BUU22510 Organisational Behaviour Module Overview 2026/27 | Trinity College Dublin

BUU22510  Organisational Behaviour Module Content

Organisations of one form or another serve many important needs in business, government and society. They vary greatly in size, complexity and the activities they undertake. To achieve organisational goals people working in organisations work within, across and between formal and informal systems. This requires understanding the behavior of the individual and groups in the workplace. The module explores three key areas. Firstly, the factors that influence individuals such as personality, attitudes, perception, motivation, learning, communication and job satisfaction. Secondly, the factors that influence the nature of groups and teams and the importance of leadership. Thirdly, the module explores the nature of organisations by analysing issues such as goals, structure, design, control, change, and culture.

Module-Level Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module the student will:

1.    Understand a range of psychological factors that influence the behaviour of individuals in organisations such as personality, perception, communication, motivation and learning. 
2.    Understand a range of factors that influence the behaviour and development of groups and teams in organisations and be aware of the nature of leadership. 
3.    Understand the nature and complexity of organisations by exploring issues such as goals, strategy, structure, design, control and development. 
4.    Understand the internal dynamics of organizations including issues such as power and politics, decision making, and ethics/corporate social responsibility. 
5.    Apply scientific theories and research to analyze organisational, team, and individual performance. 
6.    Possess an awareness of the changes that continually impact on individuals and groups and influence the nature of organisations. 
7.    To explain the concept of evidence-based management and to find, understand and use research papers to formulate evidenced based management interventions. 

Skills

During the module the student will be given the opportunity to:

1.    Develop written and oral communication skills;
2.    Develop cooperation and teamwork skills;
3.    Develop analytical, critical and problem solving skills;
4.    Develop consulting skills.

Relation to Degree

This module supports six learning goals for the following programmes: Global Business, Business Studies & Language, BESS, Computer Science & Business, and Law & Business, as follows:  

1. Identify, critically evaluate, and synthesise the substantive theories, frameworks, and models, both qualitative and quantitative, that are used in fields of enquiry related to business, management, and the social sciences. 
2. Analyse and solve a variety of problems in the private and public sectors from a multi- disciplinary knowledge basis of theories, tools and techniques in business and the social sciences. 
3. Communicate effectively in oral and written modes in professional and academic settings. 
4. Apply knowledge and understanding of the social and ethical dimensions of management and research in both the public and private sectors of society and to apply this knowledge effectively in management and research contexts. 
5. Work effectively as an individual and in teams. 
6. Demonstrate the ability to engage productively with a changing social, cultural, and technological environment. 

Indicative topics to be covered:

• Introduction to Organisational Behaviour: paid work, individual behaviour and group processes in organisations.
• Individuals in the workplace and invisible “differences”: How individual traits and characteristics (such as personality, identity, perceptions and emotions) influence individual psychological and behavioural reactions in organisations, including motivations, incentives and ways of learning.
• Individuals in the workplace and visible “differences”: race, gender, disability and age, and how these “diversity factors” might influence individual and group processes, such as inequalities.
• Individual differences and diversity: How individual characteristics and experiences can influence individuals reactions in organisations and what role do people management practices play in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion.  
• Group dynamics and management processes: How individuals behave in teams, communicate in teams, how supervisors effectively lead teams, how teams make decisions and how individuals solve conflicts within teams.
• Organisational design and change: How organisational culture and structure as well as the implementation of organisational change processes can influence individuals and teams, including resistance to change.

Contact Teaching Methods

The course will consist of both a lecture (10 in total) and a tutorial (6 in total). Note that tutorials will NOT commence until the fifth week (Week 7). The lectures and tutorials will be delivered in class (on campus) each week. The lectures will provide students with the relevant theoretical background and explain core concepts, and will allow students the opportunity to discuss practical questions related to the topics. The tutorials will allow students to engage in more in-depth discussions about the material learned, for example through case studies and group work. The tutorials will also aim to prepare students for their group assignment and exam. 

Non-contact Teaching Methods

Blackboard will be used to administer the course in general and provide students with supplementary teaching materials and learning opportunities. Students will also be expected to undertake significant reading to supplement their learning during contact hours. For each topic, one key reading/video is usually supplied to students. Students should supplement this with additional reading. 

Module Assessment

Module assessment will be in the form of:    

• Individual Multiple Choice Exam (MCQ). Exam will take place on campus in exams week at the end of the course (Exams Week). The exam is worth 50% of the overall module score. 
• Group based consultancy report: This involves an assignment whereby groups (approx 5 students per group) have to engage in evidence-based management in a real organisation to solve a pressing organisational behaviour issue. The analysis and recommendations are detailed in an overall report comprising 2,500 words. The group consultancy report is worth 50% of the overall module score. 
  *Please note that the groups will be allocated by the lecturer at the beginning of the course.

1)  Instructions for Individual Multiple Choice Exam

Students have to complete an on campus 1.5 hour multiple choice exam consisting of 50 questions with four possible answers (a,b,c,d). The exam will take place somewhere in exams week. The multiple-choice exam will be administered on campus. There are no previous exams which contain sample questions, and no sample questions will be provided in advance. This is one reason why attendance at lectures and tutorials is important. However, the lectures and tutorials will focus on preparing students for the type of questions that could be asked.

2)  Instructions for Group Consultancy Assignment

In the group assignment, students work in a team of five to six students on a consultancy assignment for an organisation of their own choice. The groups are put together before the second lecture begins and are expected to make contact with each other before the third lecture commences. This will be possible via Blackboard. The group is carefully put together by the tutorial teacher and there are no exceptions to this.

In the group assignment, students themselves seek an organisation within which they can advise on a pressing organisational behaviour issue. Essentially, students will be required to write a group report (2,500 words maximum excluding cover page, bibliography and appendices).  Students will be able to use the textbook but will be expected to use additional academic literature (external evidence) as well as information from the company representatives (local evidence) to write the report. Students will have to use proper citation styles and provide a reference list of all materials used/cited in the report. The sample structure and grading criteria for the report is highlighted in Appendix 2. 

The group assignment works as follows:

1.    Students are allocated into a group (5/6 students) before lecture 2.
2.    Find an organisation, find a problem in the field of organisational behaviour that exists within that organization.
3.    Collect local evidence about the problem by doing interview(s) in the organisation. 
4.    Collect insights from scientific research (external evidence) about the problem. 
5.    Develop appropriate advice for the organisation to improve the organisational behaviour issue.
6.    Write an advisory report (with a maximum of 2,500 words) for the organisation that meets the assessment criteria (see Appendix 2).

Late or missed assessment submissions. Students must seek permission for deferring assessments based on medical/other grounds. They must do this through their College lecturer, Dr Graham Dwyer (dwyergr@tcd.ie). Unexcused late assignment submissions may be penalised by 5% of the grade awarded for each working day late, or part thereof. Students unable for medical reasons to submit an assignment must produce a medical certificate to the Trinity Business School office within three working days of the missed submission date. Certificates received after that time may not be accepted. 

Attendance at mandatory tutorials. Tutorials for this module are mandatory because they provide a rich opportunity to support student learning. Unexcused absence from two or more tutorials may be deemed non-satisfactory and a report will be sent to the students college tutor and the undergraduate office. 
Reassessment. Students who fail to achieve an overall mark of at least 40% across all assessments may be invited to attend a supplementary written exam. Previous assessments would not be considered as this exam would determine your overall mark. 
Visiting students attending Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin are expected to complete all assessments, unless exempt from doing so by your college. 
Grades. Grades disclosed during a semester are provisional until the module results are confirmed by the Court of Examiners post module. 
 “Formal rules and regulations” regarding assignments and their submission

Please note the following presentation guidelines for these written assignments:

• All assignments must be word processed. Please use Times New Roman, Font Size 12, black typeface on white paper. Double line spacing should be used. Please insert page numbering. The first page of each assignment should contain your tutorial number and group number, names of all group members, student numbers, assignment title and word count. The second page should include the AI declaration completed (see Appendix 3).
• Students may be penalised for exceeding the word limit. 
• Please use a consistent referencing system throughout your essay (Harvard style). A reference list must be provided at the end of your report. We will talk about this in class and you can also ask me if you have any questions about “proper referencing”.
• Please submit a softcopy on Turnitin via “Blackboard” as well as an e-mail to your tutor and lecturer (1 member from each group). In the subject of the e-mail include your tutorial number and your group number. When sending the e-mail, please include the e-mail address of all students in the group.   
  Module overview

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 

Graham Dwyer is Co-Director of the Trinity Centre for Social Innovation and is an Associate Professor at Trinity Business School. Before completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne he worked as Director in the Victorian Public Service, Melbourne, Australia where he was responsible for working closely with police and emergency management first responders to implement learning initiatives from after action reviews of critical incidents. After completing his PhD he worked at Course Director (Master of Social Impact) at the Centre for Social Impact which is a collaboration of Australian universities who provide education, tools and research to help catalyse social change for a better world. Most recently he has worked at University of Melbourne where he taught Organisational Behaviour. He has previously been a Visiting Scholar to RMIT University, Melbourne Australia. Graham strives to create a learning environment where every voice matters and all students feel empowered to share their thoughts. He often invites guest speakers to present to students which opens up exciting opportunities for network building where learning is an outcome of shared experiences and lifelong friendships are forged through learning activities at university.