As organisations evolve they have to make various decisions relating to growth and change of structure and direction. This module looks at the dilemmas faced by managers in making decisions at each stage of development. Because of the integrated nature of the maodule there will be input from different subject specialists (eg, Strategy and HR) into the various stages of the organisation's development. The integrated nature of the module will also be reflected in the class-test and assignment.

Decisions about organisation design, including:
- Approaches to, and elements of organisation design
- The dilemmas of growth and decline

Introduction to Cultural Influences on organisations, including:
- The impact of globalisation and the role of supranational bodies such as EU and WTO
- The impact of the information technology revolution
- Moral and ethical dilemmas for organsiations
- Corporate Social Responsibility

Strategic analysis and business policy formulation, including:
- Introduction to strategic management, includes prescriptive and emergent approaches
- The 'purpose' of the organisation, eg, mission, vision, etc.
- Examination of functional areas of the business (includes resources) and how they inform policy

Policy planning and control
- Dilemmas of planning
- Setting management objectives and information systems
- Control mechanisms and decision making

The learning strategy for this module requires students to commit 300 learning hours (including assessment) of this there will be 48 hours of class support, 24 hours of online support activities and 228 hours of independent and self-directed study.

Learning support material will be provided for the module

The lectures and tutorials will provide new material and the opportunity to apply the new material and ideas to organisations via case studies.

The online material will provide access to additional support material and opportunities for students to underpin the classroom support given.

Libraries
The Module website

Huckzinski and Buchanan (2003) Organisational Behaviour: An Introduction, 4th edition. Prentice Hall (ISBN 0 273 65102-1)
Capon, C (2004) Understanding Organisational Context, 2nd edition. FT Prentice Hall

A one hour individual class test at the end of semester 1 (Tests LO 1) 30%

A 2,500 word individual case-based assignment in semester 2. (Tests LOs 1, 2, 3 and 4) 70%