MGT 317 Experiential

Professor Section

Objective of Document

This document describes the MGT317 Experiential assignment to be integrated into all sections of MGT317. This document will be included in all Syllabi of MGT317. The purpose of the experiential lab is to create a ‘real-life’ observational experience for undergraduate business majors consistent across all sections of Organizational Behavior (MGT317). This experiential will be the Junior Year experience within the updated Curriculum.

I will be sending out a more detailed description for the instructors.

Please include the following sections in your Syllabus. They will be standard across all the MGT317 Classes. Specific instructor instructions are noted in orange and should be deleted prior to including in your syllabus. You can change the formatting to be in line with your syllabus.

Objective of MGT317 Experiential

The purpose of the experiential project is to create a ‘real-life’ observational experience for undergraduate business majors consistent across all sections of Organizational Behavior [OB] (course MGT317). This experiential is the Junior Year experience within the updated Curriculum.

The purpose of this project is to provide an opportunity for you to integrate what you have learned in this course into a thorough analysis of an organization. You will work in a group of your peers. Your group will choose a business or not-for-profit organization to observe and evaluate. You will observe and evaluate this organization over several OB areas and will present your findings. The learning objectives for the project include:

·  Students develop team skills to complete a complex hands-on assessment of a local organization.

·  Students will develop and practice the following skills in a mentored environment: analytical thinking, data collection, data synthesis, project management, professionalism, group decision making and oral and written communication.

·  Students observe OB concepts in action in a local organization, identify issues with their approach, propose how to address it, and present their findings to their OB class.

·  Students assess own team’s dynamics, decision-making, and handling of issues.

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Assignment Details

Your job is to evaluate the organization in terms of its effectiveness using the concepts and theories discussed over the course of the semester. Please evaluate the organization choosing three of the following topics: communication, motivation, culture, leadership, and structure. For example, you might study:

·  how an organization has structured work;

·  the effect of a leader’s style on employee individual motivation;

·  how an organization’s culture may differ from headquarters v. a district office.

Previous students have analyzed the impact of a pending outsourcing project on the department’s motivation, compared motivation and leadership at headquarters with one of their stores, evaluated culture and motivation across a small business structure to see if it was in sync, and analyzed two different approaches to motivation, comparing similar businesses.

To complete this assignment you will need to 1) select your team, 2) pick an organization, 3) analyze it using the theories from the course, 4) present your analysis to the class, 5) write-up your findings, and 6) analyze your team’s effectiveness.

All details of the assignments can be found in Blackboard.

The required deliverables are:

1.  Signed team contract. This contract defines how your group will work together including managing conflict and making decisions. The contract also includes your chosen organization and project plan (i.e. when you will contact the organization, interview, develop the presentation, etc.). The project plan must include responsibilities.
2.  15 – 20 minutes presentation of your group’s findings / 12.5%
3.  2 -3 page written analysis of the organization in executive summary format / 12.5%
4.  Peer Evaluation. To ensure full participation across the team, a portion of the grade is allocated to your contribution as evaluated by your teammates. The deliverable grades may be adjusted if the percentage is overly low. / 5%
5.  Team Analysis. The specifics of how the team is analyzed and the associated percentage are the instructor’s choice. All instructors should include your percentage in your syllabus. Please let me know so that I can track what is being done.

MGT317 Experiential Project Description Spring Semester 2010