BE410-5-AU-CO:
Organisational Behaviour
2019/20
Essex Business School
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Thursday 03 October 2019
Saturday 14 December 2019
15
09 October 2019
Requisites for this module
BE400 or IA711
(none)
(none)
(none)
BE422, BE431, BE434, BE435, BE439, BE938, BE939
BSC NN24 Accounting and Management,
BSC NN27 Accounting and Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC NN42 Accounting and Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NNK2 Accounting and Management (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N200 Business Management,
BSC N201 Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N202 Business Management (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N204 Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BA NR19 Business Management and Modern Languages,
BA N1R9 Business Management with a Modern Language,
BA T7N2 Latin American Studies with Business Management,
BA T7N4 Latin American studies with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NN25 Management and Marketing,
BSC NN2M Management and Marketing (Including Placement Year),
BSC NNF5 Management and Marketing (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MN00 Law with Business,
LLB MN01 Law with Business (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MN02 Law with Business (Including Placement Year),
BA N19R Business Management and Language Studies,
BSC N344 Finance and Management,
BSC N345 Finance and Management (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N346 Finance and Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC N347 Finance and Management (Including Foundation Year)
This module builds on the first year module BE400 to develop and deepen several of
the themes introduced there. The intention is to dig deeper into the concepts of
management, work and organization in order to understand the interplay of
management practices and experiences of organizational life. The focus is on
understanding the social, historical, economic, and cultural context within which
things and people are organized. The module considers a number of broad and
overlapping topics in the field of organizational behaviour and explores these with
reference to both their historical origins and their contemporary relevance.
The focus is on the social and cultural dynamics and power relations and that shape
the management and experience of organizational life. 'Organization' here has three
meanings, organization as an entity, a thing (an organization); organization as an
activity, a practice (organizing) and organization as an idea, even an ideal. All these
three meanings have a direct impact on how we organize and manage in our daily
lives and work.
Whilst a clear description of organizational realities is important, to really understand
management, work and organization, it is necessary to move beyond description,
first to analyse and then to critically evaluate. Analysis means moving beyond
description to understand the social contexts, processes and dynamics that give rise
to particular organizational structures, relations and patterns of behaviour.
All students who successfully complete this module should be able to make and
articulate an informed judgement on specific management and organizational
practices, evaluating them in terms of their contexts and effects. This is an essential
skill set for all managers, who are often in a privileged and influential position when it
comes to making changes to the way we organize. It is also an important basis for
final year study and beyond.
The aims of the module are:
1. To provide an appropriate level of conceptual and theoretical understanding of
organizational behaviour.
2. To develop an informed understanding of the ways in which broader social
contexts and changes affect organizational behaviour and management
practice.
3. To develop students’ abilities to engage in critical analysis, evaluation and
argumentation through class discussion, reading, participation and
assessment.
On successful completion of the module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate a social scientifically informed understanding of organizational
behaviour, drawing on relevant theories, concepts and examples of
organizational settings (CWI and CWII).
2. Apply social scientific concepts and ideas to explain and evaluate changing
contexts shaping the management and experience of work organizations
(CWII).
3. Develop and deploy skills in critical analysis, evaluation and argumentation
through class discussion, reading, participation and assessment (CWI and
CWII).
Assessment for this Module is by 100% Coursework.
This module has been designed to fully integrate lectures, classes and assignment
preparation. It does so in three ways:
(i) Discussion questions for the first two classes (Weeks 4 and 6) are the
assessment questions for the first of the two coursework assignments;
(ii) Core readings that these questions are based on have been provided (on
Moodle) as essential class and assignment preparation, and
(iii) Discussion of draft answers to these questions and thoughts on the readings
will enable all students to benefit from developmental feedback in the relevant
fortnightly classes. Class preparation and participation is therefore essential to
successful completion of both coursework assignments. Further details and
guidance will be provided in weekly lectures.
Lectures provide an introduction and overview of the topic – a 'way in' to thinking
about it. You should NOT expect the lecture to cover all of the relevant material but
each lecture will cover material that is directly relevant to both pieces of coursework.
The 'backbone' of the module is the readings and the class discussion questions that
feed directly into the coursework assignments. It is very important to prepare for the
fortnightly classes, having made some notes on the relevant reading material and
discussion questions. If you have not done the required reading, your class tutor may
ask you to leave the class and spend the time doing the reading instead. This is to
be fair to those who have read and prepared. This means that if you don't come to
the class having prepared in advance you will miss out on valuable discussion and
guidance that will help you to complete the assignments to the best of your abilities
and get the best grades you can for the module. There are only 4 classes so make
the most of the opportunity to learn, and to develop the knowledge and academic
skills that you need to do well in your second year and beyond.
- (2017) Introducing Organizational Behaviour and Management, Andover: Cengage Learning.
- Stephen Ackroyd; Philip Crowdy. (1990) 'Can culture be managed? Working with 'raw' material: The case of the English slaughtermen', in Personnel Review. vol. 19 (5) , pp.3-13
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course. The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students. Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
ASSIGNMENT ONE |
|
20% |
| Coursework |
ASSIGNMENT TWO |
|
80% |
Additional coursework information
Assignment (1): Short-answer portfolio, 1500 words excluding references (20%)
Assignment (2): Research and review essay, 3000 words excluding references (80%)
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Melissa Tyler, email: mjtyler@essex.ac.uk.
Melissa Tyler, Sophie Hales, Tony Holt, Mohamed Shaaban, Hannah Kendrick
ebsugcol@essex.ac.uk
No
Yes
No
Prof Simon Lilley
University of Lincoln
Professor
Available via Moodle
Of 160 hours, 156 (97.5%) hours available to students:
4 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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