Designing an organization to meet current and future challenges is a central issue for managers. Oftentimes, they have to initiate changes in corporate strategy to adapt to external changes, and, as a consequence, realign organizational dimensions. This course addresses how firms should be organized to achieve their strategic objectives. It addresses the links between corporate strategy and organizational structure, processes, and people, thus focusing on the dimensions determine an organization’s design. This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge base for understanding and analyzing organizational and strategic challenges, including topics such as strategic decision making, strategic change, organizational redesign, designing successful organizations, and developing and retaining key talent.

The course uses a problem-based learning approach that emphasizes application and practice, primarily by the use of cases (by Harvard Business School Publishing) that describe real-life challenges of different types of firms. Key concepts learned in previous courses of the SBWL „Strategy & Organization“ will be applied throughout this course. The course is designed to be highly interactive and is held in English.

Case study discussions and presentations will train students’ analytic thinking and problem solving abilities as well as their teamwork, communication, and presentation skills.

The course is relevant for students interested in general management, strategic management, corporate development, management consulting, academia, and executive staffing and development.

Students will learn to analyze and develop solutions for different strategic and organizational challenges. They will apply different analytical approaches and theoretical perspectives and learn to combine adequate tools and frameworks to understand organizational dimensions and linkages. It therefore integrates many issues that students have to handle in their prospective managerial jobs.

After completing this course students will have the ability to:

• Deal with concepts and theories in organization design, strategic management,  and change management
• Analyze and critically evaluate central strategic decisions and organizational implications
• Deal with theoretical frameworks in the area of strategy and organization
• Analyze various aspects and challenges of strategy and organization in practice

Apart from that, completing this course will contribute to students' ability to:

• Efficiently work and communicate in a team
• Learn to translate their insights to practical problems
• Work on solutions for real-life case studies
• Improve their oral and written communication and presentation skills

Learn to give and receive constructive feedback

Attendance at all sessions is mandatory. A minimum of 50% of all classes (including coaching sessions) has to be attended to pass the course.

The course combines various learning methods such as short lectures, readings, team work based on student case study analysis and presentations in class, as well as instructor-led discussions.

The final grade of the course will depend on:

• Pre-Assignment: 5%
• Team assignment and presentation: 50%
• Student Team report: 25%
• Oral Participation: 20 %

WU Students who wish to take the course have to have passed the courses 1, 2, and 3 of the SBWL “Strategy and Organization” before enrollment in this course. Incoming students are recommended to have foundational knowledge about strategic and organizational issues.