DESCRIPTION:

All ministries exist in some form of organization, whether a church, mission agency, or marketplace enterprise. Organic (vs. mechanical, or formulaic) organizations that flourish are complex, living entities that grow and reproduce according to their DNA and connect with, adapt to, and innovate for God's mission in their contexts. Therefore, understanding various organizational dynamics such as organizational culture and structures, as well as organizational leadership is critical for any leader desirous of effective ministry. This course will provide an introduction to the seminal theories in organizational dynamics including purpose/vision of ministries, ministry values, learning organizations, and organizational structures, culture, and lifecyles. Through the use of the seminal theories, case studies, and the final project, students will have the opportunity to analyze their own organizations and plan for the future.

• built an organizational leadership learning community;

• interacted with seminal theories of organizational development;

• observed their church/organization through a variety of organizational development theories;

• evaluated their church/organization in order to diagnose health and offered prescriptives if necessary;

Adizes, Ichak. Managing Corporate Lifecycles. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999 (or an earlier ed. of Lifecycles is fine) (ISBN-10: 0735200572, $48.95).

Brafman, Ori, and Rod Beckstrom. The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations. London: Portfolio, 2006. (Please read this and Built to Last before coming to class and write an analytical book report for both.) (ISBN-10: 1591841836, $10.20).

Collins, James, and Jerry Porras. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. New York: Harper Collins, 2002 (B001S33262, $9.68).

Goleman, Daniel, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2004 (ISBN-10: 1591391849, $12.24).

One of the following:

Asheknas, Ron, et al. The Boundaryless Organization: Breaking the Chains of Organizational Structure. Revised and updated ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002 (ISBN-10: 078795943X, $19.77).

Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004 (ISBN-10: 0787975974, $38.71).
And Hofstede, Geert, and Gert-Jan Hofstede. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010 (ISBN-10: 0071664181, $19.77).

Senge, Peter. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Broadway Business, 2006. (ISBN-10: 0385517254, $16.47) .
And Senge, Peter, et al. The Fifth Discipline: Fieldbook. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997 (ISBN-10: 0385472560, $21.97).

Trebesch, Shelley G. "Organizations that Develop Persons: A Case Study of OMF International." FTS Dissertation, 2001 (available in the course shell).

(Students may choose to wait to purchase these books until the theories are introduced in class.)

PART A: (Fall 2012)

1. Analytical book reports for Collins, Built to Last; Brafman, The Starfish and the Spider; and Goleman, Primal Leadership books.

2. Reading log for other required books.

3. Exercises.

4. Class participation.

PART B: (Winter 2013)

1. Project 1: Discern and/or write the mission, vision, core values, and strategies of your ministry OR Analyze and prescribe your ministry using Adizes' Corporate Lifecycles.

2. Analyzing and applying at least one of the organizational theories to your ministry.