Ai and Organizational Development

This course has three main learning objectives. First, it offers a view of organizational development—and thus of planned interventions aimed at increasing organizational effectiveness and supporting organizational learning and change—and the topics linked to it. Second, it gives several examples of studies and tools that link AI to an organizational development measure or topic (e.g., mentoring, leadership development, feedback ). Third, it allows students to develop projects and test ideas that are put into practice and partially develop the topics discussed in class. This will result in more experiential learning and encourage students to reflect on the course's practical implications.


Knowledge and understanding
. Defining an organization
. Organizational culture and its impact on attitudes towards AI
. Defining, describing, and making a typology of organizational development (OD) measures
. Managing OD measures through the process consultation approach
. Exploring some OD measures and tools in greater depth (e.g., mentoring, career development and the use of feedback, leadership development, cultural change, etc.), focusing on those where there are studies or cases that adopt AI
. Some applications of AI to OD measures and tools and their results.

Applying knowledge and understanding
. Linking the material presented during the course coherently
. Preparing for initial meetings with corporate clients and approaching them as constructively as possible
. Interpreting the organizational setting and its dynamics in order to propose OD interventions and new tools
. Gaining the ability to think about and discuss AI tools as means of fostering OD
. Designing and proposing an AI tool for the OD of a hypothetical organization.

At the end of the class, the students are expected to:

. Be aware of the structure, functioning, and dynamics that characterize an organization, with a particular focus on its culture
. Be able to discuss the links between workers' lives in an organization and the attitude that they have and develop toward AI measures and tools
. Be able to describe and discuss organizational development (OD) measures and tools (individual, group, and organizational-level measures) with their strengths and weaknesses
. Have a clear idea of how OD measures can be introduced and managed in a real setting, specifically through the process consultation approach
. Be familiar with some of the most recent studies that describe AI tools and measures designed for OD (e.g., studies on organizational feedback, mentoring, etc.) and being able to assess the pros and cons of these solutions
. Be able to approach an organizational setting and interpret its dynamics to propose new OD interventions and tools
. Be able to think about and discuss AI tools as means of fostering OD, thus emphasizing not only the technical characteristics of these solutions but also embedding them in a real work setting
. Design and propose an AI tool (at the prototype level) for the OD of a hypothetical organization.