Understanding Organisations
Overview
- Credit value: 15 credits at Level 3
- Convenor: Sean Hamil
- Assessment: a 10-minute team presentation (30%) and a 1500-word individual report/essay (70%)
Module description
This module provides an introduction to organisations, their structure and culture, and the behaviour of individuals and groups within them. Topics covered include: the nature and types of organisation; individual differences; power; job design and teamwork; motivation; and communication. It will also involve constructing informal and formal organisational charts for an organisation.
Indicative module syllabus
- The nature, purpose and types of organisations
- The key features of effective organisations
- The relationship between organisational structure, culture and performance
- Methods of communication in organisations
- The role and importance of power, politics, conflict in organisations
- Theories of individual behaviour and their relevance in the workplace
- Contemporary issues in organisations
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, you will have a clear understanding and awareness of:
- the nature, purpose and types of organisations
- the key features of effective organisations
- the relationship between organisational structure, culture and performance
- how to map and construct an informal and formal organisational chart for an organisation
- what is meant by organisational culture and an ability to reflect on culture that exists within an organisation
- the importance of the relationship between informal and formal processes within organisations and their impact on organisational effectiveness
- the role and importance of power, politics, conflict and influencing strategies within organisations
- the theories of individual behaviour and their relevance in the modern workplace.