733104 Organisational behaviour

Type
Lecture and exercise
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Darnhofer, Ika
Organisation
Offered in
Wintersemester 2024/25
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

Organizational behaviour is a field of research that seeks to understand and explain human behaviour in the workplace. This addresses individual behaviour with topics such as work motivation and job satisfaction; dynamics within groups; as well as the influence of organisational structure and the use of technology on the behaviour of people. The aim is to manage people more effectively and to enhance the quality of employee’s work life. Understanding the human side of management will be helpful in your career, as you will depend on people to accomplish tasks and projects: you will need to work for other people, work with other people, and supervise other people. The course offers you the opportunity to apply concepts to real-world problems such as resolving conflicts and overcoming resistance to change, which will allow you to develop your leadership potential.

The course is designed as ‘team-based learning’. Students will be assigned to a team for the duration of the course. Course material will be mainly acquired through independent reading of the text book. During classes, the focus will be on case studies and role plays. Through its focus on work within the teams, it gives you an opportunity to better understand your own as well as other’s behaviour.

The course is offered in time-compressed mode, i.e. there will be 5 classes with 5 hours each. You can choose between the course offered on Tuesday (in-class, thus focusing on face-to-face interactions), or the one offered on Saturday morning (online, thus focusing on virtual team work and digital competencies). For further information a detailed Syllabus will be available in late September.
Important: attendance in the first class is compulsory.
Previous knowledge expected

Some knowledge about general processes in organisations is desirable (e.g. based on your work experience, including summer jobs).
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

Upon completion of the course, students are able to:
+) explain organisational theory as it relates to the design of organisations, teamwork, leadership, management practices, work motivation, and job satisfaction
+) evaluate the benefits and challenges of alternatives, and thus make sound recommendations to improve the performance at individual and team level
+) communicate their understanding of a problem clearly and non-judgementally, thus contributing to its resolution within a team
+) analyse team dynamics and structure team work so as to foster cooperation and synergies between team members, not least by providing constructive feedback to team members
+) recognize their own strengths and preferences (e.g. regarding leadership style, preferred organisational culture, work organisation)
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.