MGMT213 - Organisational Analysis

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Nil

Teaching organisation

150 hours over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period

Unit rationale, description and aim

Effective organisational analysis is a critical step for managers who are responsible for delivering sustainable business outcomes. If students are able to do this, they will need knowledge and understanding of how to effectively analyse organisations through different theoretical lenses and at different levels: individual, structural, systemic and social. In this unit students will develop a toolset to analyse organisations from both theoretical and practical perspectives, expand their critical reasoning skills through the application of organisational analysis frameworks and perspectives to business case studies and create ethical and socially responsible solutions to business challenges. Students will apply their knowledge in managing organisations, teams and individuals. The aim of this unit is to provide knowledge and understanding of effective analysis of complex organisational interactions and contexts, and to develop the understanding and skills necessary to create effective, ethical and socially responsible solutions to business challenges.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Analyse frameworks, concepts and theories used to understand interactions in contemporary organisations (GA5, GA8)

LO2 - Interpret different analytical perspectives employed to understand organisations at the individual, , structural, systemic and social levels (GA1, GA5)

LO3 - Apply analytical frameworks and multiple perspectives to analyse specific organisations and the contexts in which they operate (GA4, GA5)

LO4 - Discuss how organisational analysis can be used to engender solutions to organisational challenges that are ethical and socially responsible (GA5, GA6)

LO5 - Work individually or collaboratively to undertake organisational analysis (GA5, GA7)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

Content

Topics will include:

• introduction to organisational analysis 
• critical frameworks for analysing organisations) 
• institutional theory and resource dependency theory 
• organisational culture and organisational learning 
• systems approach and networks 
• models of analysis for the understanding of organisational environment 
• application of frameworks and models of organizational analysis to business practices and problems 
• data analysis and synthesis 
• understanding organisations at the individual, structural and systemic levels 
• implementation and measuring the effectiveness of organisational analysis initiatives 
• social, ethical and sustainability considerations in undertaking organisational analysis

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit takes an enquiry-based learning approach to guide students in the development of knowledge associated with analysis of organisations. Students are able to explore the knowledge base underpinning organisational analysis in a series of on campus workshops. These workshops are designed to support students to actively participate in the development of this knowledge both individually and collaboratively. By participating in these workshops, students will systematically develop their understanding of the critical aspects of organisational analysis and capability of how to design socially responsible business solutions. This unit takes an experiential approach to support students in developing the skills required to effectively analyse the internal and external organisational environment and interactions by sharing stories and insights and reflecting on experiences. This approach is designed to interest students who prefer to learn within a social environment and builds in expert support for skills development. The rationale is to encourage deep learning instead of surface or rote learning, as deep learning will develop critical thinking skills and prepare you for competitive business and non-business environments.

A variety of learning materials (real-life examples, case studies from current issues relating to the theory and practice of consumer behaviour, journal articles, videos, lecture capture) will be used. Deep learning is likely to be fully realised as students are exposed to this variety of learning tasks.

Mode of delivery: This unit is offered in different modes. These are: "Attendance" mode, "Blended" mode and "Online" mode. This unit is offered in three modes to cater to the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants and maximise effective participation for isolated and/or marginalised groups.

Attendance Mode

In an attendance mode, students will require face-to-face attendance in specific physical location/s. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops, most students report that they spend an average of one hour preparing before the workshop and one or more hours after the workshop practicing and revising what was covered. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for students to prepare and revise.

Blended Mode

In a blended mode, students will require intermittent face-to-face attendance determined by the School. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for students to prepare and revise.

Online Mode

In an online mode, students engage in asynchronous learning and participate in the construction and synthesis of knowledge, while developing their knowledge. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are required to achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure students’ level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. Students will also be awarded a final grade which signifies their overall achievement in the unit. The assessment strategy for this unit allows students to sequentially develop their knowledge and skills of organisational analysis to the point where they can work in a group and present their solution to a real-world business challenge. To develop this level of capability, students will demonstrate their knowledge of organisational analysis through engagement-led discussions and other activities focusing on the trends related to the unit, and then apply models and tools in analysing a case study problem and then apply their knowledge and understanding by collaboratively developing and presenting a solution in the final assessment task.  

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. 6th Edition. John Wiley & Sons.

Daft, R. L. (2020) Organization Theory and Design, 13th Edition, ISBN: 9781285866345. Cengage Learning.

Dal Molin, M. and Masella, C., 2016. Networks in policy, management and governance: a comparative literature review to stimulate future research avenues. Journal of Management & Governance, 20(4), pp.823-849.

Dobbs, M.E., 2014. Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates. Competitiveness Review, 24(1), pp.32-45.

Greenwood, R., Oliver, C., Lawrence, T.B. and Meyer, R.E. eds., 2017. The SAGE handbook of organizational institutionalism. SAGE.

Mitchell, B.C., Fredendall, L.D. and Cantrell, R.S., 2015. Using McKinsey’s 7 S Model to Empirically Examine Organizational Effectiveness among the NBA Teams. International Journal of Management and Human Resources, 3(1), pp.69-86.

Senge, P.M. (2014). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Crown Business.

Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S. and Jang, Y.S., 2015. Classics of organization theory. 8th Edition. Cengage Learning.

Thornton, P.H., Ocasio, W. and Lounsbury, M., 2015. The institutional logics perspective. John Wiley & Sons.