Now known as Analysing and Improving Organisational Behaviour.

Main Aim(s) of the Unit:

This unit will contribute towards students’ analysis of, and effectiveness within, a range of work organisations. The unit examines approaches to enhancing personal and organisational effectiveness through focusing on the internal nature of organisations, identifying alternative structures and common patterns of behaviour. The involvement of the host organisations in the work of the unit provides an important commercial background to the overall programme, and the extensive research element provides an opportunity for students to develop their research, planning and organisational skills.

Main Topics of Study:

Introduction to Organisations

• Organisation Structure

• Structural Perspective
• Elements of Organisation Structure
• Types of Job
• Line, Staff & Functional Structures
• Formal & Informal Organisations
• Designing Organisation Structure
• Centralisation & Decentralisation

• Management Scientific Management

• Taylorism
• Gilbreth
• Gantt
• Fordism

• Bureaucracy & Roles

• Organisational Structuring
• Rules
• Roles
• Bureaucracy or Adhocracy

• Classical Management Theory

• Henri Fayol
• Applicability of Theory
• Modern Classical Management Theory

• Contingency Approach

• Contingency & Organisational Structure
• Determinism Versus Strategic Choice
• Technological Determinism
• Environmental Determinism
• Strategic Choice
• Environmental Strategic Choice

People in Organisations

• Communication & Perception

• Interpersonal Communication
• Perception
• Non-Verbal Communication

• Motivation

• Motives as Goals of Human Behaviour
• Motives as Individual Decision-Making Processes
• Social Process of Motivating Others
• Empowerment

• Learning

• Learning Process
• Behaviourist Approach to Learning
• Cognitive Approach to Learning
• Behaviour Modification Techniques
• Socialisation & Feedback

• Personality

• Definition
• Personality Types & Traits
• Stress & its Management
• Development of the Self
• Nomothetic & Idiographic
• Psychometrics

Groups and Teams in Organisations

• Group Formation

• Group Level Analysis of Organisational Behaviour
• Historical Background to study of Groups
• Concept of a Group
• Formal & Informal Groups
• Homans Theory of Group Formation  Stages of Group Development

• Group Structure & Process

• Group Structure
• Status Structure
• Power Structure
• Linking Structure
• Role Structure
• Group Structure & Group Process
• Leadership Structure
• Communication Structure

• Group Control

• Group Influences on Individuals’ Motivations
• Group Influences on Individuals’ Perceptions
• Group Socialisation of Members
• Group Influences on Individuals’ Attitudes & Behaviours
• Conformity to & Rebellion Against Authority

• Group Effectiveness

• Effectiveness, Productivity & Satisfaction
• Factors Affecting Group Behaviour
• Making Groups Perform
• Group Cohesion

Development and Change: Issues and Challenges

• Organisational Change

• The Contemporary Imperative
• Project Management & Participative Management
• Resistance to Change
• Understanding Change
• Business Process Re-Engineering
• Change Agent

• Organisation Development

• Goals & Processes
• Levels & Models of Intervention
• OD Techniques
• OD Applications
• OD Consultant

• Corporate Culture

• Rise of Corporate Culture Concept
• Models of Corporate Culture
• Corporate Culture & Economic Performance
• Changing Cultures
• Corporate Culture & Management Control
• National Cultures

• Technology & Change

• Definitions & Predictions
• Determinism or Choice
• Politics of Technology
• Characteristics of Mass Production
• Socio-Technical Systems Analysis & Design
• Competing Socio-Technical Paradigms
• Advanced Technology & the Changing Nature of Work

Management Power and Control

• Leadership & Management Style

• Functions of Leaders & Managers
• Leaders as Special People
• Leaders & Followers
• Context
• Culture
• Changing Leadership Style

• Managing Conflict

• Perspectives on Organisational Conflict
• Functional & Dysfunctional Conflict
• Coordination & Conflict

• Organisational Power & Politics

• Organisations – Rational or Political
• Organisational Politics
• Organisational Power
• Power & Influence

• Management Control

• Perspectives on Management Control
• Nature of Management Control Mechanisms
• Strategies & Problems of Management Control
• Psychological Need for Control
• Social Control

Learning Outcomes for the Unit

At the end of this Unit, students will be able to:

1. Identify mechanisms for the setting of organisational goals and their achievement
2. Identify the causal determinants of organisational structures
3. Compare and contrast the nature of management in historical and contemporary contexts.
4. Put current debates about the nature of organisational control in a historical context.
5. Use a variety of models of organisational effectiveness to suggest changes to an organisation
6. Discuss approaches to management power and control within different organisational settings
7. Discuss organisational issues related to group dynamics by reflecting on group structures and processes raised in the unit.

Learning and teaching  methods/strategies used to enable the achievement of learning outcomes:

Learning takes place on a number of levels through lectures, class discussion including problem review and analysis.  Formal lectures provide a foundation of information on which the student builds through directed learning and self managed learning outside of the class.  The students are actively encouraged to form study groups to discuss course material which fosters a greater depth learning experience.

Assessment methods which enable student to demonstrate the learning outcomes for the Unit:

Examination: 3 hours duration 100%

Indicative Reading for this Unit:

Main Text:

Organisational Behaviour: An Introductory Text – David Buchanan & Andrej Huczynski (Prentice Hall)

Alternative Texts and Further Reading:

Management and Organisational Behaviour – Laurie J Mullins (Prentice Hall)

Guideline for Teaching and Learning Time (10 hrs per credit)

50 hours Lectures / Seminars / Tutorials / Workshops

Tutorial support includes feedback on assignments and may vary by college according to local needs and wishes.

50 hours Directed learningAdvance reading and preparation / Class preparation / Background reading / Group study / Portfolio / Diary etc

100 hours Self managed learning

Working through the course text and completing assignments as required will take up the bulk of the learning time.  In addition students are expected to engage with the tutor and other students and to undertake further reading using the web and/or libraries.