MNO1706 / MNO1001 Organisational Behavior

Module: MNO1706 / MNO1001 Organisational Behavior

Semester taken: AY 2019/20 Semester 1

Lecturer: No lecturer, module is sectional-based

Tutor: A/P Lim Ghee Soon

Textbook: Lim, G. S., Chia, Audrey, Wu, P. C., Griffin, R. W., Phillips, J. M., & Gully, S. M. (2019). Organizational Behavior: An Asian Perspective

What it is about

This module teaches everything about people in organisations, ranging from understanding how people work in teams, to how to motivate people and also organisational cultures. The behaviour of people is studied at the individual, group and organisational levels, so that you can see how different people’s behaviour affects the organisation as a whole.

Assessment components

• Subject Pool (Individual-Based): 10%

• Class Participation (Individual-Based): 15%

• Topical Discussion (Group-Based): 20%

• Test (End-of-Term) (Individual-Based): 30%

• Group Project (Group-Based): 25%

Comments

This is a fluff module where there are really no right or wrong answers, although there is a “generally accepted” answer to different situations. You get to play the role of a manager and learn how to manage people effectively, understanding why people behave in a certain way and knowing how to motivate them to work hard for you.

I personally felt that this module is very interesting, as I have previously worked as a waiter and subsequently as an intern. It is also very applicable to situations that you encounter in your CCA, especially if you are holding on to a leadership role (which I was at that time). Being able to quickly apply the concepts you learn to the real world context would be very beneficial in understanding the concepts taught in class, as it can get super theoretical and abstract to understand.

The textbook is not necessary at all, as all the content is given in the lecture notes.

Sectionals

The sectionals are 3 hours per week and depending on your lecturer, it may be split into 3 parts with the first two parts teaching new content (almost 2 hours) and the remaining time for the topical discussion, which is a presentation by a group and people will then ask questions and engage in the discussion.

My tutor was extremely lax in terms of class participation, so as long as you manage to speak up once, it’s 1% scored. You can also get to check your scores with the teaching assistant at the front anytime during the semester, so that you can pace yourself and speak up appropriately without drowning out the rest. Give short and sweet answers, and not some long story, as you would be holding up precious time for class participation.

If you dislike speaking up in class (which you really should because it is very easy in this module), you can go for forum contributions where you provide feedback for the topical discussion slides that the group would have to upload 2-3 days prior. However, I only did this once as I felt it was very difficult and time consuming to review another group’s slides and provide constructive feedback only for 1%.

Topical discussion and Group project

Each group will be assigned a case study to present for each week, which is generally an application of the concepts that are taught for the week. If you are the presenter for the week, you likely need to read up in advance the topics that will be taught for that week, so that your presentation in class would be more fruitful.

My group had 8 team members and I was the only year 2 student with them. The team dynamics were great, and we manage to achieve a lot as a team. If your group has any drama, note that 45% of the grade depends on your group.

The final group project is to identify any topic within the module and to prepare a group report and presentation at the end of the module. The group project aims to see if you have obtained an understanding of the concepts taught in the module and apply them in any situation that you choose. Doing actual interviews would award bonus marks, so I would recommend you doing it since it is quite easy to just “fake” the information in a convincing manner.

Test

The test near the end of the semester is a 3-choose-2 type of paper where you will have to choose 2 case studies and apply the concepts learnt in class. It is exactly the same format as the topical discussions, except that it is individual work and written. The test is also open book, so you can print all your lecture notes and throw all the terms into your essay and apply them correctly in the given context.

Overall, I felt that the test is very easy, provided that you are able to correctly identify the concepts that you need to apply into the paper. However, if you are not fond of writing, then it might slow you down a little bit.

Other information

Assignment workload: There were no assignments

Project workload: 1 topical discussion and 1 group project

Readings: None

Recommended if: A compulsory module for Business students, and a good exposure to leadership taught in a formal setting.

Rating: 4.5/5

Expected grade: A- (I felt my group project may not be that good)

Actual grade: A-