Executing Strategy: Conducting Research on Management Systems and Structures

HBSDOC 4404 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This six-session course is intended to give Ph.D. students a grounding in the theories of organization and an understanding of how accounting and performance measurement play a critical role in organization design and strategy execution. No prerequisites are required.

In our first session, we will examine basic assumptions of business strategy and human behavior as reflected in the academic literature and consider how these assumptions affect research approaches. Then, we will look at how managers process and use information for performance measurement and control. Finally, we will examine different accountability systems and organization designs that can be used to balance innovation and control, drive entrepreneurial behavior, and guide strategy execution.

Readings and class discussions will focus on both published academic studies and case studies of real organizations. During our discussions, and in written assignments, students will be asked to evaluate research studies and propose how they would design research programs to answer the questions that interest them.