course-details-portlet

SMF1193

Organizations and Management

Credits 7.5
Level Foundation courses, level I
Course start Autumn 2025
Duration 1 semester
Language of instruction Norwegian
Location Gjøvik
Examination arrangement Home examination

About

About the course

Course content

Description

The course is a general introduction course to the management sciences, with special focus on organization and leadership topics. The course is taught in Norwegian. The course aims to develop students' understanding of the basics of the organization and leadership field and how these topics are related. This is an introductory course aimed at building a basis for further courses in the program. The aim is also to develop students' ability to apply theoretical knowledge on the analysis of practical phenomena. By the end of the course students' should have a comprehensive understanding of core constructs and concepts within the field, and the ability to apply these to analyze practical situations.

Core topics:

  • Organization theory perspectives
  • Strategy
  • Organizational structure
  • Power and conflict
  • Decision-making processes
  • Communication
  • Organizations and their environments
  • Learning and innovation
  • HRM, including topics such as trust and motivation
  • Organizations and change
  • Leadership in organizations
  • The Nordic model
  • Sustainability in an organizational context

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

After completing this course students should:

  • Have a comprehensive understanding of core phenomena within the field of organizations and leadership
  • Understand the core concepts of the field
  • Understand how the different topics of the course are related and how different parts of organizational life influences each other

Skills:

After completing this course students should:

  • Be able to work independently and in groups to apply theory in analysis and problem-solving related to a range of practical organizational phenomena
  • Be able to analyze and discuss a range of current issues in organizations
  • Communicate the ideas based on theory and class discussion

General competence:

After completing this course students should:

  • Independently be able to analyze organizational life and be able to substantiate the claims made in analysis by building on theory and practical examples
  • Independently be able to access and acquire new knowledge from relevant research
  • Be able to identify relevant and current issues for organizational development, be able to analyze those based on relevant theory and be able to communicate and discuss those ideas with leaders and co-workers

Learning methods and activities

Lectures, group work, case solution and discussions. The norm is combined 2 hours lecture and case work, twice each week.

The students form permanent groups with which they work together throughout the semester. The course coordinator can establish groups on behalf of students who haven't created groups within the first 2 weeks after course start.

Mandatory activities:

  • One obligatory assignment in group. Under special circumstances students may submit individually. The assignment must be approved in order to be entitled to sit for the exam.

Compulsory assignments

  • Individual/group assignment

Further on evaluation

4 hours individual written home exam, open book.

Re-sit examination i August.

Approved obligatory assignment from the last three years, and registered with the study administration, gives exemption from resubmitting.

Required previous knowledge

No such.

Course materials

Jacobsen, Dag Ingvar og Thorsvik, Jan (2025) Hvordan organisasjoner fungerer. 6.utg. Bergen, Fagbokforlaget.

Articles and bookchapters published on Blackboard

Credit reductions

Course code Reduction From
SMF1193F 7.5 sp
SMF2051 7.5 sp Autumn 2018
ORG1100 7.5 sp Autumn 2019
AL101115 7.5 sp Autumn 2019
This course has academic overlap with the courses in the table above. If you take overlapping courses, you will receive a credit reduction in the course where you have the lowest grade. If the grades are the same, the reduction will be applied to the course completed most recently.

Subject areas

  • Organization and Leadership

Contact information

Course coordinator

Department with academic responsibility

Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management

Examination

Examination

Examination arrangement: Home examination
Grade: Letter grades

Ordinary examination - Autumn 2025

Home examination
Weighting 100/100 Examination aids Code A Date Release 2025-12-10
Submission 2025-12-10
Time Release 09:00
Submission 13:00
Duration 4 hours Exam system Inspera Assessment

Re-sit examination - Summer 2026

Home examination
Weighting 100/100 Examination aids Code A Duration 4 hours Exam system Inspera Assessment