SYLLABUS

MANAGING PEOPLE IN ORGANISATIONS

Samantha Mather
Contact Hours: 40
Language of Instruction: English

LONDON, ENGLAND

COURSE OVERVIEW

One of the defining elements of modern life is that we spend great deal of time working in or
interacting with organizations, as an employee, vendor, volunteer, customer, client, or citizen.
Understanding the behavior of individuals and teams in organizations, and the ways
organizational structure and culture shapes that behavior, will make you more effective in all of
these roles, or at least less mystified by things you observe. Even if you never formally
assume the title of “manager”, as you grow and develop in your careers you will increasingly
finding yourself taking on managerial responsibilities, whether it involves leading entire
work unites, working in project teams, or overseeing the completion of tasks that require
coordination and collaboration with others. The purpose of this course is to 1) help you
understand how people in organizations function, 2) sharpen your analytical and problem-
solving skills when facing challenges typically faced as an employee or manager and develop
your interpersonal knowledge and skills so that you will be a more valuable organizational
member and future manager. Throughout the course, we will use an evidence-based
approach to develop insights and understand what best practices are being used in
organizations today and why they work the way they do.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
You can expect to:
• Increase your knowledge of organizational behavior, including individual personality
and values, managerial decision-making, organizational design, team performance,
and motivating and leading employees.
• Improve your ability to analyze managerial issues or challenges and suggest realistic
solutions which are sensitive to context and unintended consequences.
• Promote your ability to conduct evidence-based decision-making and problem
solving, using valid concepts and information.

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 • Assess your own strengths and weaknesses as a manager and leader, and encourage
you to develop in these areas to promote your future career.
• Understand organizations and people management, and develop a vocabulary that will
allow you to talk about both intelligently and knowledgeably
• Utilize skills learned from today’s global context in managing teams across
international jurisdictions and cultural sensitivity with respect to international
business, using the current location of London, England as a basis for UK and USA
comparison and wider international managing organization differences.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY
This class will involve a combination of lecture and individual and group activities, as well as
site visit/field trips and a guest lecturer relevant in the current UK managing organizations
environment. Lectures will provide you with the foundations of core business concepts and
will cover key materials from the textbook. Additional examples, real-life case studies, and
in-class exercises will be provided in order to enhance your understanding of theory and
application to practical aspects of business. Please arrive to class fully prepared (i.e.,
complete any assigned readings in advance of class and reflect on how the topics in the text
relate to topics covered in previous lectures, your own experiences, and current events).

Much of each class session will be devoted to the application of management concepts
through the analysis of actual business cases, newspaper articles, videos, or other relevant
materials. In analysing these situations, you must diagnose a problem facing an organization
or manager and demonstrate your understanding of management by crafting a solution to the
problem. These interactive sessions and exercises are particularly useful for small group
work and discussions.

COURSE READINGS

Robbins, Stephen P. & Judge, Timothy A. (2016) Organizational Behavior. 18th Edition.

METHOD OF EVALUATION (GRADING)

Your course grade will be calculated as follows:

Individual assignments
Exam Part A – Multiple Choice 20%
Exam Part B – Written Answers 20%
Individual Reflection Journal 10%
Class participation 10%
Group assignment
Final project 40%

See appendix 1 for more details on assignments

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INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY

Lectures. Lectures are part of the sessions and will provide you with the foundations of core
business concepts. They will be primarily about key materials from the textbook but also
supplemented with additional material/examples and also in-class exercises to enhance your
understanding of theory and application to practical aspects of business. You must come fully
prepared to lectures, having read the chapters and reflected on how the topics covered in the
text tie into previous topics, your experiences, and current events.

Case Discussions. The majority of class will be devoted to the application of the
management concepts through the analysis of actual business cases, newspaper articles,
videos or other relevant materials.

In analyzing these situations, you must diagnose the problem facing an organization or
manager, and demonstrate your understanding of management by crafting a solution to the
problem. Interactive sessions and exercises are particularly useful for small group work and
discussions related to topics covered over the course of the term.

My role in the class is to help facilitate discussion. In a classroom setting, I will try very hard
to ensure that everyone participates, but rest assured that informed and active participation is
an essential part of this class and is expected of everyone. Classroom participation should be
voluntary, though I will make cold calls if necessary, so be prepared for every session as
substantive participation contributes to a much better class session and learning.

Groups. You will be divided into groups of your choosing with some boundaries and will
work with your group for the entire term. There are both Group assignments and Individual
assignments in this class. For group work, diversity is what you are after, it makes for a much
better learning experience, decision-making, creativity and also reflects the way work gets
done in real-world organizations.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Every class (whether on- or off-site) must be attended. Absence will only be accepted on
grounds of sickness. Sickness must be notified in advance in person (by phone, note or email)
either to Amanda or Mary. Any absence not for sickness, for example for travel purposes,
will affect your grade.

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COURSE OUTLINE

This 10 week program begins by providing the organizational context in which groups and
people work. Using a product or service of their own choices, students will design their own
organizational environment. As the weeks progress, students will drill down into how people
function in such an environment.

At Week 3 we look at how groups and team operate

and apply the context which they have designed for
their product/service. Week 4 will address some of
the key challenges in teams: communication and
conflict.

Weeks 5 and 6 focus on leadership, what it is, how

it might impact the environment and teams, and
conversely how the environment and teams impact
leadership! The key challenges for leadership are
addressed: change, power and politics and decision
making.

The final three weeks look at the individual

employee and the relationship between the
contextual environment and the employee’s
performance and behaviour. This brings us full
circle to the culture and environment!
Figure 1
The course covers the topics in the set book (the
relevant chapter numbers are shown in grey in
figure 1). Students will be expected to read each of the chapters in preparation for the
following week’s lesson. Homework will be provided between weeks.

Outcomes:

For each week there are set outcomes:

Week 1 By the end of week 1, students will be able to:

• Define what is meant by Organisational Behaviour
• Explain the history of Organisational Behaviour
• Perform an organizational analysis using Galbraiths model
• Evaluate alternative organisational structures
Week 2 By the end of week 2, students will be able to:
• Describe culture at an organisational level
• Explain four different types of culture
• Apply Hofstedes cultural measures at a national level
• Explain the role of HR using the Ulrich model
• Describe the tools used by organisations to assess talent.
Week 3 By the end of week 3, students will be able to:
• Describe the components of a team
• Describe the roles people take in teams

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 • Explain the team development process
• Evaluate the process of team decision making
• Describe the dysfunctions of a team and how to overcome them

Week 4 By the end of week 4, students will be able to:

• Define different types of conflict
• Explain the role of conflict in teams
• Identify different conflict resolution strategies
• Describe the process of communication
• Explain the role of the Triune brain in conflict and communication

Week 5 By the end of week 5, students will be able to:

• Describe the evolution of leadership development
• Articulate the role of management vs leadership
• Compare the different leadership theories
• Describe the different sources of organisational power
• Identify power tactics.

Week 6 By the end of week 6, students will be able to:

• Describe the key change models
• Explain the process of change for individuals
• Explain why people resist change
• Identify strategies to manage resistance to change
• Describe different decision-making approaches
• Explain the challenges of bias in decision making
• Develop strategies for reducing bias

Week 7 By the end of week 7, students will be able to:

• Describe the difference between creativity and innovation
• Identify key organisational mechanisms to enable creativity and
innovation
• Describe what is meant by psychological safety
• Explain the benefits of Psychological Safety in neurological terms
• Define motivation
• Articulate the premise of key motivational theories
• Apply the theories to the workplace
• Evaluate the impact of motivational mechanisms used on
organisations
• Identify their own motivators

Week 8 By the end of week 8, students will be able to:

• Identify different personality preferences using Jungian principles
• Identify their personality preferences
• Explain the rationale for personality strengths and weaknesses
• Spot personality preference clues
• Flex their communication styles according to personality preferences

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 • Explain the impact of personality in organisational contexts

Week 9 By the end of week 9, students will be able to:

• Explain what stress is and how it impacts individuals
• Describe techniques for managing stress
• Explain emotional intelligence and why it’s important in the
workplace
• Apply techniques to manage own emotions and thoughts
• Describe key activities that promote wellbeing
• Articulate why organisations are promoting wellbeing
• Write a reflection diary

Week 10 Week 10 is examination week.

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Appendix 1: Assignments

Individual assignments

Exam
There will be two examinations designed to evaluate your mastery primarily of the materials
covered in the course textbook and lectures. Each is worth 20% of the final grade. They may
consist of multiple choice, short essay questions, brief essays, and readings.

Class participation
Engagement is assessed based on involvement (e.g. asking questions, demonstrating active
listening) and quality of contributions. We are all responsible for making sure that each class
session is lively and stimulating. Much of the learning in this course comes from you
listening carefully to the comments of your fellow students and then adding your own
thoughts that move the discussion forward.

Individual Reflection
This is a written piece of work enabling you to reflect on your learning. Not only learning
about the topic but what you learnt about yourself when working in the teams or throughout
the course. You will be provided with guidance as to how to reflect and get the most from
your experience. The final assignment will have a minimum of 2, no more than 3 key
learning moments. Marks will be assigned based on:
• Recognition the of key learning moments, how, when, why etc
• Reflection on the why this was a key moment for you
• Analysis as to the impact of this on you
• Deeper understanding of why this was the case
• Recognition of next steps/changes to be made.

Group assignment

Final Project
The Situation: You have been appointed as a consultant by the new HR Director of your
chosen company. The HR director is looking to devise a new HRM strategy. In order to
decide in what direction to take, the HR Director is looking for an analysis of the current
organisational strengths and weaknesses from an HRM perspective.

As a group, choose one company that your group members are working for. By the end of the
semester, will need to provide a report from which the HRD can make some strategic
decisions. The models you will need to use in the report will be provided to you over the
course of the program.

There are three parts to the report:

Part 1 : Environmental Analysis (max 3 pages excluding appendices)

This section should outline the nature of the market that the organisation is operating in, its
competitors and challenges. It should include:
• A PESTE analysis
• Details as to skills needed for this type of organisation
• A SWOT on the labour market situation for your organisation

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Part 2 : Organisational Analysis (max 5 pages excluding appendices)

The Organisational Analysis should:

• Detail current HRM practices and offerings in the organisation
• Include a SWOT analysis
• Include a short analysis using either Galbraith’s model or the Burke-Litwin model.
• Interviews with at least 2 members of staff. The contents of which will
a. Provide input into your analysis of the current HRM
b. Be used as evidence for your recommendations. (Note: You can make
recommendations that do not align with what the staff are saying - you will
have to justify why)

Part 3 : Recommendations (max 5 pages excluding appendices)

• Given your findings, what recommendations would you make to the organisation and
why.
• For each recommendation back it up with a rationale and clearly state the benefits the
organisation will gain by implementing your recommendation.
• Detail the risks and any mitigations available
• Create a change plan for the implementation of your recommendations: what
resources needed, what order you think things should happen, how you will
communicate it, who needs to be involved and what resistance you think there may
be.

Requirements
• You must use at least 10 library-based resources for this project –electronic resources
specific to this class and this project that will act as many of your 10-library-based
resources are available (authentic and respected sources of information e.g.
newspapers, journals, annual reports, business week, Mintel reports, etc.…)
• All project items must be submitted by week 10.
• This should be written in report format
• Feel free to use diagrams & tables, although an explanatory paragraph must support it
• Include a cover page with the group name and team member names
• Attach all appendices

Required Appendices: (be sure to refer to these in your paper)

a) Organization Chart
b) List of Key Players (e.g. CEO, top management team, interviewees w/ title)
c) Short Description of Industry
d) Any SWOT analyses you have performed
e) Bibliography (APA or MPA standard)
f) Transcripts of interviews

Grading Criteria: Grades for this assignment will be based on the quality of the report. It
should be presented in a coherent, logical and business-like style incorporating concepts and
terms learned in the course.

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