COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: SYSTEMIC MANAGEMENT AND COMPLEXITY

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
BUS 814	B	2	3	0	0	3	10

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Xhimi Hysa
Second Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Elective
Classroom and Meeting Time:
Course Description:	The organization as a static entity is an old fashion topic. Today it is mandatory to perceive it as a structure in movement (i.e. a dynamic system). Therefore, the course of Systemic Management is designed for PhD students to familiarize them with the systems perspective applied to management and organization. Concepts like consonance and resonance will be basic tools for understanding stakeholders and interacting with them empathically. The course offers a global, comprehensive, and well-formed knowledge infrastructure for understanding business dynamics not only from a systems view, but also from the service science view and that of sustainability.
Course Objectives:	The aim of the course is to open students’ mind for thinking holistically, from parts to the whole. It aims specifically to help students to navigate in complex and dynamic contexts, by identifying the suprasystems with which to interact with empathy. Furthermore, the focus is how to apply dynamic capabilities in different fields, like business, learning and education, leadership, etc.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	The Firm in Systems thinking: different configurations and metaphors in evolutionary view
2	The Firm as a Viable System: postulates and principles
3	Firm as a Viable System and the concept of Complexity: variety, variability, and indeterminacy
4	Intersystems Relationships and the Role of Context
5	The drivers of Consonance and Resonance
6	Applying the theory of Information Variety
7	The Governing Bosy and the Operative Structure
8	A Dichotomist Perspective on Deciosn Making and Problem Solving: The Knowledge Curve
9	Systemic Interventions: adaptations, transformations, restructuring
10	Elasticity, Deliberate and Innovative Flexibility
11	Service Science and Viable Systems Management
12	Systems Management and Sustainability
13	Artıcle discussion
14	Artıcle discussion

Prerequisite(s):
Textbook:	Golinelli G. (2010). Viable Systems Approach. Governing Business Dynamics. Padova: Cedam.
Other References:	• Jackson, M. C. (2002). Systems Approaches to Management. London: Kluwer Academic Publishers. • von Foerster H. 2003. Understanding Understanding: Essays on Cybernetics and Cognition. New York: Springer-Verlag. • Vanderstraeten R. 2002. Parsons, Luhmann and the theorem of double contingency. Journal of Classical Sociology, 2 (1): 77-92. • Vanderstraeten R. 2000. Autopoiesis and socialization: on Luhmann’s reconceptualization of communication and socialization. The British Journal of Sociology, 51 (3): 581-598. • Vancouver J. 1996. Living systems theory as a paradigm for organizational behavior: understanding humans, organizations, and social processes. Behavioral Science, 41 (3): 165-204. • Parsons T. 1951. The Social System. Glencoe, IL: Free Press. • Espejo R, Reyes A. 2011. Organizational Systems: Managing Complexity with the Viable System Model. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. • Beer S. 1981. Brain of the firm, 2nd Ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons. • Ashby WR. 1957. An Introduction to Cybernetics. London: Chapman & Hall. • Systems Approach (VSA). Roma: Aracne. • Barile S (Ed.). 2013. Contributions to Theoretical and Practical Advances in Management: A Viable
Laboratory Work:
Computer Usage:
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	To possess a systems perspective in diagnosing complex organizational problems.
2	To implement in practice the concepts of consonance and resonance in dealing with viable systems (individuals, teams, organizations).
3	Being able to develop a constructivist viewpoint on the surrounding business environment by identifying carefully the relevant suprasystems to include in the designed context.
4	To analyze complex, unstructured qualitative and quantitative problems, using appropriate tools like Viable System Model, Requisite Variety, Syntegration, etc.
5	To be familiar not only with operations and routines, but also with emergent properties of the organizations that derive from its interactions with the surrounding context.

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Doctorate (PhD) in Business Administration Program
1	The students are expected to gain the skills of understanding, analyzing, explaining and using the fundamental concepts of Business Administration.	5
2	Skills of understanding the requirements for designing a business unit or environment.	5
3	They gain knowledge about management and organization.	5
4	They gain knowledge about marketing and production.	2
5	They gain knowledge about accounting and finance.	1
6	They learn how to benefit from mathematical and statistical methods used in business management.	3
7	Learning the communication skills by acquiring the professional terminology of business administration.	5
8	Learning and adopting the ethical, social and legal (laws and regulations) responsibilities needed in the field of business administration and management.	3
9	Ability to effectively use technological devices (IT systems) and modern techniques in managing a business environment successfully.	2
10	Gain the theoretical knowledge of both classical and modern theories necessary to manage a business.	4
11	Acquiring an open minded-attitude through continuous learning and practice and participation.	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Project	1	100
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	3	48
Mid-terms			0
Assignments	16	8	128
Final examination			0
Other	2	13	26
Total Work Load:			250
Total Work Load/25(h):			10
ECTS Credit of the Course:			10