Overview

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Peter Drucker, a pioneer in the field of management, once said that people have a perverse tendency to behave like human beings. Of course, we are not machines, and certainly not programmable. But through the study of organizational behavior, we can gain insights into what makes people tick within a work context. Increasing your understanding of your own behavior and that of your colleagues, teams and leaders, is an important first step to bringing positive change to how you and your organization work.

The objective of this course is therefore to provide insight into four key areas:
• Motivation. In this course segment we will understand the concept of motivation and review various perspectives that will help you understand how we can motivate others.
• Leadership. In this part of the course, we will analyze the concept of leadership and consider various perspectives and approaches to help shed light on leadership emergence and effectiveness.
• Teamwork. Here we look at team functioning and effectiveness. Using the widely used input – process – output model of team effectiveness, we consider such topics as team diversity, team processes, and team outcomes.
• Culture. Finally, we'll move to the level of the organization and consider the concept of organizational culture, also touching upon the concept of national culture. We look at the various ways in which culture is expressed, and discuss the implications of culture for people within organizations and cross-cultural collaborations.

Syllabus

Course Overview & Week 1: Motivation
Welcome! Before you start today's videos, please have a look at the syllabus. In this first session, I’ll introduce you to one of the central topics of organizational behavior: motivation. We’ll explore why people act as they do so that we can better understand their motivations on the job. These insights will help you understand how managers can influence the people on their teams toward a common goal in the context of organizations. Objectives: To gain insight into human motivation from the different perspectives offered by the diverse prevailing theories in this area.

Week 2: Leadership
Type the word “leadership” into Amazon’s search engine and you’ll find 150,000 related books. This is indeed a popular topic! But what is leadership really? Are leaders born or made? What traits and skills makes some people able to influence people to direct their energy towards a common objective? We will discuss all of these questions and explore some of the theories behind the study of leadership. Objective: To understand what leadership is, what makes a good leader, and how managers may develop the relevant skills to evolve in their roles.

Week 3: Teamwork
Teamwork is more than a business school buzz word; it’s a key element on the job today. Teams can be working side-by-side or spread across the world. What are the dynamics at play on different teams? What happens when conflict arises? Can teams evolve and overcome conflict to yield productive outcomes? This week we’ll address all of these questions to help you understand the complexity and importance of teamwork. Objective: To offer you some key insights so that you can take a step back from your own team at work and look back in with a fresh perspective.

Week 4: Culture
Culture exists on many more levels than one would immediately assume. Each organization can have a unique work culture, and this, in turn, can be greatly influenced by the country in which it operates. This week we will look at how our culture influences how we think and act on the job. Objective: To understand the crucial role culture plays in understanding people’s attitudes and actions in a work environment.