EXC 2953 Organizational Behaviour and Management
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APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014
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EXC 2953 Organizational Behaviour and Management
Responsible for the course
Carl Borge-Andersen
Department
Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Term
According to study plan
ECTS Credits
7,5
Language of instruction
English
Introduction
“The successful twenty-first-century manager will have to make the behavioural and attitudinal adjustments necessary to succeed in dynamic times"
Ray French, Charlotte Rayner, Gary Rees, Sally Rumbles, ”Organizational Behaviour”, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. England 2008 page 38.
Organizational Behaviour (OB) covers a relatively new subject area. It focuses on the behaviour of individuals and groups at work within an ethical frame of values and attitudes.
OB is multidisciplinary, covering social sciences like Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology.
The purpose of OB is multidimensional. Through scientific studies, OB draws on organizational knowledge that creates new and improved leadership and management theories, models and techniques that enhance the probability for managers to succeed in the “human business” of managing and leading organizations.
Learning outcome
Acquired knowledge
This course in Organizational Behaviour and Management provides the students with relevant theoretical background for understanding and influencing organizations. They will learn a number of definitions and get an insight into theories, models and techniques within the Organizational Behaviour (OB) field, and thus achieve an understanding of the eclectic nature of psychology and leadership/management.
Aquired skills
The students will learn:
- To interpret and understand behaviour and attitudes of individuals and groups in organizations
- How to define organizational problems and to apply OB theory, models and techniques, in order to diagnose and implement changes in organizations
- How to play the role of a 3rd party consultant in OB processes.
Reflection
Be aware of the notion that organizations have a responsibility to their employees and to the society that sustain them; and ultimately, the obligation to behave in ethical and moral ways
This course will give the students a good platform for further studies in applied social sciences.
Prerequisites
None
Compulsory reading
Books:
French, Ray ... [et al.]. 2011. Organizational behaviour. 2nd ed. Wiley. (Authorised 2nd edition adaptation of the ninth edition by John R. Schermerhorn, James G. Hunt and Richard N. Osborn)
Articles:
Gallos, Joan V. 2006. Reframing complexity : a four dimensional approach to organizational diagnosis, development, and change. I : Gallos, J.V, ed., Organization development : a Jossey-Bass reader. Jossey-Bass. http://www.joangallos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/reframing-complexity-a-four-dimensional-approach.doc
Recommended reading
Articles:
Mintzberg, Henry. 1980. Structure in 5's: A Synthesis of the Research on Organization Design. Management Science. 26 (3) March. 322-341
Course outline
- What is organizational behaviour?
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Individual differences and work performance - ethics, values and attitudes
- Individual performance factors and their effects on job performance
- Learning, reinforcement and self-management
- Motivation and empowerment
- Job design, goal setting and flexible work arrangements - Managing group dynamics and team performance
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Managing organizational processes and performance
- Organizational structure and design
- Organizational culture
- Leadership
- Power, politics and decision making in organizations
- Communication, conflict and negotiation in organizations
- Organizational change
Computer-based tools
You are required to know how to use BI´s learning support system, It's Learning, and to aquire skills in search processes necessary for dealing with case material and relevant case theory, both on the Internet and through BI´s library information systems.
Learning process and workload
1. A number of active individual and group learning processes.
The course consists of 14 lectures each of 3 hours duration, and a number of active individual and group learning processes (role play, teambuilding and self assessment processes, video-case-discussions etc.) The lectures are related to the 12 chapters of the textbook. In the first lecture the students will, through the Internet, get access to a major case that exemplifies how the theory in each lecture may be applied. This approach will be the same throughout the course. The major case will also be the final, graded case for the group assignment. In order to get the necessary case training during the course period, it is important that the students try to establish a group of maximum three participants, already at the beginning of the course.
In order to help the students to help themselves, multiple-choice questions will be available after each lecture. These the students are recommended to answer, since at the end of the course, they will have to attend a one hour, closed book, multiple-choice quiz examination, consisting of 30 questions that have been chosen from the entire question database that has been available throughout the course.
2. Estimated workload.
| Activity | Hours |
| Lectures (participation in class) | 42 |
| Preparation for lectures/reading literature | 36 |
| Assignment and colloquium work | 49 |
| Compulsory multiple-choice examination | 1 |
| Final case assignment | 72 |
| Total recommended use of hours | 200 |
Examination
The final grade will be based on following elements:
1) A one-hour multiple choice control exam
At the multiple choice exam 30 questions will be given. Each correct question is awarded 3 points and each wrong question -1 point. The student has to obtain 65 points or more (72% correct answers) to pass the exam.
2) A 72-hour home exam
The home exam can be solved by individuals or by student groups of no more than three students.
Both evaluations take place at the end of the course. The term paper is marked in accordance with the grading scale A to F. The control exam is marked passed or failed.
Examination code(s)
EXC 29531 Multiple-choice examination. Marked passed/fail
EXC 29532 72-hour home exam which is marked, accounts for 100% of the grade in EXC 2953 Organizational Behaviour and Management, 7,5 credits.
Examination support materials
EXC 29531 No support materials are allowed except a bilingual dictionary.
EXC 29532 All support materials are allowed.
Exam aids are explained under exam information in our web-based Student Handbook. Please note use of calculator and dictionary. http://www.bi.edu/studenthandbook/examaids
Re-sit examination
A re-sit examination is offered every term.
Students that have failed in one of the two examinations, will only have to sit for the examination that they failed.
Additional information