Organizational Structure and Culture
Designing flexible teams and resilient organizations
View session datesOrganizational Structure and Culture
About the Program
Few decisions are as impactful for organizational success as decisions related to organizational structure and culture, yet managers rarely find the time and the resources to engage in an intentional and proactive process of structure and culture design and transformation. This program creates the time and space for meaningful discussions about different structural choices, cultural positioning, and organizational transformation.
Organizational culture and structure provide the macro foundations of organizational life. Ideally, they reinforce each other to drive productivity, innovation, collaboration, stronger customer relationships, and agility and innovation. Yet few organizations are successful in developing and transforming their cultures and structures and leveraging them as a source of competitive advantage. This program will provide an integrated perspective on the topics of organizational culture and structure and provide tailored solutions to the unique challenges that mid- and top-level managers face as they work towards developing and changing the structural and cultural foundations of their organizations.
In this program you will learn:
- There is no one best way to organize – different environments, business models, and cultures require different design choices
- How structure, hierarchy, centralization, and division of labour can increase the information processing capabilities of the organization
- The power of autonomy and self-determination for motivational experiences
- Why culture, structure, people, and business processes need to reinforce each other
- How managing cultures and structures means managing informal networks
- Different influence tactics that can be used at different stages of change to transform an organization
Available via live, in-person delivery
Attend the program in an immersive, in-person environment at SmithToronto, located at 200 Front Street West, in the heart of Toronto's downtown financial district.
Who should attend
Decision-makers in organizations who design organizational structures or who are involved in cultural transformations; mid-level managers who want to respond to ongoing structural and cultural changes to position themselves and their teams for success; entrepreneurs who are designing organizational structures and cultures during start-up or scale-up phases; managers who want to understand the impact of organizational structure and culture on their role and the organization.
This program is designated an approved recertification program by the HRPA.
Discounts & Grants Available
Canada-Ontario Job Grant
Located in Ontario? Offset your training fees with the Canada-Ontario Job Grant. Find out more about the job grant.
Volume Discounts
Queen’s Executive Education is pleased to offer a 15% discount for organizations that pre-pay for five or more seats on any of our programs within a 12-month period. Check your eligibility to receive a volume discount
Registered Charities
Queen’s Executive Education is pleased to offer a limited number of discounted seats in every program to employees of Canadian registered charities. Check your eligibility to receive a registered charity discount
A Recognized Symbol of Excellence
Participants who complete the program earn the Organizational Structure and Culture digital badge credential.
Personal benefits
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of how organizational culture and structure directly impact business strategy, performance, and success
- Become more confident and capable in leading transformations, minimizing resistance, and ensuring smooth transitions within your team and across the broader organization
- Understand how different structural elements (hierarchy, processes, communication systems) interact with and shape organizational culture (values, behaviours, norms) allowing you to understand and address organizational challenges more holistically, and improve problem-solving and decision-making
- Learn how to create a culture and structure that supports innovation, creativity, and flexibility, allowing teams to respond quickly to market changes
Organizational benefits
- Improve the impact of organizational structure and culture decisions
- Increase managers’ knowledge and experience related to structure and culture
- Identify and address poorly designed or misaligned structures that lead to inefficiencies, confusion and a lack of accountability
- Learn to align the elements of structure and culture more effectively
- Learn to design flexible organizational structures and adaptive cultures that can quickly respond to external challenges
- Better navigate changes - whether market shifts, technological disruptions, or internal transformations - more smoothly and efficiently
Program content
This program will help leaders and managers design, adapt, and create more effective, resilient structures and cultures within their organizations and teams. Throughout 2 days, participants will learn to:
- Understand different forms of structure and culture through simulations and case discussions
- Understand the trade-offs in structural and cultural design choices
- Apply the congruence model of organizational structure and culture to their own organization
- Determine structural and cultural design choices throughout the life cycle of organizations
- Develop business processes that reinforce structural and cultural design choices
- Learn and apply practical tools to develop and transform organizational structure and culture
Schedule
- Day 1 Morning: The Value of Structure – Hierarchy, control, and interdependence in different organizational forms
- Day 1 Afternoon: The Case Against Structure – Agility, autonomy and self-determination
- Day 2 Morning: Integrating Structure and Culture – The congruence model
- Day 2 Morning: Structure and Culture in the Life Cycle of Organizations: From start-up to maturity to revitalization
- Day 2 Afternoon: Changing Structure and Culture – Escaping the prisons of the past
In-Person Learning
Learn alongside fellow participants from across the country, discovering best practices that span industries and sectors.
Our in-person programs include classroom learning sessions led by award-winning Smith School of Business professors and industry experts. Practice new skills in breakout sessions, projects and simulations, and apply your learning toward real-world case studies.
SmithToronto
SmithToronto is located on the 30th floor, 200 Front Street West in the heart of Canada's financial centre and is easily accessible by GO, subway and the PATH system.
Smith School of Business delivers many programs and classes at SmithToronto and it is home to the Master of Finance, Master of Management Analytics, and Master of Management in Artificial Intelligence programs. The site includes classrooms, meeting rooms, staff offices, special events spaces, and a variety of multi-media presentation systems.
As well, it includes three Boardroom Learning Centres with fully interactive videoconference capabilities. These rooms are used to deliver classes for Smith’s Executive and Accelerated MBA programs.
Session Leaders
Session leaders include senior professors from Smith School of Business and knowledgeable experts from industry. These outstanding teachers are constantly in touch with today's business world through real-world business experience, Board memberships and their own consulting practices.
His research focuses on team motivation/team leadership, and on helping behaviours/cooperative work behaviours and has been published in journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, American Psychologist, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Matthias has taught classes on Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management to undergraduate students, MBA students, and doctoral students. He has also served as a lecturer on leadership in executive education programs at the National University of Singapore and Harvard Business School Publishing. Prior to joining Smith School of Business, Matthias worked as an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore. Matthias completed his Ph.D. in Organizational Behaviour under the guidance of Prof. John R. Hollenbeck at Michigan State University.
He also holds an MBA from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Before embarking on his academic career, Matthias worked for Kienbaum Management Consultants as assistant to the CEO and consultant. In his work for Kienbaum, Matthias consulted organizations on Strategic HRM issues and on realigning / reorganizing their HRM.
Upcoming Sessions
200 Front Street West
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