PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY

THE GEORGE L. GRAZIADIO

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

MSOD 617

FOUNDATIONS of LARGE SYSTEMS and OD

(2 units)

FALL, 2017
COURSE DATES: OCTOBER 23RD TO DECEMBER 22ND, 2017

DR. GARY MANGIOFICO

gary.mangiofico@pepperdine.edu
c 949.351.3700

SYLLABUS
 MSOD 617 - FOUNDATIONS LARGE SYSTEMS and OD

Course Schedule: October 23rd – December 22nd, 2017

Dr. Gary Mangiofico, Executive Professor of Leadership and Management (949)351-
3700 (cell) or (310)568-5598; gary.mangiofico@pepperdine.edu

Introduction

This Foundations course in the MSOD program is designed to equip students to

help understand and work within large and complex systems. Based on
concepts and frameworks from prior coursework, this course builds on students'
learning about the practice issues associated with managing strategic and
large-scale systems change. The over-arching goal of this foundations course is
to expose students to the broad range of concepts, frameworks, and theories
that guide the assessment, design, development, and change of large-scale
systems in large organizations.

Foundation courses are delivered in a blended learning modality by utilizing a

wide array of technologies to assist students in:
● Preparing for upcoming Sessions and/or Practicums in the study and/or
review of course readings, lectures, discussions and activities;
● Demonstrating mastery of course content and conceptual materials
related to upcoming Sessions and/or Practicums;

The five Foundations courses embedded in the MSOD program link face-to-face
Practicum and Intensive sessions within a seamless blended delivery that
provides continuity in student learning, reflection, application and assessment.

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to introduce assessment concepts and theories

related to Strategy and Large Systems. To achieve high performance, an
organization's strategic orientation – its strategies, structures, and processes –
must be designed to support each other and to align appropriately into its
environmental context. The focus of this course is on the systemic, normative,
and assessment considerations associated with environmental scanning and
changing an organization's strategic orientation. Building on the open systems
perspective introduced in earlier courses, this course extends the
understanding of the relationships among organization environments, strategy,
organization design, groups, technology, and culture and effectiveness.
Students are expected to reflect on their performance and learning in
Practicum 1 as a contribution to their point of view portfolio, integrate those
learnings in the frameworks explored in this course, and mobilize for class and
field assignments in Practicum 2.
Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will:

1. Be familiar with classic and contemporary theories and frameworks of
Open Systems Theory and environmental analysis, and their application;
2. Understand the importance of effective alignment of environmental
scanning, strategy, and organization design
3. Understand the strategic importance of organizational capabilities in
enabling the development and implementation of strategic change.

Assigned Course Readings (note: the articles below are available in or via the
“Assigned Course Readings” folder under “Resources” in Sakai):

1. Cummings, T. and C. Worley (2014). Organizational Development and

Change (10th Edition) Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern College Publishing:
Read chapters 11 & 12.

2. Eisenhardt, K. and J. Martin. (2000). “Dynamic Capabilities: What Are

They?” Strategic Management Journal 21: 1105-1121.

3. Felin, T. & Powell, T. (2016). Designing Organizations for Dynamic

Capabilities. California Management Review. 58, 4, 78-96.

4. Lawler III, E. E., & Worley, C. (2011). Management Reset: Organizing for
sustainable effectiveness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

5. Teece, D., Peteraf, M., & Leih, S. (2016). Dynamic Capabilities and
Organizational Agility: Risk, uncertainty, and strategy in the innovation
economy. California Management Review, 58, 4, 13-35.

6. Winter, S. (2003). “Understanding Dynamic Capabilities,” Strategic

Management Journal 24 (3): 991-996

Webinars:

MSOD 617 Kick Off webinar: Wednesday 10/18/2017 @ 12noon (Pacific Time)

MSOD 617 Systems-Contingency Theory Webinar: Wednesday November 1, 2017

@ 12noon (Pacific Time)
MSOD 618 Kick Off webinar: Wednesday 12/13/2017 @ 12noon (Pacific Time)

MSOD 618 Office Hours re: Complexity Theory Readings Wednesday January 3,
2018 @ 12noon (Pacific Time)
Assignment: Dynamic Capabilities

This assignment is to further and demonstrate your understanding of Dynamic

Capabilities and the impact they have on Organization functioning and
competitiveness. This is assignment is done in pairs, please self-organize by
finding a partner to work with.

First: Watch the Organization Dynamic video by David Teece on

YouTube starting at minute 27:44; this is a recording of a presentation
he did. Cut and paste the following in your browser to easily find the
video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6t5t9dnUF8

Second: Complete reading assignments #2-6 above and develop an

understanding of dynamic capabilities.

Third: Identify a senior executive to interview with regard to a dynamic

capability in their organization that was used in response to changes in their
environment. Use the following definition of a dynamic capability by David
Teece, Gary Pisano and Amy Shuen, in their 1997 paper Dynamic Capabilities
and Strategic Management, as

"the firm’s ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and

external competences to address rapidly changing environments"

Your interview should include at a minimum, but is not limited to, the
following three questions:
1. What capability was needed to change in order for the organization to
respond to changes in the external environment?
2. How did the change evolve and get implemented?
3. What are the benefits being seen in the organization now as a result of
this?
Note: You’re trying to discover “the story” of how they determined to change
(external environment and internal capability) and what they did about it.

Paper Requirements:
Using the APA format; provide a summary of your findings from the
interview, along with any other useful information/background to
articulate the dynamic capability discussed. (2 pages).

Note: This will require an organization of some scale and/or an industry

with a rapidly changing environment to fit the definition criteria, so
choose your interviewee accordingly.
Assignment Organizational Analysis:
Before launching in to OD interventions, an exceptional practitioner is able to
understand the context of the organization and its ecosystems. This is
particularly true for intervening in Large Scale Systems. This assignment is a
collaborative organizational analysis effort that provides a framework for doing
a rudimentary assessment to understand organization from an Open System/
Contingency theory perspective. The assignment is to be completed by groups
of 5-6 people as assigned.

First: View Systems Theory of Organization video by Organization

Communication Channel on You Tube for a refresher on systems theory.
Cut and paste the following in your browser to easily find the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L1c-EKOY-w

Second: Review the power-point presentation I shared during Intensive 3

on Systems Theory and Organization Design describing elements of OST.

Review the Organization Sphere Diagram.

Note: please view prior to webinar hours on Open Systems/ Contingency

Theory.

Third: Attend the webinar on Open Systems/ Contingency Theory (OST)

scheduled for November 1, 2017 (you are welcome to attend in person at
the WLA campus if you are able). Notice for webinar to come from
Program Office.

Based on your understanding of OST, Organization Design, and the concept of

internal organization alignment with the environment: Identify an organization
that one of the team members works for to study (If this is a large
organization, then you may want to use a subunit to make this project
manageable):

Assess the organization according to the OST perspective that includes

alignment between the business environment and the design components of the
organization or unit (you can also refer to what you learned from Dr. Worley
during Practicum 1 on strategy); include the following:

 Assessment of the Mission, Vision, Strategy, and Goals and their

alignment with the external environment;

 How does the type of structure (consider such things as customer,

geographic and/or product orientations); team utilization; centralization
 vs. decentralization, corporate role, size, and type of control employed
support the Mission, Vision, Strategy, and goals?
 Pick one to two major processes in a functional area and assess how do
the processes (businesses; HR compensation, career, talent, etc.; IT;
Marketing & Communications; Operations; etc.) support and empower
accomplishment of the goals and performance of the organization?

 How does the Leadership style and use of power enable performance?

 How does the culture support overall performance and is it conducive

the findings above?

Paper Requirements:
Using the APA format; provide an overview of the company describing the
organization’s mission, vision, strategy, and goals along with any other useful
information/background to establish the context of the organization; and
briefly identify the stakeholders and employees of the organization or unit (1-2
pages)
Analysis of Alignment – Contingency Analysis (5-6 pages)
▪ Analysis findings to (a) determine the degree to which your
organization’s sub-systems (the one to two processes picked for analysis)
are a fit/misfit with its Mission, Vision, Strategy, and Goals based on
external environmental factors.
▪ What data sources is the team using for this assessment, e.g. survey,
interviews, financial data, etc.
▪ Based on your assessment, discuss the following:
o What is the organization’s strategy/ strategic stance?
o What are the organization’s strengths and core
capabilities based on your analysis findings concerning
alignment of organizational sub-systems/ processes?
o What are the organizational change needs based on your
analysis findings concerning misfit of organizational sub-
systems?

Organizational Change Proposal (1-2 pp.)

▪ Develop a set of recommendations based on your overall findings on
how the organization could enhance its strengths and overcome its
challenges to improve organizational functioning and enhance fit with the
external environment. Be specific about how these changes would help
meet the challenges facing the organization and enhance its strengths.
Link back to your Analysis by identifying how each recommendation
would bring the organization into better alignment to enhance its
effectiveness. Ensure that your recommendations explicitly identify
organization design elements (e.g., structure [formal/informal],
 recruitment/selection/placement, training and development,
measurement [task accomplishment & performance assessment],
rewards, scanning practices, etc.).

Please note: the maximum page limit of 10 pages will be strictly enforced. The
paper should communicate the result of your analysis and how you got there,
the really important stuff. This paper will be assessed with high expectations
and standards. If you want to maximize your learning, please don’t spend time
and effort restating the content of the articles or generalities we already
know. I’m looking for clear analysis, assessment, and application of the
concepts, frameworks and insights presented within the assigned readings, not
just description or regurgitation.

Post a PDF document to the Sakai site under Assignments for your group AND
email a WORD copy to gary.mangiofico@pepperdine.edu no later than
midnight pacific time on December 8th.

Week of December 14th. Groups will be assigned to review another group’s

paper (i.e. group A reads group B, group B reads group C, etc.) and then each
individual member provides comments based on your review no later than
midnight December 22nd.
Grading & Measuring Achievement

The grade for this course is Pass/No Pass. A passing grade is given for
satisfactory (B level) performance on written assignments and field/project
work. In addition, students are expected to attend all sessions, be an active
contributor to others' learning, and participate in experiential and other
applied projects.

University and School Policies

This course may require electronic submission of your papers (not your
individual projects) through Turnitin http://www.turnitin.com. Turnitin is an
online originality verification service that conducts textual similarity reviews of
submitted papers. When papers are submitted to Turnitin, the service will
retain a copy of the submitted work in the Turnitin database for the sole
purpose of verifying the originality of future submitted works. Students retain
copyright on their original course work. The use of Turnitin is subject to the
Terms of Use agreement posted on the www.turnitin.com website. You may
request, in writing, to not have your papers submitted through Turnitin. If you
choose to opt-out of the Turnitin submission process, you will need to provide
additional research documentation and attach additional materials to help the
instructor verify the originality of your work.

The University expects from all of its students and employees the highest
standard of moral and ethical behavior in harmony with its Christian philosophy
and purposes. Students are expected to respect order, morality, personal
honor, and the rights and property of others at all times. Improper conduct for
which students will be subject to discipline includes dishonesty in any form,
plagiarism, and behavior that is disruptive of the learning environment. Please
remember that failing to provide full acknowledgement and citations for the
words, ideas, images of another is plagiarism, and contravenes University
and School policies. Citations must be provided for direct quotes and
paraphrasing. Full details on the University policies on conduct can be found in
the ”Conduct” section of the Graziadio School academic catalog at
http://catalog.bschool.pepperdine.edu/.

Assistance for Students with Disabilities

The Disability Services Office (DSO) offers a variety of services and
accommodations to students with disabilities based on appropriate
documentation, nature of disability, and academic need. In order to initiate
services, students should meet with the Director of the DSO at the beginning of
the semester to discuss reasonable accommodation. If a student does not
request accommodation or provide documentation, the faculty member is
under no obligation to provide accommodations. You may contact the Director
of Disability Services at (310) 506-6500. For further information, visit the DSO
Web site at: http://www.pepperdine.edu/disabilityservices/.