Outline

Overview

This unit introduces students to the behaviour of people when acting as members of an organisation. The aim of the unit is to provide an understanding of the processes and structures that influence organisational behaviour, by drawing on ideas from psychology, sociology, management and anthropology. Topics covered include: personality and the self; learning and socialisation; motivation and commitment; group behaviour and dynamics; organisational design and boundaries; organisational culture, change and leadership.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	WORK6001
Academic unit	Work and Organisational Studies
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Susan Belardi, susan.belardi@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Take-home extended release)	Final exam (take-home) Short essay questions	40%	Formal exam period	48 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Presentation Oral presentation and tutorial facilitation	20%	Multiple weeks	20 minutes, 20 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay Written essay	40%	Week 07 Due date: 15 Oct 2020 at 23:59	2500 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ? = Type E final exam ?

Assessment summary

Presentation: In the first tutorial, you will be allocated to a group. As a group, you will select one discussion question, which will form the basis of your presentation. In completing this piece of assessment, your group needs to conduct research in order to answer the discussion question and prepare and present your answer. This involves a presentation to the tutorial class answering the question that you have selected. At the end of your presentation, you are expected to guide the class discussion by providing key questions and/or an activity that will stimulate discussion related to your presentation. Your group will facilitate this discussion.
Essay: For the essay, you must compose a written response to one of the two questions to be provided by the lecturer. The essay is designed to improve your analytical, research and communication skills. You should start your preliminary research for the essay within the first weeks of the semester. The essay requires significant research and reading. It is expected that you will use a minimum of six (6) academic references (e.g. journal articles, textbooks or book chapters). Academic references can be supplemented by material from the business press (e.g. The Australian Financial Review, Business Week).
Final exam: This is an open-book exam and will consist of short essay questions covering a broad range of material covered in the unit. The aim of the exam is to test your understanding of the relevant lecture topics and your ability to critically analyse theory and evidence. Topics covered in the exam may be based on any of the lecture topics, seminar/tutorial topics and readings.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Distinction	75 - 84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Credit	65 - 74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50 - 64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to organisational analysis	Lecture (1 hr)
	Personality and the self	Lecture (2 hr)
	Introduction to organisational analysis	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 02	Learning and socialisation	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Personality and the self	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 03	Motivation and commitment	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Learning and socialisation	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 04	Groups and group dynamics	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Motivation and commitment	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 05	Organisational design and boundaries	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	Group and group dynamics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 06	Technology and work design	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Organisational design and boundaries	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 08	Organisational culture	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 08	Technology and work design	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 09	Organisational change	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	Organisational culture	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 10	Organisational politics and conflict	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 10	Organisational change	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 11	Leadership	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	Organisational politics and conflict	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 12	Review	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	Leadership	Seminar (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Lecture recordings: All lectures and seminars are recorded and will be available on Canvas for student use. Please note the Business School does not own the system and cannot guarantee that the system will operate or that every class will be recorded. Students should ensure they attend and participate in all classes.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed on the Library eReserve link available on Canvas. The textbook for this unit is:

Huczynski, A. and D. Buchanan (2017). Organisational Behaviour. 9th rev. edn., Harlow, Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. apply individual-focused theories of organisational behaviour to workplace situations in order to improve behaviour and outcomes at the individual level
LO2. apply group-focused theories of organisational behaviour to workplace situations in order to improve behaviour and outcomes at the group level
LO3. apply organisation-focused theories of organisational behaviour to workplace situations in order to improve behaviour and outcomes at the organisation level.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

In response to student feedback, additional organisation case studies have been incorporated in the lecture material.

Additional information

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

WORK6001: Organisational Analysis and Behaviour

Semester 2, 2020 [Normal evening] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect