Leadership, motivation, conflict, organizational change, and communication are common topics in organizational behavior courses. These courses attempt to explain the link between human behavior and corporate policies. Individual personality characteristics, desires, and needs frequently interact with an organization’s collective culture, so psychology and behavioral concepts and theories play a major role in these types of classes. Organizational studies are usually part of a business degree program and can be pursued at the undergraduate or graduate level.
Basic organizational behavior courses give students a broad understanding of the factors that influence a company’s culture and management style. Students learn theories about workplace motivation, how to manage conflict, how to improve a company’s performance, and how to communicate effectively in general classes. Advanced level organizational behavior courses may cover how to recognize specific types of organizational structures, cultural characteristics, and management styles, among other topics.
Some of the most popular types of organizational behavior courses are conflict resolution and workplace conflict. These topics look at how personality differences, points of view, and professional goals can all lead to conflict. Clients and vendors can cause conflict in some cases, not just between two or more employees of the same company. Students are taught why conflict occurs as well as methods for resolving difficult situations in conflict classes.
Many organizational behavior courses also cover how to manage change within a company. Organizational culture change classes look at what motivates businesses to change, why the process is often lengthy and difficult, and how managers deal with resistance. Culture change topics examine how company norms emerge and why they may differ. Culture change education in the classroom may also look at how business leaders plan and implement change strategies.
Organizational behavior courses also cover communication, motivation, and unique workforce experiences. These classes examine how a company’s cultural environment influences various business communication styles. Communication styles can be used to elicit a specific response from employees, which is linked to motivation and leadership strategy. Students can learn the main business theories related to the causes of worker satisfaction and dissatisfaction taking motivation courses.
A few business culture courses may look into how different gender groups perceive and react to workplace behavior. Career development, harassment, and typical career choices are just a few of the topics covered. The perceptions and career needs of workers of different generations, ethnicities, and educational levels often differ, posing challenges in managing diversity and inclusion. Courses on business culture that focus on managing a diverse workforce frequently look at how to create a productive and inclusive environment for a variety of demographic groups.