MGC2230: Organisational Behaviour

20% lit review, 40% in-tute group presentation (10% presentation, 15% group report, 15% personal reflection), 40% exam

When I was looking at units to do for my Commerce degree, this was one I definitely wanted to do somewhere along the course of my degree because it seemed so interesting! I find psychology quite interesting, and the theories and research in this unit are based on social and behavioural sciences so I really enjoyed it.

I really loved how organised and well put together this unit was. I was a little disappointed by the fact that quite a few concepts were exactly the same as in MGC1010, so I felt like for those topics I learnt nothing new. However, since I studied both units together this semester (note: It's totally possible to study MGC1010 alongside MGC2230 as there are no prerequisites), it made life a bit easier as I'd already covered the same content before.

Also, this unit is really interesting and very applicable to real life situations. There were many times where I could easily relate to the concepts as I'd experienced or seen them being experienced at work. This unit really helps you to realise why managers and employees act certain ways at work and what improvements they can make from both an individual and organisational perspective.

Lectures
I only attended the first lecture for this unit, and it made me realise that two hours is a waste for this unit. A lot of the content is relatively straightforward. However, I would recommend attending the last few lectures for exam revision purposes - you won't miss out on much if you don't attend but I would still recommend you do if you've got nothing else on.

Tutes
Tute attendance isn't marked, but it's a good idea to show up. There were two tutors this semester - Olga and Brian. I had Olga and she was absolutely amazing! She's so organised, kept the tutes really interactive and always made an effort to include everyone. The tutes were great because they pushed me to do the readings in order to participate in class discussions and go through the tute questions. This really helps come exam time.

In-tute presentation
It's really important that you attend the first tute as this is where you form a group for the group presentation. Basically, each group does a presentation and conducts activities covering the assigned week's lecture content. The groups are made up of 2-4 people, and you can choose who to work with. Presentations must encourage class participation in order for marks to be awarded. Each group gets to choose which topic to present, and must do so in the week that the lecture for that topic takes place. Although it seemed quite daunting at first, it's a really great way for students to learn.

The presentation itself is worth 10%, and you also need to hand in a group report (worth 15%) and a self-reflection (15%). Don't leave this to the last minute and you've earned yourself an easy 40% of your overall score

Exam
This year's exam was out of 40 and consisted of two short answer questions (worth 10 marks each) and two case-study questions (worth 10 marks each), which you get to choose from a number of different options. The exam is open book and goes for 2 hours, with 10 minutes reading time. There is a hurdle requirement to get at least a 40% on the exam in order to pass the unit.

If you have time, I would recommend making some shorter more concise notes as you go throughout the semester. Pay attention to the research and theories that are mentioned for each topic during the semester, as these are key to get you good marks. Our tutor also emphasised the importance of including examples, so I'd recommend making a bank of examples for each topic covered in the textbook, or you could even make up your own so long as they are relevant. I ended up running out of time to make notes but I found that the textbook was still sufficient, as I was already familiar with everything from doing all the readings and applying all the content in tutes (which is why I recommend that you go to all the tutes!!). Managing your time is really important for management units, so make sure you don't get carried away answering a question or you'll end up running out of time!
All in all, I would definitely recommend this unit to anyone looking for a cruisey elective to do (and, of course, it's a compulsory unit for people majoring in Management Studies). Keep up to date with the content, attend all tutes and participate, make concise notes as you go, and you will definitely do well

Tui McKeown

3.5 out of 5 (only because the content was in many circumstances the same as MGC1010, which I thought was quite silly. Other than that, loved it!)

No

Organisational Behaviour 7th Ed. - Robbins et al. - definitely purchase because it goes through everything really well and the exam is open book.

Weekly 2 hour lecture and 1 hour tute (attendance isn't compulsory)

Semester 1, 2015