What Do We Teach in Organizational Behavior? An Analysis of MBA Syllabi

Abstract

This study examines the syllabi of 241 required organizational behavior (OB) related classes in full-time U.S. MBA programs. Syllabi were coded for information about course title, topics, readings, cases, teaching methods, and learning assessment methods. Results revealed that the most frequent topics listed across courses are leadership and groups or teams. There was considerable diversity in assigned books, readings, and cases, with only a small number of books (2), readings (15), or cases (5) assigned in 10 or more courses within our sample. Assessment of student learning was conducted via (in order of importance for final student grades) testing, individual writing, class participation, group writing, group presentation, and individual presentation. Private, ranked MBA programs were more likely to offer more than one OB-related course, usually management plus leadership, or OB plus leadership. Implications of these findings for OB teaching are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.