Strategy and Organizational Analysis (STOA) 603

Course Overview

This course covers how and why organizations function as they do — the linkages among their environments, strategies and structures — within a framework designed to improve organizational effectiveness. It uses an integrative approach to diagnose and analyze how the successful implementation of organizational strategies is often contingent upon achieving a fit between specific environmental factors and organizational structure and process variables.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students should be able to

• identify and apply the key elements of organizational analysis, industry and environment analysis, strategy, structure, systems, and processes.
• discuss the importance of integration between organizational functions for maximizing organizational effectiveness.
• explain the role of analysis and management of the external environment on organizational effectiveness.
• identify a variety of different models for measuring organizational effectiveness.
• articulate the new requirements of leadership and the role of leadership in supporting organizational effectiveness.
• discuss individual, group, and organizational values, and make connections among values, leadership, organizational culture, and ethics.
• articulate the role of conflict in organizations, and explain the ways in which power and politics affect conflict resolution processes—both positively and negatively—thereby supporting or working against organizational effectiveness.
• relate organizational effectiveness to the need for change, and articulate ways to manage the change process effectively.
• identify and offer appropriate evidence for good management decision making.
• write clear, concise, and error-free communication through online discussions and assignments.

Course Outline

• Week 1: Understanding and Managing Our Environment, and Measuring Effectiveness
• Week 2: Structure and Strategy
• Week 3: Leadership
• Week 4: Values
• Week 5: Ethics
• Week 6: Organizational Culture
• Week 7: Conflict, Power, and Politics
• Week 8: Organizational Change and Course Summary/Overview