Or­gan­iz­ing For De­sir­able Fu­tures

Course content

The objective of this course is to examine the managerial, entrepreneurial, and operational challenges faced by organizations striving for more desirable futures. We focus on research of 'alternative organizations' that encompass a range of practices to address issues such as environmental degradation, social inequalities, and democratic instability. As these organizations are primarily value-driven, they develop experimental practices that seek to depart from more conventional governance structures found in neoclassical economics. For example, by prioritizing values such as sustainability, equality, responsibility, and care, alternative organizations experiment with organising practices that aim to challenge the prevailing emphasis on shareholder value, growth, and competition. We explore such alternative ways of organizing in various types of organizations, including large businesses, small startups, social enterprises, public agencies, worker and consumer cooperatives, and social movements.

The first module of the course introduces different definitions, types, and values associated with alternative organizations. This implies that we engage with various critiques of conventional organizing to understand how alternative organizations emerge in response to salient issues or institutional failures. In the second module, students analyze case studies to explore how the lens of alternative organisations allows us to gain new or different perspectives on central themes of organising, such as innovation, leadership, digitalism, sustainability, and diversity. We will thereby discuss alternative ways of understanding decision-making processes, ownership structures, leadership styles, and (post)growth models, as well as how they may contribute to achieving sustainable social change. The final part of the course examines the systemic and institutional conditions necessary for scaling up change initiatives and creating resilient and sustainable organizations.

We aim is to foster a critical understanding of alternative organizing practices, including their limitations, paradoxes and unintended effects, by considering various social, economic and organizational theories of change. The case studies encompass alternative finance organizations, 'non-growing' companies, leaderless organizations, digital commons, circular economies, or sustainable entrepreneurship. tudents also have the opportunity to select additional case studies based on their interests and preferences and to discuss their insights with practitioners, who will share how they translate their values and visions of transformation into concrete daily organizational practices.

The course is part of the minor in Building Organizations for Sustainable Futures: Business and Economics in Transformation, but can also be selected individually. It adresses students in their last year of their master who are looking for inspiration for their master theses.