Lahore University of

Management Sciences
ORSC201 Organizational
Behavior
Spring Semester 2015
Instructor
Muhammad Osama Nasim Mirza
Room No.
Room 421, 4th Floor, SDSB building
Office Hours
Tuesday & Thursday, between 0830 and 1030
Email
osama.nasim@lums.edu.pk
Telephone
Ext: 8469
Secretary/TA
Mr. Hassan Haider
TA Office Hours
TBA
Course URL (if
any)
Course Basics
Credit Hours
3
Lecture(s)
Nbr of Lec(s) Per
2
Duration 75 minutes
Week
Recitation/Lab (per
Nbr
of Lec(s) Per

Duration
week) (per week)
Week
Tutorial
Nbr
of Lec(s) Per

Duration
Week
Course Distribution
Core
Yes
Elective

Open for Student

Category
Close
for Student

Category
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Organizational behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on
behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organizations
effectiveness. This course focuses on such topics as leadership skills, personality, interpersonal communication,
motivation, team building organizational change and culture.

COURSE PREREQUISITE(S)
NIL

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The course is designed to develop knowledge and skills in the field of organizational
behavior. It will provide the understanding of how and why individuals behave in specific
patterns in organizational context.

Learning Outcomes

After taking this course you will:

Learn some of the most important organizational theories.
Understand the drivers of human behavior in organizational context.
Understand various organizational change initiatives.

Lahore University of Management Sciences

Grading Breakup and
Policy
Project(s) / Presentation(s):
20 %
Quiz(s):
15 % N2 policy applies for grading
Attendance and Class Participation:
15 % (10% for CP and 5% for attendance).
Max 3 absences (including petitions) allowed. From 4th absence, there will be 0.5%
negative grading in place.
Mid Term:
25 %
Final Examination:
25 %
Examination Detail
Midter
m
Exa
m

Final
Exam

Yes/No: Yes
Combine Separate: Combined
Duration: 90 minutes
Exam Specifications: TBA
Yes/No: Yes
Combine Separate: Combined
Duration: 90 minutes
Exam Specifications: TBA

COURSE OVERVIEW
Lecture

Recommend
ed
Readin

Topic
s
Intro to the course

What is Organizational Behavior?

Chapter 1

Attitudes and Job Satisfaction

Chapter 3

Emotions and Moods

Chapter 4

Emotional Intelligence

Personality and Values

What Makes
a
Leader
Chapter 5

Personality and Values Case or Exercise

Case / Exercise

Perception and Individual Decision

making
(C/E)

Chapter 6

Motivation Concepts

Chapter 7

10

Motivation Application

11

Motivation Application

12

Foundations of Group Behavior

13

Understanding Work Teams

14

Objective
s/
Applicatio
Intro to course outline.
Getting students familiar with OB.
Explaining why these attitudes are
important.
Briefing
students
about the
on in
Explaining
why emotions
areresearch
important
organizational context.
Introduction of emotions taxonomy.
Introduction to the concept of EQ, its
dimensions and
its
importance
in managing
peopleas a
Explaining
the role
of personality
predictor of human behavior.
Explaining the role of personality as a
predictor of human behavior.
Explaining how individuals interpret and
process information and use it for decision
making.
Explaining why motivation is important in
organizational contact.
Introducing the classical motivation
theories to the students.

Explaining how motivation theories can be

applied in the organizations.
Explaining how motivation theories can be
Case / Exercise applied in the organizations.
Explaining why individuals exhibit specific
Chapter 9
behavior when in teams/ groups.
Explaining the stages in team formation and
Chapter 10
their performance patterns.
MID TERM EXAM
Chapter 8

Lahore University of Management Sciences

All groups will prepare and give a 5
minute presentation on their group

15

Brief Project Presentation

16

Leadership

Chapter 12

17

Leadership

Case / Exercise

18

Power and Politics

Chapter 13

19

Diversity in Organizations

Chapter 2

20

Conflict

Chapter 14

21

Negotiation

Chapter 14

22

Organizational Culture

Chapter 16

23

Organizational Culture

Case / Exercise

24

Organizational Change

Chapter 17

25

Stress Management

Chapter 17

26

Project Presentations

Explaining the importance of

leadership in organizational
context. the importance of leadership in
Explaining
organizational context.
Introduction to
of Leadership
theories.
Introduction
the concepts
of power and
politics in organizational context.
Introduction
various sources
power.
Issues in the to
management
of a of
diverse
workforce. Understanding the dynamics of
a
diverse workforce.
Introduction
of various factors that initiate /
influence conflicts.
Introduction to the factors that affect the
negotiation process and its outcomes.
Explaining how organizations acquire
and retain specific cultures.
Explaining how organizations acquire
and retain specific cultures.
Explaining why organizations need
change. Introduction to various
organizational
initiatives.
Introducing
thechange
important
sources of stress,
methods to deal with stress and the effects
of stress.
Students will present group project findings.

27

Project Presentations

Students will present group project findings.

28

Project Presentations

Students will present group project findings.

Textbook(s)/Supplementary Readings
Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy Judge & Neharika Vohra, Organizational Behavior, 15th edition (Pearson Education 2013)
The course will also comprise of readings and articles from other sources, such as business magazines, national
dailies / journals, classics in OB and management, popular media, best sellers etc. These will be announced in class
and material will be made available either electronically (via LMS) or through LUMS photocopier.
Useful Information about the method of instruction, grading instruments and some useful hints.
Presentation / Project:
To be discussed in the class. A detailed guideline for group project will be shared through email.
Method of instructions:
Class will consist of lectures, discussions, videos, cases and activities to enrich learning.
As class discussions play a significant role in learning and understanding of the subject, it is your responsibility to
adjust your personal schedules and ensure your active presence in all the class sessions. It is essential that you:
1. Prepare for the classes. Please read the assigned reading(s) before each class.
2. Attend all classes.

Lahore University of Management Sciences

3. Actively contribute to class discussions and activities.
4. Thoroughly and thoughtfully complete assignments.
In addition to reading each chapter before it is covered in class, to enhance your learning you should do the following:
1. After reading the chapter opening (a one to two page incident at the beginning of each chapter), think about
what occurred and why. When you are finished reading the chapter, you should be able to explain what happened,
using the concepts in the chapter.
2. Complete, and when possible, score, the experiential exercise at the end of each chapter. Think through how this
information can be helpful to you on a personal and professional level.

Group assignments / project

To be discussed and decided in the class
Class participation
Class Contribution is and can be:
Making observations that integrate concepts and
discussions, Citing relevant personal examples,
Being an active participant in group discussions,
Working with others to come to a common understanding of the topics.
By extension, contribution is not continuously dominating the class and group discussions. It also means listening to
what others say they have a right to contribute (and you may learn something!). Contribution is not coming to class
unprepared and illequipped to intelligently discuss the topic of the day. Contribution is not repeating the points
others just made to get the CP credit.
Working in Teams
Students frequently complain about having to work on group assignments. The primary reasons for these complaints
are (a) often some members will "drag their feet" and force others to pick up the slack, and (b) interpersonal conflicts
arise in the group context.
Although there is certainly some merit to these complaints, we insist on incorporating the group projects as a
significant element in the course because of two major considerations.
First, this course is about human behavior in organizational settings. Learning about the concepts in this course (as is
true of the concepts in most any course) is facilitated by permitting direct experience with them. Thus, by forming
miniorganizations in each class meeting, you are given a greater chance to directly experience some of the things
you are trying to learn about. Second, the vast majority of you will find yourself if you haven't already done so
working in groups at some time or another (in fact, many of you will spend the majority of your working lives as
members of a group). There is no chance whatsoever that you will avoid slacking group members and interpersonal
conflict after college. Why not face the music and start now to learn how to cope with these frustrating elements of
group work?
Plagiarism
Universitys ethics code applies.
Helpful hints
As a leader in an organization, you are going to have to be clear and precise in both your oral and written
communications. People with whom you communicate will continually be suffering from information overload.
Therefore, you will have to organize your thoughts clearly and make your points logical, brief and with supporting
rationale. This leads to the following suggestions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Organize your presentation well. What is the main point? How will you support it?
Link your ideas to class concepts. Integrate with other readings, speakers, etc.
Show your own independent thinking. Focus on new understandings.
Present your ideas cleanly, clearly, and logically. Style is important.