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M&IS 34185 Spring 2006 Smas

SYLLABUS: M&IS 34185
INDIVIDUAL & GROUP BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS
 
SPRING, 2006
SECTION 001 / CALL NUMBER 13985
 
PROFESSOR: JIM SMAS
 
OFFICE: KENT BSA A415
 
TIMES: W    5:30-8:15  PM
 
HOURS:   W  4:30-5:30 PM
 
E-MAIL:  jsmas@bsa3.kent.edu
 
PHONE: 330-672-1155
 
 
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
 
This is an upper level course designed to give the student practical experience in organizational behavior in organizations.
 
The complexity of today’s business environment, requires that business people reexamine the way companies are organized and the way their processes are performed.  In particular, ethical behaviors are being scrutinized more than ever in view of the recent scandals with Enron, WorldCom, and Adelphia. Diversity issues now involve cultural norms from global environments, and new organizational models are being tested in order to find faster and more economical ways to compete. We will explore all these issues and more in a creative and entertaining way. I will lecture sparingly, I hope and use the time to analyze cases, do some pertinent experiential exercises, and review some excellent videos relating to organizational change and behavior. We will also use some video cases to analyze suspect behaviors in organizations. The goal is less of me and more of you.
 
You will form teams during the first class period, and work with this team throughout  the semester. This is a fairly large class for a course like this, thus we will have a large number of teams, of the order of  ten or so.
 
A prerequisite for this course is the Principles of Management  or equivalent course.
 
 
 
REQUIRED TEXTS:
 
In addition to the books listed below, we will acquire some assessments for you and collect a small fee for these assessments. These will be charged to your KSU account, we will not accept any money or checks. There will be a sign up sheet passed around during the first class period. I will have a better idea of costs at that time. Right now it appears to be around $20.00.
 
I am happy to use the book by Angelo Kinicki, a Kent State Graduate who now teaches at Arizona State University.  If Angelo comes back to Cleveland to visit his mother-in-law, I will see if he can stop in and talk to the class.
I have also assigned a few readings from journals on key topics related to the course. These can be found in my electronic reserve list available through the KSU Library Services. The dates for the readings can be found on the class schedule.
 
     
Required
1)
Organizational Behavior, key concepts, skills, and best practices,
 
 
Angelo Kinicki and Robert Kreitner, McGraw Hill / Irwin  2003
 
 
 
ISBN
0-07-251492-2  
 
Paperback
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Required
2)
Cases In Organizational Behavior, Gerard H. Seijts, Sage Publishing, 2006
 
 
ISBN
1-4129-0929-5
 
Paperback
 
 
 

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

 
  1. To re-acquaint the student with the theory of Organizational Behavior and the roles that individuals and group dynamics play in it.
 
  1. To acquaint the student with experiential exercises and cases that demonstrate the theoretical and practical aspects of Organizational Behavior
 
 
  1. To acquaint the student with instruments and assessments tools that will allow him or her to analyze individuals, teams, and organizations, in order to recommend and implement effective change in organizations.
 
  1. To acquaint the student with the case method. By studying relevant cases, the student should be able to infer the theoretical basis for actions and solutions found in the cases. This gives the student  a real world access to practical applications of sometimes very abstract theory.
 

TESTS:

 
There will be two tests one of which is a  take-home exam. The first test will be a typical multiple choice and short essay type questions. Each of these exams is worth 100 points. There will also be a final worth 100 points and it will be similar to the first exam.
 
 ASSIGNMENTS:
 
There are a number of assignments listed on the class schedule attached. They are due on the date indicated on the schedule.
  
Written Case: You are required to submit one written case that will be provided for you.   You are required to use the case analysis methodology as presented in class. The case is worth 100 points. You may work as a team on the case work and even submit the cases as a team. The team members must be clearly marked on the cover sheet for the case for credit to be given.
 
Assessments: You will keep the results of your assessments in a journal. The journal will be collected and graded twice during the term.  I am not only interested in your score on the assessments, but also the insights you attained by doing them.  I n many cases you will print out the assessments after taking it on-line or from the student CD with the book. You journal will probably do better as a three ring binder with loose leaves, rather than a bound note book. This is worth 100 points.
 
Video Reports: You will do two video reports on pertinent films involving organizational issues. The two films are Twelve O’clock High with Gregory Peck, and the second will be Brubaker with Robert Redford.  Films which may also be substituted with permission are Norma Rae, Office Space, and Boiler Room. This will be done as a team exercise and is worth 100 points each.
 
Term Project:  Working as a team, you will contract with me to do a project of your choosing.  You can choose to analyze a specific company that is undergoing some kind of organizational change (not repainting the cafeteria) or that has been downsized and is experiencing severe distress and morale problems. Another concept is to write a case about a real company, perhaps changing the name of the company. This project is worth 200 points.
 
Participation: You are expected to contribute as a team during case and readings discussions.  This is worth 200 points. There are two components of this grade. The first is a team score based on the team’s level of participation during case review and experiential exercises. The second is a team peer review of each tem member. Each portion is worth 100 points.
 
 
 
GRADING:
 
There are a total of 1000 points available to determine your grade. The following is the break down by subject, which will determine your final grade.
 
 
Tests                           300 points
Journal                        100
Written Case             100
Movie Reviews          100
Participation:             200
Final Project              200

 

Totals          1000 points

 
 
GRADING:
 
I will use plus / minus grading this semester. Thus the grading for the course is as follows: These are on percentages
 
92.5 – 100 %  POINTS                                           A
89.1 – 92.4                                                                A –
86.0 – 89.0                                                                B+
82.5 – 85.9                                                                B
79.1 – 82.4                                                                B-
76.0 – 79.0                                                                C+
72.5 – 75.9                                                                C
69.1 – 72.4                                                                C-
<69.0                                                                          D
<59.0                                                                          F         
 
According to new University Guidelines the grades are converted to your grade point average by the following rules:
 

A   = 4.0
A-  = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B   = 3.0
B-  = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C   =  2.0
C-  =  1.7
D+  = 1.3
D    = 1.0.
F    =  0.0

 
 
 
 
 
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 [date will be provided by the Undergraduate Office in advance] 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 (0 points) for the work or course.  Repeat offenses may result in dismissal from the University.
D. For Fall and Spring semesters, the course withdrawal deadline is always the Saturday of the 10th week of the semester.  For Intersession, the course withdrawal deadline is always the Saturday of the second week (of three total).  For Summer I and III, the course withdrawal deadline is usually the Saturday of the second week (of five total).  For Summer II 2004, the course withdrawal deadline is usually the Saturday of the fourth week (of eight total).
E. Students with disabilities: In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) in the Michael Schwartz Service Center (672-3391).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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