MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
MANA 3318 – Spring, 2009
Instructor: Dr. Yongmei (Lucy) Liu Phone: (817) 272-0233
Office: 216 Business Building Email: (Best way to contact me)
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 11:00am-12:00pm, or by appointment
Course Time & Location:
MANA 3318, Section 001 Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10:00 am – 10:50 am 152 COBA
MANA 3318, Section 004 Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:00 am – 9:50 am 243 COBA
TEXT
Nelson, D.L., and Quick, J.C. (2008). Organizational Behavior: Foundations, Realities and Challenges, Sixth Edition. Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course introduces you to the field of organizational behavior from a comprehensive theoretical and applied perspective. Spanning three general levels, organizational topics covered will include the following: at the individual level – personality, perception, and attribution, attitudes, value, motivation, learning, emotion, stress and well being; at the interpersonal and group level – work team, leadership, power and politics; and at the organizational level – work design, structure, culture, and organizational change. Through discussions of class material, in-class exercises, and assignments, you will establish basic understanding of the dynamic of organizational behavior, enabling application of this knowledge to management skills in organizations.
When you have finished this course you should be able to:
1. Accurately describe and apply critical concepts and theories in organizational behavior (OB).
2. Better understand, evaluate, and manage your own feelings, thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors at work.
3. Better understand why your organization, your work group, and your coworkers behave the way they do.
4. Identify problem areas that hinder the effectiveness of your work group and/or organization and to offer suggestions for improvements.
5. Better identify your own strengths and weaknesses as an employee/manager in order to facilitate personal and career growth.
6. Have a thorough understanding about forces that are shaping organizational behaviors in today’s business world.
GRADES
Grade Composition: Total Possible Points:
Exam 1 100 points
Exam 2 100 points
Exam 3 100 points
Exam 4 100 points
Note: The lowest score of the first three exams is to be dropped.
Case Presentation 100 points
Group member evaluation 50 points
Attendance and participation 50 points
Total Class Points 500 points
Grade: Percentage: Total Points:
A 90 - 100 450 - 500
B 80 - 89 400 - 449
C 70 - 79 350 - 399
D 60 - 69 300 - 349
F 0 - 59 0 - 299
Grades are based solely on points earned on tests and in classes and are non-negotiable. No personal problems will be taken into account in assigning grades.
Exams: There will be four exams, each of which will be multiple choice and true/false. There will be no makeup exams under any circumstances. If you miss an exam you will receive a 0 score. Test material will come from either the text book or lecture. Exams in this class will be fairly difficult and detailed and material from the book that is not covered in lecture will be included. The lowest score of the first three exams is to be dropped from the final grade.
Grievance Procedure: If you have a challenge to a specific exam question, you must use the established Grievance Procedure. The Grievance Procedure requires you to present your case to me in writing with the following information (a) Student name (b) Question or item number (c) Your chosen answer (d) The basis to support your alternative, such as text pages, with clear rationale. I will review any grievances and will make a judgment about whether additional points will be awarded for the item in question.
Group Presentation: Groups will be formed for the case presentations. The contents and dates for these presentations are listed at the end of the course schedule, and will be assigned to each group at the end of the first class. Each group has to have two to five members. After groups have been assigned, there will be no changes in group membership. Group members should decide collectively on how to work together on the project. If you fail to contribute to the team project, you will earn a 0% for the group presentation. Attendance on the presentation day is mandatory and no-show will result in a zero score on the presentation. You can choose to drop your group presentation if it turned out to be lower than any of the first 3 exam scores.
The presentation should be around 20 minutes in length, followed with a brief Q&A session. You should use powerpoint to create overheads to present the case. Creativity is encouraged (e.g., the use of short videos, music, costumes, items that involve the class, etc.). You should be prepared to address questions from the instructor and other students in the class. Powerpoint files for the presentation should be sent to the instructor via email 24 hours before the presentation.
Your grade will be determined based on how well your group does the following:
· Demonstrates knowledge of the organization/people in the case (beyond what is described in the book) = 30 points
· Applies course material from the relevant chapter to the case and its questions= 30 points
· Interacts with class, encourages class participation and involvement = 20 points
· Prepares quality, savvy overheads (no typos, use of technology, graphics, etc.) = 10 points
· Provides useful, creative, and interesting class handouts = 5 points
· Overall creativity and professionalism = 5 points
Attendance and Participation: This will be based on attendance, participation in in-class discussions and activities, ability to answer questions, and completion of assignments. It will be a combination of attendance records and subjective assessment by the instructor. There will be random attendance checks throughout the semester. You are expected to read assigned materials prior to the class date and be prepared for discussions and activities.
Group member evaluation: Actively participating in your group will be critical to its success. Because group members must be accountable to each other, 10% of your course grade will be entirely determined by your peers. Their assessments of your performance will be based on the perceived value of your contribution to the group effort and final products. Your participation grade will be comprised of an average of the ratings provided by your team members. An Individual Group Member Assessment form will be available at the class website.
WEBCT ACCESS
All students are required to gain access and visit the WebCT course website. This site will provide you with all course documents, including the syllabus, course schedule, assignments, handouts, lecture slides, course announcements, exam study guides, and grade information. Visiting this site regularly will be vital to your success in the course.
Access to the website can be found at: http://www.uta.edu/webct/. Website access requires a UTA Net ID, which can be obtained from the Computing Helpdesk or online at https://webapps.uta.edu/oit/selfservice. If you have any problems with this process, please call the helpdesk at 817-272-2208.
COMMUNICATION VIA EMAIL
As per new recommendations from the university, student inquires will only be responded if they are from a UTA email account. You are encouraged to check your UTA account frequently to ensure timely communication. Try not to send email inquires via WebCT.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
It is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Arlington that academic dishonesty is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University.
“Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.” (Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2., Subdivision 3.22).
DISABILITY POLICY
If you require accommodations for a disability, please consult with me at the beginning of the semester. Faculty members are required by law to provide “reasonable accommodation” to students with disabilities, but it is your responsibility is to inform me of your disability at the beginning of the semester and provide me with documentation authorizing the specific accommodation. Student services at UTA include the Office for Students with Disabilities (located in the lower level of the University Center) which is responsible for verifying and implementing accommodations to ensure equal opportunity in all programs and activities.
DROP POLICIES
It is the student's responsibility to complete the course or withdraw from the course in accordance with University Regulations. You are strongly encouraged to verify your grade status before dropping a course after the first withdrawal date. It is also the student’s responsibility to determine whether it is a good idea to drop the class. A student who drops after the first withdrawal date may receive an “F” in the course if the student is failing at the time the course is dropped.
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
The University supports a variety of student success programs to help you connect with the University and achieve academic success. They include learning assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and appropriate referrals.
CLASS DISRUPTIONS
Please refrain from disrupting the class by talking during class or taking cell phone calls or pages during class. If an emergency requires you to have a cell phone or pager turned on during class, please clear this with me beforehand. Otherwise, turn off all cell phones and pagers before class. If you disrupt class by talking to each other or on the cell phone during class, I will ask you to leave the classroom and not to return until you are prepared to refrain from disrupting the class.
CLASS SCHEDULE
To be posted online at WebCT.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
Any changes to the schedule or the syllabus will be announced in class and/or via WebCT. You are responsible for being aware of any changes, regardless of whether you were able to attend class when they were announced.