ORG 7040 - Organizations and Social Systems Design

Focusing on organizations, this course explores Social Systems Design as developed by Banathy, Ackoff and others. Social systems design is a participatory, collaborative and disciplined way of engaging in future creating inquiry. The learner will address questions such as: What is design in a social context? What is a design culture and how does it relate to the sciences, the humanities, and organizational behavior and development? Building upon these notions, the course will also examine: How do organizations and workplaces respond to change? How can organizational managers facilitate the design of social systems in their enterprises? Design principles such as "form follows function", and the ethics of designing with those that will live the consequences of the choices made are explored. Social Systems Design shares core assumptions with participatory action research. The learner will be able to explore the usefulness of social systems designed for the creation of new organizations or for the transformation of existing ones. 

This course can be used to satisfy one of the choice requirements for the Mindfulness Applications Certificate. 3 credit(s)

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