Subject Code
MM612
Subject Title
Current Issues in Organisational Behaviour
Credit Value
3
Level
6
Normal Duration
1-semester
Pre-requisite/ requisite/ Exclusion
None
Co-
Role and Purposes
The subject will inform practitioners OB theory and research at an advanced level. Knowledge gained in this subject will enhance managers’ effectiveness in identifying and solving people management problems.
Subject Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the subject, students will be able to: a. integrate theories of Organisational Behaviour (OB) and the practice of management; b. develop analytical and conceptual competencies required of senior executives; c. respond effectively to current organisational behaviour issues; d. demonstrate an ability to critique research methodologies and findings in the Organisational Behaviour literature.
Subject Synopsis/ Indicative Syllabus
Teaching/Learning Methodology
This subject will be taught by seminars. Readings from the academic literature form the basis of class seminars in which theories, methodologies and findings on selected topics will be thoroughly discussed. During each seminar, several articles will be evaluated. For each article, one student will provide a summary of the reading and another student will provide a critique of it. Both presenters of an article should prepare a short written summary of their presentation (around 1-2 pages), and distribute this to all class participants at the beginning of the presentation.
What is Organizational Behavior Theory? Personality and Individual Differences Cognition & Decision Making Leadership Emotions Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Organizations Self, Social, and Organizational Identity Groups and Teams Demography and Diversity
A wide range of research topics are selected and participants will try to deal with the following general questions in relation to the specific topic(s) under discussion:
What do the research studies tell us about this OB issue? To what extent do the studies represent ‘good’ research? What are the managerial implications of the research? What are the research needs in this field? 1
Assessment Methods in Alignment with Intended Learning Outcomes
Specific assessment methods/tasks
% Intended subject learning outcomes to weighting be assessed (Please tick as appropriate)
Continuous Assessment*
60%
1. Individual assignment – 1st
30%
review
a.
b.
c.
d.
30%
2. Individual assignment – 2nd review Examination
40%
Total
100 %
*Weighting of assessment methods/tasks in continuous assessment may be different, subject to each subject lecturer.
To pass this subject, students are required to obtain Grade D or above in both the Continuous Assessment and Examination components. Explanation of the appropriateness of the assessment methods in assessing the intended learning outcomes: the various methods are designed to ensure that all students taking this subject – Journal articles are assigned to course participants. They are required to critique these articles and write a review report. Students are assigned journal articles to read at home. They are then required to prepare written reviews on these articles. They also need to make presentations in class and exchange views regarding conceptual, methodological and managerial issues. Examination is introduced to assess whether participants are able to integrate what they have learned, and more importantly, provide solutions to current people management problems. Feedback is given to students immediately following the presentations and all students are invited to join this discussion.
Student Study Effort Expected
Class contact:
Lectures
30 Hrs.
Other student study effort:
Preparation for lectures Preparation for assignment / presentation / examination
Total student study effort
30 Hrs. 60 Hrs. 120 Hrs. 2
Reading List and References
What is Organizational Behavior Theory Required Reading Ferraro, F., Pfeffer, J. and Sutton, R. (2005). Economics language and assumptions: How theories can become self-fulfilling. Academy of Management Review, 30: 8-24. Johns, G. (2006). The essential impact of context on organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review, 31: 386-408. Rousseau, D. M. (2006). Is there such a thing as “evidence-based management”? Academy of Management Review, 31: 256-269. Recommended Abrahamson, E. (1996). Management fashion. Academy of Management Review. 21: 254285. Bartunek, J.M., Rynes, S.L., & Ireland, R.D. (2006). What makes management research interesting, and why does it matter? Academy of Management Journal, 49, 9-15. [No] Barley, S. (2006). When I write my masterpiece: Thoughts on what makes a paper interesting. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 16-20. Cappelli, P., and Sherer, P. (1991). The missing role of context in OB: the need for a meso-level approach. In Staw and Cummings, R. in organizational behavior, 13: 55-110. Davis, M. (1971). That’s Interesting! Towards a phenomenology of sociology and a sociology of phenomenology. Philosophy of Social Science, 309-344. Dutton, J.E. & Dukerich, J.M. (2006). The relational foundation of research: An underappreciated dimension of interesting research. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 21-26. MacCoun, R. (1998). Biases in the interpretation and use of research results. Annual Review of Psychology, 49: 259-287. McGuire, W.J. (1997). Creative hypothesis generating in psychology: Some useful heuristics. Annual Review of Psychology, 48: 1-30. Mowday, R.T. and Sutton, R.I. (1993). Organizational behavior: Linking individuals and groups to organizational contexts. Annual Review of Psychology, 44: 195-229. O’Reilly, C. (1991). Where we have been, where we’re going. Psychology, 42: 427-458.
Annual Review of
Staw, B. (1984). Organizational behavior: A review and reformulation of the field’s outcome variables. Annual Review of Psychology, 627-666. Personality and Individual Differences Required Reading Davis-Blake, A. and Pfeffer, J. (1989). Just a mirage: The search for dispositional effects in organizational research. Academy of Management Review, 14: 385-400.
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Funder, D. and Colvin, R. (1991). Exploration in behavioral consistency: Properties of persons, situations, and behaviors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60: 773-794. Judge, T.A., Hurst, C., & Simon, L.S. (2009). Does it pay to be smart, attractive, or confident (or all three?) Relationships among general mental ability, physical attractiveness, core self-evaluations, and income. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 742755. Recommended Barrick M.R. and Mount, M.K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44: 1-26. Block, Jack H. (1995). A contrarian view of the five-factor approach to personality description. Psychological Bulletin, 117: 187-215. Buss, A. (1989). Personality as traits. American Psychologist, 44: 1378-1388. Greenberg, J. (2008). Understanding the vital human quest for self-esteem. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3: 48-55. Gosling, S., Ko, S., Manarelli, T., Morris, M. (2002). A room with a cue: Personality judgments based on offices and bedrooms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82: 379-398. Heine, S.J., Buchtel, E.E., & Norenzayan, A. (2008). What do cross-cultural comparisons of personality traits tell us? The case of conscientiousness. Psychological Science, 19: 309-313. Hogan, R., Hogan, J., and Roberts, B. (1996). Personality measurement and employment decisions. American Psychologist, 51: 469-477. Staw, B., Bell, N., and Clausen, J. (1986). The dispositional approach to job attitudes: A lifetime longitudinal test. Administrative Science Quarterly, 31: 56-77. Steel, R.P. and Rentsch, J.R. (1997). The dispositional model of job attitudes revisited: Findings of a 10 year study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82: 873-879. Tetlock, P.E., Peterson, R.S., and Berry, J.M. (1993). Flattering and unflattering personality portraits of integratively simple and complex managers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64: 500-511. Cognition & Decision Making Required Reading Dane, E. & Pratt, M.G. (2007). Exploring intuition and its role in managerial decision making. Academy of Management Review, 32: 33-54. Hsee, C.K., Hastie, R., & Chen, J. (2008). Hedonomics: Bridging decision research with happiness research. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3: 224-243. Moore, D. (2007). Not so above average after all: When people believe they are worse than average and its implications for theories of bias in social comparison. Organizational 4
Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 102, 42-58. Recommended Cohen, M.D., March, J.G., & Olson, J.P. (1972). A garbage can model of choice. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17: 1-25. Crant, J. M. & Bateman, T. S. (1993). Assignment of credit and blame for performance outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 36: 7-27. Gilbert, D. T., Krull, D. S. & Malone, P. S. (1990). Unbelieving the unbelievable: Some problems in the rejection of false information. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 59: 601-613. Higgins, E. T. & Bargh, J. A. (1987). Social cognition and social perception. Annual Review of Psychology, 38: 269-425. Hsee, C.K., Hastie, R., & Chen, J. (2008). Hedonomics: Bridging decision research with happiness research. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3: 224-243. Kramer, R. M. (1994). The sinister attribution error: Paranoid cognition and collective distrust in organizations. Motivation and Emotion, 18: 199-230. Kulik, C.T., Roberson, L., & Perry, E.L. (2007). The multiple category problem: Category activation and inhibition in the hiring process. Academy of Management Review, 32: 529548. Staw. (1980). Rationality and justification in organizational life. Organizational Behavior, 2, 45-80.
Research in
Shiv, B. & Fedorikhin, A. (1999). Heart and mind in conflict: The interplay of affect and cognition in consumer decision making. Journal of Consumer Research, 26, 278-292. Taylor, S. E. & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 193: 193-210. Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 1124-1131. Leadership Required Reading Chiu, C.K. Transformational Leadership, Empowerment Climate, Psychological Empowerment and Creative Performance: A Multi-level Approach. Paper submitted for review. Chiu, C.K. & Tse, H. Transformational leadership, followers’ identity orientations and performance. Presented at the Academy of Management 2008 Annual Conference, Anaheim, California. Huang, X., Wright, R., Chiu, C.K., Chao, W. (2008). Relational schemes as sources of evaluation and misevaluation of leader member exchanges: Some initial evidence. Leadership Quarterly, 19(3), 266-282.
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Recommended Hui, C.C., Chiu, C.K., Yu, P., & Cheung, K., Tse, H. (2007). The effects of service climate and supervisor’s leadership behavior on frontline employee’s service quality: A multilevel analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80(1), 151-172. Tse, H.M.H., Chiu, C.K., Yu, P.L.H. Hui, H., & Cheung, M.F.Y. (2005). Supervisorsubordinate agreement in perception of leader-member exchange quality: A beautiful misunderstanding. Presented at the Australian Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference, Australia. Bamberger, P. A., & Bacharach, S. (2006). Abusive supervision and subordinate problem drinking: Taking resistance, stress and subordinate personality into account. Human Relations, 59, 6, 723. Shin, S. J., & Zhou, J. (2003). Transformational leadership, conservation, and creativity: Evidence from Korea. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 6, 703-714. Wang, H., Law, K. S., Hackett, R. D., Wang, D., & Chen, Z. X. (2005). Leader-member exchange as a mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and followers’ performance and organizational citizenship behaviour. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 3, 420-432. Emotions Required Reading Haidt, J. (2003). The moral emotions. In R. J. Davidson, K. R. Scherer, & H. H. Goldsmith (Eds.), Handbook of affective sciences. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 852870. Oishi, S., Diener, E., & Lucas, R.E. The optimum level of well-being: Can people be too happy? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2: 346-360. Rafaeli & Sutton (1987). Expression of emotion as part of the work role. Academy of Management Review, 12: 23-37. Recommended Forgas, J. & George, J.M. (2001). Affective influences on judgments and behaviour in organizations: An information processing perspective. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86: 3-34. Frederickson, B.L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden and build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56: 218-226. George, J. and Brief, A. (1992). Feeling good-doing good: A conceptual analysis of the mood at work-organizational spontaneity relationship. Psychological Bulletin, 112: 310329. Isen, A.M. & Baron, R.A. (1991). Positive affect as a factor in organizational behavior. In L.L. Cummings & B.M. Staw (Eds.). Research In Organizational Behavior, 13. Greenwich, CN: JAI Press, 1-54. Jordan, P. J. Ashkanasy, N.M., Hartell, C. E. J. (2003). The case for emotional intelligence 6
in organizational research. Academy of Management Review, 28: 195-197. Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 17: 297-314. McAllister, D. J., (1995). Affect- and cognition-based trust as foundations for interpersonal cooperation in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 38: 24-59. Watson, D., Clark, L., & Tellegen, A (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54: 1053-1070. Weiss, H. M. & Cropanzano, R. (1996). Affective events theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes, and consequences of affective experiences at work. Research in organizational Behavior, 18: 1-74. Zajonc, R. B. (1984). On the primacy of affect. American Psychologist, 39: 117-123. Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Organizations Required Reading Detert, J.R., Treviño, L.K., & Sweitzer, V.L. (2008). Moral disengagement in ethical decision making: A study of antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92: 374-391. Haidt, J. (2001). The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychological Review, 108: 814-834. Shao, R., Aquino, K., & Freeman, D. (2008). Beyond moral reasoning: A review of moral identity research and its implications for business ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 18: 513-540. Recommended Aquino, K. & Lamertz, K. (2004). A relational model of workplace victimization: Social roles and patterns of victimization in dyadic relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89: 10223-1034. Baumeister,R.F., Bratlavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 3: 323-370. Detert, J.R., Treviño, L.K., & Sweitzer, V.L. (2008). Moral disengagement in ethical decision making: A study of antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92: 374-391. Grant, A. (2007). Relational job design and the motivation to make a prosocial difference. Academy of Management Review, 32: 393-417. Bolino, B. (1999). Citizenship and impression management: Good soldiers or good actors. Academy of Management Review, 24: 82-98. Crocker, J. & Major, B. (1989). Social stigma and self-esteem: The self-protective properties of stigma. Psychological Review, 96: 608-630. Duffy, M.K., Ganster, D.C., & Pagon, M. (2002). Social undermining in the workplace. 7
Academy of Management Journal, 45: 331-352. Johns, G. (1999). A multi-level theory of self-serving behavior in and by organizations. In Sutton, R. I. & Staw, B. M. (Eds.). Research in Organizational Behavior, 21: 1-38. US: Elsevier Science/JAI Press. Jong-sung, You & Khagram, Sanjeev (2005). A Comparative study of inequality and corruption. American Sociological Review, 70: 36-157. LePine, J. A., Erez, A., & Johnson, D. E. (2002). The nature and dimensionality of organizational citizenship behavior: A critical review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87: 52-65. Penner, L. Dovidio, J., Pillavin, J., and Schroeder, D. (2004). Prosocial behavior: Multilevel Perspectives. Annual Review of Psychology, 56: 365-392. Haidt, J. (2008). Morality. Perspectives on psychological science, 3 : 65-72. Robinson, S. L. & Bennett, R. J. (1995). A typology of deviant workplace behavior: A multidimensional scaling study. Academy of Management Journal, 38: 555-572. Tepper, B.J., Duffy, M.K., Henle, C.A., & Schurer-Lambert, L. (2006). Procedural justice, victim precipitation, and abusive supervision. Personnel Psychology, 59, 101-123. Treviño, L.K., Weaver, G.R., & Reynolds, S.J. (2006). Behavioral ethics in organizations: A review. Journal of Management, 32: 951-990. Warren, D. (2003). Constructive and destructive deviance in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 28: 622-632. Self, Social, and Organizational Identity Required Reading Ashforth, B. E. & Mael, F. (1989). Social identity theory and the organization. Academy of Management Review, 14: 20-39. Flynn, F. (2005). Identity orientation and forms of social exchange in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 30: 737-750. Oyserman, D. (2007). Social identity and self-regulation. In A. Kruglanski & T. Higgins (Eds.) Handbook of social psychology (2nd Ed.). New York: Guilford Press. Recommended Akerlof, G. and Kranton, R. (2004). Identity and the economics of organizations. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18. Aquino, K. & Reed, A. II. (2002). The self-importance of moral identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83: 1423-1440. Brewer, M. B., & Gardner W. L. (1996). Who is this 'we'? Levels of collective identity and self representations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71: 83-93. Chen, S., Boucher, H.C., & Tapias, M.P. (2008). The relational self revealed: Integrative 8
conceptualization and implications for personal life. Psychological Bulletin, 132: 151-179. Dutton, J., Dukerich, J. and Harquail, C. (1994). Organizational images and member identification. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39: 239-263. Ely, R. (1995). The power in demography: Women’s social constructions of gender identity at work. Academy of Management Journal, 38: 589-634. Elsbach, K. and Kramer, R. (1996). Members’ responses to organizational identity threats: Encountering and countering the Business Week ratings. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41: 442-476. Haslam, S.A. & Reicher, S. (2006). Stressing the group: Social identity and the unfolding dynamics of responses to stress. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1037-1052. Hogg, M. & Terry, J. (2000). Social identity and self categorization processes in organizational contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25: 121-140. Markus, H. R. & Kitayama, S (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98: 224-253. Tyler, T. (1999). Why people cooperate with organizations: An identity-based perspective. In B. Staw and R. Sutton (Eds.). Research in organizational behavior, 21: 201-246. Weaver, G.R. & Agle, B.R. (2002). Religiosity and ethical behavior in organizations: A symbolic interactionist perspective. Academy of Management Review, 27: 77-97. Groups and Teams Required Reading Anderson, C., Ames, D.R., Gosling, S.D. (2008). Punishing hubris: The perils of overestimating one’s status in a group. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34: 90-101. Ratner, R. and Miller, D. (2001). The norm of self-interest and its effects on social action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81: 5-16. Rico, R., Sanchez-Manzaneres, M., Gil, F., & Gibson, C. (2008). Team implicit coordination processes: A team knowledge-based approach. Academy of Management Review, 33: 163-184. Recommended Bartel, C. and Saavedra, R. (2000). The collective construction of work group moods. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45: 197-231. Barrick, M.R., Bradley, B.H., Kristof-Brown, A.L., & Colbert, A. (2007). The moderating role of top management team interdependence: Implications for real teams and working groups. Academy of Management Journal, 3, 544-557. Hackman, J.R. and R. Wageman (2005). When and how team leaders matter. In B. Staw and R. Kramer, Research in organizational behavior, 26: 37-74. Elsevier, JAI Press.
Ilgen, D. Hollenbeck, H., Johnson, M., and Jundt, D. (2004). Teams in organizations: 9
From input-process-output models to IMOI models. Annual Review of Psychology, 56: 517-543. Messick, D. M., and Mackie, D.M. (1989). Intergroup relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 40: 45-81. Petersen, T. (1992). Individual, collective, and systems rationality in work groups: Dilemmas and market-type solutions. American Journal of Sociology, 98: 469-510. Peterson, R. and Nemeth, C. (1996). Focus versus flexibility: Majority and minority influence can both improve performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22: 14-23. Van Der Vegt, G. and Bunderson, J.S. (2005). Learning and performance in multidisciplinary teams: The importance of collective team identification. Academy of Management Journal, 48: 532-547. Weingart, L. (1997). How did they do that? The ways and means of studying group process. In Staw and Cummings (eds.) Research in organizational behavior, 19: 189-239. Wageman, R. (1995). Interdependence and group effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40: 145-180. Demography and Diversity Required Reading Fiske, S.T., Cuddy, A.J.C., Glick, P., & Xu, J. (2002). A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82: 878-902. Hekman, D.R., Aquino, K., Owens, B., Mitchell, T.R., Schilpzand, P., & Leavitt, K. Forthcoming. An examination of whether and how racial and gender biases influence customer satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal. Westphal, J. D. & Stern, I. (2007). Flattery will get you everywhere (especially if you are a male caucasian): Ingratiation, boardroom behavior, and demographic minority status affect the likelihood of gaining additional board appointments at U.S. companies. Academy Management Journal, 50: 267-288 Recommended Biernat, M. (2003). Toward a broader view of social stereotyping. American Psychologist, 58: 1019-1027. Chatman, J. and Spataro, S. (2005). Using self-categorization theory to understand relational demography-based variations in people’s responsiveness to organizational culture. Academy of Management Journal, 48: 321-331. Ely, R. and Thomas, D. (2001). Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46: 229-273. Ibarra, H. (1993). Personal networks of women and minorities in management: A 10
conceptual framework. Academy of Management Review, 18: 56-87. Jehn, K, Northcraft, G.B, & Neale M.A. (1999). Why differences make a difference: A field study of diversity, conflict, and performance in workgroups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44: 741-763. Lawrence, B. (1995). The black box of organizational demography. Organization Science, 8: 1-22. McPherson, J. M., L. Smith-Lovin, and J. M. Cook (2001). Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual Review of Sociology, 27: 415-444. Riordan, C.M. and Shore, L.M. (1997). Demographic diversity and employee attitudes: An empirical examination of relational demography within work units. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82:342-358. Tsui, Anne S. and Charles A. O’Reilly (1989). Beyond simple demographic effects: The importance of relational demography in superior-subordinate dyads. Academy of Management Journal, 32: 402-423. Wharton, A. S., and J. N. Baron (1987). So happy together? The impact of gender segregation on men at work. American Sociological Review, 52: 574-587. Williams, K. Y. and C. A. O’Reilly (1998). Demography and diversity in organizations: A review of 40 years of research. In B. Staw and L. Cummings, Research in organizational behavior, 20: 77-140. JAI Press.
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