BUS209: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Details
Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of how people interact in organizations. These interactions are governed by a number of factors, including your personal life, the personality of your boss or your boss’s boss, a direct report, the team you have been assigned to, or the direction that the top of the organization has given to you. OB researchers carefully monitor these dynamics within an organization, because any time there is friction, money is lost. A certain level of friction is to be expected (and often even desired), but most of the friction that occurs within an organization is counterproductive and detrimental to the bottom line. In this course, you will study the factors that have the greatest impact on organizational behavior. From managing individuals and understanding group dynamics to managing conflict and initiating change, organizational behavior affects everyone in a firm. Some of this material will overlap with BUS301, but all of business is cross-functional; stretching concepts across subjects is a powerful learning tool.
This course will cover five major OB areas including managing individuals, managing groups, power and politics, conflict management, and organizational change. Before delving into more rigorous content, it is important to understand what an organization
is and the history of organizational behavior as a discipline. In taking this into consideration, this course will begin with a look at the basics of an organization.
Learning Outcomes
- define organizational behavior (OB);
- analyze and identify the current trends for organizational behavior;
- explain the benefits of diversity;
- describe the cross-cultural challenges of the workplace;
- explain how work attitudes affect workplace behavior;
- identify the key attributes that are relevant for performance;
- explain how motivation affects performance;
- describe various approaches to job design;
- compare and contrast groups vs. teams;
- describe and identify group development and group dynamics;
- define power and recognize the sources of power;
- describe and identify the factors of organizational politics;
- describe the various types of conflict;
- explain how to effectively manage conflict;
- describe and identify negotiation strategies;
- define organizational structure; and
- describe organizational change.
Course Requirements
√ have access to a computer;
√ have continuous broadband Internet access;
√ have the ability/permission to install plug-ins or software (e.g. Adobe Reader of Flash);
√ have the ability to download and save files and documents to a computer;
√ have the ability to open Microsoft files and documents (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.);
√ be competent in the English language;
√ have read the Saylor Student Handbook; and
√ have completed the following courses from the “Core Program” of the Business major: BUS103and BUS105.
Saylor Academy’s mission is to open education to all.
Saylor Academy’s mission is sustained by the continued evolution of an open educational ecosystem, and we are dedicated partners in this movement. Saylor’s commitment to the open education ecosystem is founded not just on open educational resources and open source learning technologies, but also on open access to credentials, and ongoing open learning opportunities.
Guided by these beliefs, Saylor Academy is currently focused on the following projects:
Open Courses: Maintenance and Learner-Centered Improvements
- A commitment to the OER community means that we’ll continue to replace open access materials with openly licensed ones in an effort to make Saylor courseware as reusable and remixable as possible.
- Open courses require more instructional supports for learners, so our current improvements focus on ensuring better and more frequent opportunities for Saylor students to practice what they’re learning.
Open Credentials: Adding New Opportunities and Bolstering Existing Ones
- We’re working on expanding our suite of Saylor Direct credit recommended exams, and we’re also keen on working with university partners to develop innovative and flexible partner degree launching and completion programs. ...
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