Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer Dr Andrew Heys andrew.heys@mgsm.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 4
Prerequisites	Prerequisites Admission to MBA or MMgmt or PGDipMgt or GradDipMgt or PGCertMgt or GradCertMgt or MSusDev or MSocEntre
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description Organisational Behaviour (OB) is a multi‐disciplinary field that uses insights from psychology, anthropology, philosophy and sociology to study human behaviour in organisational settings. In this unit, students critically examine insights into human behaviour to better manage and improve organisational performance and capability, with an emphasis on ethical management and a global mindset. The unit covers the micro perspectives of OB (such as individual foundations, perceptions, attitudes and motivation); meso (such as groups, communication and team dynamics); and macro (such as organisational culture, change, power and leadership), as well as ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: the theoretical frameworks and research findings about human behaviour within organisations
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: micro, meso, and macro perspectives on organisational problems and phenomena
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: contingent perspectives of theoretical frameworks in exploring organisational problems and phenomena
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: the critical importance of people management and leadership to the efficient and effective operation of organisations
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: organisational behaviour principles and theories within their own work experiences for managing and leading people and organisations successfully
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: OB theories and their applications from cross cultural and ethical perspectives in developing their knowledge of leadership and management
in order to enhance their ability to: lead others (individuals, teams, organisations and self (Leadership)
in order to enhance their ability to: understand and influence people with views unlike one's own (Global mindset)
in order to enhance their ability to: engage in responsible, ethical and environmentally sustainable employment, leadership and organisations (Citizenship)
in order to enhance their ability to: understand, motivate and engage employees to increase social and financial sustainability (Sustainable value)

General Assessment Information

Extensions and penalties

No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for disruption of studies is made and approved. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Group presentation	20%	No	To be announced in first class
Group report	20%	No	5pm of Friday, 8 June 2018
Final examination	60%	No	Exam week: 11-16 June 2018

Group presentation

Due: To be announced in first class
Weighting: 20%

Duration: Up to 25 minutes (strictly enforced)

Format: Group presentation

Due: During class – specific dates for each group will be announced in the first class

Weighting: 20% (based on class-assessment with lecturer overview)

Groups of students are required to carry out a presentation in class and to prepare a written report on an assigned topic. At the time of writing the number of groups has yet to be determined. Final class numbers will determine the number of groups and topics assigned. Time will be made available in the first class for the allocation of groups and for initial assignment discussion.

All presentation questions will relate to the topics and/or key themes of the subject. Typically, the questions ask students to reflect on a practical application of a topic/theme using their own experiences in organisations. This reflection will need to be supported by reference to the theoretical material provided in the course and from the group member’s proactive research and reading.

The presentation should highlight and summarise the major issues of the topic assigned and present insights in an engaging and informative way. The presentation must be presented as a PowerPoint presentation and is designed to share information and stimulate engagement on the topic with the rest of the class. There will be additional time made available for questions and discussion after the presentation. Note that asking questions is the responsibility of the audience.

The presentation should adhere to the following presentation guidelines.

15 slides maximum in 25 minutes – The first slide should be an introduction to the team with a photo of the team members (either collective or separate photos). Slide 2 should outline the specific question given to the group. Note that if Youtube videos are used (no more than 1 video is allowed) it should be embedded into the slides rather than requiring a separate program. It is strongly preferred that there is no use of any Youtube videos. If a role-play is used it should be limited to no more than 3 minutes of the total presentation time.

It is expected that at least three members of the group will present (although all members are encouraged to present). Groups will have a maximum of 25 minutes for the presentation (time will be strictly enforced).

It is the responsibility of the group to ensure that their presentation file (PowerPoint file) is loaded onto the classroom computer prior to their presentation.

After the presentation, the syndicate group’s PowerPoint presentation need be emailed to the lecturer with the following subject line “MGSM870 – Group ‘#’ presentation”.

Assessment of presentations

Presentations are assessed by members of the class and reviewed by the lecturer. Members of the class will be asked to judge and rate the presentation at the conclusion of the presentation and following the period of questions and answers. These assessments will be collected by the lecturer and collated and form the basis of the presentation assessment. The lecturer will review the class assessment and will determine the final result.

The assessment criteria will be made available in iLearn.

On successful completion you will be able to:

By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: the theoretical frameworks and research findings about human behaviour within organisations
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: micro, meso, and macro perspectives on organisational problems and phenomena
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: contingent perspectives of theoretical frameworks in exploring organisational problems and phenomena
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: the critical importance of people management and leadership to the efficient and effective operation of organisations
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: organisational behaviour principles and theories within their own work experiences for managing and leading people and organisations successfully
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: OB theories and their applications from cross cultural and ethical perspectives in developing their knowledge of leadership and management
in order to enhance their ability to: lead others (individuals, teams, organisations and self (Leadership)
in order to enhance their ability to: understand and influence people with views unlike one's own (Global mindset)
in order to enhance their ability to: engage in responsible, ethical and environmentally sustainable employment, leadership and organisations (Citizenship)
in order to enhance their ability to: understand, motivate and engage employees to increase social and financial sustainability (Sustainable value)

Group report

Due: 5pm of Friday, 8 June 2018
Weighting: 20%

Length: Up to 2,000 words maximum (word count does not include reference list or appendices)

The written assignment should outline and critically analyse the group’s findings from their research of the topic. It must demonstrate analysis of the issue and not simply be a verbatim report of the presentation or simply a summary of the literature or description only of the issue. The assignment should flow in terms of its presentation of information, with sentences and paragraphs appropriately structured and logically linked to each other.

Submission details

One student from each group will submit a soft-copy of this assessment on behalf of their syndicate group in iLearn. Further instructions on how to do this will be provided to students via iLearn. No hard-copy is needed to be submitted.

Assessment of written assignment

The assignment will be assessed in terms of the -:

Quality of the analysis of the topic and analysis of examples (as appropriate to the question)
Extent and appropriate use of relevant academic and popular literature
Quality of lessons, insights and/or recommendations made (as appropriate to the question)
Linkage of ideas presented throughout the paper
Readability of the paper in terms of flow of ideas from paragraph to paragraph
Use of appropriate sentence structure, grammar, and expression
Correctness of spelling and punctuation
Overall appearance – all formatting instructions being adhered to
Appropriate use APA referencing and appropriate use of quotation
Adherence to length requirement (and having indicated word length).

Each of the above criteria will be judged as Below Satisfactory – Satisfactory – Above Satisfactory – Excellent.

A PASS grade will generally require a rating of satisfactory for each criterion.

A CREDIT grade will generally require a rating of above satisfactory for most of criteria 1-6.

A DISTINCTION grade will generally require a rating of excellent for most of criteria 1-6.

HIGH DISTINCTION grade will generally be allocated for ratings of excellent for criteria 1-6.

Assessment of your contribution to the group report

Assessment of group work (report) will be based on group member’s rating of the contribution of other members of the group (in an anonymous survey) and this will determine the actual group mark awarded to each member of the group for the presentation and group report.

Details of the within group assessment will be discussed in class on the first night.

Formatting instructions

The assignment should be in 12 point Times Roman font with 1½ line spacing. Each page of the report should be numbered and have at least 3cm margins from the left and right edges and top and bottom of the page. Word count is strictly enforced. The actual word length of the document, not including references or executive summary should be clearly stated on the title page of the report.

The written assignment should have the following structure -:

A title page with the question, word count of the text, all student names and student numbers, and the exact contribution of each member (section and percentage contribution).
Body of the report structured with paragraphs and with appropriate headings and citations, with page numbers.
Complete reference list of material cited in text
Appendices as appropriate

Referencing

Preferred referencing style should use American Psychological Association (APA) 6 th edition style. This means that when referring to an article or book etc, you indicate the author’s name followed by the year of publication (Jones, 1989). For multiple authors include all names (Jones, Smith, & Wilson, 1990). If you use a direct quote put the quoted words in “quotation marks” and include the page number with the reference (Jones, 1989, p. 76). A reference list should be presented in alphabetical order at the end of the paper. Note that APA style references are used for the reading list of articles at the end of this outline. Further information on APA style is available at

http://libguides.mq.edu.au/content.php?pid=85232&sid=634282

On successful completion you will be able to:

By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: the theoretical frameworks and research findings about human behaviour within organisations
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: micro, meso, and macro perspectives on organisational problems and phenomena
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: contingent perspectives of theoretical frameworks in exploring organisational problems and phenomena
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: the critical importance of people management and leadership to the efficient and effective operation of organisations
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: organisational behaviour principles and theories within their own work experiences for managing and leading people and organisations successfully
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: OB theories and their applications from cross cultural and ethical perspectives in developing their knowledge of leadership and management
in order to enhance their ability to: lead others (individuals, teams, organisations and self (Leadership)
in order to enhance their ability to: understand and influence people with views unlike one's own (Global mindset)
in order to enhance their ability to: engage in responsible, ethical and environmentally sustainable employment, leadership and organisations (Citizenship)
in order to enhance their ability to: understand, motivate and engage employees to increase social and financial sustainability (Sustainable value)

Final examination

Due: Exam week: 11-16 June 2018
Weighting: 60%

Duration: 3 hours plus 10 minutes reading time

Format: Open book final examination

Date: MGSM Term 2 exam week: 11 - 16 June 2018

You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the MGSM examination timetable. The timetable will be available on 25 April 2018 at https://students.mgsm.edu.au/sydney-students/units/exams/

The final examination will be open book and concern all content from unit materials, as well as exercise and group discussions. The specific format of the exam will be explained in the last class of the term. You can use books, notes and a non-programmable calculator. Notebook computers, iPads, tablets, PDAs and similar are not allowed.

On successful completion you will be able to:

By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: the theoretical frameworks and research findings about human behaviour within organisations
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: micro, meso, and macro perspectives on organisational problems and phenomena
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: contingent perspectives of theoretical frameworks in exploring organisational problems and phenomena
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: the critical importance of people management and leadership to the efficient and effective operation of organisations
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: organisational behaviour principles and theories within their own work experiences for managing and leading people and organisations successfully
By the end of the unit the students will be able to critically reflect on and practically apply: OB theories and their applications from cross cultural and ethical perspectives in developing their knowledge of leadership and management
in order to enhance their ability to: lead others (individuals, teams, organisations and self (Leadership)
in order to enhance their ability to: understand and influence people with views unlike one's own (Global mindset)
in order to enhance their ability to: engage in responsible, ethical and environmentally sustainable employment, leadership and organisations (Citizenship)
in order to enhance their ability to: understand, motivate and engage employees to increase social and financial sustainability (Sustainable value)

Delivery and Resources

Required text

McShane, S., Olekalns, M. & Travaglione, T. (2015). Organisational Behaviour: Emerging Knowledge, Global Insights with Connect access, 5th Edition. McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9781743761977

Where to purchase textbook?

The Coop Bookshop: The Coop Bookshop is our main retailer for textbooks and other related academic material. For information on textbook prices and online ordering, please refer to The Co-Op Bookshop webpage at http://www.coop.com.au

McGraw Hill Education Australia – Online store: This textbook is also available for order via the publisher’s online store. For information on textbook prices and online ordering, please refer to the McGraw Hill Education Australia online store at http://www.mheducation.com.au/9781743761977-aus-pack-organisational-behaviour-emerging-knowledge-global-insights.

Disclaimer: MGSM does not take responsibility for the stock levels of required textbooks from preferred retail outlets and other book retailers. While we advise our preferred book retail outlet, The Co-op Bookshop, of our maximum expected number of students purchasing specific required text each term, The Co-op Bookshop and other book retailers will make their own judgement in regard to their physical holding stock levels. To prevent disappointment if a textbook is out-of-stock, we highly advise students to order their textbooks as early as possible, or if the required textbook is currently out-of-stock, place an order with the book retailer as soon as possible so that these book retailers can monitor demand and supply, and adjust their stock orders accordingly.

Lecture powerpoints

Copies of the overheads of lectures will be provided at each class. These overheads form a guide to the major issues of the course and will be an important guide to the content of the final examination. Given the interactive nature of the class it is not always possible, nor desirable, to discuss every overhead during lectures. However, the overheads reflect the domain of the course and as such all overheads, including those not presented in class, are important when reviewing course material for assignments and examination.

MGSM iLearn

The web page for this unit can be found at: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MGSM

Technology

Access to a personal computer is required to access resources and learning material from iLearn.

Unit Schedule

This class is scheduled every Thursday evening from 6pm to 10pm, starting 5 April 2018 and finishing on the 7 June 2018. The classes are held at the Macquarie University City Campus (MUCC), located at Level 24, 123 Pitt Street, Sydney (please call the MUCC reception desk on 9234 1700 for any problems entering the premises).

Students are required to attend all classes for the class they are enrolled in. Students must only attend the class they are enrolled in as reflected in their e-Student account.

This unit will be presented over 10 sessions as follows:

Please note that the program is listed in order of the topics to be covered, and not lecture time- slots. Consequently, some topics may run over the class period, whereas others will be shorter than the class period.

Session	Topics and allocated case study/textbook chapter
1 6pm to 10pm (5 April 2018)	Introduction to organisational behaviour Textbook chapter: 1 Allocated supplementary readings: Gupta, A. K., & Govindarajan, V. (2002). Cultivating a global mindset. The Academy of management executive (1993-2005), 116-126. Kedia, B. L., & Mukherji, A. (1999). Global managers: Developing a mindset for global competitiveness. Journal of world business, 34(3), 230-251. Nesbit, P. L. (2013). Business in the digital age. Australian master human resource guide. F. Harmsworth. Sydney, CCH Australia Ltd: 347-365.
2 6pm to 10pm (12 April 2018)	Foundations of individual behaviour - personality, environment, and perception Textbook chapters: 2, 3 and 4 Allocated supplementary readings: Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (2005). Yes, personality matters: Moving on to more important matters. Human performance, 18(4), 359-372. Schwartz, S. (2006). Basic human values!: An overview basic human values!: Theory, methods, and applications introduction to the values theory. Jerusalem hebrew university, 48(1), 49-71. (Downloaded from http://segr-did2.fmag.unict.it/Allegati/convegno%207-8-10-05/Schwartzpaper.pdf) Web site: Hofstede - http://geert-hofstede.com/national-culture.html
3 6pm to 10pm (19 April 2018)	Motivation in organisations Textbook chapter: 5 & 6 Allocated supplementary readings: Kerr, S. (1975). On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B. Academy of management journal, 18(4), 769-783. Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American psychologist, 57(9), 705-717. Nesbit, P. (2004) The motivational journey, in S. Burton & P. Steane (Eds.), Surviving your thesis. London: Routledge. Peterson, T. O., & Arnn, R. B. (2008). Self-efficacy: The foundation of human performance. Performance improvement quarterly, 18(2), 5-18. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.
4 6pm to 10pm (26 April 2018)	Communication in organisations Textbook chapter: 9 Allocated supplementary readings: Brett, J., Behfar, K., & Kern, M. C. (2006). Managing multicultural teams. Harvard business review, 84(11), 84-91. Tannen, D. (1995). The power of talk: Who gets heard and why. Harvard business review 73(5): 138-149. Ruff, J. (2002). Information overload: Causes, symptoms and solutions. Harvard graduate school of education, 1-13. Access: http://www.newsmaster.be/flow/dw/ciel/2011/aout11/infooverloadbrief.pdf
5 6pm to 10pm (3 May 2018)	Dynamics of effective teams Textbook chapter: 7 & 8 Allocated supplementary readings: No allocated supplementary readings
6 6pm to 10pm (10 May 2018)	Power and influence Textbook chapter: 10 Allocated supplementary readings: Church, A. H., & Waclawski, J. (1999). Influence behaviors and managerial effectiveness in lateral relations. Human resource development quarterly, 10(1), 3-34. Kroll, M. J., Tooms, L. A., and Wright, P. (2000). Napoleon's tragic march home from Moscow: Lessons in hubris. Academy of management executive, 14, 117-128. Pfeffer, J. (1992), Power in organizations. Californian management review, 34(2), 29-50. Gabarro, J. J., & Kotter, J. P. (1993). Managing your boss. Harvard business review, 71, 150-157. Miller, D. (1992). The Icarus paradox: How exceptional companies bring about their own downfall. Business horizons, 35(1), 24-35.
7 6pm to 10pm (17 May 2018)	Leadership and its development Textbook chapter: 12 Allocated supplementary readings: Daudelin, M. W. (1996). Learning from experience through reflection. Organizational dynamics, Autumn, 36-48. DeRue, D. S., & Wellman, N. (2009). Developing leaders via experience: the role of developmental challenge, learning orientation, and feedback availability. Journal of applied psychology, 94(4), 859-875. Ho, J., & Nesbit, P. L. (2014). Self-leadership in a Chinese Context: Work Outcomes and the Moderating Role of Job Autonomy. Group & organization management, 39(4), 389-415.. House, R., Javidan, M., Hanges, P., & Dorfman, P. (2002). Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: An introduction to project GLOBE. Journal of world business, 37(1), 3-10. Kirkpatrick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. (1991). Leadership: Do traits matter? The executive, 5(2), 48-60. Van Velsor, E., & Leslie, J. B. (1995). Why executives derail: Perspectives across time and cultures. The academy of management executive (1993-2005), 9(4), 62-72. Nesbit, P. L. (2013). Managerial self-development: A self-directed approach to developing managerial talent. In F. Harmsworth (Ed.), Australian master human resource guide (10th ed., pp. 535-552). Sydney: CCH Australia Ltd.
8 6pm to 10pm (24 May 2018)	Corporate responsibility and ethical decision-making Allocated supplementary readings: Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business horizons, 34(4), 39-48. Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating Shared Value. Harvard Business Review, Jan pp. 62-77. Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2002). The competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy. Harvard Business Review, Dec pp. 5-16. Rangan, K., Chase, L. A., & Karim, S. (2012). Why every company needs a CSR strategy and how to build it. Harvard Business School working paper, 1-30. Retrieved from http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-088.pdf
9 6pm to 10pm (31 May 2018)	Organisational structure/culture Textbook chapter: 13 & 14 Allocated supplementary readings: Li, S. and P. L. Nesbit (2013). "An exploration of the HRM values of Chinese managers working in western multinational enterprises in China: Implications for HR practice." International journal of human resource management, 24(11): 1529-1546.
10 6pm to 10pm (7 June 2018)	Change processes and changing careers Textbook chapter: 15 Allocated supplementary readings: Kuen, C. M., Nesbit, P. L., & Ahlstrom, D. (2013). The Boundaryless Career Form: Its nature and driving forces. Employment Relations Record, 13(2), 44-55.
	Final exam week: 11 - 16 June 2018

Session

Topics and allocated case study/textbook chapter

6pm to 10pm (5 April 2018)