Universidad Pública de Navarra - Nafarroako Univertsitate Publikoa

Contents

This course aims to bring students to the study of human behavior within organizations, as well as of the knowledge of the main variables related to the design of the organization. This general objective implies that the student knows the problems faced by organizations in this field, the main theoretical developments in the discipline, his personal position on these issues and developing the ability to translate knowledge into practice.
The course aims to provide the theoretical basis for effective leadership at any level in any function within organizations. Therefore, its contents are very useful to perform management tasks that involve responsibility for people.
The course content is structured in three blocks. The first one takes the individual as the basic unit of analysis, studying the relevant dimensions related to her behavior within organizations. The second one identifies the relationship between individuals within groups in organizations. The third section is aimed at analyzing the elements that define and shape the organization as a set of relationships and people.

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Descriptors

Individual, group behavior, organizational structure, organizational culture.

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General proficiencies

a) Generic instrumental competences
CG01. Analysis and synthesis skills.
CG02. Ability to organize and plan.
CG03. Oral and written communication in the native language.
CG07. Ability to solve problems.
CG08. Ability to make decisions.

b) Generic personal competences
CG09. Ability to work in a team.
CG12. Skills in personal relationships.
CG13. Ability to work in diverse and multicultural environments.
CG15. Ethical commitment in the workplace.

c) systemic generic competences
CG17. Autonomous learning skills.
CG18. Ability to adapt to new situations.
CG20. Leadership.
GC24. Respect for human rights.

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Specific proficiencies

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Methodology

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Evaluation

The evaluation system for students who take part in the course is as follows:
The final examination, which will account for 70% of the final grade, aims to check the extent to which learning objectives of the course have been acquired by the student. For the course to be passed the student will need to obtain a minimum of 40% of the total score of the final exam.
The exercises and case studies that will be conducted over the course will have a 20% weight in the final of the subject.
Theory tests that will be conducted over the course will have a weight on the final grade of 10%. These tests will take place in sessions that require the previous study of the handbook by the student

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Agenda

Subject 1. Introduction to organizational behavior 1.1. Enter organizational behavior (OB).
1.2. Complementing intuition with systematic study.
1.3. Disciplines that contribute to the OB field.
1.4. There are few absolutes in OB.
1.5. Challenges and opportunities for OB.

Subject 2. Personality traits and work values
2.1. Personality.
2.2. Values.
2.3. Linking and individual’s personality and values to the workplace.

Subject 3. Decision making from an economic perspective
3.1. Preferences and the utility function.
3.2. Expected utility theory.
3.3. Utility and positions towards risk.
3.4. Behavioral economics.

Subject 4. Individual perception and decision making
4.1. What is perception?
4.2. Person perception: making judgments about others.
4.3. The link between perception and individual decision making.
4.4. Decision making in organizations.
4.5. Organizational constraints on decisión making.
4.6. What about ethics and creativity in decision making?

Subject 5. Job attitudes
5.1. Attitudes.
5.2. Job satisfaction.

Subject 6. Motivation: basic concepts
6.1. Defining motivation.
6.2. Early theories of motivation.
6.3. Contemporary theories of motivation.

Subject 7. Moods and emotions
7.1. What are emotions and moods?
7.2. Emotional labor.
7.3. Emotional intelligence.
7.4. OB applications of emotions and moods.

Subject 8. Groups from an economic perspective
8.1. Interdependence of resources and coordination needs.
8.2. Game theory applications to coordination problems.
8.3. Coalition model.

Subject 9. Group behavior
9.1. Defining and classifying groups.
9.2. Stages of group development.
9.3. Group properties: roles, norms, status, size and cohesiveness.
9.4. Group decision making.

Subject 10. The organization of work
10.1. Motivating by changing the nature of the work environment.
10.2. Employee participation.
10.3. Why have teams become so popular?
10.4. Differences between groups and teams.
10.5. Types of teams.
10.6. Turning individuals into team players.
10.7. Beware! Teams aren’t always the answer.

Subject 11. Communication
11.1. The communication process.
11.2. Direction of communication.
11.3. Interpersonal communication.
11.4. Organizational communication.
11.5. Barriers to effective communication.

Subject 12. Leadership
12.1. What is leadership?
12.2. Early theories of leadership.
12.3. Contemporary theories of leadership.
12.4. Authentic leadership: is ethics the foundation of leadership?
12.5. Challenges to the leadership construct.
12.6. How to identify and develop effective leaders.

Subject 13. Power and politics
13.1. A definition of power.
13.2. Contrasting leadership and power.
13.3. Bases of power.
13.4. Power tactics.
13.5. Politics: power in action.
13.6. Causes and consequences of political behavior.
13.7. The ethics of behaving politically.

Subject 14. Economic theory of negotiation
14.1. Negotiated solution to the coalition problem.
14.2. Axiomatic models.
14.3. Models of explicit negotiation.

Subject 15. Conflict and negotiations
15.1. A definition of conflict.
15.2. Transitions in conflict thought.
15.3. The conflict process.
15.4. Negotiation.

Subject 16. Basic challenges of organizational design
16.1. Differentiation.
16.2. Balancing differentiation and integration.
16.3. Balancing centralization and decentralization.
16.4. Balancing standardization and mutual adjustment.
16.5. Organizational structures: mechanistic and organic.

Subject 17. Design of organizational structure: authority and control
17.1. Authority: how and why we observe vertical differentiation.
17.2. Control: factors that influence the form of the hierarchy.
17.3. The principles of bureaucracy.

Subject 18. Design of organizational structure: specialization and coordination
18.1. Functional structure.
18.2. From a function to a divisional structure.
18.3. Divisional structures: product, geographical and market.
18.4. Matrix structure.
18.5. Network structure and the organization without boundaries.

Subject 19. Organizational culture
19.1. What is organizational culture?
19.2. What do cultures do?
19.3. Creating and sustaining culture.
19.4. How do employees learn the culture of the organization?
19.5. Creating an ethical organizational culture.
19.6. Creating a positive organizational culture.

Subject 20. Organizational change
20.1. Forces for change.
20.2. Approaches to managing organizational change.
20.3. Creating a culture for change.
20.4. Contemporary issues in organizational change.

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Bibliography

Access the bibliography that your professor has requested from the Library.

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