Course description
Understanding OB and leadership is especially important in today’s globalised world. Leaders increasingly work across cultures, manage hybrid teams, and deal with shifting expectations around ethics, inclusion, and change. This course helps students build both a theoretical foundation and a practical toolkit to understand and shape behaviour in such environments.
The course follows the structure and key themes of Organisational Behaviour by Robbins & Judge – one of the most widely used OB textbooks in universities around the world. Students will explore topics across three levels of analysis: the individual, the team, and the organization. By the end of the course, students will be able to explain key OB theories, apply leadership concepts in multicultural settings, and diagnose behavioural challenges in organisational life. Topics include:
Individual-Level Behaviour
- Personality, values, and cultural differences
- Emotions and emotional intelligence
- Motivation theories
- Group and Team Dynamics
- Effective teams and communication
- Leadership theories: from trait and behavioural models to transformational and authentic leadership
- Power, politics, and conflict resolution
Organisational-Level Issues
- Organisational culture and subcultures
- Cross-cultural management and the impact of national culture
- Organisational change and resistance
- Ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility
- Alongside theoretical frameworks, students will examine questions such as:
- How are leader behaviours influenced by personality, values, the characteristics of followers, and context?
- How do cultural differences affect what we perceive as “good leadership”?
- What motivates people in different organisational and national contexts?
- How do leaders influence organisational culture, and when should they try to change it?
- Throughout, the course emphasises critical thinking, personal reflection, and application of theory to practice.
