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PGDM 2010-12: Term-III


CROSS FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF FIRMS

(1 credit)

Prof. Indranil Chakrabarti and Prof. Sheila R. Chakrabarti

COURSE OUTLINE



OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES
This short course draws upon several intellectual strands. Besides cross-functional inputs from the management profession, important ideas come from complexity science, cybernetics, and economics. Where they all intersect is, of course, the firm. The central objective of the course is to facilitate a keener appreciation of firms. The firm, even from a static view, is increasingly seen as among the most complex of entities. The actual firm is of course rarely static; it is ever morphing, ever evolving. Yet to be effective, irrespective of one’s functional specialisation, a management professional would need to make sense of such complex dynamics, to try and anticipate them, and to guide and direct the same towards meaningful outcomes. The course seeks to contribute to this need.

The course is also intended to facilitate the following:
>a richer grappling with problem contexts, bringing in learning from all the functional areas
>a more holistic examination of a firm, in particular, its evolving logic for performance and design
>a grasp of the non-linear relationship between design and strategy
>effective decision making within, and on behalf, of firms

PEDAGOGY
The main pedagogical tool would be case analysis. The chosen cases would be probed for as comprehensive and deep analysis as possible. Through the analysis, the suitability of various conceptual and analytical tools would be explored. This would require a very high level of familiarity with case facts, considerable prior processing by each student, and intense classroom discussion and debate.

EVALUATION
The course is not a graded one.

TEXTS & PERIODICALS
There is no one comprehensive text for the course. The following, taken together, would be representative:

Battram, Arthur (2002) Navigating Complexity: The Essential Guide to Complexity Theory in Business and Management Spiro Press
Drucker, Peter (1998) On the Profession of Management Harvard Business School Press
Perrow, Charles (1986) Complex Organizations: A Criticial Essay McGraw-Hill Publishers
Williamson, Oliver (1999) The Mechanisms of Governance Oxford University Press
Williamson, Oliver & Sidney G. Winter (1993) The Nature of the Firm: Origins, Evolution, and Development Oxford University Press

Books on the evolution of individual firms would be of help. A wide reading of business press, especially ones where actual firms are taken up for in-depth examination, would be useful. “Briefings” on individual firms in The Economist, www.economist.com, are noted for their cross-functional and evolutionary coverage. Especially useful would be the drill of working one’s own way through the same data, towards exploring for alternative interpretations and analyses. You may initially hone your skills with only a few chosen firms, preferably those in which you already have a special interest.

Indranil Chakrabarti, Sheila R. Chakrabarti
indranil@ximb.ac.in

Created By: Debasis Mohanty on 12/20/2010 at 09:40 AM
Category: PGP-I Doctype: Document

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