Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

Unit Description

Improving organisations requires understanding them. Understanding anything as complex as modern organisations points to the importance of good theory. While this may sound academic to those who labour in organisations big and small, good theories are pragmatic and grounded. This unit will explore both the theory and practices that enable business leaders to explain and predict what is taking place in their organisations.

In this unit learners will explore from theological, psychological, sociological and business science perspectives the nature of employees and how individuals, groups, and features of organisations influence human behaviour. Learners will learn about motivation, attitudes, affect and emotions, and see how these human tendencies can be channelled into productive and unproductive behaviours. Learners will read about how individuals and groups influence and are influenced by the culture, politics, and leadership in an organisation.

Since the effective functioning of an organisation depends on employee efforts that extend beyond formal role requirements, these extra efforts have been described as ‘organisational citizenship’. Learners in this unit will investigate the notion of ‘organisational citizenship’ or its equivalent (s), and special attention will be given to activities that target other individuals in the workplace (e.g., helping co-workers or communicating changes that affect others) and the organisation itself (e.g., actively participating in group meetings or representing the organisation positively to outsiders).

Tensions are inevitable in human organisations. These tensions need to be understood and managed. This unit will explore a number of tensions, such as: (a) differentiation and integration: how to divide up the tasks and work to be done and then coordinate the diverse efforts of individuals and groups; (b) centralization and decentralization: how to allocate authority and decision making across the organisation; (c) tight boundaries and openness to the environment: how much to buffer and filter the flow of people and information in and out of the organisation; and (d) bureaucracy and entrepreneurism: how to balance the requirement for consistency, predictability, and clarity with the need for autonomy, creativity, and flexibility.

Teaching Strategies

The learning process consists of three phases: Reading, Residential, and Research. Each phase has a blend of individual and group learning, and subsequent phases build upon the learning of those that come before.

The first phase is a Reading phase, and lasts for 12 weeks. The learner, as part of a small cohort study group (3 to 5 members), is guided through a reading program to explore the current scholarship on the practice of “Cultivating Organisational Citizenship”.

Reading assignments are compiled with the help of the librarian, the educational technologist, and administrative support staff. Required weekly readings are posted to the unit website once a week for downloading, utilising Tabor Victoria’s Moodle platform.

Students are also required to read the prescribed textbooks in this phase.

During this first phase learners in cohort groups embark on a guided social inquiry, resulting in a research project . Hands-on research conducted in context by each participant allows him/her to gain an understanding of specific, emerging ministry concerns/questions encountered by persons working in business.

Second phase is a residential phase: Equipped with the reading and research, learners then undertake a Residential phase of 40 hours’ worth (one week, full-time) of residential study. During the residency, all cohort groups gather in businesses and/or organisations chosen because of a leader who is known as a thoughtful practitioner, and because the business or organisation has a proven track record in “Cultivating Organisational Citizenship”.

In the third Phase students complete a personal theology in which issues related to “Cultivating Organisational Citizenship” are explored. Cohorts also plan and implement an intervention at a business, company or organisation. The intervention is a professional presentation that summarises findings and proposes a number of ways the business, company or organisation might go about addressing the emerging questions. The intervention invites thoughtful practitioners into theological reflection and constructive thinking about the concern and what might be done to begin addressing it. Following the intervention, the small cohort study group reflects upon and assesses their collaborative work.

Unit offerings

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.