Organisational Behaviour

Recommended Prerequisites

Reading knowledge and understanding of English.

Teaching Methods

Encourage to reflect critically on:  the relation between analytic and intuitive thinking in management decision-making; within the constraints of their organizations, to gain deeper recognition of the importance of drawing on tacit knowledge and implicit learning; to relate planning or project planning in small and medium firms, with theory/policy and principles/practice in a world which flexibility and creativity are crucial both for organizational competitiveness and individual self-fulfillment at work.

Learning Outcomes

Gaining a better understanding of the role of managers in dealing with increasing uncertainty in the context of contagions, climate change and the need for decarbonisation as well as implications of artificial intelligence and forecasts of job displacement from robotics. Perceiving people management policies and practices from the perspectives of organizational culture and power dynamics as a contribution and guarantee of high performance and well-being. Distinguishing stakeholders from shareholders' perspectives and kaizen style continuous improvement as ‘mean’ rather than ‘lean’ management.  Avoiding undue preoccupation with explicit techniques of analysis and understanding how drawing and sharing on tacit knowledge and implicit learning at operational levels may be vital for organizational learning.  Understanding contrasts between command-and-control models of management with those based on cooperation-and-consent including social and cooperative enterprise and institutions.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

I – The nature of social firm; 1.1 Alternative organizational forms for social value creation; 1.2 Organizational flexibility and contemporary trends in the employment relationship; 1.3 High performance and commitment; 1.4 Psychological contract; 1.5 The scope and limits of concepts of intellectual and human capital; 1.6 The centrality of human and social values; 1.7 Implications and challenges for people management. II - Managing Change, tacit knowledge and implicit learning; 2.1 Intuition and creativity; 2.2 Policies and practices for wellbeing and performance. III - Organizational and Operational Culture; 3.1 Workplace climate; 3.2 Motivation and performance. IV - Power and Organizational Politics; 4.1 Power dynamics and relevance to organizational change; 4.2 Political skills; 4.3 Understanding resistance; 4.4 Transactional, transformational and moral leadership. V - Learning organization; 5.1 Relational Coordenation 5.2 Organizational and operational efficiency.

Head Lecturer(s)

Teresa Carla Trigo de Oliveira

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Presentations during the trimester : 50.0%
Development of projects during the trimester (50%): 50.0%

Bibliography

Guest, David (2017). Human resource management and employee well-being: towards a new analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal, Vol 27, no 1, pag. 22–38

Guest, D. E. (2021). The role of line managers in the HRM process. In Handbook on HR process research (pp. 177-193). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Guest, D., Sanders, K., Rodrigues, R., & Oliveira, T. (2020). Signalling theory as a framework for analysing HRM processes and integrating HR attribution theories: A conceptual and empirical analysis. Human Resource Management Journal, 31(3), 796-818.

Guest, D., Knox, A., & Warhurst, C. (2022). Humanizing work in the digital age: Lessons from socio-technical system and quality of working life initiatives. Human Relations, 00187267221092674.

Oliveira, T. C., & Holland, S. (2020). To be or not to be? Confronting challenges from contagion, artificial intelligence and climate breakdown. In P. P. Silva, S. Jorge & P. M. Sá, Emerging Topics in management studies (pp. 405-430). Imp.Coimbra