ODC Annual Conference 2017

The Role of Hierarchy in Modern Organizations

The role of hierarchy is challenged and disputed in modern organization design, but still we see hierarchy as the most common form of organizing.

In this conference we will address non-hierarchical modes of organizing and explore the role of hierarchy in today’s organizations.

9 AM - 10 AM: ODC Annual Meeting.   

Breakfast (free for participants) will be served during the annual meeting.

10.00 AM - 10.15 AM: Welcome
Marlo Raveendran, UC Riverside (video)

10.15 AM - 12.30 AM: Collaborative organizing: Organization design without traditional hierarchy?

In this session we will explore the power of non-hierarchical modes of organizing, and how highly distributed organizations are able to collaborate effectively, without traditional elements of structure and power.

SPEAKERS

Jerry Davis, Professor, University of Michigan (video)

• The emergence of the webpage enterprise

Arun Sundararajan, Professor, NYU Stern (video)

• Crowd-Based Capitalism: Are Sharing Economy Platforms the Future of Organizations?

Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Assistant Professor, NYU Stern (video)

• Turbulent Stability of Emergent Roles: The Dualistic Nature of Self-Organizing Knowledge Co-Production

• Fractures, fault lines, and the potential pitfalls of collaborative organizing: Stories from Google

DISCUSSANT

 Xavier Castaner, Professor, University of Lausanne (video)

12. 30AM - 1.15 PM: Lunch and networking (free for participants)

1.15 PM - 3.30 PM:  What is the role of hierarchy in today’s and tomorrow’s organizations?

In this session we will explore the role of hierarchy in today’s organizations. In light of the insights derived from session 1, what can we say about the role of traditional hierarchies and their importance of managing firms successfully?

SPEAKERS

Carliss Baldwin, Professor, Harvard Business School (video)

• Chandler Revisited: Hierarchy, Vertical Integration and Authority in the Rationalization of Step Processes

Melissa Valentine, Assistant Professor, Stanford University

• Flash Organizations:  Crowdsourcing Complex Work via Reconfigurable Organizational Structures

• Why Hierarchy is more Important than ever in Organization Design

DISCUSSANT

Stephan Billinger, Associate Professor, University of Southern Denmark (video)

3.45 PM - 4.45 PM: Organization design in collaborative and hierarchical organizations - a discussion

The aim of this session is to have a broader discussion with conference participants about the role of traditional and non-traditional modes of organizing on the field and practice of organization design today.

FACILITATOR

Charles Snow, Professor Emeritus ,Penn State University. 

(video) 

4.45 PM - 5 PM: Closing remarks
  Marlo Raveendran, UC Riverside 

CO-PROGRAM CHAIRWOMEN

Marlo Raveendran, UC Riverside 

Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Stern School of Business, NYU.