ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
SM 60.42 Organizational Behavior and Structure 2(2-0)

Semester: August 2015

Course instructor
Assistant Professor Dr. Vimolwan Yukongdi
Room: 209, SOM building
Email: vyukongdi@ait.asia
Consultation hours: By appointment, please email your instructor.
Rationale
Organizational behavior is an interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on managing people within
and between individual, group, and organizational levels. Organizations do not exist without
individuals. Individuals are nested within relationships and groups and such relationships are
embedded within the organization and also exist outside organizational boundaries. People in
organizations are responsible for gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage. Hence, an
understanding of how to motivate and mobilize employees is critical to achieving positive
organizational outcomes.
Catalogue Description
Attitudes, job satisfaction, personality, perception, motivation, group behavior, work teams,
communication, leadership, power and politics in the workplace, organization structure,
organizational culture, human resource policies and practices, diversity management, organizational
change.
Pre-requisite: None
Course Objectives
1. To gain an understanding of human behaviour in the workplace from an individual, group,
and organizational perspective
2. To analyze human behavior problems from different perspectives
3. To obtain a set of tools that can be utilized to craft solutions tailored to various organizational
situations
4. To sharpen your skills and increase your own effectiveness
Course Outline
1. Introduction to Organizational Behavior
2. Managing Individual Level Factors
a. Diversity in Organizations
b. Attitudes and Job Satisfaction
c. Personality and Values
d. Perception and Individual Decision-Making
e. Motivation
3. Managing Group Level Factors and Social Processes
a. Group Behavior
b. Work teams
c. Communication
d. Power and Politics
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e. Conflict and Negotiation

4. Managing for Organizational Effectiveness
a. Leadership
b. Organization Structure
c. Organizational Culture
d. Human Resource Policies and Practices
e. Organizational Change
Course Schedule
Date

Topic

Week 1
August 6

Week 4
August 27
Week 5
September 3

Introduction to Organizational Behavior

(Chapter 1, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Diversity in Organizations (Chapter 2, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Attitudes and Job Satisfaction
(Chapter 3, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Personality and Values (Chapter 5, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Perception and Individual Decision-Making
(Chapter 6, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Motivation (Chapters 7-8, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Group Behavior (Chapter 9, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Work teams (Chapter 10, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Communication (Chapter 11, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Power and Politics (Chapter 13, Robbins & Judge, 2015)

Week 6
September 10

Conflict and Negotiation (Chapter 14, Robbins & Judge, 2015)

Leadership (Chapter 12, Robbins & Judge, 2015)

Week 7
September 17

Organization Structure (Chapter 15, Robbins & Judge, 2015)

Organizational Culture (Chapter 16, Robbins & Judge, 2015)

Week 8
September 24

Human Resource Policies and Practices

(Chapter 17, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Organizational Change ((Chapter 18, Robbins & Judge, 2015)
Mid-Semester Break (NO CLASS)

Week 2
August 13
Week 3
August 20

October 1
Week 9
October 8
Week 10
October 15

Assignments

Written assignment due

September17, 2015

Presentations
Presentations
Course wrap-up

Textbook
Robbins, S.P. & Judge, T.A. (2015). Organizational Behavior, 16th (Global Edition), London, UK:
Pearson Education.
Recommended Journals
Academy of Management Journal
Academy of Management Review
Human Resource Management
Journal of Management
Journal of Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Research in Organizational Behavior
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Course requirements
Contribution to class discussion
Class presentation
Written assignment
Final examination

10%
20%
30%
40%

Assignment Details
Contribution to class discussion (10%)
Classroom discussions, the exchange of ideas and in-class exercises are a great source of learning and
insights. Hence, participants should come to class ready to share their views. Class participants are
expected to contribute to class discussion in terms of offering opinions, asking and answering
questions. You may want to link the discussion back to the prescribed readings and contribute to the
discussion by expressing the perspective of the writers you have read on the topic or you may identify
points of consistency or inconsistency between the discussion and the readings.
Note: You cannot participate if you are not in class.
Written Assignment (30%)
Due date: September 17, 2015
Essay topic
The workforce of today is becoming more diverse than before with increasing globalization. Discuss
how workforce diversity can be managed effectively. Identify an organization that is known for
effective or ineffective diversity management practices and present an analysis drawing on the
research literature. Your assignment must be based on an appropriate blend of research/theories and
your own critical analyses.
You are advised to use the assessment guidelines and criteria to guide you with the assignment
preparation. The marking criteria for this assignment can be downloaded from the course
website.
Assignment Format
Length: 2,000 words maximum (not inclusive of title page, list of references, appendices).
Line spacing: 1.5
Margins: 2.5 cms for top, bottom, left, right margins on A4
Font size: 12-point, preferably Times New Roman
Cover sheet: Please include a cover sheet detailing the following information: your name, student
number, course code, course title
Your assignment should be submitted by the due date directly to the course instructor.
Note: Always make a copy of your assignment in case it is misplaced.
Structure for the written assignment
An essay will always contain four sections: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion, and
reference list.
Introduction
The introduction should introduce the issue or topic and explain briefly why it is important. It should
also explicitly state your argument, and which points you will be addressing to support your
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argument. These points will provide both a structure for the body of your essay and a map for your
reader to follow.
Body
The body of the essay is where you explore, in detail, each point you will be using to support your
argument. However, the first one or two paragraphs of any essay body should provide any definitions,
historical or background information your reader will need to understand your argument.
Conclusion
A conclusion summarises your argument and the key points you made in support of your argument.
However, a really good conclusion is more than just a summary. When you write it, think about the
most important thing your readers now know, having read your essay. Emphasise this point in your
conclusion.
Reference list
A reference list at the end of your essay is essential. References are evidence of research and,
consequently, lend authority to your writing. Generally speaking, a reference list contains only work
that has been either directly cited or paraphrased in your paper.
Referencing style
Please use APA referencing style. A quick referencing guide can be downloaded from the course
website.
It is important to link your essay to the research literature. You will need to appropriately reference
any material obtained from another source (e.g. books, websites, journal articles) within the body of
your assignment and include a reference list at the end of your assignment. Please do not copy any
material from the Internet as this constitutes plagiarism.
Class presentation (team-based assignment) Weeks 9-10 (20%)
Class members will be divided into teams, the size of which will depend on class enrolment. Each
team will design and deliver a 20-minute presentation on a topic of interest within the field of
organizational behavior. The topic selected by the team must be approved by the course lecturer. As
part of the assignment, the team is expected to identify real life examples to illustrate organizational
behaviour concepts in practice. The presentation will be followed by 10 minutes of questions from
the audience. The schedule for the team presentation will be determined when groups have been
formed.
The rubric for group presentations will be available on the course website. Class members are
strongly advised to use the marking criteria as a guide in preparing for the presentation.
To receive credit for this assignment, each team must turn in:
1. A summary of the presentation, not exceeding 4 pages
2. A copy of the PowerPoint slides
3. Team evaluation report on the team process and contribution of team mates of no more than 1
page. Team evaluation report should clearly articulate what worked well and why, what did
not work well and why, and ways to increase effectiveness and efficiency of group process in
the future.
Final Examination (40%)
Details on the final examination will be available later in the semester