International Organizational Systems, Theory and Leadership

ORG LP803 - International Organizational Systems, Theory and Leadership

Credits: 3

All organizations operate on a global scale first hand or through key stakeholder networks.  Leaders in dynamic, global firms face tensions, dilemmas, and challenges of plurality, diversity, indeterminacy, and fragmentation.  International Organization Theory (IOT) allows leaders and OD practitioners to analyze, design, and intervene in organizations and systems coping with rapid change, greater complexity, and globalization by examining IOT models such as the Tensegrity Mandala model. In this course, we will take a multi-lens approach to diverse and global organizations – what they are, how they function, and why they operate the way they do so that we may become more effective change agents/interventionists and leaders in these systems.  We will consider classic to post-modern theories about several core IOT interfaces ranging from organization-market relations to organizational culture.  We will consider these topics separately and how they interrelate through levers like change, innovation, learning, and organizational identity.  Students will practice applying an understanding of theory using experience, imagination, and critical thinking to analyze challenging questions presented in case studies and real company issues.  The mixed format of the class will include lectures and discussions, case analyses, group work, and other experiential activities.