The Research Program about organizational change “L’Officina di OrganizzazioneTM” (The Organization Workshop), based on the Theory of Organizational Action, founded and coordinated by Bruno Maggi, former Professor of Organization Theory, Faculty of Economics, University of Bologna, and Faculty of Law, University of Milan.
Debates and research represent the activities of the Program. “The Organization Workshop” indicates at the same time a workshop of firms’ managers and academic researchers, and a research and reflection work.
The workshop, proposed in 1983 by Bruno Maggi, established itself through the years as a place for the discussion of the organizational changes ongoing in the firms, where managers and scholars together can compare theory and practice, in a pleasant “role game” which is very different from the traditional formation and consulting models. This original meeting between Firms and University generated a privileged observation point, about the changes of Italian firms, that has been able to discuss over 150 cases since 1984. The cases concern evolutions of the general organizational assets and design, changes of line and staff units, transformations of the organizational actions at the firms’ boundaries and itineraries of intervention on the organizations. They also emphasize the connections between the organizational choices and the strategic, marketing, information systems, human resource management choices.
A qualified and restricted group of managers participate steadily to the workshop “L’Officina di OrganizzazioneTM”; participation is allowed by cooptation. Scholars are also invited to participate to the debates depending on the discussed issues. The workshop is held a few times every year at the Faculty of Economics, University of Bologna.