Organisations and Working Methods I (21781)

Degree course: Degree in Labour Relations
Academic year: Second
Term: Second
Number of ECTS credits: 6
Student hours: 150

Syllabus

This course is an Introduction to the Economics of the Organisation.

The course offers a complete analytical framework which enables students to understand the behaviour of corporate actors within the context of economic activities, by answering a series of key questions:

  • What is the firm?
  • Why does the firm exist?
  • What motivates individuals with regard to their business decisions?
  • What are the main problems in financial transactions?
  • How are these problems solved?

The course's main aim is to help students to achieve a level of knowledge and understanding that will enable them to apply the theoretical models to any relevant real-world business case.

To this end, it is hoped that students will read the compulsory texts beforehand, work on the different cases and exercises and participate in class discussions. Searching for extra information and applying what they have learnt to practical cases will be considered very positively.

 

Topic 1

Economic organisations and efficiency. The functions of coordination and motivation. Transaction cost analysis.

Topic 2

Coordination in the market and the firm. The price mechanism.

Topic 3

Property and property ownership rights.

Topic 4

Assigning tasks and rights of decision. Centralisation versus decentralisation. The hierarchical assignation of rights of decisión. Assigning rights of decision to groups.

Topic 5

Task grouping in workplaces. Task grouping into subunits.

Topic 6

Remuneration: level and form.

Topic 7

Remuneration with incentives. The problem with incentives.

Topic 8

Assessing individual results. Explicit performance assessment and subjective performance assessment. Assessing the results of a division. Internal control systems and result assessment.

Topic 9

Outsourcing. The benefits of purchasing in competitive markets. Reasons for establishing off-market transactions. Vertical integration and long-term contracts.

Topic 10

Organisation design and innovation processes in company management.