RESEARCH PROJECT—ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
As part of the course
requirement, you will be expected to complete a primary research project. The objective of the research project is to
aid in the development of your observation skills of work-related human behavior,
to interpret and analyze those facets of the interrelationships of human behavior
observed, to link or connect your observations to materials presented in the
classroom, and to write a report on your findings.
Procedure: Begin immediately
- Identify an organization (any type of organization) in which you have current
direct contact on a regular basis.
- Select a team or group within this organization of which you are a member.
Select this team/group in which you have direct frequent contact (at least
once or twice a week).
- Do not tell the other members of the
group that you will be observing them.
- Keep a log or journal of your
observations. This journal should reflect
observations over the entire semester.
- Be very detailed in your journal
entries; write your journal entries in very descriptive terms. For example, if you observe group
members interacting in some way, do not simply write ‘the group is
interacting’. Rather, describe the
nature of the interaction; i.e., who is communicating with whom; is there
a group leader present?; etc. The
rich description that you write in your journal is critical for your
research report due at the end of the semester (see syllabus).
- What to observe: A "What to Observe in Teams and Groups" sheet will help you identify various aspects of organizational behavior initially. Also, as you master each chapter of the material presented in the course,
you will be able to add other materials to observe into your journal entries,
particularly in the areas of interpretation of organizational behavior
dynamics.
- RESEARCH PROJECT FORMAT