Organizational Understanding (E-TOL130)

Content

The purpose of the course is to give students an introduction to key concepts, theories, models and perspectives about organizations, especially in relation to Norwegian Customs and cooperating actors. The course will be based on the importance of organizations' normative structures, organizational culture and organizational processes to understand and be able to influence the functioning of organizations. An important aim of the course is to reflect on theories of public organizations and their role in society as Norwegian Customs' organization and social mission. The pedagogical angle of the learning material is threefold; Emphasis is placed on theory, frameworks and models, as well as problem-oriented and experiential learning. Students are thus challenged to actively use the experience they bring with them into their studies.

Learning outcome

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

After completing the course, students should have knowledge of:

• theory related to goals and strategy in the organization, as well as organizational structure
• theory related to organizational culture
• organizational processes in the public sector, including decision-making and HR processes, change processes in organizations
• theory related to leadership and management, including theories of leadership style, leadership roles, as well as managers' personality traits and skills
• theory related to power and conflict, how ethical dilemmas can affect individual performance and organizational behavior
• theories related to communication including, among others, communication channels, effective communication, communication and structure
• teamwork, including collaboration in project and team
• motivation and performance
• key organizational psychological theories, including how work environment factors affect motivation, attitudes, job performance, job satisfaction

Skills

• After completing the course, the students should be able to:
• apply relevant theories and models to reflect on their own organization and role
• apply different theories to analyze how organizations work
• apply relevant theory to analyze organizational challenges
• apply theories and perspectives to analyze organizational structure and culture as well as goals, strategy and power relations, and how these affect the effectiveness of organizations
• have an understanding of public organizations and governmental organizations

General Competence

After completing the course, students should have general competence in:

• the functioning of organisations and how organisations should function

Required prerequisite knowledge

Vocational path (Etatsutdanning)

Exam

Coursework requirements

Prosjektoppgave (gruppearbeid)

The project assignment, 5 weeks, approved/not approved, all aids allowed. The project assignment is carried out as a group work and must be approved in order to take the exam.

Course teacher(s)

Course coordinator:

Olena Mykolajivna Koval

Method of work

Lectures, guest lectures, group work and group presentations

Open for

Course assessment

There must be an early dialogue between the course supervisor, the student union representative and the students. The purpose is feedback from the students for changes and adjustments in the course for the current semester.In addition, a digital subject evaluation must be carried out at least every three years. Its purpose is to gather the students experiences with the course.

Literature