23611 - Organizational Behavior

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course students are able to: - identify relevant theories and concepts from organizational scholarship and apply them to real-life situations; - identify challenges related to work and management through an organizational perspective; - assess the ethical and societal implications of decisions and interventions concerning people in organizations; - appraise how digital transformation shapes organizational processes and behaviors; - recognize the interdependencies and relationships between individuals, groups and their organizations.

Course contents

Why organizations are central in our economy and society?

What are organizations?

What are their main characteristics?

How do behavioral factors affect the functioning of organizations?

How do organizations affect people? What are the main problems of business organizations?

Answering these questions provides our main focus in “Organizational Behavior”

In this course, we will explore a range of perspectives and theories that explain the dynamics of individual, interpersonal, group, and organizational structure and processes

Learning about these ideas will help you develop and apply insights about human behavior in organizational settings

The course material will be useful in planning careers, managing relationships with other people, groups, and organizations, making complex decisions, designing and changing organizations, and making sense of today's organizational world

This course will also help you understand some of the challenges involved in both managing and being managed

Ultimately, the tools and skills developed in this course should equip you to become more effective contributors to organizations that you join

Readings/Bibliography

The course is based on the following textbook:

Tosi, H. L., and Nero, N. P. 2003. The Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior. What Managers Need to Know. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Other materials and hand-outs will be eventually provided during the classes

Teaching methods

We will work together to accomplish these objectives

To this end, you are encouraged to raise any kind of question, concerning the course material and topics

To discuss issues outside of class, feel free to stop by during office hours, make an appointment to meet some other time or send an e-mail

Most topics will be introduced by means of a brief overview at the start of class, followed by class participation in a class or group exercise, discussion, case analysis, simulation, role play, or film viewing.

This course will be taught in blended learning mode, according to the time schedule published on the calls hours page.

Assessment methods

We propose two alternative learning paths:

A) cognitive

B) experiential

 

A) COGNITIVE

It is for students interested to study the topic with traditional methods and tools.

The reading material is limited to the official textbook and the lessons attendance in not necessary to the exam preparation

The exam is based on a written form and it is composed by 15 multiple choice questions to be answered within 45 minutes

 

B) EXPERIENTIAL

The experiential approach offers the opportunity to learn through different experiences and sources. It is for students interested in learning by doing and with others.

Textbook is continuously integrated by class discussion, cases, and team assignments. d based inputs.

Grades are based both on written test and on the evaluation of a group assignment that must be presented during classes.

Teaching tools

All material used in this course will be published on AMS Campus and will consist of slides, articles to go deeper in the study of a subject and tests to favor self-awareness.

Office hours

See the website of Massimo Bergami

See the website of Claudia Manca