Stirling Management School

Business & Organisation Department

Module Coordinator: Chris Baldry             

Module Aims

Understanding the complexity of organizational behaviour (OB) is essential for effective management.  Whatever its functional specialism – finance, marketing or production – all management involves the management of people and inherently is about organizing, influencing and modifying the behaviour of others.

The social sciences have developed ways of analysing and understanding social behaviour in organizations, with emphasis on the organizations within which we work and are employed.  This module takes a social science perspective to introduce the key concepts and theoretical approaches used in understanding social behaviour in organizations, and to models of organizational analysis. 

This will be done with reference to examples of contemporary organizations and against the background of the current complex and turbulent changes in the environment in which organizations operate.

Teaching Format

The module will comprise 1 two hour lecture per week, plus 1 one hour seminar on alternate weeks.

Assessment

Module Outline

• Introduction to the module
• What is an organization? - rules, roles and relationships
• Organizational structures and the problem of order: Weber’s bureaucracy model
• Beyond bureaucracy: Organizational design
• The individual-organization-relationship :  different theoretical perspectives
• The employment relationship and the problem of conflict
• The labour process and the nature of management control
• Organization & production : Scientific Management & Fordism
• Changing production paradigms
• Managing technology – approaches to technology and the organization
• Information technology – what’s new?
• Groups in the organization: work gangs, human relations and team working
• Organizational culture: theories of culture; culture change
• Organizational change and organizational learning
• Managing organisational change
• Organizations in the 21st century
• Management in the 21st century
• Summary of course