Applying Organizational Behaviour Theories to a Real-World Example

An objective of this project is to test your capabilities of applying learned concepts from Organizational Behaviour course onto a real-world example. As you have learned numerous theoretical concepts, it is upon you which one (or several) would you like to apply to a company. Moreover, you are also allowed to pick a company (or companies) onto which you would like to apply the learned theories. Your grade from this project will then be based on how well you are able to apply the theoretical knowledge onto your case.

You are allowed to pick a case based on your interest, yet it is recommended to select a larger company as it will be easier to find sources for your analysis. Some examples could be H&M, Accenture, Apple, Nike, Dell or Uber. Feel free to select a company which is of your interest and could be a good subject to this project. If you select a single company, you apply learned theories onto it and for instance compare its specific positioning with a market within which it operates.

Another option for you, is to pick multiple competing companies and analyse differences and similarities between them, applying theory which you have learned. An example of this approach would be a smartphone industry just before 2010 when there were several entrants alongside of Apple holding the innovator role. It is very likely that companies experimented with organizing workforce very differently and tried to motivate employees by different incentives. This would be an example of a space where Organizational Behavior theories could be applied.

A significant part of your work will be to find sufficient sources based on which analysis can be conducted. As this is an applied project, it is perfectly fine to be using industry materials to full extent - these might include published company policies, annual reports, case studies, industry reports, blog articles from industry experts or journalists etc.

Similarly as when it comes to choosing a company which you will analyse, you have free hands in choosing how you will apply the learned theories. You might for instance do a holistic analysis where you will look at individual, group and organization as a whole. This might be beneficial as you will not be needing too detailed materials on either of the three topics, which might be hard to find. On the other hand, you can of course use a completely opposite approach and analyse only individual in an organisation. An example would be Valve which have their employee onboarding handbook published, so you might decide to focus solely to this area.

Here is a recommended structure of your submission. It is recommended that the paper is 2000 to 5000 words long. Of course what matters more is whether your arguments are concise rather than whether they fulfil word quotas.

Introduction

• Briefly introduce the case. Introduction is always crucial as you are influencing setup of readers mind prior to your argumentation.

Analysis

• Apply the theoretical models.
• Analyse where does the company/companies stand right now or what were their past moves.
• Structure this chapter using subchapters according to your needs.

Discussion

• Space for your own input. Bring your own opinions, recommendations and thinking.
• Build this section based on your previous analysis.
• Possibly make recommendations of where company can move further from its current state.

Reference list

• Clear list of references using Harvard or APA style.