MG4D3      Half Unit
The Dark Side of the Organisation

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Availability

Requisites

Additional requisites:

Introductory OB course required. MG4C2, MG434, MG105, or equivalent course in another institution. 

In this seminar, students will learn about a variety of topics related to the dark side of the organisation, (e.g. toxic emotions, workplace aggression, retaliation, discrimination, substance use/abuse, corporate corruption, and the impact of extreme organisational contexts on employee mental health and well-being). Organisational behaviour courses often focus on the "light side" of work—examining how motivation and behaviour contribute to positive outcomes for both employees and organisations. However, not all workplace behaviour is positive. The "dark side" of organisational behaviour encompasses negative behaviours enacted, often with intent, by individuals who are aware that their actions are may harm colleagues, the organisation, or themselves. To manage these behaviours and their impact on people and organisations effectively, we need a deeper understanding of their drivers, consequences, and how they unfold at work, so we can be better prepared to identify and address them through prevention, mitigation, or targeted intervention. The weekly seminars generally comprise an interactive class discussion/lecture about the week’s topic and case exercise components. In the final three weeks of the course, student teams will choose a dark side topic we haven’t discussed and lead class discussion on their chosen topic in the “Students’ Choice” component of the course.  

30 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

In its Ethics Code, LSE upholds a commitment to intellectual freedom. This means we will protect the freedom of expression of our students and staff and the right to engage in healthy debate in the classroom.

Students will have the opportunity to submit a formative (unassessed) essay of 1000 words in the WT.

• Anand, V, Ashforth, B. E., & Joshi, M. 2005. Business as usual: The acceptance and perpetuation of corruption in organizations. Academy of Management Executive, 19, 9-23. 
• Andersson, L. M., & Pearson, C. M. 1999. Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 24, 452-471. 
• Aquino, K., & Thau, S. 2009. Workplace victimization: Aggression from the target's perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 717-741. 
• Bacharach, S. B., Bamberger, P. A., & Doveh, E. 2008. Firefighters, critical incidents, and drinking to cope: The adequacy of unit-level performance resources as a source of vulnerability and protection. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 155-169. 
• Booth, J. E., Park, T.-Y., Zhu, L. (L.), Beauregard, T. A., Gu, F., & Emery, C. 2018. Prosocial Response to Client-Instigated Victimization: The Roles of Forgiveness and Workgroup Conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000286  
• Duffy, M. K., Ganster, D. C., & Pagon, M. 2002. Social undermining in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 331-351. 
• Frone, M. R. 2008. Are work stressors related to employee substance use? The importance of temporal context in assessments of alcohol and illicit drug use. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 199-206. 
• Glomb, T. M., & Liao, H. 2003. Interpersonal aggression in work groups: Social influence, reciprocal, and individual effects. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 486-496. 
• Griffin, R.W., & Lopez Y.P. 2005. "Bad Behavior" in organizations: A review and typology for future research. Journal of Management, 31, 988-1005. 
• Griffin, R. W., & O'Leary-Kelly, A. M. 2004. The dark side of organizational behaviour. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 
• King, E. B., Shapiro, J. R., Hebl, M. R., Singletary, S. L., & Turner, S. 2006. The stigma of obesity in customer service: A mechanism for remediation and bottom-line consequences of interpersonal discrimination. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 579-593. 
• Pinto, J., Leana, C. R., & Pil, F. K. 2008. Corrupt organizations or organizations of corrupt individuals? Two types of organization-level corruption. Academy of Management Review, 33: 685-709. 
• Ragins, B. R., & Cornwell, J. M. 2001. Pink Triangles: Antecedents and consequences of perceived workplace discrimination against gay and lesbian employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 1244-1261. 
• Vaughan, D. 1999. The dark side of organizations: Mistake, misconduct, and disaster. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 271-305. 

Presentation (30%)

This component of assessment includes an element of group work.

Course participation (10%)

Essay (60%, 1500 words)

The course will be assessed via the following methods:  

Class participation assessed on active and thoughtful contributions to seminar discussions (10%)  

A group presentation in one of the last three weeks of the term facilitating class discussion about the team’s choice of a dark side topic we have not explored (30%)  

An individual essay (1500 words) to drawing from course topics to address a provided question related to a dark side topic (60%) 

For detailed assessment information, including all deadlines and timings, please see the relevant course Moodle page. Assessment timings will be available at the start of each term.