Business Administration

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Utrecht, 2014

Business

Administration

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Case study assessment

Supplement to Course Guide of Business Administration MPEN-BA-14

Course code MPEN-BA-14 Academic year 2014-2015 Content course

Term A and B Obligatory

Menno de Lind van Wijngaarden

Course site: https://cursussen.sharepoint.hu.nl/fem/24/MPEN-BA-14/default.aspx • _{Program leader Menno de Lind van Wijngaarden}

• _{Room 1.106, [email protected]} • _{August 2014}

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INTRODUCTION

This document describes the learning objectives, study load, didactics and assessments of the course Business Administration (hereafter BA) MPEN-BA-14. This document is used in addition to the course guide of BA to elaborate on the way this courses is assessed and the implications for students. It will give the student a better understanding why and how they will be assessed.

The assessment of the course BA is divided over two type of tests:

• Multiple Choice exam of chapter 1-5, 7-12 of Organizational Theory and Design (70%) • Case Assignments (30%) about chapters 1-5, 7-12 of Organizational Theory and Design and

with the use of business process software called Bizzdesigner. The following chapters will tell more about the assessments.

This course is using an educational model for testing, as depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Bloom’s taxonomy. A Classification of learning objectives as used by the educators of the Faculty of Economy and Management.

Testing in BA takes place in the 3 lower levels of Blooms taxonomy. The multiple choice exam is testing on the level of comprehension and knowledge of the theory of the book of Daft. There will be 60 MC questions with 4 answer categories. There will be 5 to 6 questions asked per chapter. The chapters of the book of Daft “Organizational Theory and Design’ that will be examined are chapter 1 to 5, and 7 to 12. In order to pass the MC exam (that is: to receive a 5.5 or higher) you need to have at least 38 questions answered correct. During the lectures practice exams will be held.

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4/11 The Case Assignments are testing on the level of comprehension and application of theory of the book of Daft and by means of Bizzdesigner. There is 1 case used from the book: the Kongstrup Machine Factory case at the end of chapter 5. The remaining part of the book is tested with the Kodak Case. The Kodak case is offered in a separate document on the BA SharePoint site. The business process perspective on organizations is taught by means of Bizzdesigner in the computer practices room and is practiced by using the Pizza Case and tested by the Hospital case. Both cases are offered on the BA SharePoint site.

LEARNING GOALS

LEARNING GOALS TO BE TESTED BY MC QUESTIONS:

Chapter 1.

• Describe what organizations are and what the importance of organizations is. • Describe the challenges of organizations in today’s world.

Chapter 2

• Describe the different perspectives on organizations, from a system and organizational configuration perspective.

• Explain how the different dimensions of organizational design influence organizations performance and effectiveness outcomes.

• Give an historical perspective on organizational theory and design.

Chapter 3.

• Outline the different type of goals that organizations pursue.

• Describe the relations between organizational goals and competitive strategies that managers use.

• Identify two strategic frameworks for strategic action. • Explain how strategy affects organizational design.

• Know different approaches for determining organizational effectiveness.

Chapter 4.

• State the basic concepts of organization structure .

• Outline how vertical and horizontal linkages can improve the information flow through organizations.

• Recognize the different basic organizational groupings.

• Identify the relation between the organizations situation and the structure. • Explain the consequences of structural alignment and deficiencies (between the

organizations situation and the structure).

Chapter 5.

• Identify the organizational domain and the sectors that influence the organization. • State the two major environmental forces on the organization.

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5/11 • Outline how organizations respond to the external forces, in terms of structural design,

planning systems and attempts to change and control elements in the environment.

Chapter 7.

• Describe the motivations of organizations to expand internationally. • Describe the stages of internationalization.

• Outline the use of strategic alliances as a means of internationalization.

• Indicate the specific challenges that global organizations face and how they address them. • Indicate how cultural differences influence the organization’s approach to designing and

managing a global firm.

• Describe the transnational model of organization, dragon multinationals, and the value chain concept.

Chapter 8.

• Outlying the classification of manufacturing firms.

• Describe flexible manufacturing systems and lean manufacturing.

• Describe the relation between flexible manufacturing technology and traditional technologies.

• Contrast the differences between manufacturing and service technologies. • Examine the role of core and non-core departmental technologies.

• Describe the relationship between department technology to structural and management characteristics.

Chapter 9.

• Describe the evolution of Information Technology in organizations. • Describe the different kinds of Information Systems.

• Describe the feedback control model.

• Outline how Information Systems are used for decision making.

• Explain how information technology affects organizational design and interorganizational relationships.

Chapter 10.

• Describe the difference and trade-off between being a large or small organization. • Explain the different stages of the organizational life cycle model and the organizational

characteristics that pertains the stages.

• Describe the dimensions of bureaucracy and outline the advantages of bureaucracy for rational decision making in organizations.

• Describe the difference between large and small organizations across various dimensions of bureaucratic structures.

• Describe the different organizational control strategies. • Describe the different causes of organizational decline.

• Explain the different stages of the model of organizational decline. • Outline the implementation of downsizing.

Chapter 11.

• Describe the nature and origins of organizational culture. • Describe the functions organizational culture serves.

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6/11 • Describe the relationships between the external environment, the strategy and

organizational culture.

• Describe the relationship between learning, performance and organizational culture. • Describe managerial ethics and social responsibility as part of strategy, formal and

informal policies.

• Discuss the influence of personal ethics, organizational systems, organizational culture and external stakeholders on decision making and behaviour.

• Explain how managers can use formal structures and systems to enhance corporate ethics.

Chapter 12.

• Explain the various forces driving the need for organizational change. • Describe the differences between incremental and radical change. • Describe the different strategic types of change.

• Describe the sequence of elements for a successful change and the coordinated efforts to create this change.

• Discuss the organizational structures and management approaches for facilitating the different type of changes.

• Discuss the management techniques for implementing change.

LEARNING GOALS TO BE TESTED BY CASE ASSIGNMENTS

Kongstrup Machine Factory Case

• Describe the different approaches in decision making process. • Apply the various concepts involved in international business.

• Comment on the design of an organization engaged in international business. Kodak Case

• Describe the Organizational Life Cycle of a firm with the appropriate models.

• Apply several concepts of organizational performance and organizational responses to changing environment.

• Understand the strategic role of change in response to a changing environment.

• Describe the sequence of elements for a successful change and the coordinated efforts to create this change.

Hospital Case (Bizzdesigner)

• Analyze and visualize business processes and activities and connect them in a flow chart. • Apply business process software (BizzDesign) in order to map a process and appoint the

different actors involved in the processes.

• Model the process to make improvements from a customer and organizational point of view.

• Link the theoretical concepts of organizational theory upon the improvements. • Recommend based upon the business process analysis and modeling.

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STUDY LOAD

In the course guide of Business Administration MPEN-BA-14 you can find the study load for students specified for the activities within the course. Here the total study load for the different forms of assessments are given.

The study load for the case study per student is 30% of 140 hours = 42 hours. This includes the reading of the chapter, contact time of lectures and the case. This is further specified in table 1 below:

TOETS 2 Case Studies (30%) Related study material Student hours assessment 2 Hospital case (Bizzdesigner) Chapter 7 and 8,

manual Bizzdesigner

14 4 Kongstrup Machine Factory

case

Chapter 1 to 5 10

7 Kodak case Chapter 1-5, 7 to 12 18

Total 42

Table 1 Study load for Case assessment.

The study load for the MC exam is 70% of 140 hours = 98 hours, as can be seen in table 2. This includes the reading of the chapters, the contact time of the lectures and exam preparation.

TOETS 1 (Multiple Choice Exam) (70%)

Student hours assessment 1 11 chapters of book; Chapter 1-5, 7

to 12 98 Total 98

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DIDACTICS

Each week there are 2 classes scheduled. Each class starts with a Kick-off lecture of 30 minutes, in which the lecturer briefly introduces the chapter and explains the assignment for that day. In the adjacent planned self-study time of 90 minutes, students will work on that assignment. Next to the self-study time there is a feedback session in which the lecturer receives from the students the result of the assignment of that day. In the Feedback class the theory of the book of Daft will be discussed. The lecturer will deal with the concepts, theories, and models described in the book. With weekly homework assignments the study progress of the students will be monitored. The students are provided feedback on their homework and will be able to improve their efforts in the remaining homework assignments.

Homework can consist of:

• Bringing relevant news items to class and analyze and discuss them in the group. The goal is to find examples of concepts and theories in practice.

• Answering end-of-chapter questions. The student writes down the answer and brings it to class. In class feedback is provided by the lecturer and the answers are discussed in the group. The goal is to check the study progress and to create understanding of the theories.

• Preparing a short presentation. The lecturer can give a topic for a pair of students to present to the group. In class the presentation is given to the group and questions are asked to the presenting team. The goals is to demonstrate the understanding of the theories.

The lecturer will test the study progress of the students by means of test MC exams. The MC tests are made in class and the answers are discussed in class. The goal is to check the study progress of the students, provide feedback on which topics to study further and to gain insight in MC testing.

In two computer practices classes the students will work with Bizzdesigner. On the basis of text cases the students will be mapping out business processes. The students will receive instructions in class on Bizzdesigner and on how to make the assignments. The lecturer will instruct, supervise and support students working with Bizzdesigner. The goal of the computer practices is to gain hands on experience with business process software as used in the professional environment. Students will be able to visualize and analyze business processes and get insight in the customer/client perspective, and the organizational perspective on business processes.

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TOETS 2 CASE STUDIES ASSESSMENTS

For the grading of the final marking a weighted average will be used, as defined in table 3 below:

Assessment Weight Mark

1 Hospital case 30 % 1 to 10

2 Kongstrup Machine Factory case 30 % 1 to 10

3 Kodak case 40 % 1 to 10

Weighted average = Final Mark for the TOETS 2 (Case Studies) 30% part,

minimal final mark should be 5.5 or higher in order to Pass.

Table 3. Weight per Case study as percentage of the total Assessment mark.

Resit for TOETS 2 Case Studies

The resit assessments are done individually. Minimum final mark is a 5.5 Resit opportunity is only possible with proper exam registration in Osiris for the next term. The resit consist of making a case study that includes the learning objectives of the 3 case studies of the BA course.

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DEADLINES CASE ASSIGNMENTS

Below in table 4 you can find an overview of the schedule when the assignments need to be

handed in. The Case assignments are handed in at the start of the class, printed out, with a proper cover page. Late assignments are not accepted by the teacher and lead automatically to a 1 mark.

Week Topic Chapter Assessment

wk 1.1 Introduction to organizations Chapter 1

wk 1.2 Business Processes Bizzdesign

wk 2.1 Pizza case Business Process Bizzdesign

wk 2.2 Hospital Case Business Process Bizzdesign Hand in Case 1

Hospital case wk 3.1 Perspectives on organizations Chapter 2

wk 3.2 Strategy, organization design and _{effectiveness} Chapter 3

wk 4.1 Fundamentals of organization _structure Chapter 4

Wk 4.2 The external environment Chapter 5

wk 5.1 Designing organizations for the _{international environment} Chapter 7

Hand in Case 2 Kongstrup Machine Factory wk 5.2 Manufacturing and service _technologies Chapter 8

wk 6.1 Information Technology and _control Chapter 9

wk 6.2 Organizational Life Cycle and

decline Chapter 10

wk 7.1 Organizational Culture and Ethical

Values Chapter 11

wk 7.2 Innovation and Change Chapter 12 Hand in Case 3

Kodak Case Exam

week

Book “Organizational Theory and design” 2nd_{edition, by R.L. Daft et}

al.

Chapter 1-5, 7-12

MC exam, see for exact date and time exam roster after week 5

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MATERIALS AND REQUIRED LITERATURE

On SharePoint all materials will be offered expect for the required book: Title: Organization Theory and Design

Authors Richard L. Daft, Jonathan Murphy, Hugh Willmott

ISBN: 978-1-4080-7237-0 Edition: 2nd Publisher: South-Western Cengage learning Title: Bizzdesigner assignments (on sharepoint)