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Designing the Organization

Organizations are complex and can be difficult to manage well, so managers need tools to help them better understand and deal with the many complexities and challenges associated with organizational life. In this course, you will learn theories, principles, and frameworks that will help you design more effective organizations.

You will be able to:

- Analyze organizations from multiple perspectives to better understand business challenges

- Strategically plan for effective organizational governance

- Develop systems to plan for growth and change

You will be able to:

- Analyze organizations from multiple perspectives to better understand business challenges

- Strategically plan for effective organizational governance

- Develop systems to plan for growth and change

- Understand implications of the external environment on business and strategically respond to these factors

This course is part of Gies College of Business’ suite of online programs, including the iMBA and iMSM. Learn more about admission into these programs and explore how your Coursera work can be leveraged if accepted into a degree program at https://degrees.giesbusiness.illinois.edu/idegrees/.

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What's inside

Syllabus

Course Orientation

You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.

Traffic lights

Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Examines core organizational theory and explores various organizational structures

Explores the growth and organizational life cycles commonly seen in various organizations

Teaches how to strategically plan for effective organizational governance

Develops systems to plan for growth and change within organizations

Taught by E. Geoffrey Love and Michael Bednar, instructors with extensive experience in organizational theory

Concepts applicable in a range of organizational settings, such as startups, nonprofits, and corporations

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Reviews summary

Strategic organizational design frameworks

According to learners, this course provides a strong foundation in organizational theory and strategic design. Students frequently praise the clear structure and the way complex concepts are broken down into understandable modules. Many find the frameworks and tools provided to be highly relevant and applicable to their professional lives, enabling them to better analyze and address organizational challenges. While some desire more detail or practical examples, the overall sentiment highlights the course's effectiveness in delivering valuable knowledge on designing effective organizations.

Instructor delivers material effectively and engagingly.

"The lectures were engaging and the instructor explained concepts clearly."

"I found the professor's teaching style to be very effective and easy to follow."

"The delivery of the content kept me interested and motivated throughout the course."

Content is presented in a logical, easy-to-follow way.

"The course is well-structured, making it easy to follow along and grasp the concepts."

"Modules are organized logically, building knowledge step-by-step."

"I appreciate the clear, bite-sized nature of the modules, which makes complex topics digestible."

Offers tools directly useful in professional roles.

"The frameworks are directly applicable to real-world scenarios and helped me analyze challenges at my workplace."

"I gained practical tools and strategies that I could apply immediately to my work."

"Learning these frameworks has significantly improved my ability to think strategically about organizational issues."

Provides a solid base in organizational theory.

"This course provided a solid foundation in the core principles of organizational design."

"I now have a much better understanding of the frameworks and theories that underpin organizational structure and design."

"It gave me the essential theoretical background needed to analyze organizational structures."

Some learners desire more depth or advanced topics.

"Could use more in-depth coverage on certain topics or more advanced case studies."

"While a great introduction, I was hoping for slightly more detailed exploration of specific design methodologies."

"I felt some areas were covered a bit superficially; a deeper dive would enhance the learning."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Designing the Organization with these activities:

Compile a list of resources on organizational management

Show steps

Compile a list of resources, such as articles, books, and websites, on organizational management to expand your knowledge beyond the course materials.

Browse courses on Organizational Management

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Search for resources on organizational management.
Create a list of the resources that you find.
Share your list with other students in the course.

Read 'Corporate Governance: A Practical Guide'

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Read this book to gain insights into the principles and practices of corporate governance, a topic covered in Module 1.

View Corporate Governance Matters on Amazon

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Purchase or borrow a copy of 'Corporate Governance: A Practical Guide'.
Read the book in its entirety.
Take notes on the key concepts and principles of corporate governance.

Review management skills

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Review the basic concepts of management to refresh your knowledge before starting this course

Browse courses on Management Skills

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Identify the key concepts of management, such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Read articles or books on management to refresh your understanding of the topic.

Five other activities

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Show all eight activities

Follow a tutorial on organizational structure

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Complete a tutorial on organizational structure to deepen your understanding of this topic covered in Module 2.

Browse courses on Organizational Structure

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Search for tutorials on organizational structure.
Choose a tutorial that covers the basics of organizational structure.
Follow the steps in the tutorial to learn about different types of organizational structures and their advantages and disadvantages.

Practice analyzing organizational charts

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Practice analyzing organizational charts to improve your understanding of organizational structure and design.

Browse courses on Organizational Structure

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Find an organizational chart of a company or organization.
Identify the different levels of management.
Identify the different departments or units.
Analyze the reporting relationships between different positions.

Attend a workshop on organizational design

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Attend a workshop on organizational design to learn more about the different types of organizational structures and how to choose the right structure for an organization.

Browse courses on Organizational Design

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Search for workshops on organizational design.
Choose a workshop that covers the topics that you are interested in.
Attend the workshop and take notes on the key concepts.
Apply the concepts that you learned in the workshop to your own organization.

Create a presentation on the external environment

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Create a presentation on the external environment to demonstrate your understanding of the factors that can affect an organization.

Show steps

Identify the key factors that make up the external environment, such as economic conditions, political factors, and technological changes.
Research how these factors can affect an organization's strategy and operations.
Create a presentation that outlines your findings and provides recommendations on how an organization can respond to these factors.

Develop a strategic plan for an organization

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Develop a strategic plan for an existing organization to demonstrate your understanding of strategic planning and organizational governance.

Browse courses on Strategic Planning

Show steps

Choose an organization that you are familiar with.
Analyze the organization's current situation, including its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Develop a strategic plan that outlines the organization's goals, objectives, and strategies.
Present your strategic plan to the organization's leadership.

Career center

Learners who complete Designing the Organization will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Organizational Development Manager

Organizational Development Managers typically need to have a strong knowledge of organizational design and development. This course can help build a foundation in these areas.

See salaries and explore the career path for Organizational Development Manager

Human Resources Manager

This course would be useful for HR professionals as it would provide them with organizational design fundamentals and insights that are useful for building effective organizations.

See salaries and explore the career path for Human Resources Manager

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officers need the experience and knowledge to effectively manage their company. Given that this course provides a detailed analysis of organizational design, it can provide insightful knowledge and skills for such a role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Chief Executive Officer

Chief Operating Officer

Chief Operating Officers are in charge of day to day operations within a company or business and need the knowledge to make effective choices. This course could provide that knowledge.

See salaries and explore the career path for Chief Operating Officer

Management Consultant

Management Consultants help businesses improve their performance and typically have business knowledge and experience in multiple different fields. This course provides key frameworks for analyzing and dealing with organizational life, which would be useful for a management consultant.

See salaries and explore the career path for Management Consultant

Business Analyst

Business Analysts need business knowledge and analytical skills. This course could provide both by giving a framework for analyzing organizations and their external environment.

See salaries and explore the career path for Business Analyst

Strategy Consultant

Strategy Consultants often need to have excellent organizational analysis skills. This course could help enhance those skills.

See salaries and explore the career path for Strategy Consultant

Project Manager

Project Managers need to understand the organization and this course may provide that context.

See salaries and explore the career path for Project Manager

Product Manager

This course may be useful for Product Managers as it can aid their understanding of developing and managing organizational structures.

See salaries and explore the career path for Product Manager

Operations Manager

This course may be helpful for Operations Managers as it aids in developing an understanding of designing effective organizations.

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Financial Analyst

This course could be useful for Financial Analysts as it covers analyzing and responding to external environmental factors, which is key in finance.

See salaries and explore the career path for Financial Analyst

Data Analyst

This course could be useful as it covers analyzing and understanding organizations, which is key to understanding data.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Analyst

Marketing Manager

This course may be helpful for Marketing Managers as it covers analyzing external environmental factors, which can help inform marketing strategy.

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Sales Manager

This course may be useful for Sales Managers as it covers analyzing external environmental factors, which can help inform sales strategy.

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Accountant

This course may be useful for Accountants as it covers planning for organizational growth and change, which could be helpful in managing finances and accounting for growth.

See salaries and explore the career path for Accountant

Reading list

We've selected 18 books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Designing the Organization.

Understanding College and University Organization

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Explores the key principles and practices of organizational design, and provides a framework for understanding how organizations can be designed to be more effective.

Understanding College and University Organization:...

Paperback

Understanding College and University Organization:...

Paperback

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