KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS

MI&S 34185—SPRING 2010—Section #001—Call #12055

THURSDAYS, 5:30PM-08:15 PM, BSA 208

Instructor:      Dr. Deborah Knapp

Office:             College of Business Administration, Department of Management & Information Systems, BSA A424 (Department website: http://mismain.bsa.kent.edu/)

Telephone:      330.672.1147

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

Office Hours:  Tuesdays 2:00p-4:30p (LCCC), Thursdays 3:00p-5:30p (and if my door is open, come on in!)

MATERIALS

Text

Robbins & Judge (2010). Essentials of Organizational Behavior (10^th Ed.). Pearson-Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Course Notes

All course materials are available at Blackboard/WebCt (it can be found through your Flashline account); a copy of the syllabus can also be found at the Department of Management & Information Systems website at http://mismain.bsa.kent.edu/

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.

COURSE 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 research to an improved understanding individual and group behavior.  Moreover, the application of organizational behavior 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.  All exams will cover text readings, handouts, guest speakers, and lecture material.  The format of the exams may include multiple choice, matching, and/or short answer essay questions.  Each exam accounts for 25% of your final grade.

Cases and Experiential Exercises

Experiential exercises and cases will provide an opportunity for students to apply many of the concepts covered in this course. In addition to the influence these cases and exercises will have on your participation grade, your case/exercise evaluation grade also depends on the quality and quantity of cases and exercises you complete during the semester. Cases and exercises may be evaluated as groups (to be assigned during the first week of class) or on an individual basis. Generally, cases/exercises will be conducted during class (although some outside work will be required occasionally) and your written work will be collected when the discussion concerning the case or exercise is completed. If you are not in class, you will receive a zero for that class period’s case or exercise (only in extraordinary circumstances will make-up cases be allowed). However, you may miss one case without penalty during the semester. Cases account for 15% of your total grade.

Participation

Students will receive credit for class participation, which will account for 5% of your final grade. 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. Participation accounts for 5% of your total grade.

Internet Assignment

Students are to find and summarize information relating to course topics that they find on the internet. By using simple internet searches or by using internet sites with which you are already familiar, you should identify a website that relates to the course (you may wish to use your text to select a course-related topic against which to search). Once you find a website that interests you, you will be asked to share your findings with the class by preparing a one- or two-paragraph summary about the site you select and presenting this information to the class (be sure to include the web address of the site that you "visit"). Please do not copy the work of others—once a student has presented a web site, it may not be used again (however, websites with “abundant” content—i.e., that consist of many separate web pages—may allow for more than one student to present a different area of the site; be sure to contact the professor before you use a website that has already been presented). 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, January 31, 2010 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: For Spring 2010, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, April 4, 2010.

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 case/exercise 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 me with questions such as “what did I miss?” or “will we be doing a case tonight?”—you need to come to class. If you cannot attend, reread the beginning of #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. None of the content of this course has value or meaning. Take as many days off as you like: any activities we undertake as a class, I assure you will not matter either to you or me and are without purpose.

o  Everything. A few minutes after we began last time a shaft of light descended and an angel or other heavenly being appeared and revealed to us what each woman or man must do to attain divine wisdom in this life and the hereafter. This is the last time the class will meet before we disperse to bring this good news to all people on earth.

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 lower participation grade.

7.   You must use the internet and World Wide Web to communicate with me and receive an acceptable grade. You must update your FlashLine account as this is the e-mail address to which I will be sending all class correspondence.

8.   While I have attempted to create a course that will be both fun and informative, please do not mistake the levity that will characterize much of our class time as an indication that this is not a meaningful and important course or that I don’t take my responsibility as your professor seriously. Occasionally our discussions may veer from a direct path as your fellow students may have questions or interests that may appear to be only tangentially related to the topic being discussed. These discussions are important to our exploration of course content and therefore, I ask that you are respectful of your fellow students’ desire for increased knowledge. Everyone (including me) can benefit from such improvisation.

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 www.kent.edu/sas <http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/> for more information on registration procedures).