Organisational Behaviour

Module title	Organisational Behaviour
Module code	BEM2047
Academic year	2024/5
Credits	30
Module staff	Dr Christine Parkin Hughes (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	12	11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	550

Module description

This module builds your knowledge of organisations, and your ability to analyse organisational life. It explores organisational behaviour theory in order to develop your ability to appraise the functioning of organisations. It will therefore develop a critical mind-set, built from a strong understanding of organisational theory to enable you to operate as an effective future organisational leader. This module builds from and extends the content delivered within the first-year module, BEM1023 Discovering Management.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to develop your knowledge of organisational theory, your awareness of the complexity of managerial and organisational problems, and to equip you with the skills needed to analyse how and why organisations behave as they do. You can develop your knowledge and skills through discussion and exploration of real-world organisational issues.

Employability

This module equips students with the ability to understand and unpick organisational ‘problems’, providing clear, managerially relevant solutions. Students will develop their abilities to produce management reports, critically discussing and appraising differing views on phenomena.

Internationalisation

The module draws from the international experience of our faculty, and uses global examples to illustrate concepts, and differing approaches to structuring organisations and their management.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Explain key theories and perspectives within the field of organisational behaviour
2. Apply the concepts and perspectives introduced to organisational case studies.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Critically evaluate differing perspectives of organisational theory, arriving at reasoned conclusions

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

4. Work independently and be self-motivated
5. Produce reports which analyse discrete aspects of an organisation, providing managerially relevant advice and/or recommendations as appropriate

Syllabus plan

Indicative content for this module includes:

Individuals at work;
Identity, personality and perception;
Motivation and engagement;
Organisational culture, power and politics;
Groups and teams;
Sustainability- employee happiness and wellbeing;
Organisational change;
Leadership and management;
Series of guest speakers exploring very current and emerging themes and research. For example (but not restricted to):
- Automating Management – the promises and perils;
- Diversity, Inclusion, Cohesion and Equality (DICE);
- Psychometric testing;
- Gossip;
- Wellbeing.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
48	252	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Teaching and learning activities	23	Whole cohort lectures
Scheduled Teaching and learning activities	16	Seminars
Scheduled Teaching and learning activities	5	Assessment surgeries
Guided Independent Study	146	Assessment preparation
Guided Independent Study	110	Pre-session and post-session reading and revision

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Submission of one-page overview of report	1 x A4 page	1-5	Verbal feedback from tutor team
Examination guidance	In class	1-4	In class tutor verbal feedback

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
50	50	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Individual report	50	2,000 words	1-5	Feedback through ELE/grademark
Examination	50	2 hours	1-4	Generic cohort feedback through ELE; individual marks delivered to students

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Individual report	Individual report (50%)	1-5	Referral/deferral period
Examination	Examination (50%)	1-4	Referral/deferral period

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you have been deferred for any assessment you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Buchanan, DA and Huczynski, A (2019) Organizational Behaviour, 10^th ed., Harlow: Pearson.

Grey, C. (2017) A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Studying Organizations, 4^th edition, London: Sage.

King, D. and Lawley, S. (2019) Organizational Behaviour, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Knights, D. and Willmott, H. (eds) (2012) Introducing Organizational Behaviour and Management, London: Thompson.

Mullins, L.J. (2016) Management and Organisational Behaviour, 11^th ed., Harlow: Pearson.

Robbins S.P. and Judge, T.A. (2017) Essentials of Organizational Behaviour, 14^th ed., Harlow: Pearson

Wilson, F. (2018) Organizational Behaviour and Work: A Critical Introduction, 5^th ed., Oxford: OUP

Relevant Academic Journals:

Harvard Business Review
British Journal of Management
Academy of Management Journal

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Students will have access to an ELE page which will provide extensive material to support the lecture programme including lecture notes, and short explanatory videos.

Key words search

Business, Management, Organisations, Organisational Theory

Credit value	30
Module ECTS	15
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	5
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	01/07/2019
Last revision date	14/03/2024