KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS

MI&S 34185—FALL 2014—Section #001—Call #16112

ON-LINE COURSE

Instructor:            Deborah Knapp, PhD

Office:                   College of Business Administration

                                Department of Management & Information Systems

                                BSA A424

Telephone:           330.283.6081 (MOBILE—please use this number to contact me)

                                330.672.1147 (OFFICE)

E-mail:                  dknapp1@kent.edu —the best way to get a quick response!

Office Hours:      (ON-LINE) Mons 12p-4p, Tues 2p-6p, Weds 4p-8p, Thurs 8p-midnight

(IN OFFICE) 12p-2:30p, Thurs 4p-6:30p or by appointment

MATERIALS

Text

Kreitner & Kinicki (2013). Organizational Behavior (10^th Ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin: New York, NY.

Connect PLUS internet site by McGraw-Hill: You MUST sign up for Connect PLUS or Connect (e.g., if you purchase a used text) for this class. Registration information is available on Blackboard. You may go to McGraw-Hill’s site by clicking on the link found in “Tools” on Blackboard. Then click on “McGraw-Hill Higher Education,” then on “Go to My Connect Section.” From there you simply follow the registration instructions. 

Information from the publisher on purchasing the text and Connect PLUS:

For the online purchase, students can purchase Connect PLUS. To do that, as they register, they are given 3 options:

•  BUY ONLINE: Students who wish to purchase an on-line book [i.e., do not want a print book] can click on the BUY ONLINE option, and select Connect Plus.

•  Purchase Paper Copy: If you purchase a new paper copy from the bookstore, enter the code that comes with the book to access Connect PLUS. Also, if you purchase a paper copy (from the publisher or another source) but do not want to wait to receive the book to get started, you may sign up for the Free Trial (click on the free trial option) which will give you access to the on-line text until your book arrives. I am told by the publisher that if you purchase a used book, you only need to sign up for Connect (I’m not sure of the cost, but I believe it’s approximately $75).

Course Materials Available on Blackboard: course syllabus, course notes, course lectures, PowerPoint slides for book chapters, access to McGraw-Hill Connect, examples of internet assignments, the e-mail addresses of all classmates and your professor, and various utilities (i.e., discussion boards, journals, etc.). You can access Blackboard from your FlashLine account: once you log in, the link is in the upper right hand corner. You can also go directly to Blackboard and log in (with your KSU FlashLine ID and password) at learn.kent.edu.

COURSE PREREQUISITES

PREREQUISITE: M&IS 24163 Principles of Management (students that do not have the proper prerequisites risk being deregistered from the class).

COURSE DESCRIPTION

A summary of the key components we will explore during the semester include:

¨       The impact of personality, ability, and creativity on organizational functioning;

¨       The issue of group dynamics and methods for managing groups and teams effectively;

¨       The role that individual, group, and organizational learning plays in organizational functioning

¨          The perceptions, attitudes, and values of individuals and the part they play in organizational functioning;

¨          The importance of individual and organizational decision making and the determinants of successful decision making;

¨          The application of motivational theories for improving individual, group, and organizational functioning;

¨          An examination of the methods required for addressing successfully the issues of conflict and stress;

¨       The elements of successful communication;

¨       The role of leadership, power, politics, and influence in organizations; and

¨          The impact of organizational processes (i.e., organizational structure, organizational culture, and organizational change) on individual and group behavior and organizational success.

Understanding the determinants of your own behavior as well as those people with whom you interact may well impact your ability to not only succeed at work, but also to enjoy the time you spend working—which is also the place you will spend a good part of your adult life.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The fundamental purpose of this course is to provide the student with a heightened awareness and increased understanding of:

1) The basic concepts and processes that affect the behavior of individuals and groups in organizations;

2) How this behavior affects organizational functioning; and

3) The importance and complexities of managing human behavior in organizational settings. 

Through lecture and class discussions, we shall not only address these issues, but also will also consider the contributions of organizational behavior (OB) research to improved understanding of individual and group behavior.  Moreover, the application of (OB) research and theory to short- and long-term organizational functioning will be explored.  Finally, the course will provide a basis for understanding how interactions among organizational members might assist in moving an organization toward its goals.

The mission of this course is to assist you in the process of learning about human resource management. Part of that learning process is required course work: e.g., reading assigned material, completing assignments, and reflecting on your work and reporting those reflections to me via examinations, quizzes, and various assignments.

COURSE ADMINISTRATION AND TIME MANAGEMENT

Most of the Class Schedule dates are my suggestions concerning how you might manage your time. For the most part, you may complete the required readings and listen to lectures at your convenience. However, there are solid deadlines for all course requirements, such as quizzes, tests, and assignments (described in the next section). Assignments, tests, quizzes, etc. may be completed at any time up until their respective deadlines. A word of warning: quizzes and tests are timed assignments, so be sure you begin them well before the deadline hours.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

ORIENTATION EXAM (taken on Blackboard)

Your first exam will be based on your understanding of course requirements. The purpose of this exam is to ensure that students have a clear understanding of the requirements of the course, a solid grasp of the instructions concerning the submission of course work, the guidelines governing group activities (if any), and the rules/regulations for contacting the professor.  The importance of following class rules and guidelines cannot be understated: for example, if the guidelines and rules are not followed, questions that can easily answered by consulting the syllabus can overwhelm the system, making it difficult for students with substantive content questions or emergencies to receive rapid and thorough responses. Please see the section on COURSE PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES for the rules governing class activity. The orientation exam is worth 15% of your grade.

EXAMS (taken on McGraw-Hill Connect)

Two exams are scheduled for the semester. Exams will cover any readings, handouts, audio/visual media, on-line class interactions, and lecture material. The format of the exams may include multiple-choice, matching, and/or short answer type questions. Each exam accounts for 25% of your grade for a total of 50%.

PRACTICE EXAMS (taken on McGraw-Hill Connect)

Two on-line practice exams covering questions from the book will be scheduled before each EXAM. These exams will help you study for the two exams. You may take each exam three times. While the grades you receive on the practice exams will not affect your final grade, completing the exams will. You must take each practice exam once to receive credit. Practice exams will account for 5% of your grade or 2.5% each (e.g., if you take both exams, regardless of the number of questions you answer correctly, you will receive full credit. If you only take one exam, you will receive only 2.5%. Finally, if you take neither practice exam, five percentage points will be deducted from your final grade).

CASES AND EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES (completed on McGraw-Hill Connect)

Experiential exercises and cases provide an opportunity for students to apply many of the concepts covered in this course. Your case/exercise grade depends on the quality and quantity of five cases/exercises you complete during the semester. Cases and experiential exercises account for 5% of your total grade and are graded on a pass/fail basis (each exercise/case is worth 1%; e.g., if you complete only three, you will receive only 3%).

QUIZZES (taken on McGraw-Hill Connect)

There will be four on-line quizzes throughout the semester that will cover questions from the text. Each quiz may include multiple choice, matching, and/or fill-in-the blank type questions. You MUST complete each quiz at the prescribed time and during the time allotted. Make-up quizzes will not be offered. Each quiz accounts for 5% of your grade for a total of 20%.

INTERNET ASSIGNMENT (completed on McGraw-Hill Connect; Examples of past internet assignments are available on Blackboard)

Students will be expected to find one website that relates to the course (any website that addresses individual and group behavior concerns and issues are acceptable) and summarize the information they find at the site. You may use simple internet searches to find a website or select a website of which you are already aware. Students are to prepare a one-to-two paragraph summary about the website and submit the assignment on McGraw-Hill Connect. The content of your assignment should describe the website and may include any or all of the following: a) what information can be found on the website, b) who might find the website useful and/or c) how the information on the website might be used.

Submission/formatting internet assignment: Please include at the top of each paper (must be in WORD or equivalent word processing file; no pdf files): 1) your first and last name; 2) “Internet Assignment;” and 3) the URL of the website (the web address; this is so I may visit the site your chose)

The internet assignment will account for 5% of your final grade (the internet assignment is pass/fail; if you complete it on time, you will receive the full 5%, if you do not, five percentage points will be deducted from your grade).

GRADES

Grades will be calculated according to performance on the orientation exam (15%), the two exams (25% each for a total of 50%), the four quizzes (5% each for a total of 20%), the two practice exams (2.5% each for a total of 5%), cases/exercises (5%), and the internet assignment (5%). Final grades will be assigned as follows:

UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS

REGISTRATION

Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, September 7, 2014 to correct the error.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

Course Withdrawal Deadline: For FALL 2014, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 2, 2014.

GRADUATION

If you are eligible to graduate, it is your responsibility to apply for graduation before the set deadline (May Graduation: Apply before September 15^th; August Graduation: Apply before December 15^th; December Graduation: Apply before March 15th).  If you apply after the deadline you will be assessed a $200 late fee. Please see your academic advisor as soon as   possible if you are uncertain as to your progress toward graduation.  To apply for graduation complete the following steps: Log onto your FlashLine account (1) Click on the Student Tools tab (2) Look in the Graduation Planning Tool Box (3) Click on Application for Graduation. If an error message appears, you must contact your advisor.

POLICY ON ACADEMIC HONESTY

Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.   In addition, it is considered to be cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these accommodations through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.kent.edu/sas/index.cfm for more information on registration procedures).

CLASS PROCEDURES

1.      Students may e-mail the professor with questions and concerns only during office hours (as indicated on page one of the syllabus). E-mails sent at other times will not be addressed or receive a response. Managing electronic messages for on-line classes is important to class and student success. Therefore, I ask that you please carefully follow the rules for e-mail etiquette for this course. Having e-mails occur at particular times will facilitate speedy responses and the timely grading of assignments. Don’t forget, you also have access to all your fellow classmates on Blackboard. You may “blast” an e-mail to all your classmates/groupmates with your questions or you may wish post a question on the discussion board available on Blackboard.

2.      If you have what you believe to be an urgent matter to discuss and my on-line office hours are not convenient for you, may call/e-mail/text me at any time. You must indicate in the subject line that the message is urgent. In addition, the most efficient way to communicate with me is via e-mail. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the electronic messaging capabilities made available to you by the university!

3.      You may e-mail assignments any time before the assignment deadline. Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a grade of zero. NO EXCEPTIONS WITHOUT A UNIVERSITY EXCUSE!

4.      You MAY NOT send an e-mail with a question that can be easily answered by consulting the course syllabus. If you send more than THREE E-MAILS WITH SUCH QUESTIONS, A PERCENTAGE POINT WILL BE DEDUCTED FROM YOUR GRADE FOR EACH UNNECESSARY E-MAIL. Of course, if you don’t understand a portion of the syllabus and require clarification, the e-mail will not count against you.

5.      No student will be penalized for technological problems that may keep them from completing assignments. If you encounter such a problem and cannot e-mail me, please feel free to call or text me when it occurs. Doing so will ensure that no questions exist concerning the veracity of the technological problem.

6.      You must submit your work in the file format (including file naming convention required for the given assignment). Any assignments that do not conform to the required file format will not be accepted. Please consult the COURSE REQUIREMENTS section of the syllabus concerning the appropriate file format for each type of assignment.

7.      If you have a problem that you believe may compromise your ability to complete this course, please discuss it with me while there is still time to do something about it (illnesses, personal issues, etc.)! You may call (on my mobile—do not be shy about calling, texting, or e-mailing me). If you wish to use Skype, please do! You may be my first! Also, I can meet with you at most anytime and place and if I can find a way to assist you, I will.

8.      Each student must turn in an original piece of work; copies of the work of others will not be accepted. However, you may work together on your case/exercise assignments when collaboration is required.

9.      ASSIGNMENTS/TESTS/QUIZZES RECIEVED AFTER THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED UNLESS ACCOMPANIED BY AN OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY EXCUSE. NO EXCEPTIONS.  I DO NOT ACCEPT NOTES FROM DOCTORS, DENTISTS, ETC.

10.  You must use the internet, your FlashLine account, Blackboard, and the World Wide Web to communicate with me and receive an acceptable grade. You must use your KSU FlashLine account to send and receive e-mails. NO EXCEPTIONS. Please don’t send an e-mail from other than your KSU FlashLine account. Sending e-mails via other ISPs (e.g., gmail) renders student identification difficult and also introduces difficulty in determining to which of my classes you are assigned.

11.  When you send an e-mail, please be certain to include the course number so that identification of the course to which you are registered is easily and expeditiously determined.

12.  You will receive the grade you earn in this class. This means that only graded assignments as indicated in the syllabus will determine your grade. While effort and time spent completing assignments and examinations are commendable, they are also expected and carry no weight toward your grade. Moreover, NO EXTRA CREDIT or substitution of assignments will be provided.

13.  If you wish to challenge a test question, you must provide evidence (e.g., page number) and an explanation as to why you believe your assertion is true. However, if I find that you are wrong (e.g., you did not do enough research or didn’t understand the concept), you will have an additional point removed from your test. So if you want to challenge me, perform your due diligence!

14.  A note on on-line classes: Were this not an on-line class, we would be meeting face-to-face for two hours and 45 minutes per week for the semester. As you know, class meeting time does not include the hours spent outside of class studying for exams or completing assignments. On-line classes require exceptional time management, hard work, and dedication to completing course requirements. Accordingly, on-line classes can be demanding and you must be up to the challenge. This means that your assignments must be completed on time, regardless of the time constraints that you (and I) face. Excuses such as “I didn’t have time because…(e.g. “I had to work” or “I’m taking other classes”) are not acceptable. As previously indicated, only an official university excuse will be considered for late assignments.

15.  A few words on the cultural climate of our class: I expect class members to treat their fellow classmates with courtesy, civility, and respect. I have attempted to create a course that will be both fun and informative. However, please do not mistake the levity that will characterize class interactions as an indication that this is not a meaningful, important course or that I don’t take my responsibility as your professor seriously.