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2025/2026  BA-BHAAI1041U  Organisational Behaviour and Organisational Analysis

English Title
Organisational Behaviour and Organisational Analysis

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration Summer
Start time of the course Summer
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Min. participants 30
Max. participants 100
Study board
Study Board for General Management
Programme Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Kinga Konczey
    Pedro Monteiro - Department of Organization (IOA)
For academic questions related to the course, please contact course instructor Kinga Konczey (kiko.ioa@cbs.dk).
Main academic disciplines
  • Management
  • Organisation
  • Organisational behaviour
Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face teaching
Last updated on 20/11/2025

Relevant links
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the major organisational behaviour theories and models as they apply to various business settings, and be able to apply these theories to the analysis of problems.
  • Recognise, identify and analyse complex organisational problems that are caused by the organisational structures, strategies, functions, operations, people management, or organisational processes.
  • Demonstrate mastery of the different organisational models by using them in gathering data and analysing organisations comprehensively and making recommendations in existing organisations.
  • Demonstrate an appreciation of the notion of contingency as it applies to the interrelatedness of organisational processes, such as group formation, decision making, conflict, power and leadership.
  • Recognise the need for continuous change within organisations, and adaptation to the environment.
Course prerequisites
No prerequisites
Examination
Organisational Behaviour and Organisational Analysis:
Exam ECTS 7.5
Examination form Written sit-in exam on CBS' computers
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer, 4-hour sit-in exam in week 31 for 6-week courses

Exam schedules available on https:/​/​www.cbs.dk/​uddannelse/​international-summer-university-programme-isup/​courses-and-exams
Aids Closed book: no aids
However, at all written sit-in exams the student has access to the basic IT application package (Microsoft Office365 (minus Excel), document camera and paper, 7-zip file manager, Adobe Reader DC, PDF24, Texlive, VLC player, Windows Media Player – ATTENTION no sound allowed), and the student is allowed to bring simple writing and drawing utensils (non-digital). PLEASE NOTE: Students are not allowed to communicate with others during the exam.
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
The number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination may warrant that it most appropriately be held as an oral examination. The programme office will inform the students if the make-up examination/re-take examination instead is held as an oral examination including a second examiner or external examiner.
n/a
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach
Organizations are everywhere in different forms, size, internal structure, tasks, and goals. This course will expose students to important theories and conceptual models for analyzing and understanding organizations with the aim of designing effective structures and cultures that allow them to create value, survive, develop and thrive. The course will articulate that employees do not always act in a rational and consistent manner. Our ability - whether as a new employee, a middle manager, or a top level executive - to understand, explain, and predict human behavior in organizations is a valuable skill. We will study a wide range of organizational situations and examples, and connect them to organizational theories and effective management methods.
 
We will bridge theory and practice through organizational analysis by exploring a series of successful and unsuccessful examples. Students will learn to apply different theoretical perspectives in our attempt to provide situational analysis and plausible solutions. No single model of an effective organization will be advocated - no "right answer" that can be applied universally; rather, we will explore the factors and conditions within and outside an organization that can be controlled to provide the best fit with the dynamic environment and thereby create the greatest opportunity for success. The imperative for organizational learning, continuous adaptation, and change based on new developments will be emphasized.
 
 

Class 1: Organizational theories, Organizational behavior
Class 2: Managing individual and cultural diversity in organizations
Class 3: Workplace attitudes, Job satisfaction
Class 4: Work motivation

Class 5: Group processes: Conflict management 

Class 6: Organizational processes: Leading with and without authority

Class 7: Decision making; Organized anarchy

 

Feedback activity: Organizational analysis

 

Class 8: Organizational Culture, Structure and Design; Knowledge management, Learning organization

Class 9: The organization and its environment: Resource dependency, Organizational ecologies

Class 10: Organizational analysis presentation (live or online upload, depending on class size)
Class 11: Comprehensive summary, exam preparation

 

 

 
Research-based teaching
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
  • Classic and basic theory
  • Models
Research-like activities
  • Analysis
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
Description of the teaching methods
Academic concepts and theories will be introduced through readings and focused lectures (a combination of pre-recorded and in class). Experiential learning tools will be incorporated in the study program, such as inventories, problem solving exercises, role plays, case studies, film clips, games, and simulations, as well as in-class experiments. Collective learning will emerge through the creative class work.
Feedback during the teaching period
Group based organisational analysis.
Project groups (of 4-5 students) will choose a concrete organisation to analyse. There will be a workshop class where groups will prepare their organisational analysis, design and prepare a max 8 minutes presentation
Further information on Canvas

Student workload
Pre-course activity 20 hours
Classroom attendance 38 hours
Preparation 121 hours
Feedback activity 7 hours
Examination 20 hours
Further Information

6-week course. 

 

Pre-course activity:

Organizational Metaphors: This task is aimed at developing an overall understanding of organizations, using creative thinking. First, you need to read Part III. Implications for Practice of Gareth Morgan's book, Images of Organization. Then you need to think of: (a) an organization with more than a dozen employees in which you have worked / interned or (b) a non-employer organization you have known well through some kind of exposure (school, sport, ...). Identify an image, or metaphor, which fits this organization well. Draft a short note which develops the appropriateness of the metaphor in this setting. Briefly describe the overall organization, its survival strategy, the key parts, the relationships among parts, the degree to which the parts get along well with each other, & any other characteristics which are relevant -- all through the medium of your selected metaphor. Bring this draft with you to the first class for class work. More details on Canvas.

 

 

 

 
Expected literature

Mandatory readings:

 

Robbins, Stephen P. Essentials of Organizational Behavior (Global edition) 14th ed. Prentice Hall
 
Further readings: 
• Anand, N., Daft, RL (2007). What is the Right Organizational Design? Organizational Dynamics. Volume 36, Issue 4, pp. 329–344
• Ben-Ner, Avner (2013). Preferences and organization structure: Toward behavioral economics micro-foundations of organizational analysis. The Journal of Socio-Economics, Volume 46, pp. 87-96
• Buelens, Marc; Van den Broeck, Herman (2007), An Analysis of Differences in Work Motivation between Public and Private Sector Organizations Public Administration Review. Vol. 67, 1, pp. 65-74.
• Campbell, DA (2009), Giving up the Single Life: Leadership Motivations for Interorganizational Restructuring in Nonprofit Organizations. Administration in Social Work, Vol. 33, Issue 4, pp. 368-386.
• Chowdhury, Subir (2002). Toward the Future of Organizations, Chapter 1 in Organization 21C: Someday All Organizations Will Lead This Way. Prentice Hall. (16 p.)
• Davidson, Martin N. (2012) The end of diversity: How leaders make differences really matter. Leader to Leader. Vol. 2012 Issue 64, pp. 51-56.
• Davidson, Martin N. (2012), The end of Diversity as We Know It. Diversity Employers. 2012 Annual Edition, pp. 33-35.
• Garvin, David A., Edmondson, Amy C., and Gino, Francesca (2008). Is yours a Learning Organization? Harvard Business Review, March 2008 (8p.)
• Gareth Morgan (2006), Images of Organization. Sage Publications. Part III. Implications for Practice (including Biographical Notes). pp. 337-421.
• Gratton, L. (2011). Workplace 2025—What will it look like?
 
• Case studies, inventories and tests will be made available during the course
• Further reading may be recommended or uploaded on the course website.

 

Additional relevant readings:

 

Brooks, Ian: Organizational Behaviour. Prentice Hall, 5th ed, 2018 (340 p.)
Sinding & Walstrom. Organizational Behaviour. ISBN: 9780077154615 McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

 

 
Last updated on 20/11/2025