Syllabus for MAN-311

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Organizational Behavior provides a framework for understanding and successfully managing the interactions between individuals, groups, and organizations. Topics include the roles of individuals within organizations, group processes and leadership styles, organizational communication, and the impact on society of organizational culture. A continuing emphasis on ethical behavior connects the course with contemporary concerns.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:  

1. Explain the levels at which organizational behavior is examined.
2. Summarize the impact of ethics, diversity, and globalization for organizations today.
3. Analyze the interplay between individual characteristics and achievement of an organization’s objectives.
4. Assess the significance of active learning for the individual, the group, and the organization.
5. Analyze the key factors that lead to effective work groups, the challenges of leadership in work groups, and the issues involved in measuring performance and effectiveness.
6. Assess the value of transformational leadership.
7. Discuss power, conflict, and negotiation in today's organization.
8. Evaluate effective communication and decision making processes.
9. Connect organizational design with organizational culture.
10. Evaluate the importance of ethics in global business.
11. Assess the impact of organizational development and change.
12. Apply organizational behavior concepts in an analysis/critique of a organizational issue or problem.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following textbook to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the college's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

COURSE STRUCTURE

Organizational Behavior is a three-credit online course, consisting of five (5) modules. Modules include learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

1. Module 1: Managing and Understanding Organizational Behavior

2. Module 2: Individuals in Organizations

3. Module 3: Group and Team Processes

4. Module 4: Leadership

5. Module 5: Organizational Structure, Culture, and Change

Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written activities (including a written exercise, an application activity, and a self-awareness exercise), take module quizzes, and complete a Capstone Paper. See below for more details.

Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

In addition to an ungraded Introductions Forum, Organizational Behavior requires you to participate in graded class discussions, one per module.

Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a posted question (discussion topic) and subsequent comments on classmates' responses.

You will be evaluated both on the quality of your responses (i.e., your understanding of readings, and concepts as demonstrated by well-articulated, critical thinking) and quantity of your participation (i.e., the number of times you participate meaningfully in the assigned forums). Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.

Meaningful participation in online discussions is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement.

For posting guidelines and help with discussion forums, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.

Written Activities

Organizational Behavior has several types of written activities. These activities can be grouped into the following categories:

1. Written Exercises—These are groups of questions that cover important chapter concepts. Each question generally requires several sentences or paragraphs as a response.

2. Application Activities—These exercises require you to apply organizational behavior concepts in a 1 to 2 page paper. Generally, you will respond to a specific question or situation and may be asked to suggest general principles that would apply to this type of situation.

3. Self-Awareness Exercises—These exercises allow you to examine one or more chapter concepts in light of your own experience.

For the activity topics and questions, see the individual modules. Due dates for each activity are listed in the course Calendar.

Your answers to the activity questions should be well developed and convey your understanding of the readings and concepts. They should also adequately answer the questions posed. If you need help in writing, take a look at The Writing Center: University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Also, formulate responses in your own words. Do not merely copy answers from your reading materials. When quoting or paraphrasing from the text or other sources, be sure to cite the source of information properly according to APA guidelines (see also Basic Documentation Rules). If you have further questions, your mentor will guide you in accordance with the correct style of documentation.

Prepare your written activities using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.

Before submitting your first activity, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your activity as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.

For help regarding preparing and submitting activities, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.

Module Quizzes

At the conclusion of each module is an online module quiz. Each module quiz is 25 minutes long. Consult the course Calendar for quiz deadlines.

Capstone Paper

This course does not have a midterm or a final examination. Instead you will be required to write and submit a Capstone Paper to your mentor. This paper consists of a situational analysis and critique of an issue or problem that you have either participated in or observed in an organization. The particulars of the paper are as follows:

1. It should have as its subject an issue or problem that you have participated in or observed in an organization of which you have been a part.

2. It should be in narrative form.

3. It should be no more than 10 pages (3000 words) long.

4. No citations are required.

5. It is due the last day of the semester.

6. Organizational behavior concepts should be discussed in concrete terms in your analysis and solution.

7. Be sure the following components are present:

1. Statement that clearly identifies of the issue or problem you will be discussing in your paper
2. A full discussion of the situation surrounding the issue or problem, including descriptions of all participants and how they relate to each other within the organizational structure, and also including descriptions of interactions relative to the issue
3. A discussion of the process used to achieve the outcome
4. An analysis of whether you think the outcome or outcomes were ethical, fair, and responsible in regard to various participants
5. If you were not in agreement with the outcome, an assessment of why this is true and suggestions for how you would have handled the situation for a better outcome

Be sure to employ organizational behavior concepts studied in this course. For example, a paper might deal with the culture of the organization, diversity issues, ethical considerations, leadership styles, and communication patterns. Utilize theories discussed in your text as the underpinning of your analysis and assessment.

To keep you on track, you'll be required to submit a topic idea and a few summary paragraphs about halfway through the course, followed by an outline a week or so later. The paper itself will be due on the last day of the semester. The comments you receive from your mentor as you progress will help you move your paper in the right direction.

Your Capstone Paper should be well developed and convey your understanding of the readings and concepts. It should also adequately cover the topic you have chosen. Your paper should be organized, coherent, and unified; it should also be free of spelling and grammatical errors. If you need help in writing such a paper, take a look at The Writing Center: University of Wisconsin-Madison.

If you have questions about the requirements of the paper, be sure to discuss them with your mentor well in advance of the final submission. You will be submitting a topic idea and general plan first for approval, then an outline for approval, and finally your paper.

For help regarding preparing and submitting activities, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

1. Online discussions —10%
2. Application activities—15%
3. Written assignments—15%
4. Self-Awareness exercises—10%
5. Quizzes—10%
6. Capstone paper—40%*

*Submission of an acceptable topic is worth 1% percent of your grade and submission of an approved outline is worth another 4%. This 5% added to 35% for the paper itself makes up the percentage apportioned to your Capstone Paper.

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a nonarea of study course), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

1. Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.

2. Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.

3. Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.

4. If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting activities before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

1. To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting activities, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking examinations.

2. Check Announcements regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:

1. Cheating
2. Plagiarizing (including copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources)
3. Fabricating information or citations
4. Facilitating acts of dishonesty by others
5. Unauthorized access to examinations or the use of unauthorized materials during exam administration
6. Submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the mentor
7. Tampering with the academic work of other students

Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized activity, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism

Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > "Citing Sources.")

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.