The course is designed to expose students to the contemporary challenges facing organizations and managers. The course combines perspectives from organization theory, organizational behaviour, and international business to examine how organizations are structured and people are managed across diverse contexts. The topics covered include: organizational structure and design, strategic management, leadership and motivation, organizational culture,  cross-cultural management, and international business.

The course is structured into two sections:

Individuals, teams, and organizations (micro and meso): This section focuses on the strategic and managerial context of organizational behaviour. It examines organizational structure and design, individual behaviours and processes in organizations, and how to integrate business strategy and organizational behaviour. A particular emphasis in this section is to understand the factors that influence external (organization-environment) and internal (individual-organization) fit/misfit.

Organizations and environments (meso and macro): This section focuses on the embeddedness of organizations in diverse institutional and cultural environments, the resulting strategic challenges and opportunities, and the requirements for effectively managing people and international firms. A particular emphasis is on international and multinational organizations.

After the course, students will be able to:

• identify and compare organizational structures and designs; understand their advantages and disadvantages.
• develop an in-depth knowledge of determinants of individual and group behaviors.
• describe and critically evaluate the key roles and activities of managers.
• explain the key challenges of managing organizations and people in increasingly complex and integrated business environments.
• analyze and compare the challenges of managing in national and international contexts.
• understand the role that diverse contexts may play in managing organizations and people.
• develop strategies for managing organizations and people vis-à-vis contemporary business challenges and contexts.

The course emphasizes the training and development of the following skills and competencies:

• analytical thinking and problem solving: students learn to analyze complex organizational and managerial challenges in a systematic way applying several conceptual tools and techniques to develop appropriate solutions.
• critical thinking: students are encouraged to develop their own critical opinions based on a sound understanding of different organizational and managerial contexts.
• presentation, discussion, and debating skills.

Active engagement is a firm requirement of this course – which means that students are expected to attend all sessions, prepare the assigned readings, and course materials before each module. The sessions will include a theoretical input component, discussion of practical implications, and group activities.

Participation in class is mandatory. Students can miss up to one module in total. It is recommended that students save their absence allowance for cases of illness. The attendance requirement aligns with WU’s guidelines for PI courses. Those who do not meet the attendance threshold will be automatically de-registered from the course or graded negative (5) if they have obtained grade points. For more information, please see WU’s guidelines for PI courses: https://www.wu.ac.at/en/staff/information-for-teachers/courses-exams-and-theses/continuous-assessment-course-pi/)

Students are only permitted to attend the course for which they are registered – as attendance and group work are tied to the specific sections.

Arriving late or leaving early counts toward students’ absences. Students are requested not to inform the instructors in advance if they miss class fully or partially. Instead, if they do not sign the mandatory attendance sheet, it will be assumed that they are absent for the given session. If a student joins classes late or leaves earlier, they are required to sign the ‘lateness’ sheet, indicating the reasons for coming late or leaving earlier as well as the time missed.

The course combines multiple teaching and learning approaches including input components (traditional lecture style), business case studies, group work and presentations, and written assignments. For each session, students are required to prepare assigned readings, which are the foundation for in-class discussions. In addition, students will critically analyse and evaluate real-life companies, which requires application of conceptual insights and learning gained in class.  

As a policy, instructors will not respond to student e-mails. The only exceptions for students to contact instructors via email are when due to reasons of sickness they exceed the absence allowance and need to submit a doctor’s note, or when they require support due to special needs (i.e. BeAble). Students should be aware that they are communicating in an academic setting and are expected to always behave in a respectful and courteous manner toward instructors and fellow students.

Group assessment:

1. Summary reports from group discussions (20%)
2. Presentation (20%)

Individual assessment:

1. Reflection on key learning points (20%)
2. Final examination [closed book] (30%)
3. Class attendance (10%)

All grade points will be recorded in the Gradebook on Canvas. Grading is done according to the pre-defined criteria as outlined in the syllabus for each assignment. Points are not changed or adjusted based on student requests. Any divergences or alternative procedures require announcement prior to the course starts so not to jeopardize the integrity of the grading process. Similarly, compensatory assignments are not offered to students. Final grades are calculated as the sum of all points achieved from all graded components.

Grades are calculated based on two decimal points. Grade points are not rounded.

Late or missed submissions will result in a grade of ‘0’ – without exception. Late submissions via email will not be accepted. Students are responsible for the timeliness of their submissions. Please note that with group assignments all group members are accountable for adhering to the plagiarism and integrity policies of the university. Cases of plagiarism will be reported to Study Services, which has serious consequences.

For all graded assignments, students may request clarification and feedback within one week after grading and through the forum on Canvas. If valuable for all students, instructors will respond there. Otherwise, instructors will respond in the form of an individual message on Canvas.

It is the students’ responsibility to familiarize themselves with the basics of good academic practice prior to the start of the course. Equally, they need to know about the various facets of plagiarism and academic fraud, such as

• “Copying from other students (e.g. in written homework)
• Failure to use correct citations in written performance components
• Handing in the same written work in different courses without including a note in the paper indicating that it has been submitted more than once (self-plagiarism)”

More information concerning the university’s policy on academic best practice and the consequences of non-compliance can be found here:

https://www.wu.ac.at/en/students/my-program/bachelors-student-guide/courses-and-exams/plagiate-neu

AI-based software and tools of all kinds (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard, Grammarly, and similar applications) are subject to differentiated authorization in this course. The use of AI tools is permitted exclusively for the preparation of summary reports from group discussions, but is is strictly prohibited for the final reflection on key learning points.

All submitted assignments are automatically screened using plagiarism detection and AI-detection software (e.g., Turnitin). If AI usage is suspected in the final reflection on key learning points, the assignment will receive 0 points. No audit interviews will be conducted in such cases. If AI usage is suspected in the summary reports and not disclosed correctly, the assignment will receive 0 points.

Students are expected to familiarize themselves with and adhere to the relevant WU regulations and guidelines on academic integrity and the use of AI tools. Failure to comply with these rules constitutes a violation of academic standards. More information can be found here: List of Aids Used - Theses - Courses, Exams, and Theses

This course is open to students in the 4th semester of the BBE program. Students who would like to take the course before the 4th semester of the program should enquire with the BBE program management to ensure that 4th-semester students will have sufficient slots.

After registration, please do not contact instructors to request registration for parallel courses. Requests to change course registration should be addressed to BBE program management.

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