Dr. Dean S. Caldwell

Course Introduction

Welcome to Organizational Behavior

This course is designed to give managers in organizations the knowledge of human behavior needed to provide a more effective organizational environment. The three basic elements of the class will be 1) the behavior of individuals in organizations, 2) group behavior in organizations, and 3) how these behaviors affect the overall performance of organizations. Particular emphasis will be placed on motivation, communication, leadership, stress, change, and attitudes in organizations. Vigorous on-line discussions, along with group and individual projects, will provide the basis for the learning environment in the classroom. Get ready for an interesting and enlightening class. I will be your guide on this journey and your classmates will be your companions. We will all work together so that this will be an interesting and enlightening journey.

Consultation with Lecturer: 

The e-mail address for this class is: <mgmt511t5@caldwellu.com> please use this e-mail address instead of the e-mail address that appears in WebTycho. I teach several classes using WebTycho so separate e-mail addresses help me to keep the classes better organized. You can also call me (in the U.S.) at: 870-391-9301 (cell phone) or 870-446-5378 (home) or write to me at: HC 72, Box 269 C, Jasper, Arkansas  72641.

Please do not hesitate to contact me, I enjoy helping students learn.

The WebTycho online environment.

The WebTycho environment is an exciting way to learn, once you learn the basics of getting around in WebTycho. If you have not taken a WebTycho course before, be sure to take the Tour 101 and to do all the activities listed for the first week of class. If you are new to WebTycho, let me and the other students know, we will help you get started, but very quickly you will become a pro at using WebTycho.

Some areas to make sure you have covered are:

1. Make sure you have the right textbooks (check in the course materials
section)
2. Be sure you have adequate access to a computer with good on-line access.
3. Approach any difficulties you may have in the WebTycho online environment
with patience and humor. You can get help from the help and support page, from
other students, and from me.

Housekeeping Items.

I will do the bulk of my responses to your postings Monday thru Thursday mornings. I will also be checking for urgent postings and do minor amounts of responding throughout the rest of the week. I will respond to the conference for the previous week in the "Announcements" section at the beginning of the following week. I do not normally respond to individual postings in the weekly conferences but I do continuously monitor and thoroughly read the conferences. Help each other learn in these conferences. I try to give you individual feedback as much as possible. Those that do particularly well in the conferences or those that do not do well are more likely to hear from me.

When e-mailing me please include the message you are responding to in your e-mail. All assignments and attachments through WebTycho should be sent Word, HTML, RTF, or plain text. Keep copies of everything you send me or others and keep copies of all graded assignments.

I will use the tychousa server because there is a replication lag between the tychoger and the tychojpn and tychousa server that can mean that something posted on one server may take as much as two days to appear on the other servers. If you use the tychousa server also, it will mean you will get things from me sooner and I will get your postings sooner. The exam will be posted on the tychousa server.

I am interested in developing ways to use chat rooms or computer phone services or internet video to have more direct contact with students. I would welcome your ideas for experimentation with different ways to maintain contact.

Course Goals/Objectives

The students in this Organizational Behavior (MGMT 511) will increase their ability to be better managers by:

1. Having a knowledge of motivation and being able to apply theories of motivation in their work situation now and in the future.

2. Communicating with co-workers and customers more effectively through an understanding of various styles and methods of communication.

3. Recognizing better when strong leadership is needed and when to let teams or less centralized organizational structures determine the success of the organization.

4. Using a knowledge of job satisfaction to help deal with stress, burnout, turnover, and absenteeism in their present and future organizations.

5. Dealing with conflict more effectively by recognizing when to avoid conflict and when to use conflict to improve the organization.

6. Having an appreciation for the importance and positive effects of diversity in organizations.

7. Having options for dealing with change in organizations.

Course Materials

Textbook required: Robbins, Stephen P.; Organizational Behavior (International Edition), 9th edition; 2001, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, ISBN 0-13-061721-0  The Ott text is also listed as required but at the time of posting this syllabus the book is being reprinted and it is unclear whether the book will be available for this course. If it becomes available I will post a list of appropriate readings from this excellent resource.

Grading Information

There will be a final and a group project in this class. Class participation is also a major component of your grade.

The Final:

The final will count for 40% of your grade. This test will consist of essay questions that require knowledge and thought. One or more of the questions may consist of a short case that you need to respond to. This test will be take home and will be posted at a pre-determined time. If you request it, I will post some examples of the type of final questions I have asked in the past for Organizational Behavior.

The Group Project

Some of you may have anxiety about doing a group project in a distance education class. Relax. This group project is designed to be internet friendly and for the individual to have a large amount of control over their own grade. Out of the 300 points possible on the group project, 100 points depend on the quality of your own individual report. There is also an opportunity for you to let me know about what you have done for the project and what other group members have done for the group project. I will require that each group start out by having at least four members to deal with the problem with potential attrition. I have a lot of experience with group projects and the most important element is to get started early so the inevitable forming, storming, and norming can run its course so you can start performing in time to present a great project.

Group projects are a great opportunity to learn important Organizational Behavior skills.

Detailed guidelines for the group project are posted in the "Project Descriptions" section of this syllabus.

Class Participation

Every student is expected to post a main topic in response to the conference each week and to respond to at least two other student's topics each week. Other on-line activities may be required at times throughout the term. This is the minimal amount of participation that is acceptable; many of you will get enthusiastic about the class and participate far more than this minimal standard. Informal participation in the break area and by e-mailing other students is encouraged.

Three factors go into the class participation grade:

1. frequency - I figure the average number of times you participate each week
(maintopic + responses + asides). If the average times of participation is over
3 per week you can get at least 90% (270 points), as long as the consistency
and quality are good. Higher participation rates contribute to higher grades.

2. consistency - you need to fully participate in at least 12 of the 13 weekly conferences to receive full credit for participation.

3. quality - As I read each conference each week I make a notation of those
that have particularly good quality. Quality includes showing knowledge gained
from the course content section and the textbook, use of sources outside the
text and the course content, good use of examples, communicating your ideas
clearly, and showing that you have thought about the topic. There are only a
few students that get this notation each week. If I have noted your quality it
will raise your grade. I also note it if the quality is not adequate. A
positive attitude toward learning and helping others learn adds to the quality
factor in your grade.


Some of you are used to having weekly assignments that are graded. Consider the weekly conference to be your weekly assignment. The responses from other students, along with my evaluation of the conference each week, is the equivalent of your grade. You will not receive a weekly individual evaluation from me unless you do particularly good or you do not do good enough for that week. As long as you follow the guidelines above you will get a good grade on class participation.

Grading Points Information for Public Budgeting (PUAD 524)

Project Descriptions

 Project Description

Organizational Behavior, MGMT 511

     You have just been hired by a major management analysis firm to be part of a team that is developing a series of workshops to be used to improve the management skills of mid-level managers in organizations. The workshops are to be designed to be delivered over the internet. Your direct supervisor is Dean Caldwell and he encourages you to consult frequently with him concerning the development of these workshops.

       The firm has conducted studies to determine in what content areas its clients have the greatest need for workshops at this time. These studies show that the greatest needs fall into the following four areas:

  1. Job Burnout - This workshop should include a clear definition of  what job burnout is, a differentiation of job burnout and stress, ways for an individual to determine if he/she is burning out, ways for an organization to determine if it is creating excessive job burnout among its employees, ways for individuals to handle job burnout, ways for organizations to handle job burnout, and anything else that might help administrators handle job burnout in organizations.

  2. Sexual Harassment-- This workshop should include a clear definition of what sexual harassment is and discussion of the individual and organizational costs of sexual harassment. The workshop should also include strategies to prevent sexual harassment and strategies to use in organizations that have problems with sexual harassment. Is sexual harassment an organizational or an individual problem?

  3. E-mail Communication Skills-- Employees in many organizations are inundated with e-mail on a daily basis. This workshop should include strategies to prioritize e-mail responses, how to come across positively through e-mail, and how to get responses and results through using e-mail to motivate employees and customers.

  4. Teambuilding-- As organizational structures get flatter as the result of downsizing, teams are being used to fill the gaps left by lean management structures. Develop a workshop that will give people in organizations the ability to use teams effectively to make their organizations more efficient.      Under what conditions are teams an effective management tool? How should an organization go about developing effective teams? Why bother with teams?

5. Effective conferencing over the internet-- Especially since September 11th of last year, many organizations are doing more of their conferencing over the internet to avoid the high costs and security problems associated with travel. This workshop should include effective strategies for using the internet for conferencing. Different technological techniques need to be covered along with how behavior patterns of people in conferences are different over the internet that they are in a face to face conference.

       These workshops should be designed to be interesting to and promote enthusiasm among the people that experience them. Your supervisor (Dean Caldwell) believes that this interest and enthusiasm is best promoted by interactive activities such as role playing, simulations, and group exercises. Use your imagination to make effective use of the internet in presenting these workshops. Remember that the quality of the workshops reflects directly on the reputation of the firm.    

    You need to express your interests to your supervisor (Dean Caldwell) as soon as possible so that he can place you on the team that is working on that particular workshop. It could be advantageous to gain knowledge of the particular area you are working on before the first team meeting. Your performance on this project may influence your future chances for retention and advancement in the firm.

     ......................................................

     It is expected that students will participate in a group project on one of the five topics as outlined above. Recognizing that there are limitations that may make a group project difficult for some students, an individual project can be negotiated. Contact the instructor as soon as possible if it is going to be difficult for you to participate in a group project.

      A student's grade on the project will be determined by three factors 

1. An individual report (100 points). This report needs to chronicle the participation of the individual in the group project ( a journal works good for this), needs to be a report on what the individual student has learned from the project, needs to include reflections on how well the project helped the student learn, and needs to reflect on the participation and contributions of the other members of that student's group..

2. A written report by the group (100 points), of the project. This will include all the materials needed to conduct the workshop (such as copies of what is presented on the internet, appropriate URL's, scenarios for role playing, scenarios for simulations, materials for interactive exercises, etc.) and 3 to 5 pages stating the theoretical and academic basis for your presentation.

  3. The presentation of the workshop to the class (100 points). This needs to be posted on the internet through a website or some other appropriate  forum that all the students in the class can access

It is important that students get started on the project as soon as possible so please feel free to contact me as soon and as often as you can.

Course Schedule

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