If the content you are seeing is presented as unstyled HTML your browser is an older version that cannot support cascading style sheets. If you wish to upgrade your browser you may download Mozilla or Internet Explorer for Windows.

Organizational Behaviour
(ORGB) 326
Organization Theory (Revision 6)

Revision 6 closed, replaced by current version.

View previous syllabus

Delivery mode: Individualized study or grouped study.**

Credits: 3 - Applied Studies

Prerequisite: None. ADMN 232 is recommended but not required.

Centre: School of Business

ORGB 326 has a Challenge for Credit option.

**Note: Students registering in grouped study, or grouped study international mode are advised that there may be some differences in the evaluation and course materials information indicated below. To obtain the most up-to-date information, contact the School of Business Call Centre at 1-800-468-6531.

Overview

ORGB 326 focuses primarily on structural aspects of organizations, although it also reflects on the relationship between structure and behaviour. Students should come to an understanding of the ways in which managers seek to promote organizational effectiveness through internal structures and processes.

Students will analyse how organizations are structured within the context of the larger social, political, and economic environment; why systems of control and coordination vary across organizations and change over time; and how organizational theory may contribute towards improving the design and management of organizations.

Several lesson notes within the course focus on the relationship between gender, structure, and organizational outcomes. This adds another dimension to the analysis of how the larger social environment affects organizational cultures and processes.

Outline

Lesson 1: Organizations and Theory

Lesson 2: Goals, Effectiveness, and the External Environment

Lesson 3: Technology, Information, and the Organization

Lesson 4: Organization Size, Life Cycle, and Decline

Lesson 5: The Design of Organizations

Lesson 6: Innovation and Change

Lesson 7: Decision Making

Lesson 8: Organizational Conflict, Politics, and Power

Lesson 9: Corporate Culture and Ethics

Evaluation

Your final grade for ORGB 326 is determined by a weighted average of the grades you receive on three written assignments and your Final Examination. To receive credit for this course, you must receive an alpha grade of “D” (50 percent) or better on the examination, and an overall course grade of at least a “D” (50 percent). The following chart summarizesthe evaluation activities:

Assignment 1 Assignment 2 Assignment 3 Final Exam Total
15% 15% 20% 50% 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Daft, R. L. (2004). Organization Theory and Design (8th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Thomson Learning/South-Western. ISBN 0-324-15691-X

Other materials

Students will access all other course materials online.