MIS 34185 Fall 2010 Stevens

Individual and Group Behavior in Organizations

M&IS 34185 CRN #13633

Fall Semester 2010

M 6:15 p. m. – 8:55 p. m.

Room 117 Business Administration Building

Instructor: Dr. George E. Stevens

Office: A421 Business Administration Building

Department: Management & Information Systems

Telephone: 330-672-1100

Email: gstevens@kent.edu

Office Hours: TR 4:45 – 5:15 p.m., Mondays 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. and by appointment

Required Text: Soft cover version of text: Essentials of Organizational Behavior, authors Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge, Tenth edition (Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2010), 305 pp. - ISBN: 0-13-607761-7.

Suggested Reading: Business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and other sources of current Business news. Part of each class will be used to discuss HRM current events.

Other Sources: Radio reports, television presentations, documentaries and other media sources of information on the state of world business affairs.

Course Withdrawal Deadline:

For fall 2010, the course withdrawal deadline November 7, 2010.

NOTE: The material in this syllabus should be considered nominal and is subject to change by the instructor at any given time due to various constraints on the class, such as weather, illness of the instructor, or other such issues.

Course Objectives: Welcome to M&IS 34185, Individual and Group Behavior in Organizations! This is a course that integrates management concepts and theory with critical elements involving people in a variety of settings. We should learn many things as we study the behavior of people at an individual level and within an organizational context. Clearly, after wearing our managerial or supervisory “hat” for a short period we realize how complex people are and the many factors that influence their behavior.

This is a course that will allow us to blend theory and practice to help everyone better understand the practical realities of good business in a human environment. People who dislike ambiguity have a difficult time with a book of this type that often responds to “What should the manager do in this instance?” with the answer, “It all depends.”

Some of the latest research is integrated in this book. For example there is additional work – actually a new chapter on attitudes. Increasingly important in our world, better seen as a global village, is the section known as Global Implications. I travel a great deal (210,000 miles in 2009) so I see some differences that have forced me to better prepare for my trips. From buying gifts for exchange, to learning basic words in a particular language, to understanding rules about tipping, to learning whether certain taboos exist (e.g. standing chop sticks up in one’s bowl of rice.) New material is included on emotional intelligence, electronic communication, virtual teams, diversity effects on team performance, and many other topics. Much of the book is founded in Organizational Behavior (OB). It is a core look at OB, not a book that presents an in-depth view.

I look forward to exploring these issues and concerns with you, sharing my experiences, learning from you, and discussing the many difficult issues that may have multiple “right answers” or perhaps none at all. People who hate ambiguity get upset when I say, “It all depends…” OB operates in a world populated by people. Many factors come into play often creating what appear to be unique situations. By the end of this fall term, I hope that you acquire a set of tools that allow you to analyze human resource management issues both in your personal and professional life, as well as the enthusiasm and desire to use them.

Common Courtesy:

As a faculty member I am here to serve our students, faculty, staff, and alumni among others. Within the classroom I will be respectful to each of you and I want you to be respectful to your fellow students. Here is a partial list of behaviors that will lead to repercussions should you be guilty of exhibiting these behaviors:

1. Side conversations during lecture

2. Eating in class

3. Taking or receiving cell phone calls

4. Reading a newspaper or other publication

5. Disrespectful behavior towards the instructor or another student in class.

6. Side conversations in No. #1 for a reason. It is my top pet peeve: it distracts me and other students especially those with learning disabilities.

I do allow drinking non-alcoholic beverages in class. I may need a non-alcoholic beverage (typically water) as my voice can become hoarse after hours of talking.

I will ask you to stop any of the above inappropriate behaviors and upon persistent demonstrated behavior, may ask you to leave the class. You will be issued a verbal warning on the first offense, a written warning on the second offense with a copy to the Dean of Students, and the Dean of the School of Business. A third offense will result in my request that you be deregistered from this course, with a potential grade of WF! If you don’t want to be embarrassed, then follow these rules.

The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course

A. Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.

B. Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you need to correct the error with your advising office no later than Sunday, November 7 for fall 2010. If registration errors are not corrected by the stated date of November 7, 2010 for fall 2010 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.

Class Format: Class will consist mostly of lectures, discussions and use of video or other supplements. I am likely to use some materials from other sources – not just the textbook. A portion of the class will be used to learn from students what they have seen, learned, read about, or experienced on the job as these experiences relate to the topic under discussion.

In each session we will have lectures and discussion on a given topic or topics indicated in the class schedule. If we are unable to complete all that we need to do in a given session, we may carry it over to the next session. This may at times change the schedule of the course. For this reason, should you miss a session, it will be useful for you to keep in touch preferably with a classmate and/or the instructor.

Each fall class session that is scheduled will last approximately two hours and forty minutes. If possible, I will do my best to add additional material for discussion and multimedia including cases videos, and internet news sites to liven up the course. You can assist by engaging in discussion on key topics when those opportunities present themselves and in thinking about the issues we talk about in class.

Examinations: There will be four non-cumulative examinations in this course. Each exam will cover the material since the previous one. Keep in mind, however, that prior knowledge will be important for understanding future material. Material for the exams will come from the following sources: 1) class lectures, 2) readings from the textbook, 3) class discussion, 4) videos, news articles, and other in-class materials. Ten percent of the class grade will come from special assignments or projects assigned by the instructor. For example, pop quizzes when there is high absenteeism, participation in class, or special assignments. Quizzes will account for 10% of your class grade. These quizzes will be administered by the instructor with or without the use of a proctor. Each exam will be worth 20% of your final grade. Exam grades will not be curved. The exam questions will consist of true-false and multiple choice questions. If examinations can be given electronically through the computer lab, I may do so. I will explore this option. If exams must be given in class, the comments below apply. On exam days:

· Please bring two #2 pencils to complete the exam.

· Please bring your student ID.

· NO electronic devices (including electronic dictionaries, headphones, and cell phones) are permitted. If you are unsure as to the meaning of a word or phrase, ask the instructor or proctors

· Please turn your cell phones off or to silent mode. Even in “vibrate” mode, this is a distraction to your fellow classmates.

· Write the version of the exam you are taking on the top of your scantron sheet.

Makeup exams will be given only when absolutely necessary. In order to take a makeup exam you must present the instructor with written documentation for the reason a makeup exam is requested.

Grade Components:

The final course grade will be based on a total of 100 points and weighted according to the following scheme:

Exam 1 20%

Exam 2 20%

Exam 3 20%

Exam 4 20%

Quizzes 10%

Special assignments

and other items 10%

Extra Credit 5%

Extra Credit is obtained by successfully doing assignments designated by the instructor to be extra credit. TBD

Course Grading Scale – No Plus or Minus Grades

Percentage Letter Grade

90 – 100 percentage points A

80 – 89 B

70 – 79 C

60 – 69 D

Below 60 F

According to University Guidelines the grades are converted to your grade point average by the following scale:

A = 4.0

B = 3.0

C = 2.0

D = 1.0

F = 0.0

Any issues concerning grading need to be called to my attention within one week of receipt of the grading. Grades assigned at the end of the session are not negotiable. Because of the grading system that KSU uses, there will likely be a large number of times that a student is just a few points away from the next grade. I do not round up – the time to accumulate points is during the session, not at the end of it.

Doing well in the class:

There is no bell curve for this class, thus no “quota” on letter grades. This means that everyone starts the class with a chance to earn an “A”. Here are some ideas that may help you succeed.

ü Come to class: I will not take attendance (although I may create a seating chart so that I can get to know you by name) but the best way to learn the material is to come to class, listen to the lecture, participate in discussions, and ask questions about material that is confusing or unclear.

ü Read the book: You are responsible for material assigned in the book as well as material from lectures. While lectures and the book are designed to complement each other, there may be material in the book that is not explicitly covered in the lectures and material in lectures that is not in the book (another reason to attend lectures). This is not done to punish you or “trick” you, but to help you gain the greatest understanding of management principles and theory. Note: discussions in class but not necessarily in the book are fair game, especially if the topic is discussed at some length.

ü Start studying early for exams: Considering both the quantity and complexity of the material covered in this class in the short time frame of five weeks, cramming the night before (or worse – not studying at all) is a bad idea. Read the book chapters before and/or after lectures, make sure you understand the terminology and theories, and ask questions.

ü Use your “human resources” on exam day: I will be in the room on exam day if the exam is held in our classroom. Feel free to ask questions when the terminology, phrasing, or nuance of a question is unclear or if you think there might be a mistake. Try to identify terminology questions when the lecture is given so that we can discuss items you are not sure of in class.

ü Keep your ears and eyes open outside of the classroom: I highly recommend frequenting websites, reviewing newspapers, looking at news programs that cover business matters, management issues, industry events, and international business, etc. Seeing what is going on in the “real world” and how it relates to what you have learned in the classroom and from the textbook is rewarding both now and into the future.

Academic Misconduct:

I take academic misconduct extremely seriously. Please keep your eyes on your own paper during exams, and should you witness or suspect that others are engaging in academic misconduct, please bring it to my attention. Strict confidentiality will be maintained. You work hard to get the grade you earn; do not let others free ride off of you or your peers.

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.

Disability Services:

University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided with reasonable 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 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting or visit www.kent.edu/sas <http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/ for more information on registration procedures).

D. Reminder: For fall semester the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 7, 2010.

Week Date Day Topic Reading Assignment

Part 1 Prologue

1 Overview Aug. 30 Monday Introduction to Class Read syllabus

Chapter 1 “ “ “ Introduction to Organizational. Chapter 1

Behavior (OB)

Part II The Individual in the Organization

Chapter 2 “ “ “ Personality and Values

2 HOLIDAY Sept. 6 Monday LABOR DAY

3 Chapter 3 Sept. 13 Monday Perception and Individual Chapter 3

Individual Decision Making

Chapter 4 “ “ “ Job Attitudes . Chapter 4

4 Chapter 5 Sept. 20 Monday Motivation Concepts Chapter 5

“ “ “ Finish up and review for Exam #1

5 EXAM 1 Sept. 27 Monday All material excluding Chapter 5

Special “ “ “ Does Culture Impact People’s

Topic Behavior – Distance, Eye Contact…

6 Chapter 6 Oct. 4 Monday Motivation: From Concepts Chapter 6

to Applications

Chapter 7 “ “ “ “ Emotions and Moods Chapter 7

7 Chapter 8 Oct. 11 Monday Foundations of Group Behavior Chapter 8

Chapter 9 “ “ “ “ Understanding Work Teams Chapter 9

Finish up and review for Exam #1

8 EXAM 2 Oct. 18 Monday All material since Exam #1 except Chapter 9

Special Recruitment Cycle and other Rohm & Haas

Topic Unanswered questions

` Special “ “ “””” Does It Matter What I Wear to Work?

Topic Dress for Success and various issues

Part III Groups in the Organization

9 Chapter 10 Oct. 25 Monday Communication Chapter 10

Chapter 11 “ “ “ “ Leadership Chapter 11

10 Chapter 12 Nov. 1 Monday Power and Politics Chapter 12

“ “ “ “ “ Finish up and review for Exam #3

11 EXAM 3 Nov. 8 Monday All material since Exam #2

HOLIDAY Nov. 11 Thursday VETERANS DAY

12 Chapter 13 Nov. 15 Monday Conflict and Negotiation Chapter 13

Part IV The Organization System

Chapter 14 “ “ “ “ Foundations of Organizational Chapter 14

Structure

13 Special Nov. 22 Virtual Organizations and Work

Topic at a Distance – A Difference?

HOLIDAY Nov. 24 – November 28 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

NO CLASSES THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

14 Chapter 15 Nov. 29 Monday Organizational Culture Chapter 15

Chapter 16 Organizational Change Chapter 16

15 Chapter 16 Dec. 6 Finish up and review for Exam #4

Student Evaluation and final comments

Dec. 12 Classes End

FINAL WEEK – DECEMBER 13 – 19, 2010

EXAM 4 Date as scheduled during Exam Week Chapters 13 – 16 and

other materials as assigned

Latest revision: August 27, 2010

ADDENDUM

Class Grading Components

Original Points

Exam 1 20%

Exam 2 20%

Exam 3 20%

Exam 4 20%

Quizzes 10%

Special assignments

And other items 10%

Extra Credit 5%

New Points

Exam 1 25% 100

Exam 2 25% 100

Exam 3 25% 100

Exam 4 25% 100

400

Extra Credit 5% 20

Course Grading Scale – No Plus or Minus Grades (Unchanged)