Postgraduate Course: Organising for Effectiveness (MBA) (CMSE11501)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | Organising for Effectiveness (OFE) focuses on developing your understanding of what makes teams and organisations effective and what can impede their effectiveness. |
| Course description |
The course covers a wide range of organisational issues from the micro-level (e.g. that factors that shape how individuals makes judgements and behave at work) to the macro-level (e.g. organisational design, culture, and learning). The course introduces a wide range of concepts that can be used to diagnose a variety of organisational issues, for example, how people construe what is happening around them, the facilitators and inhibiters of team effectiveness, how to make good decisions, how organisations can be configured to achieve particular ends - efficiency, flexibility/ innovation, resilience, quality, consistency and so on. The emphasis is on developing your ability to diagnose and analyse complex organisational settings, and hence operate effectively.
OFE emphasises the development of analytical skills, the translation of theory into practice and makes extensive use of experiential learning.
Syllabus:
Organisational challenges and trade-offs
Strategy and organisation
Group dynamics and high performance teams
Decision-making and sense-making
Managing occupational stress
Culture and leadership
Organizational design and learning
Student Learning Experience:
The course offers a varied learning experience via an integrated mix of lectures, group work and class discussion, guest talks delivered by experienced practitioners and practical exercises (some of which may need to be modified for hybrid delivery). There will be opportunities for discussion and debate amongst participants, and participants are encouraged to use concepts from the course to analyse situations that they have experienced personally. There will be a practical project running throughout the course based on a virtual tream-working exercise in which teams must produce digital products under competitive conditions. As part of this exercise, teams will have to develop a strategy and design an organisation to execute it during the exercise.
The emphasis of the course is on blending theory and practice by putting ideas and concepts to work. This is achieved by analysing cases, by discussing real world problems with experienced practitioners and by practical exercises that provide the opportunity for you to put the ideas into action.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Available to Business School MBA students only |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
150
(
Lecture Hours 32,
Summative Assessment Hours 18,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
97 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Feedback |
Feedback will be given on the first assignment in time for teams to revise their strategic plans before the simulation takes place. Detailed feedback will also be given on the third assignment in which the participants will individually reflect upon their team effectiveness using concepts covered throughout the course. Feedback on team performance will also be provided through peer assessment.
Feedback on assignments will be provided within 15 working days of submission. Summative marks will be returned on a published timetable, which will have been made clear to students at the start of the academic year.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and critically discuss key concepts from the field of Organisational Behaviour.
- Understand and critically discuss the importance of problem-solving to problem-resolution.
- Understand and critically evaluate a range of ideas about individual behaviour, team dynamics and effectiveness, leadership, decision-making and sense-making, organisational design and learning, and culture.
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Reading List
Recommended text:
Buchanan D and A Huczynski (2019) Organisational Behaviour, 10th Edition, Prentice Hall.
The set text provides a comprehensive coverage of most aspects of this subject. Because the course emphasizes the application of ideas to a variety of situations and contexts, your focus should be on developing a good understanding of the basic concepts and on developing a proficiency at using these diagnostically.
For those who are interested in a particular topic, suggestions for extra reading will be provided during the course. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive and Subject-Specific Skills:
Understand how different models and assumptions may be used to gain insight into particular situations, and the ability to use competing models to generate such insight in order to take appropriate action.
Stand back and view complex situations in perspective.
Recognise the key shapers of organisational structures, routines and processes.
Transferable Skills:
Work in teams, both virtual and face to face, and to use the skills of team members to best advantage.
Apply models of decision-making to a variety of situations.
See the strengths, weaknesses and trade-offs in different organisational structures and processes.
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| Keywords | Organisations,teams,effectiveness |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Kristina Potocnik
Tel: (0131 6)50 4307
Email: Kristina.Potocnik@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Angela Muir
Tel: (0131 6)51 3854
Email: Angela.Muir@ed.ac.uk |
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