There is no shortage of quotes in which inspirational business leaders describe the sources of their success. Their reasons are often diverse, but almost everyone comes back to the same thing: people. The people are the company; they create success. Even so, there is more to successful business leadership than managing human capital, since you must also have a suitable structure and culture at your firm. Imagine the U.S. military: it boasts some of the best-trained soldiers in the world, but that talent would be wasted without a structure designed to appropriately deploy forces. In other words, the military would not be as successful without streamlined organisational behaviour. Organisational behaviour (OB) is the study of how people interact in organisations. These interactions are governed by a number of factors, including your personal life, the personality of your boss or your boss’ boss, a direct report, the team you have been assigned to, or the direction that the top of the organisation has given to you. OB researchers carefully monitor these dynamics within an organisation, because any time there is friction, money is lost. A certain level of friction is to be expected (and often even desired), but most of the friction that occurs within an organisation is counterproductive and detrimental to the bottom line. In this course, you will study the factors that have the greatest impact on organisational behaviour. From managing individuals and understanding group dynamics to managing conflict and initiating change, organisational behaviour affects everyone in a firm.

This course will cover five major OB areas including managing individuals, managing groups, power and politics, conflict management, and organisational change. Before delving into more rigorous materials, it is important to understand what an organisation is and the history of organisational behaviour as a discipline. In taking this into consideration, this course will begin with a look at the basics of an organisation.