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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Organizational Analysis by Stanford University

4.6
stars
1,572 ratings

About the Course

In this introductory, self-paced course, you will learn multiple theories of organizational behavior and apply them to actual cases of organizational change. Organizations are groups whose members coordinate their behaviors in order to accomplish a shared goal. They can be found nearly everywhere in today’s society: universities, start-ups, classrooms, hospitals, non-profits, government bureaus, corporations, restaurants, grocery stores, and professional associations are some of many examples of organizations. Organizations are as varied and complex as they are ubiquitous: they differ in size and internal structure; they can entail a multiplicity of goals and tasks (some of which are planned and others unplanned!); they are made up of individuals whose goals and motivations may differ from those of the group; and they must interact with other organizations and deal with environmental constraints in order to be successful. This complexity frequently results in a myriad of problems for organizational participants and the organization’s survival. In this course, we will use organizational theories to systematically analyze how an organization operates and can best be managed. Organizational theories highlight certain features of an organization’s structure and environment, as well as its processes of negotiation, production, and change. Each provides a lens for interpreting novel organizational situations and developing a sense for how individual and group behaviors are organized. Theories are valuable for the analyst and manager because most organizational problems are unique to the circumstances and cannot be solved by simple rules of thumb. Armed with a toolset of organizational theories, you will be able to systematically identify important features of an organization and the events transforming it; choose a theoretical framework most applicable to the observed mode of organizing; and use that theory to determine which actions will best redirect the organization in desired directions. In sum, the course has three goals: to become familiar with a series of real-world organizational phenomena; to learn different theoretical perspectives that can elucidate these phenomena; and to apply these different ways of “seeing” and managing organizations to cases. In such a fashion, the course is designed to actively bridge theory and practice, exposing students to a variety of conceptual tools and ways to negotiate novel situations....

Top reviews

AA

Apr 29, 2020

This course provides in-depth analyses of a host of organizational theories and their application in real life. The dissection of each case and the applicability of the theories are really insightful.

AL

Sep 2, 2019

Very challenging yet worth it. If you are in an administrative position in an organization (especially education) you will get some great perspectives/understandings from this course. Take good notes!

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401 - 425 of 461 Reviews for Organizational Analysis

By Indah A T

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Nov 25, 2021

this is a great course, a little bit boring for the materials and presentations, but after all it's enchance your knowledge. glad to finished it

By Evan D

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Jan 30, 2022

Very informative but heavy on school examples. It's a great course I'd recommend to anyone interested in starting to learn about organizations.

By Vinod K M

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Dec 23, 2018

Excellent course, gives a broad view on how organizations are formed. Theories guidelines on how they could could be adapted to the VUCA world.

By BSt

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Aug 30, 2017

Very good course with many examples. I can recommend the course.

It is a bit long in comparison to other Coursera formats but worth the time!

By Neofytos K

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Sep 14, 2017

Very intersting course, presenting the theories for approaching and analyzing organizations and always providing appropriate case examples

By Hunter T

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Oct 11, 2023

Great and very informative. Though I am not sure if a learned the material completely or just retained answers for the quizzes and test.

By Marlene B

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Oct 11, 2020

Interesting course. It allows me to look at organizations from another point of view. Thanks for making this course avail for free.

By Sriram D

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Aug 5, 2020

I wish the course was dealt with in a simpler language rather than large words considering the international exposure to the course.

By Kenneth E D

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Aug 9, 2018

The course provides a great basic understanding of how to analyze an organization. It provides great tools for future analysis.

By Joris J S

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Dec 10, 2017

Very interesting to learn organizational theories. It will help to assess the effectiveness of your own organization.

By Prashanth M N

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Aug 13, 2017

A really good course for making sense of a lot of things that happen at a macro level in an organisation.

By Osama s

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Apr 23, 2020

Very useful course, but I received the certificate without the logo of Stanford University, why?

By Turgut Ç (

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Oct 26, 2020

The number of final exam questions is too many. Videos should not exceed 10 minutes.

By KARNAM S B

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Aug 16, 2020

Look forward to examples that are more related to the profit-making corporate world.

By shruthikallur

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Sep 29, 2017

Well structured course. Great materials and easy to follow teaching methodology

By CHIJIOKE N

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Aug 18, 2022

class was just too intense. maybe a little humour could have been helpful.

By shruti m

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Jul 2, 2020

A challenging course. However, it offers a lot of theoretical knowledge!

By Rajendra K

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Oct 19, 2022

The course should have included examples from corporate organizations.

By Victor E M A

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Jan 23, 2017

Very good theoretical basis to understand the reality of organizations.

By Amit J

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Jul 8, 2017

Great content and explanation. Thanks Professor and the academic team!

By Wilford J

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Aug 12, 2024

This course was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.

By Yousif

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Aug 16, 2022

very effecient and effective course with many cases and examples.

By Vikram

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Sep 9, 2022

Wonderful explanation with case studies by STANDFORD professors.

By Chandra S

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Feb 10, 2022

Very quality level assignment . No any cons factor for learning .