02532 - Comparative Analysis of Organisations

Learning outcomes

this course offers a set of concepts and methods per the comparative analysis of organizations and institutions at an advanced level. the teaching focuses on
problems of organizational coordination and symbolic governance in complex societies, and on the great variety of organizational and institutional forms in which
such problems can be approached - markets, bureaucracies, clans, communities, networks. methods and concepts are based on economic analysis, specifically on
the notion of transaction costs, on neo-institutional analysis, and on the interpretive analysis of culture. at the end of the course the students should have developed
knowledge useful to identify the characteristics of corporate and public organizations, their role in the economic, social and political environment, and should have
acquired the capability of making a comparative analysis of organizational structures and processes.
please note: theory of organization 1 (foundations) and theory of organizations 2 (advanced course) are propedeutic to this course.

Course contents

the course is divided in two teaching modules, respectively for 6 and 3 credits. the first module illustrates and discusses the main mechanisms of organizational
coordination using transaction costs economics. the second module deals with the neo-institutional analysis of organizations and some interpretive methods from
sociology and anthropology. the last week is dedicated to the implications of the internet for organizations and organizing.

first module (6 credit)

1. the problems of coordination and governance in complex societies: institutions and organizations; rules and actors; exchange perspectives and institutional
perspectives the society of organizations (perrow). organizations as mechanisms for economic coordination. transactions and transaction costs. why there is so
much variety of organizations?
2. where do transaction costs come from? human and environmental factors. uncertainty and small numbers. bounded rationality and opportunism.
information asymmetry and adverse selection. moral hazard. the organizational failures framework. case studies. exercises.
3. forms of governance and their main characteristics. markets, hierarchies, clans, networks.
4. the critical characteristics of transactions. uncertainty, frequency and specificity. spatial specificity, specificity of physical resources and of human resources. make
or buy decisions: the problem of efficient boundaries. employment contracts. governing human resources. exercises.
5. authority and agency. agency theory. more on bureaucracy. applications to the public sector. corrupton. loyalty and merit. case studies.
6. the role of trust in organizations. clan, community, peer group. norms, rules, and values. more on trust in society.

second module (3 credit)
7. the institutional analysis of organizations. organizations and institutions. organizational structure as myth and ceremony. isomorphism. the notion of organizational
field.
8. organizations as symbolic entities. identity, culture and meaning. reputation. myths, rituals, and ceremonies.
9. symbolic management. symbolic governance (geertz). the symbolic representation of power. centres, kings, and charisma. the negara.
10. networks as form of coordination. internet and virtual organizations. the case of open source software development projects. financial markets. terrorist societies.
wrap up of the course and conclusion.

Readings/Bibliography

Readings ( two packages to be purchased at the Copy shop in Via Broccaindosso)

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: readings may be subject to variations. Some readings are available in English: if you need it, please ask the teacher.

FIRST MODULE ( 6 weeks, 36 hours)

1) Douglas North, Istituzioni e cambiamento istituzionale: aspetti introduttivi, cap. 1 da Istituzioni, cambiamento istituzionale, evoluzione dell'economia, Bologna, 1994.
2) Douglas North, Una teoria dello scambio fondata sui costi di transazione, cap. 4,  ibidem.
3) Martin Ricketts, I costi di transazione, da Giorgio Brosio (a cura di), La teoria economica dell'organizzazione, 1989.
4) Giorgio Brosio, La scelta tra il mercato e l'organizzazione (l'impresa),, cap. 2 da Introduzione all'economia dell'organizzazione, 1995.
5) Oliver Williamson, Mercati e gerarchie
6) Oliver Williamson, L'economia dell'organizzazione: il modello dei costi di transazione
7) Jay Barney e William Ouchi, Costi delle informazioni e strutture economiche di governo delle transazioni
8) William Ouchi, Uno schema per comprendere il fallimento dell'organizzazione
9) William Ouchi, La progettazione dei meccanismi di controllo organizzativo
10) Robert Eccles, Le quasi-organizzazioni nel settore edilizio
11)  Anna Grandori, Autorità e agenzia, cap. 5 di Organizzazione e comportamento economico., 1999.
12) Terry Moe, La nuova economia dell'organizzzazione (soprattutto dal § 3 in poi)
13)  Giorgio Brosio, Due problemi tipici delle organizzazioni. La corruzione. Merito o lealtà nel governo delle carriere?, cap. 9 da Introduzione all'economia dell'organizzazione, 1995.
14)  STUDIO DI CASO - Un caso classico di integrazione verticale: General Motors contro Fisher Body
15) STUDIO DI CASO - Una riprova storica della teoria: la scelta tra eserciti mercenary ed eserciti nazionali
16)  Alberto Mutti, Fiducia
17) Luis Roniger, La fiducia nelle società moderne


SECOND MODULE  (3 weeks, 18 hours)

18) John Meyer e B. Rowan, Le organizzazioni istituzionalizzate: la struttura formale come mito e cerimonia, 1977.

19) Paul DiMaggio e Walter Powell, La gabbia di ferro rivisitata. Isomorfismo istituzionale e razionalità collettiva nei campi organizzativi
20) Per-Olof Berg e Pasquale Gagliardi, Immagini dell'impresa: lo studio del rapporto tra l'organizzazione e il suo ambiente in una prospettiva simbolica
21) Giovan Francesco Lanzara, La strategia del panda: come il WWF costruisce il proprio ambiente
22) Harrison Trice e Janice Beyer, Riti e cerimoniali: strumenti per lo studio delle culture organizzative
23) Clifford Geertz, Centri, re e carisma: riflessioni sul simbolismo del potere, da Antropologia interpretative.
24) Giovan Francesco Lanzara e Michèle Morner, Artifacts Rule! How Organizing Happens in Open Source Software Projects
25)  Don Tapscott e Anthony Williams, Wikinomics, How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
26)  IL CASO WIKIPEDIA, Harvard Business School
27) Karen Knorr-Cetina, Terrorists Societies

Teaching methods

standard lectures. interactive lectures. exercises in class and home assignments.

Class attendance is strongly recommended

Assessment methods

two tests valid for exam. first test at the end of the first module (6 credits). second test at the end of the course (3 credits). the test consist in 5 or 6 questions
on the contents of the course.
For the registration of the final score both tests wil have to be over a score of 18/30. Students who fail the written tests will take an oral examination.

Teaching tools

balck board with white chalk or flap paper with markers. overhead projector. powerpoint. summaries of lectures. case studies in class and home assignments.

Links to further information

http://www.spbo.unibo.it/pais/lanzara

Office hours

See the website of Giovan Francesco Lanzara