20445 - MANAGEMENT OF CULTURAL INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS - MODULE I (STRATEGY AND GOVERNANCE)
Department of Management and Technology
Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 19
Course Director:
PAOLA DUBINI
PAOLA DUBINI
Mission & Content Summary
MISSION
In the last 150 years, modern industrialization has been organizing cultural production along two main models:
- Cultural institutions, often publicly financed, connected to the academic world and dealing with heritage preservation and identity-building;
- Companies in cultural industries, driven by market rules, profit maximization and targeting mass markets .
Both models are diffused and interplay at global level, but their sustainability follows opposite and often conflicting perspectives. The debate on which model is more appropriate in different settings has been influencing policy decisions and strategic behaviors on cultural matters.
In more recent years, this rigid dichotomy blurred and the superiority of a model over the other became less evident, due to technological and political transformations, leading to new models and formulas.
The course explores key issues facing cultural organizations and affecting their governance and institutional form, highlighting their specificities in a diachronic and global perspective.
The course thus aims at:
- Developing working definitions of cultural management and governance that acknowledge the complexity and ambiguity of the term;
- Exploring resources as sources of competitive advantage for cultural firms and institutions;
- Exploring strategic decisions for growth and sustainability of organizations in the cultural fields;
- Exploring entrepreneurship in cultural settings as a synthesis between conflicting models
CONTENT SUMMARY
- Culture as an ambiguous concept.
- Typologies of cultural organizations and drivers for their success
- Models of governance in cultural organisations.
- Resources, identity and growth opportunities for cultural organizations.
- Strategies for sustainable cultural organisations.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
Acquire relevant knowledge on governance and strategy of cultural organizations. More specifically, students will be able to:
- Recognize and distinguish different models of cultural organizations in terms of key stakeholders privileged and conditions for their economic viability.
- Identify the specific facets of culture addressed by different types of cultural organizations.
- Describe and evaluate governance structures and mechanisms for different types of cultural organizations.
- Define the key resources mobilised by cultural organizations to grant economic viability and long term sustainability.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
- Compare cultural organizations based on their governance structure and sector.
- Interpret changes occurring in the strategy of cultural organizations as a consequence of changes in institutional, legal, technological and market context.
- Evaluate the conditions for sustainability of a cultural organization.
- Assess the relevance and the impact of different stakeholders on the organization's strategy and governance.
Teaching methods
- Face-to-face lectures
- Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
- Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
- Individual assignments
- Interactive class activities (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)
DETAILS
The course provides some theoretical background, but is designed having in mind the practitioner’s point of view.
- Face to face lectures aim at identifying key problematic aspects associated with the issues addressed
- Guest speakers bring personal viewpoint and hands-on experience, and help students appreciate the real issues faced by cultural organizations.
- Case studies allow students to apply theories on real cases and favour plenary discussions.
- Individual assignments are used to let students consolidate their understanding on specific topics and to synthesize the main learning outcomes from the course. Individual assignments consist of a written comprehensive discussion of a specific case
- Interactive cases foster participation and discussion around problematic issues.
Assessment methods
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ATTENDING STUDENTS
Attending students are those who are physically or virtually present in class for at least 75% of classes and actively participate to class activity. Physical presence is a necessary but not sufficient condition for participation. Students are required to come to each class prepared and actively participate to the construction of a common understanding on the issues covered in class.
- group assignments, account for 60% of the grade and consists of analysis of a case or in presenting a position around a controversial issue. Students are required to write a short essay or prepare a short video or be ready to present in class. Evaluation grades the following:
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Group assignments will be evaluated on the following elements:
- Ability to synthesise and elaborate the key issues
- Ability to select relevant context information
- Clarity of presentation
- The final exam is a written essay based on a case study/incident on one of the topics discussed in class. Students are required to address one or two questions related to the case/the topic. Essay evaluation grades the following:
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Ability to conceptualise the issue.
- Depth of analysis.
- Originality of the point of view presented.
- Clarity of presentation.
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- Faculty may assign up to 2 points for active participation
NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
Not attending students take a general exam at the end of the semester. It consists of an essay based on a case study/incident on one of the topics discussed in class. Students are required to address one or two questions related to the case/the topic. Essay evaluation grades the following:
- Ability to conceptualise the issue.
- Depth of analysis.
- Originality of the point of view presented.
- Clarity of presentation.
Teaching materials
ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
In accordance with intellectual property rights rules, different materials are available in different ways:
- On Bocconi Bboard platform.
- P.Dubini: governance of cultural organizations – Egea 2020
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Course reserve
Last change 04/09/2021 14:24