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Organizations Theory, Structure and Design

By Prof. Usha Lenka   |   IIT Roorkee
Learners enrolled: 53
ABOUT THE COURSE:

In a dynamic environment, organizations have emerged with unique designs and structures. These organizations adopt new business models, strategies and methods to be competitive and sustainable. Therefore, it is important to understand the nature of these organizations and their behavior, so that they can be responsive to environment, society, and contribute to economic growth and address stakeholder’s interest. The course provides a fundamental understanding of the Organizational Theory, Design, and Structure to draw lessons from traditional and contemporary literature to have a deeper understanding about the organizations.This course provides a comprehensive understanding of how organizations function, evolve, and adapt through the lenses of theory, structure, and design. It provides learners with conceptual and analytical tools to critically examine organizational dynamics, effectiveness, structure, strategy, technology, environment, power, and culture.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: All Graduates/Post Graduates/PhD

PREREQUISITES: Any graduate can opt for this course.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: All companies, irrespective of their industry, would value this course.
Summary
Course Status : Upcoming
Course Type : Core
Language for course content : English
Duration : 8 weeks
Category :
  • Management Studies
Credit Points : 2
Level : Postgraduate
Start Date : 16 Feb 2026
End Date : 10 Apr 2026
Enrollment Ends : 16 Feb 2026
Exam Registration Ends : 27 Feb 2026
Exam Date : 25 Apr 2026 IST
NCrF Level   : 4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.


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Course layout

Week 1:  Introduction: What is Organization
An Overview: Fundamental definitions of: Organization, Organizational Structure, Organizational Design, Why study organization theory, The biological metaphor, Systems perspective, Life cycle perspective;
The Evolution of Organization Theory: Organizational Effectiveness, Dimensions of Organization Structure. Developing a framework, Early contributors of Management Theory: Type 1 theorists: Fredrick Taylor and Scientific Management, Henri Fayol and Principles of Organization, Max Weber and Bureaucracy, Rational Planning Type 2 theorists: Elton Mayo and Hawthorne Studies, Chester Barnard and Cooperative Systems, Douglas McGregor, Theory X and Y; Type 3 theorists, Herbert Simon and Principles Backlash, Katz and Kahn’s Environmental perspective, Type 4 theorists: March and Simon’s Cognitive Limits to Rationality, Pfeffer’s Organizations as Political Arena

Week 2: Introduction:
Organizational Effectiveness (Importance of organizational effectiveness, The goal-attainment approach, The systems approach, The strategic-constituencies approach, The competing-values approach, Comparing the four approaches); Dimensions of Organization Structure (Complexity, Formalization); Why Formalization is important?

Week 3: The Determinants: What Causes Structure
Strategy (What is strategy, types of strategy, Classifying strategic dimensions, Chandler’s strategy-structure thesis, Contemporary strategy-structure theory, Limitations to the strategy imperative, Could strategy follow structure, The industry-structure relationship); Organization Size (Defining organization size, Advocates and critics of the size imperative, Special issues relating to size)

Week 4: The Determinants: What Causes Structure (contd.)
Technology (Influence of industry and size, The common denominator: Routineness, Work-unit level versus organizational level, Manufacturing versus service technologies, Technology and structure); Environment (Defining environment and environmental uncertainty, The environmental imperative, Environment-structure relationship); Power-Control (Strategic choice, Synthesizing power control view, Implications based on the power-control view)

Week 5: Organizational Design: Choosing the Right Structural Form
Organizational Design Options (Case for standard configurations, Common elements in organizations, Simple structure, Machine bureaucracy, Divisional structure, Adhocracy); Bureaucracy: A Closer Look (Weber’s bureaucracy, dysfunctional consequences of bureaucracy)

Week 6: Organizational Design: Choosing the Right Structural Form (contd.)
Bureaucracy: A Closer Look – contd. (Is bureaucracy a structural dinosaur?, Bureaucracies are everywhere); Adhocracy: A Closer Look (The matrix, Theory Z, Collateral form, Network structure, Other examples of adhocracy)

Week 7: Applications: Contemporary Issues In Organization Theory
Managing the Environment (Management’s quest to control its environment, Internal strategies, External strategies, Guidelines for managing the environment);
Managing Organizational Change (Planned change and structural change, A model for managing organizational change, The innovating organization, Descriptive view of organizational change); Managing Organizational Conflict (Defining conflict, Conflict and organizational effectiveness, Sources of organizational conflict)

Week 8: Applications: Contemporary Issues In Organization Theory (contd.)
Managing Organizational Conflict – contd.
(Resolution techniques, Stimulation techniques); Managing Organizational Culture (Defining organizational culture, Culture and organizational effectiveness, Culture: A substitute for formalization?, Creating, sustaining and transmitting culture, When cultures collide: mergers and acquisitions, Are cultures manageable?); Managing Organizational Evolution (Managing organizational growth and organizational decline)

Books and references

1. Organization Theory: Structure, Design and Applications by Stephen P. Robbins, Prentice Hall.
2. Organizational Theory- Gareth Jones
3. Organizational theory, Design and Change by Gareth R. Jones, Pearson Hall.
4. Organization Structure and Design- Mirza Saiyadain & Poornima Gupta
5. Organization Theory- Stephen Robbins
6. Organizations- structures, processes & outcomesRichard H. Hall 2
7. The Economics of Organizational Design: Theoretical Insights and Empirical evidence by Massimo G. Colombo and Marco Delmastro, Palgrave Macmillan.
8. The Modern Firm: Organizational Design for Performance and Growth by John Roberts, Oxford University Press.
9. Understanding the theory & design of organizations- Richard L Daft
10. Schein, E. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership

Instructor bio

Prof. Usha Lenka

IIT Roorkee
Dr.Usha Lenka is a Professor in the Department of Management Studies, IIT Rookee. She joined the Department in December 2010. Prior to that she worked as an Assistant Professor in Management Department of BITS Pilani. She has done PhD from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Her areas of specialization is Human Resource Management, and she teaches subjects like Management of Change, Organizational Development, Knowledge Management, Training and Talent Development, Human Resource Analytics, Managerial Communication, Organizational Communication, Management Concepts and Practices. She has taught courses to both MBA and Executive MBA students, and delivered lectures at the IIM Kozhikode, Shillong, and Raipur. Apart from this, she has been an eminent researcher, consultant, and trainer for Senior Executives of Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.
The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).
Date and Time of Exams: April 25, 2026 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.
Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 6 assignments out of the total 8 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Roorkee. It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team
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