Introducing organisational behaviour: issues in course design

This paper explores some of the theoretical issues involved in the process of designing introductory undergraduate courses in OB (organisational behaviour). The basis of reflection for this study is the authors’ recent experience at Lancaster University. This paper is a commentary on the conceptual bases underpinning our views. We take a hermeneutic and phenomenological perspective which results in a design that works as a heuristic device meant to circumvent the limitations of traditional approaches – especially the tensions between theory and its practical relevance in business education, and the limited range of models presented as possible recipes for contingencies facing managers in modern organisations.