Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode

Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management

Academic Year 2018-19

Course Code EPGP-11-105

Course Title Organization Behavior-I
Instructors Prof. Priya Nair Rajeev
Course Credit 2
Session Duration 90 minutes (Total Duration: 18 hrs)
Quarter/Term 1st /1st
Year EPGP-11 (2018-19)
Core/Elective/Workshop Core
Area OB & HR

Course objectives and scope

Effective management of human resources within organizations requires an understanding of various
behaviour and processes. Managers need to know why people behave as they do in relation to their jobs,
their work groups and their organizations. This knowledge of individuals' perceptions, motivations,
attitudes and behaviors will enable managers to not only understand themselves better, but also to adopt
appropriate managerial policies and leadership styles to increase their effectiveness. Further the course
aspires to go beyond the immediate objectives mentioned above and wishes to ignite the aspiration of
participants towards self development and hence transform to unique organizational assets.

Pedagogy
This course follows the method of education and not training ( 1O'Toole, 1999); emphasis will be on 'why'
and not 'how'. Training focuses on how to do something, providing cookbook recipes for achieving
specific predictable outcomes. Education, on the other hand, focuses on why people do something,
helping you learn to ponder why people like to achieve various outcomes, so that you can yourself
identify, if and when needed, the appropriate means for achieving those outcomes. Education is thus not
application-oriented and immediate usefulness is not the main objective. It focuses on developing your
capacity to think independently and thereby reach your own solutions to various problems.

The learning method shall involve interactive discussions that evolve out of questions and answers drawn
from a thorough reading of the assigned materials for every session. In an e-classroom context where the
visual access between the instructor and the participants is limited, it thus becomes everybody’s
responsibility to get into a constructive dialogue instead of expecting a particular individual to be the
provider of ‘solutions’. Skimming through the readings in a superficial manner will not help in this
regard. It is expected that you will come fully prepared to every session to engage in a fruitful
deliberation. My role in this interaction is that of a guide and facilitator, inserting useful additional
material at times, but seldom interpreting the readings for you or lecturing about them.

1
O’Toole, J. (1999). Leadership A to Z: A guide for the appropriately ambitious. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
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In addition to above points, the participants are expected to adhere strictly to the rules laid down by the
EPGP office.

References and readings

Organizational Behavior (16th Ed., 2015) by Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge, Published by
Pearson Education, 2015 shall be the primary reference text for this course. The instructors shall provide
additional reading materials as and when necessary.

Evaluation Components
1. Quizzes 30%
2. Mini Project 20%
3. End Term Examination 50%

Session Plan
Module 1: Introduction: Behavior in Organizations
Session 1: Overview of Organizational Behavior and Attitudes.
Readings: Robbins – Chapter 1 and 3 (only the part on attitudes)
Module 2: Understanding Individual Behavior
Session 2: Attitude (Contd..) and Emotions and Moods
Reading: Robbins – Chapter 4

Session 3: Personality and Values

Reading: Robbins – Chapter 5

Session 4: Perception and Individual Decision Making

Reading: Robbins – Chapter 6

Session 5: Motivation: Concepts and Applications

Readings: Robbins – Chapter 7 and 8

Session 6: Stress Management

Reading: Robbins – Chapter 18 (only the part on stress management)

Module 3: Group Dynamics

Session 7: Groups and Teams
Readings: Robbins – Chapter 9 and 10

Session 8: Teams (Contd..) and Communication

Readings: Robbins – Chapter 11

Session 9: Diversity in Organizations

Reading: Robbins – Chapter 2

Session 10: Leadership

Reading: Robbins – Chapter 12

Session 11: Power and Politics

Reading: Robbins – Chapter 13
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Session 12: Conflict and Negotiation; and Course Review and Conclusion
Reading: Robbins – Chapter 14

End Term Examinations