Organizational Behavior

This course will examine human behavior within the context of a business environment, covering such topics as leadership, communication, conflict, individual differences, learning and motivation, personality and emotions, satisfaction, group structure and teams, change, work design and organizational culture and development. This course takes a macro view of organizational behavior through the optics of organizational learning and change, leadership, and culture. The focus of the course is on the theoretical processes through which the organization as a system learns and evolves; this focus continues from the theoretical to the practical, with critical observation and reflection used as vehicles to transcend the theoretical realm to comparative, real-world assessments. Though individual behavior will be discussed as an important precursor to organizational behavior, this in not principally a course in the conventional study of how humans as individuals learn, retain, synthesize, operationalize, and behave, but one elevated to the organizational level of analysis?one that explores how organizations process and institutionalize information over time, and how these affect change, and how they affect the behavior of the organization as a whole. The role of the leader will be emphasized, as will the all-important dimension of culture (and its many components), especially within international organizations and systems. Also, and in order to understand the importance of individual behavior traits and actions that impact heavily upon the organization, we will make explorations into the field of neuro-science in order to gain a topical grasp of the fundamentals of cognition, Game Theory, and non-verbal communication. Much of the course will take a lecture-and-discussion format. There will also be in-class projects, presentations and library exercises (to be assigned during the class sessions). In that twenty (20) percent of the student?s final grade will be derived from class participation, it will be essential that the student prepare for each class by reading and reflecting upon the supplemental reading assignments that will be given during each class (in preparation for the next class). It is emphasized that I will not be so much concerned about the relative correctness of your opinions and presentations as I will be regarding how you take a position and then rationally and unemotionally defend it based upon reasoned theory, independent thought, and/or practical experience. We will also spend a bit of time exploring some of the barriers to cultural understanding between people and organizations, and how to use our reasoning processes and capacities to think and react critically to bridge the gaps that exist between cultures.