Managing the Human Side of Organizations

Participation Prerequisites

none

Course Content

It is not just knowledge that brings power, but the effective application of knowledge. If you want to strive in an organizational world, you must also be able to integrate your knowledge with other people's knowledge, convince team members of your ideas, offer them feedback, handle conflicts, deal with people who see the world differently than you do, and ultimately also lead others.

This course provides you with theoretical knowledge and practically applicable tools to handle these challenges. Stated more formally, Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study of individuals and groups within an organizational context. It focuses on attributes, processes, behaviors, and outcomes within and between individual, interpersonal / group, and organizational levels of analysis.

The objective of this course lies in equipping you with a basic understanding of fundamental principles of OB. It should prepare you for higher effectiveness in current and future roles in which you need to work with individuals and groups in organizations.

The course gradually broadens the level of perspective. To put it more bluntly: This course is about making you more effective in (1) managing yourself, (2) managing peers, and (3) manag-ing up in work environments.

Intended Learning Outcomes and Competencies

I. Content-related

Having an understanding of core concepts of OB related to self-management, peer management, and the management of supervisors at work.

II. Skills-related

Knowing how to use core concepts of OB to solve business prob-lems about the management of work and people.

Having acquired new business skills that are relevant to address busi-ness problems.

III. Attitude-related

Being able and willing to critically reflect upon yourself and others, and ways to handle differences effectively.

Appreciating differences between individuals and using them as a source of inspiration rather than hindrance.

Instruction Type

In-class participation.

Form of Examination

Your overall course grade is composed of three parts (100 points in total).

(1) Writing a case study on an human-related challenge (20 points)

You will be asked to write up a case study on an human-related challenge challenge from your own experience. Ideally, this case is based on a challenge that you have faced or are currently facing in your daily working life. You need to submit a first draft until the 8th of Feb-ruary 2026. You will receive feedback from your peers on your draft on the 12th of February 2026. You will then revise your case and submit a final version on 15th of February 2026. Fur-ther instructions on this task can be found on Moodle.

(2) Providing peer-feedback to case study on an human-related challenge (10 points)

As part of writing the human-related challenge, you will provide feedback to your peers’ chal-lenges via Moodle until the 11th of February 2026. The feedback will account for 10 points (fail/pass) and will only be granted if you provided feedback to everyone in your group with a reasonable quality. The definite number of your group members (and feedback requests) will be visible on Moodle.

(3) Presenting your solution on an human-related challenge (50 points)

You will be randomly assigned to another course participant. You will need to solve the other person’s case on an human-related challenge. Please present your solution in a video (max. 10 minutes) that you need to submit by the 1st of March 2026. A selection of videos will be discussed with all participants in the synchronous lecture on the 7h of March 2026. The vide-os will be made available for the class at the end of the course (only for your selected time slot).

(4) Reflection journal (20 points)

The course is accompanied by an individual reflection journal. This reflection journal contains one question for each topic of the course (i.e., 12 questions and a resumé task). This assign-ment is due till 22nd of March 2026 and has to be submitted via the Moodle course (see “Deliverables”).

5) Attendance Policy for Live Sessions

Each absence from a live session will result in a deduction of 5 points. However, if you notify Prof. Gerpott via email at least 24 hours in advance and provide a valid reason (i.e., sickness, emergencies) for your absence, you may be eligible to complete an extra task to compensate for the missed session.

Literature

Will be provided in the course.