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.

Up

Descriptors

Individual, group behavior, organizational structure, organizational culture.

Up

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.
CG04. Writing and speaking in a foreing language.
CG05. Computer and software knowledge in the area of study.
CG06. Ability to find and analyze information from different sources.
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.
CG14. Critical thinking and self-assessment.
CG15. Ethical commitment in the workplace.
 
c) systemic generic competences
CG17. Autonomous learning skills.
CG18. Ability to adapt to new situations.
CG20. Leadership.
CG23. Sensitivity towards social and environmental issues

Up

Specific proficiencies

CE01. Understanding economic institutions as the result and the application of theoretical or formal representations about how the economy works.
CE04. Applying professional criteria based on the management of technical tools to the analysis of business problems .
CE09. Ability to integrate in any functional area of ​​a company or organization and perform any task in them.
CE10. Creating and managing a business in its key dimensions.
CE11. Understanding the nature of the company as an organization and as a place of interaction of agents with different objectives.
CE13. Identifying the firm as a system and recognizing interdependencies between the different functional areas.
CE14. Implementing policies and practices aimed at improving effectiveness and efficiency.
CE19. Applying techniques to improve the training, development and motivation of human resources

Up

Methodology

Up

Evaluation

The evaluation system for students who take part in the course is as follows:

The final exam accounts for 50% of the final grade and aims to check the extent to which learning objectives 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 team assignments and case studies that will be conducted over the course will have a 20% weight in the final score of the course.

Intermediate theory tests that will be conducted over the course will have a weight on the final grade of 30%.

In order to be elegible to the extraordinary evaluation the student should achieve at least 25% of the total score of the final ordinary exam. The extraordinary exam accounts for the 80% of the final grade of the extraordinary evaluation. The remaining 20% will correspond to the team assignments and case studies conducted throughout the course.

Up

Agenda

Subject 1. Introduction to Organizational Behavior
1.1. Enter Organizational Behavior.
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. Job attitudes and satisfaction
2.1. Attitudes.
2.2. Job satisfaction.

Subject 3. Personality traits and work values.
3.1. Personality.
3.2. Values.
3.3. Linking an individual's personality and values to the workplace.

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 decision making.
4.5. What about ethics and creativity in decision making?

Subject 5. Motivation I: basic concepts
5.1. Defining motivation.
5.2. Early theories of motivation.
5.3. Contemporary theories of motivation.

Subject 6. Motivation: applied concepts
6.1. Motivating by changing the nature of the work environment.
6.2. Employee involvement.
6.3. Using rewards to motivate employees.

Subject 7. Group behavior
7.1. Defining and classifying groups.
7.2. Stages of group development.
7.3. Group properties: roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness and diversity.
7.4. Group decision making.

Subject 8. Teams
8.1. Why have teams become so popular?
8.2. Differences between groups and teams.
8.3. Types of teams.
8.4. Creating effective teams.
8.5. Turning individuals into team players.
8.6. Beware! Teams aren't always the answer.

Subject 9. Communication
9.1. The communication process.
9.2. Direction of communication.
9.3. Interpersonal communication.
9.4. Organizational communication.
9.5. Barriers to effective communication.

Subject 10. Leadership
10.1. What is leadership?
10.2. Trait theories.
10.3. Contingency theories.
10.4. Leader-member-Exchange (LMX) Theory.
10.5. Charismatic leadership and transformational leadership.
10.6. Authentic leadership: Ethics and trust.
10.7. Challenges to the leadership construct.

Subject 11. Power and politics
11.1. A definition of power.
11.2. Contrasting leadership and power.
11.3. Bases of power.
11.4. Power tactics.
11.5. Politics: power in action.
11.6. Causes and consequences of political behavior.

Subject 12. Conflict and negotiations
12.1. A definition of conflict.
12.2. Transitions in conflict thought.
12.3. The conflict process.
12.4. Negotiation.

Subject 13. Basic challenges of organizational design
13.1. Differentiation.
13.2. Balancing differentiation and integration.
13.3. Balancing centralization and decentralization.
13.4. Balancing standardization and mutual adjustment.
13.5. Mechanistic and organic organizational structures.

Subject 14. Designing organizational structure: Authority and control
14.1. Authority: How and why vertical differentiation occurs.
14.2. Control: Factors affecting the shape of the hierarchy.
14.3. The principles of bureaucracy.

Subject 15. Designing organizational structure: Specialization and coordination
15.1. Functional structure.
15.2. From functional structure to divisional structure.
15.3. Divisional structures: Product, geographic and market structure.
15.4. Matrix structure.
15.5. Network structure and the boundaryless organization.

Subject 16. Organizational culture
16.1. What is organizational culture?
16.2. What do cultures do?
16.3. Creating and sustaining culture.
16.4. How do employees learn the culture of the organization?

Up

Bibliography

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

Basic reference.

Robbins, S.P. and Judge, T.A. (2013): Essentials of organizational behavior, 12th edition, Global edition, Pearson Education Ltd., Essex, England.

Complementary references.

Jones, G.R. (2012): Organizational Theory, Design and Change, 7th edition, Pearson, Upper Saddle River, USA.

Robbins, S.P., Judge, T.A. and Campbell, T.T. (2010): Organizational Behavior, 1st edition, Pearson Education Ltd., Essex, England.

Up

Languages

English.

Up