Course Description

Traditional organizational management consisted of a behavioralist approach, focusing on employee
rewards and punishments in order to develop motivation and to provide for employee satisfaction and
organizational sustainability.

In a 1998 study of 2,143 executives in 23 nations, organizational culture was cited most frequently as
the primary barrier preventing corporations from achieving business goals. Culture helps us to make
sense of things and establishes an environment that produces patterns of human interaction. Those
organizations with truly integrated people process cultural practices, tactics and strategies have a
superior environment that supports superb patterns of human interaction. According to Jeffery Pfeffer
of Stanford University, high performing people‐centered organizations are outperforming their
counterparts by 30‐40%. However, less than 10% of today’s organizations have been able to create such
cultures.

 

Course Objectives

The importance of an understanding and awareness of organizational culture is essential to effective
management. Corporate culture isn't something one can easily define. It's intangible: a state of mind, a
feeling, a collective consciousness that's infused in a business and its employees.

This course aims to introduce organizational culture concepts and gives you some first hand experience
in understanding the cultural values of an organization. We will also examine tools and frameworks that
can be used to identify and evaluate key cultural values of an organization, which will provide
techniques about changing the corporate culture to increase satisfaction and performance.

This course will take an innovative approach at studying theory while also taking a hands‐on, real‐life
experience look at organizational culture. You will be provided with a variety of perspectives and
experiences. At the same time, you will have a course project which will be the examination of an
organization's explicit and implicit cultural values. You will also get a chance to compare the cultures of
several organizations through your colleagues' projects and cases we will cover in class.

This course aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of the starting and operating
business. Students will analyze economic, financial, and professional considerations surrounding
business ownership and operations.

 

Learning Goals

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. To understand the relationship between organizational culture and the business context.
2. What is organizational culture and what role does it play in contributing to effective management,
   organizational innovation, and success?
3. To understand how stories, legends, rituals and heroes are key elements of organizational culture
   and functioning, and may actually serve more important objectives than formal decision making.
4. To understand the role of organizational culture in change management;
5. To understand the symbolic and analytic elements of organizational culture (e.g., stories, myths,
   heroes and villains) and the role they play in an organization;
6. To develop an awareness of different cultural types or personalities of organizations and how that
   personality plays a role in leadership, change, organizational behavior and ethics:
7. To understand the effects of cultural organization in terms of the integration, differentiation and
   fragmentation;
8. To examine and develop an awareness of the role of organizational culture in leadership.

 

Bibliography

Textbook

Stephen Robbins. Essentials of Organizational Behavior with My Management Lab: Global
Edition, 13/E, Pearson Higher Education, 2015, ISBN‐13: 9780133920819

 

Grading System

Grade	Percentage	Quality	Credit Points
A	93 ‐ 100	Outstanding	4
A-	90 ‐ 92		3.75
B+	87 ‐ 89		3.5
B	83 ‐ 86	Good	3
B-	80 ‐ 82		2.75
C+	77 ‐ 79	Satisfactory	2.5
C	70 ‐ 76		2
F	0 ‐ 69	Failure	0

 

Course Outline

Module 1
Description	Description Introduction to organizational behavior. Attitudes and job satisfaction
To read	Chapter 1, 3
To prepare	Discussion Questions ‐ DQ1 & DQ2; Writing assignment # 1
Module 2
Description	Description Emotions and Moods. Personality and Values. Perception and individual decision making
To read	Chapter 4, 5, 6
To prepare	Discussion Questions – DQ3 & DQ4; Writing Assignment # 2
Module 3
Description	Description Motivation concepts and Applications
To read	Chapter 7, 8
To prepare	Discussion Questions – DQ5 & DQ6; Writing Assignment # 3
Module 4
Description	Description Foundation of group behavior. Understanding work teams
To read	Chapters 9, 10
To prepare	Discussion Questions – DQ7 & DQ8; Writing Assignment # 4
Module 5
Description	Description Communication and Leadership
To read	Chapter 11, 12
To prepare	Discussion Questions – DQ9 & DQ10; Writing Assignment # 5
Module 6
Description	Description Power and Politics. Conflict and negotiation
To read	Chapters 13, 14
To prepare	Discussion Questions – DQ11 & DQ12; Writing Assignment # 6
Module 7
Description	Description Organization structure and organizational culture
To read	Chapters 15, 16
To prepare	Discussion Questions – DQ13 & DQ14; Writing Assignment # 7
Module 8
Description	Conclusion and Final Project
To read	Chapter 17
To prepare	Final Exam

 

Assessment

Discussion Questions / Participation
Percent of the final grade: 20%
Writing Assignments
Percent of the final grade: 20%
Midterm Exam
Percent of the final grade: 30%
Final Exam
Percent of the final grade: 30%

Academic integrity

Students are required to read UBIS Rules and Regulations on plagiarism and to acknowledge the
multiple forms that plagiarism takes along with the sanctions that can go as far as school exclusion.
Every infraction will be reported to the disciplinary board which will analyse the situation and
circumstances, and decide on the sanction to apply.

Academic dishonesty may take the forms of: 1. Plagiarism, i.e. copying the ideas or work of another
person without citing the source. This includes books, extracts of articles, tables, diagrams and material
from internet or other electronic sources. 2. Submission of work more than once, including work
submitted at a prior institution, unless prior approval has been obtained. 3. Cheating on an examination.
4. Submission of work that is not your own without citation. 5. Adding your name to work to which you
have not contributed or allowing another student to do the same. 6. Unauthorized or inappropriate use
of computers, calculators and other forms of technology in coursework, assignments or examinations.
All these can lead to disciplinary sanction.

Please refer to your student handbook for full details.