Course Overview

This core course on Organizational Behavior addresses some of the complexities facing individuals and groups in the organizational context. As such, it draws upon an extensive and interdisciplinary body of knowledge (OB) to provide perspectives and insights into structures, processes and dynamics that are inherent to life in organizations. By focusing both on the individual & group levels, as well as the organization system as whole, students are invited to reflect on how to stimulate desired behavior and avoid dynamics that are not productive/constructive. Students are also invited to consider structural and cultural aspects, and to what extent these can be influenced in view of achieving flourishing organizations, much in line with a Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) perspective. Topics covered include sensemaking and emotions, group dynamics and teamwork, leadership, conflict, culture, organizational politics, knowledge management, innovation and change, corporate responsibility and ethical commitment, as well as organizational design. The course is designed so as to encourage a deeper understanding of OB dynamics by stimulating students' own reflections. As such it is a reflective course, with the course instructor serving as a guide as we jointly navigate through various landscapes of practice involving complexities at both strategic and ethical levels. The teaching format is interactive, and students are expected to actively participate in all elements of the course, including interactive lectures, classroom or small-group discussions, case work and workshops. Expected student commitment and classroom etiquette (please read this carefully): 1. Just like the instructor, students are expected to leave work and other social issues outside of the classroom during class time. The use of a laptop/pad in class requires special dispensation from the instructor, and is contingent on usage being learning-related. 2. Meals and snacks are reserved for break time; please do not bring food to the classroom to consume during the session. 3. Latecomers are expected to enter the classroom discreetly taking care not to disturb the ongoing session. 4. Active participation in class discussion is required. Students are expected to arrive prepared, having read the session materials beforehand. 5. Committed efforts are expected of all group members in group work. 6. Full attendance is required for successful completion of this course, see grading policy.

Learning Achievement

Competence

Course prerequisites

Classroom sessions: 'the good conversation' Active participation in the sessions is required and will be graded. This means that students are expected to come to class having read the assigned readings as well as the cases that apply to each session. The sessions will take the form of guided classroom conversations between students and instructor based on these materials, with the aim of sharing experiences and knowledge and generating a deeper understanding of the topic. Group Project/Poster Session: a reflective and creative contribution to the class During the course, students will form a total of 8 small groups and prepare a poster (5 students in each group) for the final seminar on June 15th. Groups must be registered with TA by March 16th. Each group will select an OB-related topic of their choice to investigate further. (An example of a topic might be to explore the importance of humility vs. confidence for leadership; or extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation for various roles/organizational contexts.) The choice of topic must be approved by Instructor by March 23rd. The project involves two parts: A. A literature review of the topic in question, that includes a minimum of 5 scientific articles on the topic (media articles and other data can be added additionally). The students' task is to compile the important ideas in these articles, in terms of what they tell us about the topic. This should lead to a set of 1-3 questions that students will investigate empirically in stage B. Students shall prepare an interview guide in order to conduct interviews of 30 min 1 hour in order to investigate the selected questions. Students shall also explain their selection of interviewees. The conclusions from the literature review, the question(s) to investigate and the interview guide shall be submitted to Instructor by April 18th, 10AM, and will be discussed during the small group session on April 20th. All group members are expected to attend the session and to be knowledgeable about the topic. NB! Students must use the template provided for the literature review conclusions. B. An empirical study, where 5 individuals are interviewed about the topic based on the interview guide. Students will then analyze the material, using both the previous literature and relevant concepts from the course. The study will be presented as a poster to the class in the poster session on June 15th. The poster must include the rationale for the study (why is this topic important?), what the literature tells us about this topic, what we can learn from the interviews, how this relates to concepts discussed during the course, and finally what are the key learning points to be retained from your project. Clarity, depth of analysis and quality of reflection, as well as creativity will be rewarded. NB! All required elements of the course (incl. assignments, workshops and attendance) must be fulfilled in timely fashion for successful completion of the course.

Grading Philosophy

Course schedule

Course type

Online Course Requirement

Instructor

Miriam Garvi

Other information

(College of Management Global Mba
*Registration eligibility: students in GMBA program.

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