MIS 34185 Fall 2009 Levashina

M&IS 34185 Section 001 Call 10253

Individual and Group Behavior in Organizations

Fall 2009

Class meeting:  TR, 5:30 - 6:45pm, BSA 210

Instructor:  Julia Levashina, Ph. D., BSA A427,

Phone 330-672-1144, E-Mail jlevashi@kent.edu

Office Hours:  TR, 1:00 – 2:00pm & TR, 3:40 – 5:15pm

Textbook

Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. W. (2009). Organizational Behavior (12th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western/ Cengage Learning. Assignments in the course outline are indicated by chapter number.

Course Prerequisites

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

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the field of Organizational Behavior (OB).  We will use organizational behavior theory and research findings to explore causes and correlates of individual and group behavior in organizational settings.  We will also be concerned with the practical implications of organizational behavior for management practice. The course will combine lecture, class discussion, cases, experiential exercises, and textbook reading to expose you to OB theory and research findings, give you an opportunity to apply some of these ideas to your own work experiences and management practice. 

Course Objectives

Overall Course Objectives are to:

(1) To think and learn about issues that people may take for granted (e.g., perception, motivation, communication, leadership, etc.) about individuals, work groups, and organizations, but have powerful effects in organizations.

(2) To provide a conceptual framework for thinking about these issues based on organizational behavior theory and research findings.

(3) To be able to apply this framework to the examination and management of your own work-related behavior and those you work with or will work with in organizations

Plan for the Course

The course uses eight different types of pedagogy:

1.      Traditional lectures.  I will give a lecture at the beginning of each class. These lectures will be accompanied by PPT handouts posted on vista.kent.edu.

2.      Discussions.  Active participation is also important to ensure that the concepts in the course are properly understood and integrated.  Comments and questions will nearly always be welcome during a class meeting, but special times will also be designated during each topic where discussion will be the primary means of instruction.  The active involvement of all students is expected during discussions.  Participation can take many forms, including asking questions that clarify the class material, making points about the topic based on outside experience, providing well reasoned comments on the topic based on the learning points in the class, and volunteering for special exercises.  Grading for the course will include 5% for participation. Please bring your name card every class session, so everyone will know your name.

3.      Readings.  Most readings will be from your textbook as indicated in the course outline. Also, there will be supplemental readings to provide in-depth analyses of selected topics. Supplemental readings will be handed out in class along with other materials needed for the course or may be sent to students via e-mail or put on vista.kent.edu.

4.      Exercises.  There will be several exercises throughout the course.  They are meant to give brief hands-on exposure or practice in key topic areas.  Some may require advanced preparation, but most will be conducted during class. Exercises may be evaluated on individual or group levels. They will account for 10% of your total grade.

5.      Group Project.  Groups of approximately 3-4 students will be responsible for submitting a group project and making a presentation to the class. The project serves dual purposes.  First, it is intended to help you learn more about particular OB topic of your choice.  Second, it will help you learn to work more effectively in groups.  A great deal of time and effort will be required for this assignment.  One class session will be reserved for your group work.  A description of the project is in a separate document.

6.      Quizzes.  In order to encourage the reading of the textbook, and reward those who come to class prepared to make a contribution, there will be brief quizzes covering the required reading material for a given week.  The quizzes will typically be unannounced, consist of 6 one-point multiple-choice questions, with two points given for your name.  Approximately 10 quizzes will be given, the highest 8 will count toward your grade, the lowest two will be dropped, and will not count as extra-credit.  Because your lowest quiz scores will be dropped, missed quizzes may not be made up. 

7.      Exams. Three multiple choice exams will be given during the semester. The exams are closed-book, closed-notes, and not cumulative. Exam questions will be drawn from textbook and supplemental reading assignments, lectures, class discussions, cases, and exercises. Exams are to be taken at the scheduled time. If you miss an exam due to a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, death in the immediate family), a make-up exam will be provided (you will be required to provide an official university excuse to be eligible for a make-up exam). If you do not provide a legitimate excuse, no make-up exam will be granted.

Grading

The grading scale is predetermined to ensure that you always know your grade in the class.  Grades will be based on the absolute standard below, and will not be curved. Grading will be based on the following factors and weighting:

·         Exam 1                                                                              20%

·         Exam 2                                                                              20%

·         Final Exam                                                                        20%

·         Quizzes                                                                              15%

·         Participation                                                                     5%

·         Exercises                                                                           10%

·         Group project                                                                    10%

Scale for final letter: A (100-90); A- (89-87); B+ (86-83); B (82-80); B- (79-77); C+ (76-73); C (72-70); C- (69-67); D+ (66-63); D (62-60); and F (< 59).

Preparation and Participation

Students are expected to come to class prepared by studying the readings assigned for that day and reviewing their notes from previous classes.  Students should expect to allocate three hours of outside work for each hour of class on average over the semester.  Although there will be some week-to-week variation, the course is designed so that workload should be fairly even throughout the semester, as long as students do not procrastinate.  Please see the professor if adjustments are necessary due to conflicts with other classes.

Attendance at every class is expected. Do not come to class in order to complete a quiz. If this is the case, your quiz will not be accepted. Moreover, leaving class shortly after completing a quiz will result in a lower participation grade.

Course Withdrawal Deadline

The course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 8, 2009.

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 6, 2009 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.

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 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 through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/ for more information on registration procedures).

Course Outline*

* I reserve the right to modify this schedule according to the needs and progress of the class.