M&IS 34185 Spring 2007 Hogue

 

Instructor:                   Mary Hogue, Ph.D.

Office:                         A423

Phone:                         (330) 672-1148

Office Hours:              MW 12:30-2:00

                                    W 4:00-5:00

                                    You also may stop in my office any time you see my door open,

                                    or I will be happy to schedule a mutually convenient appointment.

E-Mail:                        mhogue@kent.edu

Class meeting:             W 5:30-8:15, BSA206

Required text:                         Robbins, S. P. (2005). Essentials of Organizational Behavior,

8^th ed. Pearson: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

                                   

Course objectives: By the end of the semester, you should:

 

            *have an increased understanding of individual behavior, behavior in groups, and

              the management of behavior in organizational settings.

            *have gained insight into the mutual and reciprocal influences among individuals,

              groups, organizations, and their social and business environments.

            *appreciate and value the complexity of management and working with others in

              modern business and organizational contexts.

 

Course Overview: This course is designed to provide you with a richer understanding of organizational behavior. Each business day, individuals interact with other individuals and with groups, and they do so within the context of organizations. To be effective and successful at work, it will be necessary for you to understand all of the factors that impact your own behavior as well as the behavior of others with whom you interact. To be effective and successful in this course, it will be necessary for you to read your book and to attend class.

 

Throughout the semester, I will lead you in classroom discussions, the topics of which will be derived from the textbook, but discussions will not be confined to text material. Nor will discussions cover all text material for which you are responsible. You will be responsible for understanding all of the material within your book (some of which we will discuss in class) as well as all material discussed in class (some of which will be in your book).

 

I have tried to create a course that will be both fun and informative, but please do not mistake any levity to mean that this is not a serious course. Our class is fairly large, and this has both advantages and potential disadvantages. One benefit to having a large class is that there are many perspectives from which we all can learn. However, a potential drawback that arises is that students often only share their insights with those classmates in their own immediate area.  When this happens, the rest of the class misses what might be an enlightening point, and background noise is created that distracts students from what is being said either in the front of the room or by a fellow classmate who has the floor. For these reasons, I expect that during discussions, we all will be respectful of each other by sharing with the entire class, one at a time, only when it is our turn. Disruptions of class discussion will result in dismissal from the classroom.

 

Grade determinations: As we will discuss in a few days, learning occurs in various ways. Because of this, the learning that occurs in this course will be assessed in several ways as well.

 

Your first quiz will be given at our next class meeting, and it will cover this syllabus. This quiz is worth 5 points.

 

The five remaining quizzes in this class each will be worth 30 points. They will have multiple choice questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, plus one very short essay. A total 150 points will be available from these quizzes. None is cumulative. Quizzes will cover ALL material assigned and presented, which means that all textbook material (both covered in class and not), and all classroom material (both from the textbook and not) may be on the quizzes. Keep this in mind, so that if you must miss class, you can make arrangements with a classmate to learn what was discussed that day.

 

There will be one comprehensive final exam worth 70 points.  More information will be provided as the semester ends.

 

Mini-projects

Your book is divided into three sections covering individual-based, group-based, and organization-based influences on organizational behavior. For each book section, you will complete one, multi-faceted mini-project (MP). Possible projects as well as guidelines for their preparation are at the end of this syllabus. For each project, you will be required to integrate information from each section that already has been covered in class. This means that the projects will become increasingly complex, requiring an increasing amount of work. For that reason, the available points increase throughout the semester as well, so that the first project is worth 20 points, the second is worth 30 points, and the final project is worth 50 points.

 

Available Points:                                                                    

 

Quiz 1                           5

Quizzes (5)                150

Final exam                   75

Total                           325

The table below depicts the grading scale along with the points necessary to earn each grade.

 

All materials are due on the assigned days and will not be accepted on other days – either before or after the due date. Moreover, no assignments will be accepted via e-mail. These rules will not change unless arrangements have been made with me prior to the due date, and I will not make arrangements for this except in the case of a properly documented absence. Mini-projects cannot be made up, but any quiz missed for an unacceptable reason can be made up by completing an 8-page research report on a jointly determined appropriate topic.

Class Attendance: All students are expected to attend class regularly and are responsible for all material covered even when they miss class. As stated previously, tests will cover material that is in the textbook AND ALSO MATERIAL THAT IS PRESENTED IN CLASS BUT IS NOT FOUND IN THE BOOK. Additionally, announcements may be made in class to alter this syllabus, and you are responsible for knowing them and abiding by them. For this reason, it is to your benefit to attend class each day.

 

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.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Web for Students) 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 Friday, January 26, 2007 to correct the error with your advising office.  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.

C.      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.  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.

D.      For Spring 2007, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, March 25, 2007.   Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

E.      Students with disabilities:  University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access equal access course content.  If you have 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 the Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).

 

 

Tentative Course Schedule: The following schedule may be altered depending on the progress of the class; however quiz dates will not change. Any changes to this syllabus will be announced in class or through Flashline, the University’s official mode of communication. All assigned chapters are to be read BEFORE the chapter is discussed in class.