Almost all work in the world is performed in groups and all groups involve some kind of organization. Whether it’s a fast-food restaurant, a band, an activist group, or even a college class, we investigate ideas of organization — often invisible — that we picked up from somewhere: families, teachers, bad bosses, and/or movies just to name a few. This course offers the opportunity to survey recent non-traditional organizational concepts from both the business and non-profit world. Since a genuinely critical examination of organizations cannot occur in the absence of lived experience, we will use the class itself as a laboratory for exploring questions such as what does it mean to work without a boss, what is the role of facilitation and negotiation, and how can we use organizations as a vehicle for individual development. Source material will include Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux, the work of Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey (Immunity to Change, An Everyone Culture) among others.

(September 24, 27, October 1, 4, 8, 11)