Welcome to our course, Managing the Organization:
From Organizational Design to Execution.
My name is Mike Bednar,
and for over a decade,
I've been a faculty member at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois.
I teach classes about management in organizations,
and I do research on topics related to corporate governance and executive leadership.
This course is the second class of
a two course sequence on designing and managing the organization.
In the first course, we focused on designing
the organization in a way that fits with organizational strategies.
We discussed the need for managers to understand the number of
internal and external contingencies
that should influence the design choices that we make.
We learned some basic principles of organizational design,
including ideas around differentiation and integration.
In the second class, we'll talk about what we do
once we have an organizational design in place.
We'll talk about some of the factors that help us better manage that design,
and that can ultimately lead to better execution and value creation.
In the first module of this course,
we'll talk about the organizational life cycle and the importance of change.
Organizations go through a series of
fairly predictable stages in understanding what those stages are and
the different challenges faced by managers throughout
the life cycle should help you better execute the organization strategy.
In module two, we'll talk about structuring
the decision-making process in an organization.
We'll learn about some common decision-making biases and explore
some ways that organizations can reduce the effects of those biases.
In module three, we'll discuss organizational culture and look at some ways that
managers can help to shape culture to different human resource practices.
In the last module, we'll talk about managing the succession process,
so that the organization has the pipeline of
managerial talent to make continued success possible.
For each module, you'll see a brief introductory video by me,
followed by a video lecture from my former colleague Huseyin Leblebici.
Hussein was a dear friend of mine and a well-respected scholar with deep knowledge
about organizations and the problems that managers encounter in organizational life.
It's a great opportunity to be able to learn from
such an accomplished and thoughtful professor.
Each module will have a set of readings that you should pay attention to.
At the end of each module,
there will be a couple of assessment tools
to see how you're doing and understanding the content
that's being presented There'll be a graded quiz on the material and occasionally,
I'll ask you to write a reflection essay where you
have a chance to apply the material to your own life.
I invite you to learn the material that will be presented.
But more importantly, I urge you to look for ways to apply what you're learning to better
understand and manage the organizations that you are a part of. Welcome to the course.