GSB 738 Organisational Behaviour
The study of organisational behaviour is fundamental to gaining an understanding of why and how people behave in the ways that they do within organisations. This unit provides an in-depth exploration of the complex array of influences that affect people as they attempt to function and adapt as individuals, in groups, as members of the organisation, and as part of the world at large. This unit aims to:
- increase your knowledge of the most relevant and useful theories and principles for understanding human behaviour in organisations;
- give you some practice in applying this knowledge to diagnosing and analysing behavioural events and problems in both case study organisations and your own place of work; and
- help you realise that, because there are no simple pathways to understanding people’s behaviour in concrete organisational circumstances, the real trick in making this knowledge work for you is being flexible, systemic and systematic in both mindset and approach.
The unit provides a number of concrete tools and instruments that can be used in analysing organisational behaviour from various perspectives and at various levels.
Special Advice: Be prepared to reflect upon and critically analyse your own individual, group and organisational behaviours, and those of others, in concrete circumstances within your own and other workplaces. Be warned—this unit will intentionally destroy many of your commonly-held myths and preconceptions about human behaviour in organisations! This unit does involve a lot of reading and conceptual learning, which means it would best be studied on its own. The unit also requires a dedicated weekly approach to study to avoid falling behind.