SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND LANGUAGES

C18OB
Organisational Behaviour
Course Handbook
DUBAI CAMPUS

Semester 2, Academic Session 2015 -2016

COURSE LEADER: Professor Nicolina Kamenou-Aigbekaen

IntroductionWelcome to Organisational Behaviour, C18OB Stage 2, Semester 2. Please read this

document carefully as it contains important information regarding the structure, delivery
and assessment of the course. The course leader, lecturer and tutor for the course is
Prof. Nicolina Kamenou-Aigbekaen.
N.Kamenou-Aigbekaen@hw.ac.uk
Office F31
Course Leader Availability
Appointment is by email. Please always email me IN ADVANCE to arrange a suitable
time.
LECTURES' teaching day and time:
Tuesdays 1 pm to 3 pm. Auditorium.
IMPORTANT: In week 2, you are required to check the timetable so you can
identify your own tutorial time (tutorials run weeks 3 to 10)- UPDATE:
TUTORIALS WILL RUN UNTIL WEEK 11
Course Description & Outline
Henry Mintzberg called the 20th century the century of the organisation because for
him the growth of the organisation was one of its defining characteristics. He
highlighted the growth of the organisation by pointing out that they have become an
inescapable part of our lives and that it is now impossible to imagine a world that is
organisation-free. For example, you were probably born in one, educated by them and in
them, and if, say, a football fan, you support one. You will probably go and work in one
or create one, your illnesses are treated by one, you get married in one etc. The broad
conclusion here is, its impossible to ignore them.
Within Year 1 management the context for management was the organisation - its
where managers do management and the emphasis was on the formal, visible structure
called the organisation. Accountancy, finance, and economics deal with the more
formal aspects of the organisation as a legal structure which, amongst other things, must
submit annual reports, financial reports with budgets and forward planning.
Organisational Behaviour (OB), on the other hand, looks at all aspects of the
organisation including the formal and informal, the covert and overt as organisations are
where people enter into competition with each other, where careers are made or ruined,
where people cooperate with each other, where people joke, laugh, cry, argue, lust, fight,
resist and criticise. Consequently there are issues here of, amongst other things, ethics,
morality, politics, power, influence, stress, favouritism and you may have witnessed or
experienced most of these and more at work. If it is difficult to imagine a world without
organisations the study of them must be of some importance.
An obvious question here might be, what is OB for? The study of OB is not some dry,
abstract academic exercise with little or no practical application; it is hoped that it can
provide practicing managers with insights into understanding the behaviour of the people
they manage, what motivates and drives them, the dynamics of groups and the ways in
which groups form and develop over time and of the various roles that people carry out
in them. It can help both managers and the managed to develop strategies for dealing
with group and individual conflict, and it can provide managers with an understanding of
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the sources of their power and authority and make them think about under the surface
factors such as individual differences and sources of conflict between individuals and
groups, about how people learn at work and how certain types of behaviour can be
reinforced or extinguished.
When considering the contribution that OB makes to the field of management, Fred
Luthans, a leading academic in the area of OB cites another authority in the areas of OB
and Human Resource Management, Geert Hofstede, who points out that management is
about people and its essence is dealing with human nature and as human nature has been
relatively stable over time, management has been and will be equally stable over time.
Hofstede notes that while law, technology and management processes change
dramatically and often over a short period of time, the human side of the organisation has
not changed and will not change quickly.
Some of your other subjects such as accountancy, finance and economics attempt to deal
in certainties, where things are either right or wrong and where definitive answers may
be provided. OB, on the other hand, does not recognise certainties or absolutes; it deals
with human beings who have emotions, needs and wants and who bring all aspects of the
self to work and this makes for an interesting academic discipline but a challenge to
manage.
Course Reading
The core reading material for the course is Organisational Behaviour C18OB
Compiled by Robert Graham Heriot-Watt University (2014). Copies of the book are
available from the library.
All lecture slides will be posted on VISION but hard copies of lecture notes will not
be provided. Lecture slides are an overview and an introduction to the topic under
discussion, nothing more than that. You are required to read further from the main core
text. The text has many illustrative case studies and learning checks and if students use
the book as suggested they should be able to face the exam with a fair degree of
confidence. Lecture slides are an overview of the topic under discussion, nothing more
than that and exam answers which consists of recycled lecture notes will lose marks.
Course Syllabus

The background, history, study, development and importance of OB

The role of individual differences such as personality, perception, job satisfaction
How employees learn and the techniques of reinforcement
The differences between power, politics and influence in organisations, their
sources and the ethics of organisational power
Techniques and ideas about leadership
Group dynamics and the resolution of conflict
How the culture of an organisation develops and is maintained and how national
differences can shape or influence the organisations culture

Nine broad topics will be covered on the course and these are:
1. An introduction to OB
2. Individual Differences
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Learning and Reinforcement

Power, Politics and Influence
Leadership as an Influence Process
Groups and Conflict Management
Organisational Culture
Stress at Work
An Overview of Working Conditions and Behaviour

Learning Outcomes
The course has eight knowledge based objectives and by the end of it you should have an
understanding of:
The background, study, development, and importance of organisational
behaviour;
The role of individual differences;
How employees learn and techniques of reinforcing and learning;
The differences between power, politics, and influence in organisations, their
sources, and how they are employed and controlled;
Techniques of and ideas about leadership;
The importance of group dynamics, and the causes and management of
conflict within organisations;
How the culture of an organisation develops and how it might be changed;
The challenge of work-related stress, its sources, outcomes, and
management.
The skills based objectives of the course are to allow students to apply key aspects of
organisational behaviour to the world of work. This will allow the student to influence
the attitudes and behaviour of individuals and groups at work, and to recognise how to
influence and cope with change at the organisational level.
Structure and Delivery of the course:
You are expected to attend classes and the Schools policy on attendance is that you
should have a minimum attendance of 80% and you may be asked to sign in to lectures.
It will be to your benefit in the long run to attend but if you want to fail the exam then
your chances will be greatly enhanced if you do not attend classes.
Poor attendance may lead to exclusion from the exam and this information is contained
in the Schools attendance policy which you will find at:
http://www.hw.ac.uk/registry/resources/Student Attendance Policy.pdf

Outline Lecture Programme*

1. Introduction to the course, reading materials, assessment etc. WEEK 1
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2. Who studies OB? Why they study it & how they study it: OB Textbook Chs 1, 2 & 3
WEEK 2
3. The Rational Organisation: The legacy of Taylor: Chs 1, 2 & 3 WEEK 3, HOUR 1
4. The Genesis of Human Relations & how the world of work got interesting: Chs 1, 2 &
3, WEEK 3, HOUR 2
5 & 6. Individual differences: Ch 4 WEEK 4, HOUR 1
7 & 8. Memory & learning: Ch5 WEEK 4, HOUR 2
9 & 10. Power, politics & conflict: Chs 6 & 7. WEEK 5
11. Leadership as an influence process: Chs 8 & 9. WEEK 6, HOUR 1
12. Leadership & Management Compared: whats in a name? Chs 8 & 9 WEEK 6,
HOUR 2
13 & 14. Groups, group dynamics & group formation Chs 10 & 11 WEEK 7, HOUR 1
15. Organizational cultures & climates: Ch12 WEEK 7, HOUR 2
16. Organisational communication: Ch13 WEEK 8, HOUR 1
17. Organisational change: Ch14 WEEK 8, HOUR 2
18. Stress in the workplace: Ch16 WEEK 9, HOUR 1
19. Organisational commitment: Ch17 WEEK 9, HOUR 2
20. Meaning at Work: Ch 17 WEEK 10, HOUR 1
21. Technology & Organisations Ch 18 WEEK 10, HOUR 2
22. Contemporary Issues in OB Chs 1, 2 & 3 WEEK 11, HOUR 1
23. Course summary & revision FAQs WEEK 11, HOUR 2
All chapter numbers are from the OB Textbook
*This is an outline programme and the running order of lectures may be subject to
change.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Assessment and Weighting
Assessment for the course is split with 50% of the total mark based on coursework
(groupwork) and 50% the end of Semester exam.
COURSEW0RK- Information was circulated on this as a separate document
The front cover of your essay should have the course code (C18OB), your name and
student registration number and the word count so please ensure these are on the front
cover before you submit. Your essay must be written on single-sided paper with the
pages numbered and they should be stapled. If your essay fails to meet these
requirements it will only be marked at the discretion of the tutor.
Mitigating Circumstances
There is an automatic 30% deduction for late submissions of coursework as per SML
policy. If you had mitigating circumstances which prevented you from submitting your
coursework on time these will be considered by a Board which examines each case in
turn and determines whether the circumstances warrant the lifting of the penalty; if this
happens the student is not disadvantaged in any way. It is not up to any member of staff
to impose or lift the penalty, so do not badger the lecturer if you feel aggrieved by the
outcome. Mitigating circumstances taken into account include medical conditions but
these must be supported by a medical certificate provided by a GP or medical practice. If
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your claim is something very general such as feeling unwell but you did not visit a
doctor it is extremely unlikely that any penalty will be lifted.
End of Semester Exam
There is a two hour exam at the end of semester which counts for 50% of your total
mark. It is an open paper with five questions on it and you will answer any two from
five. Should you fail the course you will be given a second opportunity in the resit diet in
August but please note that if you have a resit your coursework mark is voided and you
will be assessed solely on the exam, thus 100% of your mark will be exam-based.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Referencing and Scholarship: (SML policy)
Scholarship
It is important as a student at university to read as widely as possible around your
subject. Your reading might include media and news but should, in particular, be
informed by robust academic work.
There are a number of primary objectives for academic reading:
To understand a theoretical concept,
To develop broader understanding of a subject,
To expand applied or practical knowledge of a subject,
To understand alternative viewpoints so it is possible to compare and contrast
ideas.
Textbooks are acceptable reading for introductory courses and early years of study. In
later years you will find that textbooks can provide the basis for understanding of an area
of study. However, you are also expected to refer to current research published in
academic journals. Do not confuse scholarly electronic sources with other kinds of
information available on the web.
Many web-based sources are useful, for example, the internet has excellent data about
organisations (often written by the firms themselves). There is a great deal of valuable
secondary data, such as economic/market/ population/etc. statistics from official and
policy bodies. However, there are many dangers with relying on the internet for data.
You must therefore use with caution. Examples of poor information on the web are:
Open-source information, such as Wikipedia these have no quality control
measures, so you cannot know if the source is accurate or robust. You should
therefore avoid open-source sites in assessed work.
Newspaper and other media articles can be very informative but they usually
comprise of opinion, or a political or social slant, so be aware of this when you
use them.
Referencing
In all academic writing Referencing is essential. Citing sources is the key mechanism
used to demonstrate the quality of arguments and evidence. It also allows you to
demonstrate that you are not stealing other people's work. Taking other peoples work
and implying it is yours by not citing it correctly is plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious
academic offence. See http://www.hw.ac.uk/registry/resources/PlagiarismGuide.pdf.
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The link provided above and the presentation available at Cite-Ref-Harvard-Style.ppt

provide many more examples of referencing different types of material. The library also
runs several useful sessions on academic practice and plagiarism.
Self-Plagiarism
Students should be aware that self-plagiarism is considered a disciplinary offence. Selfplagiarism is defined as using the same piece of work or parts of the same piece of work
in submissions for different courses, or different assessments within the same course.
Please see http://www.hw.ac.uk/ordinances/ for full information on academic rules.