96869 - ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIOLOGY

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module, students: - know the salient characteristics of individuals, work teams and organizational processes that influence organizational performance in face-to-face and virtual work settings; - are capable of analyzing risks and opportunities of different work designs, managing complex decision processes, and detecting and implementing strategies to solve organizational conflicts, particularly in globally distributed teams.

Course contents

This  course is meant to provide theoretical concepts and managerial tools to (a) understand and analyze the main models underlying organizational behavior and people management; (b) develop and increase critical skills in decision making through the analysis of the impact of theories; c) identify problem solving approaches through discussion of case studies.

Furthermore, this course intends to develop and practice teamwork skills by examining complex situations, identifying common action plans, and coming up with solution during projects. In order to do so, work groups will be set up.

1. The Individual in Organizations:

1.1. Individual differences: personalities and skills

1.1.1.Definition of personality

1.1.2.The Big Five model

1.1.3.The most relevant personality traits

1.1.4.Personality assessment

1.2. Values, attitudes, moods and emotions

1.2.1.The nature of values, attitudes, moods and emotions

1.2.2.The relationships between values, attitudes, moods and emotions

1.2.3.Job satisfaction

1.2.4.Potential consequences of job satisfaction

1.3. Motivation at work

1.3.1.What motivation in work settings is: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

1.3.2.Why people act the way they act: Motivational theories

1.3.3.Goal setting, performance assessment, compensation, and career management as motivational tools

2. Group and Team Processes

2.1. Work groups

2.1.1.Different kinds of work teams and the 5-stage development model

2.1.2.Team characteristics

2.1.3.Team effectiveness

2.1.4.How to measure team effectiveness

2.1.5.Team dysfunctional processes

2.1.6.Virtual teams

3. Power, Politics and Conflicts

3.1. Sources of individual formal and informal power and organizational units' power

3.2. Politics as the exercise of power in organizations

3.3. Conflict in organizations

3.4. Sources of conflict in organizations

3.5. Pondy's model of organizational conflict

3.6. Tacticts to handle conflict in organizations

Readings/Bibliography

· The handbook of the course is: Jennifer M. George and Gareth R. Jones. (2014). Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior. London: Pearson Education.

· Case studies, literature (book chapters and international papers), and further material available on the Internet will be provided on the website on virtuale.unibo.it, handed over or suggested during class activities.

The project is based on a Harvard Business case study indicated at the beginning of class activities.

Additional References for the Overall Course

§ Kayes, A., Kayes, D. C., Elsbach, K.D. (2016). Contemporary Organizational Behavior: From Ideas to Action. India: Pearson.

Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A. (2017). Essentials of Organizational Behavior, Global Edition. London: Pearson.

Teaching methods

The course is organized with a part of lectures taught in presence (21 hours) to make students acquainted with organizational behavior concepts and models and a part taught online on MS TEAMS (9 hours) aimed at carrying out a project.

Assessment methods

The final exam of the overall course consists of two parts for both attending and non-attending students:

a) Group project based on a Harvard Business School case study

b) Individual test based on two or three open questions

The final grade will be calculated as follows:

- 50% stemming from the group project evaluation (the same for all members of a given group)

- 50% stemming from the individual test evaluation

There will be minimum 3 and maximum 5 members for each group. Students will form groups on their own with the only aim of guaranteeing heterogeneity in terms of individual characteristics. The project will concern the application of themes and tools learned during the course to the analysis and the identification of problems and subsequent elaboration of solutions for a case study or a movie assigned by the instructor.

All groups will have to submit a final Powerpoint or Prezi report of the case study work, including multimedia contents, by Tuesday April 30, 2024. The Powerpoint report has to be uploaded on the specific OneDrive folder.

The main criteria for assessing the group work will be: quality of the project; analysis capabilities; problem identification and problem-solving capabilities. Each criterion has the same weight, 10/30.

The final grade will be calculated based on 50% of the individual test grade and 50% of the group project grade. Algebraic approximation will be applied: grades up to 0.49 will be rounded down to the lower integer number, whereas grades higher than 0.50 will be rounded up to the upper integer number.

Students who will get at least 27/30 grade in both the individual test and the group project, will be rewarded with an extra 3% (before approximation).

Registering dates and all information about the course will be communicated only via Virtuale (virtuale.unibo.it). [https://iol.unibo.it/).%20Sullo%20stesso%20sito%20sarà%20caricato%20materiale%20integrativo%0d]

Teaching tools

The course will consist of interactive lessons, discussion of case studies and media material, and group activities.

Office hours

See the website of Maria Rita Tagliaventi