The Effects of Organizational Composition. Case Three: Cisco Systems: Developing a Human Capital Strategy Becker, G. S. (1993). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis with special reference to education (3 rd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Week 6, Feb 6: Social Capital Guimerà, R., Uzzi, B., Spiro, J., & Amaral L. A. N. (2005). Team assembly mechanisms determine collaboration network structure and team performance. Science, 308, Uzzi, B., & Spiro, J. (2005). Collaboration and creativity: Big differences from small world networks. American Journal of Sociology, 111(2), Coleman J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94(supp.), Distribute cases for final assignment. Burt, R. S. (1992). Structural holes: The social structure of competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Scott, J. P. (1991). Social network analysis: A handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. LOC 306, Winter

5 Week 7, Feb 13: Technology Barley, S. R. (1986). Technology as an occasion for structuring: Evidence from observations of CT scanners and the social order of radiology departments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 31(1), Zhao, Y., & Frank, K. A. (2003). Factors affecting technology uses in schools: An ecological perspective. American Education Research Journal, 40(4) Midterm due on Blackboard by 12:00 noon Week 8, Feb 20: Organizational Identity Albert, S., Ashforth, B. E., & Dutton, J. E. (2000). Organizational identity and identification: Charting new waters and building new bridges. The Academy of Management Review, 25(1), Dutton, J. E., & Dukerich, J. M. (1991). Keeping an eye on the mirror: Image and identity in organizational adaptation. Academy of Management Review, 34(3), Albert, S., & Whetten, D. A., (1985). Organizational identity. In L.L. Cummings & B. M. Straw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, Vol. 7 (pp ). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Week 9, Feb 27: Institutional Environments, Organizational Life Cycles & Review Dooley, K. J. (2004). Complexity science models of organizational change and innovation. In M. S. Poole & A. H. Van de Ven (Eds.), Handbook of organizational change and innovation. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 12, pp Lewin, A., & Kim, J. (2004). The nation-state and culture as influences on organizational change and innovation. In M. S. Poole & A. H. Van de Ven (Eds.), Handbook of organizational change and innovation. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 11, pp Poole, M. S., & Van de Ven, A. (2004). Theories of organizational change and innovation processes. In M. S. Poole & A. H. Van de Ven (Eds.), Handbook of organizational change and innovation. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 13, pp Receive graded midterms LOC 306, Winter

6 Week 10, March 6: Final Group Presentations FINALS WEEK, March 13: Final Group Paper due to Blackboard by 12:00 noon LOC 306, Winter