Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Postgraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2010-2011 (archived)

Module BUSS41015: Organisational Behaviour

Department: Economics, Finance and Business (Business) [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

BUSS41015: Organisational Behaviour

Type Open Level 4 Credits 15 Availability Available in 2010/11 Module Cap None.
Tied to N5K207
Tied to N5K309

Prerequisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • This module aims to cover key issues concerning the behaviour of individuals in organisations.

Content

  • Introduction to organisational behaviour.
  • Individual differences: personal and mental ability.
  • Management of attitudes and work motivation.
  • Leading others.
  • Organisational culture.
  • Managing group dynamics and teamwork.
  • Decision-making in organisations.
  • Trust within organisations.
  • An introduction to the management of change.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • By the end of the module students should:
  • Have a critical understanding of why employees display different attitudes and patterns of behaviour in the organisational environment.
  • Have a critical understanding of how individual-level processes (e.g. personality) and group-level processes (e.g. culture) interact to produce organisational level outcomes.
  • Have a critical understanding of the link of major processes, such as leadership, motivation and trust, with individual and organisational outcomes.
  • Have a critical understanding of the importance of careful and informed planning and preparation for the success of human resource interventions.
  • Have a critical awareness of the fact that appropriate design must be accompanied by careful implementation for the success of a human resource system.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • By the end of the module students should:
  • Be able to use key organisational behaviour techniques (e.g. goal setting theory of motivation) to design human resource systems that improve individual (e.g. productivity, well-being) and unit (e.g. team cohesion) outcomes.
  • Be able to evaluate the merit of academic and professional publications from both a scientific and a practitioner’s point of view.
Key Skills:
    Written communication; planning, organising and time management; problem solving and analysis; using initiative; computer literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • The module will be taught in 3-hour blocks to allow a greater level of engagement with students and to enable a flexibility of approach as appropriate. The teaching blocks will comprise a balanced mix of lecture-type teaching, group work, case studies, discussion and seminar style working such as will enable the learning outcomes to be met.
  • The summative assessment will take the form of an in-depth, essay-style report analysing a detailed 'OB' case study, using a range of theories encountered on the module. The second half of the report will require students to generate a set of credible and feasible change management interventions to address the issues in the case, thus demonstrating their understanding of key issues and techniques.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Teaching Blocks 9 1 per week 3 hours 27
Preparation & Reading 123
Total 150

Summative Assessment

Component: Essay-style report based on a case study Component Weighting: 100%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Essay-style report based on a case study 2500 words (maximum) 100%

Formative Assessment:

1500-word essay


Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University