KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS

MI&S 34185—FALL 2012—Section #001—Call #15698

WEDNESDAYS & FRIDAYS, 9:15PM-10:30 PM, BSA 205

Instructor:       Dr. Deborah Knapp

Office:              College of Business Administration, BA A424

Telephone:       330.672.1147 (mobile: 330.283.6081—Call this number first)

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

Office Hours:  Mondays, 4:30-6:30pm, Wednesdays, 12:15pm-3:15pm or by appointment

MATERIALS

Text

Kreitner & Kinicki (2013). Organizational Behavior (10^th Ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin: New York, NY. http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/d_knapp_fall_2012_wf_915am-1030am

Course Notes

All course materials are available on BLACK BOARD (it can be found through your FlashLine account).

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 successfully addressing 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.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Exams

Three exams are scheduled for the semester. Exams will cover any readings, handouts, guest speakers, audio/visual media, class discussions, and lecture material. The format of the exams may include multiple-choice, matching, and/or short answer type questions. Each exam accounts for 20% of your final grade for a total of 60%.

Cases and Experiential Exercises

Experiential exercises and cases provide an opportunity for students to apply many of the concepts covered in this course. In addition to the influence these cases/exercises have on your participation grade, your case/exercise grade also depends on the quality and quantity of cases/exercises you complete during the semester. Cases/exercises may be evaluated as groups (assigned by the instructor) or on an individual basis. Much of the on-line content that is student-generated will also count toward your cases/exercises grade. Cases/exercises may also be conducted during class and the required written work will ordinarily be collected when the discussion concerning the case/exercise is completed. If you are not in class, you will receive a zero for that class period’s case/exercise (no make-up cases be allowed). Moreover, most cases will be unannounced (i.e., will not follow a particular schedule). However, you may miss one in-class case without penalty. Cases and experiential exercises account for 15% of your total grade.

Finally, each group member must complete and turn in the peer evaluation form (found on Blackboard). As explained in detail on the form, peer evaluations will be used in determining grades for individual group members. Students will not receive a grade until the peer evaluation form is completed and received by the professor.

Quizzes

There will be six on-line quizzes throughout the semester. Each quiz may include multiple choice, matching, short answer essay, 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. However, your lowest quiz score will be dropped. Each quiz accounts for 3% of your grade for a total of 15%.

Participation

Students will receive credit for class participation. Obviously, consistent attendance at class is required to earn an acceptable grade for class participation. Each individual will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of her/his participation during class sessions. To receive an acceptable participation grade, you must be consistently knowledgeable concerning all assigned readings and you must actively participate in class discussions. Also, each group may wish to create a discussion board and post various threads/questions to their members. Beginning a thread or contributing to the discussion of that thread will positively impact your participation grade, especially for those of you less comfortable speaking in class. Participation accounts for 5% of your total grade.

Internet Assignment

Students will be expected to find one website that relates to the course and summarize information they find at the site. You may use simple internet searches to find a website or present websites of which you are already aware. You will be asked to share your findings with the class by preparing a one-to-two paragraph summary about the website and present this information to the class. On the assigned day of their presentations, students will remain seated and the instructor will display the students’ websites to the class. Students will describe the websites (e.g., what information can be found on the website, who might use said information, and/or how the information might be used) to the class. Students will provide a typed copy of the summary via e-mail to the instructor BEFORE the beginning of class on the day it is scheduled to be presented (be sure to include the web address (URL) of the website that you "visit"). The internet assignment is worth 5% of your final grade.

GRADES

Grades will be calculated according to performance on the three exams (25% each), case/exercises (15%), participation (5%), and internet assignment (5%).  Final grades will be assigned as follows:

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 9, 2012 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: The course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 4, 2012.

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 15^th). 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: 1). Log onto your FlashLine account; 2). Click on the Student Tools tab; 3). Look in the Graduation Planning Tool Box; and 4). Click on Application for Graduation. If an error message appears, you must contact your advisor.

CLASS PROCEDURES

1.   If my office hours are not convenient for you, please feel free to call for an appointment. 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!

2.   Please tell me about any problems you are having while there is still time to do something about them!

3.   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 group assignments).

4.   Attendance at class is expected. If you miss a class, YOU are responsible for obtaining lecture notes and other material from another student. DO NOT ASK TO BORROW MY NOTES! To succeed in this course, you must complete your reading assignments and attend class. Also, please DO NOT E-MAIL/CALL ME with questions such as “what did I miss?” or “will we be doing a case tonight?” If you cannot attend class, reread the beginning of class procedure #4. Moreover, missed classes will negatively affect your participation grade (it IS possible to receive a failing participation grade). Finally, before you are tempted to ask “What did I miss?” please consider the following (tongue-in-cheek) responses to said query:

o  Nothing. When we realized you weren't here we sat with our hands folded on our desks in silence, for the full two and a half hours.

o  Everything. I gave an exam worth 40 per cent of the grade for this term and assigned some readings due today on which I'm about to hand out a quiz worth 50 per cent.

o  Nothing. When you are not present how could something significant occur?

o  Everything. Contained in this classroom is a microcosm of human existence assembled for you to query, examine, and ponder. And you weren't here.

5.   Major grammatical or spelling errors on any written work could result in a significant penalty with respect to the grade you receive. Carefully proof your papers for errors (you may even want to have a friend read your work). Also, try reading your work aloud. Doing so will assist you in quickly identifying awkward phrases and poor sentence structure. Use grammar and spell check!

6.   Do not come late to class in order to complete an internet assignment or finish an exercise/ assignment. If this is the case, the assignment will not be accepted. Moreover, coming to class shortly before dismissal will result in a significantly lower participation grade.

7.   You must use the internet, World Wide Web, and BLACKBOARD to communicate with me and receive an acceptable grade. Much of the on-line content (e.g., readings, assignments) is on BLACKBOARD. Moreover, BLACKBOARD will be used in conjunction with the McGraw-Hill “Connect” website (this is the publisher of your text book). You must update your FlashLine account as this is the e-mail address to which I will be sending all class correspondence.

8.   A few words on the culture and climate of our class: Occasionally, our discussions may veer from a direct path as your fellow students may have questions or interests that appear to be related only tangentially to the topic being discussed. However, these discussions are important to our exploration of course content (and universal learning) and therefore, I ask that you are respectful of your fellow students’ desire for increased knowledge. Everyone (including me) can benefit from such improvisation. I insist this class be conducted in an environment wherein questions, comments, and intellectual interaction are encouraged. Moreover, I expect class members to treat their fellow classmates with courtesy, civility, and respect. Finally, I have attempted to create a course that will be both fun and informative. However, please do not mistake the levity that will characterize much of our time together as an indication that this is not a meaningful, important course. I take my responsibility as your professor seriously and I expect you to take your responsibility as a student seriously.

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