University of Wales The Turning Point

MC6 – Organisational Behaviour

Subject Outline
The Turning Point
September 2008

Credit Points: 10
Lecturer: Zainal Abidin Rahman
Email: zairah@singnet.com.sg

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Table of Contents
Section 1: General Information................................................................................3
1.1 Lecture Time & Location............................................................................3
1.2 Brief Outline..............................................................................................3
1.3 Aims...........................................................................................................4
1.4 Learning Outcomes...................................................................................4
1.5 Attendance................................................................................................4
1.6 Required Texts & Readings.......................................................................5
1.7 Supplementary Reading............................................................................5
Recommended Journals.......................................................................................................5
1.8 Course Schedule........................................................................................6
1.9 Web References........................................................................................7
1.10 Policies on Educational Issues and Student matters...............................7
1.11 Assessments............................................................................................7
1.12 Submission Dates....................................................................................8
Section 2: Assessment.............................................................................................9
2.1 Grades Awarded........................................................................................9
2.2 Satisfactory Completion Requirements of this Subject............................10
2.3 Assessment Weight.................................................................................10
2.4 Assessments............................................................................................10
Assignment Guidelines......................................................................................................10
2.5 Examination Information.........................................................................11
2.6 Google Groups.........................................................................................12
2.7 Assignment Submission...........................................................................17
Section 3: Citation & Plagiarism.............................................................................22

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SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 Lecture Time & Location

This subject will be taught over 2 weekends, plus have scheduled weekend
meetings to assist with project research and discussion.

Friday 26th September 2008 1900 – 2200 hrs

Saturday 27th September 2008 1400 – 1800 hrs
Sunday 28th September 2008 0900 – 1800 hrs

Friday 31st October 2008 1900 – 2200 hrs

Saturday 1st November 2008 1400 – 1800 hrs
Sunday 2nd November 2008 0900 – 1800 hrs

Saturday 15th November 2008 1300 – 1600 hrs EXAMINATION

1.2 Brief Outline

This module provides an integrated analysis of management as an academic

discipline, drawing on the work of classical and contemporary writers in the field,
and as a practical strategic activity in a dynamic environment of continual
change.

Specific topics include:

• Theories and models of management
• Individuals, groups and teams in the organisation
• Learning organisations, communication, motivation and teamwork
• Organisational structures: strategy, design and function
• Organisational processes: survival, change, growth and development
• Organisational culture
• Leadership and decision making; power, control and conflict resolution

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1.3 Aims

This module aims:

• To introduce the concepts and meanings of Organisational Behaviour

• To examine the relevance of organisational behaviour to practical business
• To apply the principles in practical business
• To examine current issues and relate them to Organisational Behaviour
concepts
• To understand the dynamics of current thoughts on the subject and its
application

1.4 Learning Outcomes

On successfully completing the subject participants should be able to:

1. Identify the current situation in an organisation using acceptable models to

understand workplace behaviour.
2. Identify and explain the factors that influence productivity and quality
3. Apply current concepts to examine current environment as it affects
organisational performance.
4. Recognise the importance of the development of leadership attributes, and
be able to identify suitable attributes and suggest programmes for
development and selection
5. Recognise the dynamism of change, and apply this to the recognition,
evaluation and design of flexible approaches to management
6. Examine the group processes involved in different forms of organising and
decision-making and be able to rationalise their use in different situations
7. Demonstrate different research methods, and their practical applications in
the area of organisational behaviour
8. Understand and apply organisational theory to support the development of
global competitive advantage to an organisation.

1.5 Attendance
Attendance is strongly recommended in order for students to be able to
satisfactorily attempt the final examination. Students are required to sign in their
attendance for every lecture attended.

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1.6 Required Texts & Readings

Management and Organisational Behaviour
Laurie J. Mullins
Publisher: Financial Times Press
Copyright: 2007

1.7 Supplementary Reading

• Contemporary Issues in Management and Organisational
Behaviour, Murray P., Poole, D., Jones, G., 2006, Thomson
Learning Nelson
• David Buchanan & Andrej Huczynski, Organizational Behaviour
(2003) 5/E, Prentice Hall
• Donna Deeprose, How to Recognise & Reward Employees (1994)
American Management Association
• Fred F. Fielder & Martin M Cheemers, Improving Leadership
Effectiveness (1984) 2/E, Wiley & Sons
• Laurie J. Mullins., Management and Organizational Behavior
(1999) 5/E, Prentice Hall
• Lel Silberman, The 2005 ASTD Team and Organizational
Development,- A Sourcebook (2005), ASTP Press
• Robbins, S P , Organization Behavior (2004) 11/E, Prentice Hall
• Stephen R Covey, Principle Centred Leadership (1992), Simon &
Schuster

Recommended Journals
Australian Journal of Management
Harvard Business Review
International Journal of Conflict Management (2003)
Journal of Business Ethics
Journal of Organizational Behavior //
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management //
Journal of Organizational Change Management //
MIT Sloan Management Review
Organizational Analysis
Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes //
Organizational Dynamics

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1.8 Course Schedule

The following schedule covers materials to be addressed over the weekend
sessions.

Students are advised that they should seek to cover as much of the material as
possible prior to attending each of the weekends.

Weekend Dates Indicative Content

1 26th September, 2008 -Chapter 1-3

27th September, 2008 -Chapter 4-7

28th September, 2008 -Group and individual reflections and research on

selected OB issues at the workplace
-Chapter 8-11

2 31st October, 2008 -Chapter 12-14

-Report on study groups

1st November, 2008 -Tutorial

-Report on study groups

2nd November, 2008 -Individual Presentation

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1.9 Web References

It is expected that students will make good use of the online materials
that are now available from a myriad of organisations on the world-
wide-web. The following are a list of predominant organisations whose
web sites will provide material most a appropriate to this module.

Http://www.wales.ac.uk/ University of Wales

http://www.economist.com/ The Economist
http://www.forbes.com/ Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/home_asia/ Forbes Asia
http://www.agsm.edu.au/~eajm/ Australian Journal of Management
http://www.springerlink.com/content/100281/ Journal of Business Ethics
http://www.businessweek.com/ Business Week
http://www.obmnetwork.com/resources/JOBM/ Journal of Organizational Behavior
Management
http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/jocm.html Journal of Organizational Change
Management
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/smr/ MIT Sloan Management Review
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldesc Organizational Behavior & Human
ription.cws_home/622929/description#descri Decision Processes
ption
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/index.j Harvard Business Review
sp

1.10 Policies on Educational Issues and Student matters

Please refer to the student handbook available from the University of
Wales Website.

1.11 Assessments
All assignments are expected to be the original work of students. Each
assignment should give details of references used and all quotations
should be clearly attributed to their source. Although group
preparation is encouraged it should be noted that collusion and
plagiarism will not be tolerated and will be subjected to severe
penalties.

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1.12 Submission Dates

Assignments should be submitted to the office and not directly to the

lecturer. A completed Assignment Submission Cover (see attached)
should accompany each assignment. The centre will set deadlines for
submission of assignments and students must adhere to this deadline.
Assignments received one week after the deadline will be marked
“Late submission” and 5% of marks apportioned to the assignment
will be deducted. Assignments submitted later than a week after the
deadline will be deemed as a fail. Submission of assignments is
compulsory: you cannot pass a module unless you have completed
the assignments.

Submission of an assignment is considered to be final. A student is not

entitled to revise an unsatisfactory assignment and may only re-
submit an assignment when the Examination Board gives permission
to do so. The assignment mark provides part of the composite subject
mark upon which the award of MBA is based and the submission of
assignments should be treated as part of the final assessment and as
a formal process.

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SECTION 2: ASSESSMENT

2.1 Grades Awarded

The approved grades of performance and associated ranges of marks this subject
is:

A Grade: To be awarded a Grade A you must provide evidence of wide reading of

relevant literature, exercising discernment in the selection of appropriate
quotations and evidence to support your work. The use of appropriate models and
concepts should be accurate and demonstrate depth of understanding and
creative application to the subject companies. Your work should be logical and
coherent, presented in an interesting and accessible style. By definition A Grade
work is of an “exceptional” standard.

B Grade: To be awarded a Grade B you must provide evidence of wide reading of

relevant literature, selecting appropriate quotations and evidence to support your
work. The use of appropriate models and concepts should be accurate and
demonstrate understanding and application to the subject companies. Your work
should be logical and presented in an interesting and accessible style. Work in the
G Grades can be generally defined as very good.

C Grade: To be awarded a Grade C you must demonstrate that you have

undertaken a review of relevant literature and that you have used the information
to illustrate your answer. You should clearly demonstrate your ability to apply the
key theories and concepts to the given circumstances. Your work should be
logical, correctly referenced and convincing. Work in the C range can generally be
described as average.

D Grade: To be awarded a Grade D you must demonstrate that you have

undertaken a review of relevant literature. You should attempt to apply relevant
models and concepts to the given circumstances. Work in the D range is a
marginal pass.

E Grade: An E Grade is a marginal fail. Your work may be similar to the

description of C grade, but failing to meet the objectives of the assignment and
not satisfying the learning outcomes. Work not properly referenced.

F Grade: This is a clear fail. Inadequate literature review, not properly

referenced. Limited attempt to apply models and concepts to circumstances
and/or inaccurate application. General failure to meet the objectives of the
assignment and not satisfying the learning outcomes. Work not properly
referenced.

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2.2 Satisfactory Completion Requirements of this Subject

In order to satisfactorily complete the requirements of this subject, the student
must achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50% for the subject, and achieve a
mark of at least 40 % in the final examination. Students must ‘reasonably’
complete all assessment components other than the final examination and submit
by the final week of session/ intake or by the final examination date (whichever is
earlier) in order to pass the subject. ‘Reasonable’ completion of an assessment
will consider instructions given to the student including; word length,
demonstration of research and analysis where required, University Plagiarism
Policy, and completion of each section/ component of the assessment. Failure to
‘reasonably’ complete any assessment components to the standard specified
above will result in a Fail grade awarded for the subject. Assessment tasks
submitted after the due date may be penalized. Refer to Penalties for Late
Submission of Assessment policy.

2.3 Assessment Weight

Assessment Type Word Length Weight Due Date

1. Individual 4000 - 5000 30% 9th November, 2008

Assignment

Individual
Assignment 10 minutes 10% 2nd November, 2008
Presentation

2. Examination - 60% 19th January 2008

2.4 Assessments
There are two pieces of assessment for this subject.

The assignment information is available in a separate handout.

Assignment Guidelines
Assessment of postgraduate assignments is based on postgraduate standards.
This means that an assignment should demonstrate evidence of good
understanding of what the question asks. The structure of the answer should be
relevant to the question and provide evidence of critical thinking and good use of
appropriate research material. Assignments should be correctly referenced using
the Harvard System of Referencing and Citation of Electronic Sources in line with
the guidelines provided in this Outline.

The assignment is a paper is to be prepared in no more than +/- 10% of the word
count indicated.

Please type wherever possible, using 12 point font, Times New Roman or Arial.

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Please note: Any analysis and evaluation conducted should make appropriate use
of the methodologies, concepts and frameworks studied in the module.

You are also encouraged to read other sources at your discretion.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Please see the guides to citation,

referencing and plagiarism appended to this outline.

Students must retain a copy of all assessment work submitted. Marks will not
usually be modified or scaled. Feedback on assessment tasks will be returned to
students before the final examination date.

Although student attendance records will be kept, attendance or class

participation will not be part of the assessment for this subject.

2.5 Examination Information

There is an examination for this subject. It is scheduled for 19th January, 2008.

Please follow the examination information as uploaded in your Google Group for
more information.

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2.6 Google Groups

Additional information is made available to students from the school and your
lecturer through the use of Google Groups. This allows:
• Files to be shared amongst everyone in the group
• Emails to be sent to everyone using a single email address

Please note that basic information about the requirements for citation and
referencing, information about examinations and other useful documents are also
placed in the group for your access.

When you commence each subject, you will be sent an email that will allow you to
access the Google Group for that subject. A step-by-step guide on how to access
Google Groups follows.

STEP 1: Open the email

(please check your spam box if you cannot see the email in your in box)

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Step 2: Sign in to the Google Group

If you are not signed in to a Google Account

Click on the 'sign in and apply for membership' as indicated above. This will allow
you to sign in to Google Accounts, Apply for a Google Account (if you don't already
have one) and enter the group.

If you are already signed in to a Google Account

Refer to Step 4 – you should be permitted to access the account automatically. If

this doesn't happen, then please click on 'Apply for membership'.

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Step 3: Sign into your Google Account

(1) If you already have a Google account, please sign in.

(2) If you do not have a Google account, please create one **

** Note that creating a Google Account DOES NOT automatically give you a new
email address. It just associates a Google Account with your existing email
address.

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Step 4: Set up how you want to participate in the group.

Our suggestions are below.

You MUST specify a nickname. Your name is probably a good idea.

Please note that you must click on 'Accept invitation' to access the group.

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Step 5: Access and Explore the online area of the group

Note the areas 1, 2 and 3 above which will have information for your reference.

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2.7 Assignment Submission

You are required to submit your assignment online through the website service
called Turn It In. Instructions are as follows.
STEP 1: You will receive an email like the one below.

Click on the link in the email: http://submit.ac.uk

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STEP 2: Enter the 'Turn It In UK' website

After you click on the link in the email, you will see the following web site (or
something similar)
Click on [user login]

Use the username and password in the email to log in.

You will be prompted to change your password. Please do so and choose a

password that you will remember. Write it down somewhere just in case.

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STEP 3: Enter the class

Click on the class name for the assessment that you are going to submit.

STEP 4: Click on the 'Paper icon' next to the name of the assignment you will
be submitting.

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STEP 5: Upload the file to the system

Fill in the fields as requested, select the file using the browse button, and click on
'SUBMIT':

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STEP 6: Verify your submission

You will see the screen below, which will have a copy of your assignment printed
out. Read your assignment AND VERIFY THAT IT IS ALL THERE. If it is OK, click on
'yes, submit'.
If there is a problem, click on 'no, go back' and upload your file again.

The file types that will be accepted are: MS Word, WordPerfect, PostScript,
PDF, HTML, RTF, and plain text.

TROUBLESHOOTING TIP: If you have trouble submitting your file using Microsoft
Word, then use the cut and paste method. To do this, go back to Step 5 and
change the 'submit a paper by' to 'cut and paste' instead of 'file upload'.

STEP 7: Once your assignment has been submitted, your screen will show
confirmation of the submission and email you a digital receipt to confirm that your
assignment has been received by the system.

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SECTION 3: CITATION & PLAGIARISM

Please see the attached guide from the University of Wales for information on how
to avoid plagiarism and reference for your assignments.

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