Fielding Graduate University

Designed to introduce students to the online environment and practices in Fielding's OMD programs, this two-week, online seminar takes place prior to the beginning of the first academic trimester. Students will learn to use Fielding's website and FELIX software to navigate, post and complete initial assignments. Students will meet online and begin building community with their entering cohort and receive course introductions in preparation for beginning the academic term. Faculty and staff participate in facilitating dialogue and increasing online skills as the seminar progresses.

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Designed to help students identify processes of generating and evaluating organizational change projects. Examines fundamental inquiry concepts, terminology, and methodologies necessary to both conduct and critically evaluate applied research and intervention projects in organizational settings. Course topics introduce a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods including action research, needs assessment, program evaluation, analysis of social/organizational settings, and appreciative inquiry. Designed to support the understanding of specific inquiry issues raised in all the OMD courses as well as the development of the student's Masters' Project.

Focuses on the impact of collaborative working teams in local and global organizations. Discusses elements of an effective team in various situations, such as mergers and acquisitions or interorganizational projects. Examines how work gets done in virtual or geographically dispersed teams, including the impact of web technologies on group performance, potential and learning. Students gain an understanding of group processes and how to facilitate and collaborate with groups online.

Provides an overview of leading models of organizational structure, processes, rules, behavior, roles and function. Focuses on different theories of organizations and their relevance in today's high technology, global workplace. Considers chaos complexity theory, addressing organizations as complex adaptive systems, co-evolving with an environment that is often turbulent and non-predictable. Critically examines different types of change -- incremental, transitional, transformative and strategic -- and their application in doing systems work. Students learn to understand the fundamentals and appropriateness of various organizational interventions.

Examines the trends in globalization, including virtual work teams, mergers and acquisitions, and the effect of emerging digital technology and its impacts on global relations. Focuses on the importance of culture in organizations and its impact on organizational performance. Explores diversity as a challenge and an opportunity at the individual, group and organizational level. Students learn to understand how distance affects the dialogic process in cross cultural, virtual teams.

This student-faculty community building session is focused on developing virtual and face-to-face relationships, the experience of community, and faculty-led exploration of selected OMD topics.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

This is a two-day experiential seminar on generating and evaluating organizational practices. This is the initial development phase for the Master's Project with a focus on helping students to develop their ideas through their subsequent coursework. The two-day Master’s Project Preparation Session immediately follows OMD 610 Community Building and brings the students together in faculty-facilitated small groups to lay the foundation on which their program and final project will be developed: (1) Develop an appreciation of new ways of knowing and alternative perspectives; (2) Increase critical thinking ability through critique of research done by others and application of concepts of inquiry; (3) Develop approaches to organizational interventions that can be applied in the master project; (4) Develop the ability to use different lenses to understand organizations; (5) Increase understanding of the practitioners role as a change agent; (6) Increase awareness of different tools that are used to diagnose organizations as well as interventions used to bring about change through hands-on experience

This is the first of a two trimester course sequence in which students complete and submit a Master's Project that: (a) identifies one or more theoretically or practically significant questions relevant to his or her organization and/or the OMD field; (b) critically reviews the literature and other resources with respect to theory and real-world examples relevant to those questions; (c) where appropriate, integrates and builds on relevant models and practices; (d) proposes an organizational intervention project that contributes to our knowledge about those questions and (e) describes a range of reasonable project outcomes and their implications, including a critical assessment of potential unintended outcomes. The course emphasizes rigor in the students' work in terms of theory, inquiry, reflection and action.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601, OMD-602, OMD-611

This is the second of a two trimester course sequence in which students complete and submit a Master's Project that: (a) identifies one or more theoretically or practically significant questions relevant to his or her organization and/or the OMD field; (b) critically reviews the literature and other resources with respect to theory and real-world examples relevant to those questions; (c) where appropriate, integrates and builds on relevant models and practices; (d) proposes an organizational intervention project that contributes to our knowledge about those questions and (e) describes a range of reasonable project outcomes and their implications, including a critical assessment of potential unintended outcomes. The course emphasizes rigor in the students' work in terms of theory, inquiry, reflection and action.

Pre-requisites: OMD 601-603, OMD-611, OMD-690

This course stresses the practical use of statistics in the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. Both descriptive and inferential techniques are covered. In this course, we will: (1) discuss descriptive statistics; (2) cover various aspects of inferential statistics such as hypothesis testing and regression; and (3) relate these tools back to the practical world. The course will also show you how to design and use measures for project and general applications. You won't become a statistician in this course. Our goal is to develop you into a wise manager and user of statistical data.

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Treats improving human performance as an individual, group and system issue. Focuses on linking human endeavor and envisioned business results for the attainment of business goals through performance excellence. Explores the elements of performance assessment -- identifying performance issues, barriers, opportunities and needs, providing performance feedback and devising performance strategy. Critically examines performance consulting as a change intervention aimed at the creation of a performance culture. Updates the concepts of performance management, performance measurement and competency development based on changes in management paradigms and new thinking in the fields of OD and Human Resources.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

Provides an overview of the history and development of the principles and practice of designing organizational structure, following the axiom that any organization is perfectly designed to get the exact results that it gets. Draws on both historical (linear/hierarchical) and emerging (non-linear/self-organizing) design perspectives. Explores alternative principles of organization that reflects advances in our understanding of how things work. Examines the interaction of human and technical systems and the ramifications for organizational design. Considers the influence of such factors as the organization's goals, life cycle, culture and environment on organizational design decisions. Focuses on the need for congruence between an organization's values and the design of its structure and operations. Explores the existence of both formal and informal design.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

The primary focus of this course is to gain understanding of the field of sustainable development, which originated from international dialogues but has since permeated organizational studies. Students will examine different theories of sustainability, with an emphasis on the larger social, cultural, economic and political environments in which they exist. The focus will be on the United States, with international comparisons used to illustrate similarities and differences. Examples of theory as they relate to practice will begin to build a student’s repertoire about current sustainability research and practice. Learning Competencies: • Identify, differentiate among, and describe theoretical frameworks for sustainability. • Articulate and analyze major issues in the field of sustainability as they relate to organizations. • Begin to understand theories of sustainability as they relate to organizational choices. • Apply ethical principles in analyzing sustainability, with consideration to cultural diversity.

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The primary focus of this course will be to cover the theories, philosophies, and concepts of leadership through the examination of the intersections between management and leadership, organizational culture, and sustainability. The work of sustainability thinkers such as Senge, Schmidheiny, and Hawkins will be used to explore changing organizational culture as a result of the need to create sustainable systems, and how these changes have influenced leadership styles and learning. Systems theory permeates sustainability practices, and scholars ranging from Capra to Westing will be read to focus on shifts from compartmentalized models of problem solving to integrated, holistic forms of decision making as components of sustainability thinking. The overall goal will be to provide students with an understanding of the many factors that affect organizational performance, including their personal leadership style. Students will also develop the ability to apply this knowledge for the purpose of improving sustainability performance. Learning Competencies: • Demonstrate an understanding of leadership as a key component of the organizational change for sustainability. • Develop awareness of different leadership styles and organizational change management. • Learn to evaluate sustainability competences for leadership development and sound management practices. • Demonstrate an understanding of current best leadership practices in sustainability in all three sectors. • Describe a range of leadership models and their application from both a systems perspective and the individual’s personal leadership style. • Apply systems thinking to organizational contexts to identify important factors that affect organizational performance. • Acquire and apply critical tools for group process and communication in order to further leadership in change management around sustainability. • Display the application of leadership principles to sustainability problems and systems.

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The primary focus of this course will be to develop an understanding of the field of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which is rapidly garnering attention around the world from policy makers, organizations and others. As the traditional lines blur between nonprofit enterprises, government, and business, it is critical that students understand the opportunities and challenges in this new landscape. The course provides students with an orientation in this developing sector as well as knowledge and skills to lead organizational development in practice. Learning Competencies: • Develop understanding of social entrepreneurship and its manifestations in organizational culture. • Demonstrate awareness of best practices in social innovation and change mechanisms in organizations. • Facilitate transformative thinking and sustainable decision making. • Define one’s own sense of entrepreneurship, culture, beliefs, and values and the impact these factors have upon leadership practices and sustainable interactions.

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The primary focus of this course will be to introduce students to several ecological frameworks used by sustainability practitioners, including The Natural Step (TNS), Ecological Footprint, Cradle to Cradle, Natural Capitalism, Industrial Ecology, Biomimicry, and ZERI. Completion of this course will provide students with licensing for The Natural Step and Ecological Footprint. This course will provide practical knowledge to implementing sustainable principles in organizations. Learning Competencies: • Build skills in applying ecological frameworks for sustainability in an organizational context. • Demonstrate an understanding of how to recognize and think about ecological frameworks and implementation of sustainability ideas. • Develop an understanding of how ecological frameworks affect the strategic environment of organizations. • Develop expertise of working with ecological frameworks for organizations.

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The primary focus of this course will be to gain an understanding of the systemic aspects of health services organization, production and delivery. Healthcare systems develop to produce, deliver, and finance health services. Students will examine the inter-relationships of system structures, subsystems, and processes, as well as their interactions with the larger social, cultural, economic and political environments in which they exist. The focus will be on the United States, with international comparisons used to illustrate similarities and differences. Learning Competencies: • Applying concepts of systems thinking to analysis of health services. • Identify, differentiate among, and describe the elements of the organization, financing and delivery of health services. • Articulate and analyze major issues in health services and systems, and propose for addressing or resolving them. • Apply ethical principles in analyzing health systems, with consideration in cultural diversity.

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The primary focus of this course will be to enable students to learn the basics of current finance theory and tools to practice in managing health care on a daily basis. Various analytical methods in management decision making and approaches to benchmarking and productivity improvement will be emphasized. Learning Competencies: • Demonstrate an understanding of budgeting's role as a key component of the administrative process • Develop budgets for revenues, staffing and salaries, supplies and services, and equipment • Evaluate the financial status of a department or operating unit using volume adjusted variance analysis to determine the cause(s) of performance deviation • Demonstrate an understanding of revenue, cost, and productivity improvement techniques

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The primary focus of this course will be to provide the tools and skills needed for healthcare leaders to engage in cultural humility both in their practice and leadership, and to train their workforce to engage in cultural humility as the foundation on which patient-focused care is given. The overall goal will be to provide an opportunity to critical self-reflection and awareness with regards to the beliefs, values, and biases that leadership bring to the organization and in their interactions with staff and patients. Learning Competencies: • Demonstrate awareness of individual patient’s culture and unique beliefs. • Demonstrate empathy in interactions with underserved populations to create a sense of partnership. • Facilitate transformative thinking and participatory decision making. • Define one’s own background, culture, beliefs, and values and the impact these factors have upon leadership practices and interactions with staff and patients.

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The primary focus of this course will be to introduce legal issues healthcare leaders are likely to face in managing a health care organization. This course will focus on a range of legal and regulatory issues, including patients’ rights, institutional liability, and employee and labor relations. This course will provide practical knowledge to identify legal issues and to understand the legal ramifications of strategic decisions. Learning Competencies: • Understand the role of the legal system in health policy and health care delivery. • Demonstrate an understanding of how to recognize and think about legal issues given the law’s ambiguity. • Demonstrate an understanding of how laws affect the strategic environment of the healthcare organization. • Demonstrate an understanding of working with and negotiating with a bargaining unit.

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Applies complexity theory (KT) to organizations, comparing theory with case studies and personal experiences. Emphasizes alternatives to traditional command-and-control methods of leadership. Encourages student sub-teams to select one or more KT concepts for in-depth analysis (e.g., self-organization, emergence, strange attractors, fitness landscapes, fractals, positive feedback loops, chaos theory and catastrophe theory). Systematically applies critical thinking to consider key questions: Is KT evidence-based, or just an intriguing metaphor? How would we sell KT to a hard-nosed CEO, to manage turbulence, lead rapid change, and make organizations better places to work?

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

Examines the emerging concepts and value of soul and spirit in the workplace. Focuses on meaningful work and the impact on work performance. Explores the alignment of personal and work life on job satisfaction. Recognizes the leader's role in creating and fostering a meaningful work environment. Identifies different employee developmental designs and interventions that are used to promote soul and spirit in the workplace. Students learn to understand how to link individual and team contributions to achieve organizational outcomes.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

Provides an understanding of change and resistance to change from an individual, group and organizational level. Focuses on the signs and symptoms of resistance and how to appreciate resistance as a catalyst and creative force. Examines the issues of power, politics, fear and loss often associated with resistance to change. Emphasizes resistance to change in the context of transitional and transformative change. Students learn different techniques and interventions for working with resistance in various organizational settings.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

Focuses on enhancing your skills to influence and organize others to accomplish key organizational goals. Spotlights leadership principles, complexities, and challenges, as well as your strengths and develop needs. Course is designed for students who want to increase their knowledge and skills of self as a leader.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

Focuses on the emerging models of strategy and scenario planning and learning that guide organizational action. Compares traditional strategic planning with recent models of strategic thinking that emphasize flexible and rapid response to anticipated events or multiple futures. Examines the processes, strengths and limitations of different planning and scenario development models. Students learn to understand the critical factors guiding the design, implementation and evaluation of strategic processes and learning in organizations.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

Explores "good work" from a human potential perspective, as opposed to meeting expectations of performance. Typical texts: (a) Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi & Damon (2001), describing the Harvard University GoodWork Project; (b) Charles Savage (1974) on "Work and meaning" (a phenomenological approach); and (c) Robert Lane (1991), who looks at the vast social and economic implications of redesigning workplaces to draw on the contributions that people are inherently motivated to provide in the first place. Why "meaningful work" turns conventional economics on its head, as illustrated by the phenomena of wikinomics, the open source movement, and the growth of socially responsible business practices.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

This course begins with a virtual orientation to the certificate program and the learning environment. It provides a basic introduction to the core concepts of Integral Theory, their interrelationships, and their potential applications across a range of specific disciplines (e.g., business, criminology, ecology). Students have opportunities to practice applying Integral Theory to aspects of their own personal and professional lives. Each of the five elements of the Integral Model (Quadrants, Levels, Lines, States, and Types) will be explored in detail.

Pre-requisites: Open only to masters students who have declared the Integral Studies optional concentration.

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This course provides an in-depth exploration of the core concepts of Integral Theory and their interrelationships. It also introduces more subtle aspects of the theory and provides opportunities for more sophisticated and in-depth applications. Students expand and refine their capacity to make use of a new and unique lens for interpreting and integrating material and information from a wide range of traditional disciplines/areas of study. Students also have opportunities to practice applying Integral Theory to aspects of their own disciplines/professions. A particular emphasis will be placed on Integral Methodological Pluralism and the relationship between epistemology, ontology and methodology.

Pre-requisites: Open only to masters students who have declared the Integral Studies optional concentration.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Special elective course number to be used for a new course that may be designed and offered as appropriate in response to current issues, trends, and events. One-time course that may take advantage of a current issue or faculty opportunity, pilot a new course, or perhaps a one-time colloquium. Title and content will vary.

Pre-requisites: OMD-601

This course is designed to expose students to the foundations of Integral Research - a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative traditions. Students will explore the history and concept of research design and then will identify a topic to research through six distinct methods using 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person approaches. Students explore the tradition of Action Inquiry and how it supports Integral Research. Students begin developing a project exploring their topic from multiple methodological perspectives including: phenomenology, structuralism, hermeneutics, ethnomethodological, empirical, and systems analysis.

Pre-requisites: OMD 601-603, OMD-611, OMD-660, OMD-661

Students complete and submit a Master's Project that: (a) identifies one or more theoretically or practically significant questions relevant to his or her organization and/or the OMD field; (b) critically reviews the literature and other resources with respect to theory and real-world examples relevant to those questions; (c) where appropriate, integrates and builds on relevant models and practices; (d) proposes an organizational intervention project that contributes to our knowledge about those questions and (e) describes a range of reasonable project outcomes and their implications, including a critical assessment of potential unintended outcomes. The course emphasizes rigor in the students' work in terms of theory, inquiry, reflection and action.

Pre-requisites: OMD-660, OMD-661, OMD 601-604