Faculty Contact Information:
Instructor: Dr. Archie Twitchell
Email Address: atwitche@cs.com
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Consultation:
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By email at atwitche@cs.com
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Required Texts and Readings:
Text used exclusively in this course--
Robbins, S.R. 2005. Organizational behavior (11th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Texts used in multiple courses --
Ott, J.S., Parkes, S.J. & Simpson, R.B. 2003. Classic readings in
organizational behavior (3rd ed.). Toronto, Ontario: Thomson Wadsworth.
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington DC:
Author.
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Supplementary Readings:
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Each instructor has his or her preferences for supplementary reading material that may be added here. In addition, all graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills.
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Recommended Journals:
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A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are listed on the PA Webboard (http://webboard.ed.umuc.edu/~pa). The Journal of Organizational Behavior is especially useful in this course.
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Course Description:
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Prerequisite: Undergraduate principles of management or permission of the program director. Presents basic concepts of formal organizations. Students become acquainted with the major conceptual models that purport to explain organizational behavior, acquire an understanding of the methods used to study organizations, and analyze research that has been produced. While the emphasis is placed on critical analysis of literature that deals with "what is," attention is given to views about "what should be" in order for people to derive maximum satisfaction and other benefits from organizational activity.
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Course Goals:
As one of three foundations courses in the MPA program, a requirement for the Certificate in Public Management, and an elective in the MIS program, this course introduces and analyzes major theories of organizational behavior and the ways in which theses theories inform management of organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Particular attention is given to theories focusing on:
- Individual and group behavior in relation to each other and larger organizations
- Leadership styles, principles and contingencies
- Motivation and Reward Systems
- Values, Attitudes and Job Satisfaction
- Organizational Communication
- Organizational Culture
- Organizational Development and Change
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Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
- Analyze case material, web sites, public law, and research articles related to organizational behavior and organizational change
- Investigate the relationship between historical and current issues in organizational behavior
- Utilize electronic resources to find primary source documents, data, statements on best practices and research articles related to issues in organizational behavior and organizational change
- Develop and present written and oral arguments, case studies, and/or research papers on current issues in organizational behavior that make reference to and build on factual and expert information.
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Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 400-450 points
B 350-399
C 300-349
F Below 300 points
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog. Hard copies of the catalog are available in your local Education Center.
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Course Requirements:
Midterm Examination: ................................100 points
Final Examination: ................................. 100 points
Project: ............................................ 50 points
Class Participation ................................. 100 points
Term paper .......................................... 100 points
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Description of Course Requirements:
Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation/study time for every hour spent in the face-to-face classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. In an 8-week term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job. Most 14-week graduate distance education courses require at least 10 hours per week of dedicated time, plus time spent in the virtual classroom.
Write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment.
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society. In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:
Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation/study time for every hour spent in the face-to-face classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. In an 8-week term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job. Most 14-week graduate distance education courses require at least 10 hours per week of dedicated time, plus time spent in the virtual classroom.
Participate in conference assignments. You are expected to make a substantive response to each conference assignment. A substantive response is a discussion of the question posed in a professional and informed manner.
Write a graduate level paper and a short project. You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Citations must be in the format proscribed by the APA Manual. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your research in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates.
Complete a midterm and a final written examination: The exams are essay type and will consist of six question from which you select three to answer. The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary to successfully pass the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam. Both the midterm and final exams are valued at 100 points.
Project Description:
The project consists of the analysis of a case. The student will select a case from the texts and the instructors must agree that the case selected is worthy of the attention of the class. The case must address one of the following topics: Ethics, motivation, organizational learning, effectiveness or efficiency. Alternatively, it may consist of a critical appraisal of one of the major human behavior theories such as presented by Maslow, Blanchard, etc.
The analysis is limited to four pages. The project will be posted to a conference for class members to read. The project is valued at 50 points.
Term paper:
Identify a organizational problem in your own environment or experience and then act out the role of manager whose responsibility it is to solve the problem.
You will define the problem, propose alternative solutions to the problem, and then select a change plan or intervention appropriate to addressing the challenges posed by the problem.
The problem must be stated in such a way that evaluation criteria acceptable to the "client" can be developed. Your evaluation criteria will serve in demonstrating that the planned strategy did, in fact, succeed or was effective.
The criteria for evaluation of the paper include the quality of the English and the quality of the analysis. The topics that shall be addressed in the paper are
a statement of the problem
analysis of dynamics of the problem
theoretical support and defense of intervention strategy
approach strategy
implementation plan
evaluation plan.
Student and instructor will work together to select an organizational problem.
The paper will count 100 points towards your final grade.
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Course Schedule:
This schedule presents 13 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a regular three-hour weekday meeting, a half-day on weekends, or a full week of DE.
Course Schedule: Term Dates: 3 April - 7 July 2006
WEEK ONE Apr. 3-9
1) Read Robbins Chapter 1.
2) Post Short Bio.
3) Explore Webtycho classroom
4) Answer the questions posted in the Conference
WEEK TWO Apr. 10-16
1. Read Robbins Chapters 2,3
2. Read Appendix B (pp. 606-613)
3. Read Ott: "Introduction" pp. 1-28.
4. "The Hawthorne Experiments" pp. 142-151.
5. Begin Thinking about Topic Choice for Paper #1.
6. Check Conferences Week Two for an Internet Assignment.
7. Private Log or Workbook: Prepare answers to Self-Study Questions at end of Chapters 2 and 3:
[Suggested answers for Self-Study Questions will normally be released into Course Content area one week following the assigned Chapters.
8. Answer Random Fifty End-of-Chapter exam questions for Chapters 2 and 3 to be found in the Course Content area.
WEEK THREE Apr. 17-23
Note: The Ott reading assignments follow. I shall post study questions for them. There is NO specific DUE DATE for their reading yet I will want you to respond to topics I bring up in the conference area that bear on the readings.
1. Robbins, Chapters 4,5.
2. Ott: "Effects of Group Pressure Upon .." pp. 313-320.
3. Select paper #1 topic if possible.
4. Self-Study questions at chapter end.
5. Ott: "A Theory of Human Motivation" pp. 152-162
6. Answer Random Fifty exam questions to be found in Course Content area.
WEEK FOUR Apr. 24-30
1. Robbins, Chapters 6,7.
2. Ott, "The Human Side of Enterprise" pp. 163-168.
3. End of Chapter exams for 6 and 7
4. Self-Study questions.
WEEK FIVE May 1-7
1. Robbins, Chapter 8.
2. Ott, "The Motivating Effect of Cognitive Dissonance" pp. 169-174.
3. Ott, "Work and Motivation" pp.175-181.
4. Ott, "One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?" pp.182-190.
5. Ott, "Work Motivation: The Incorporation of Self-Concept-Based Processes" pp. 191-207.
6. Chapter 8 exam items.
7. Self - Study questions.
8. Internet Assignment due May 6.
WEEK SIX May 8-14
1. Robbins 9, 10.
2. Ott, "Self-Set Goals and Self-Efficacy as Mediators of Incentives and Personality" pp. 210-218.
3. Self-Study questions.
4. Chapter exam questions.
WEEK SEVEN May 15-21
1. Read Case Study: "Bing and Hart"
in Conference area.
2. Self Study questions.
3. Catch up.
4. Midterm Exam
WEEK EIGHT May 22-27
l. Robbins, 11.
2. Self Study questions.
3. Chapter Exam questions.
4. Ott: The following readings are pertinent to the next weeks. Read them in any order you like. I'll provide a few conference questions for us. If you have any issues you would like to discuss, bring them to the conference area and create a topic to which we can respond.
Pp. 56-64, "Life Cycle Theory .." (Hersey/Blanchard)
Pp. 65-75, "..Contingency Model.." (Fiedler)
Pp. 77-86, " .. Call for Transformational LDR." (Tichy/Ulrich)
Pp. 87-95, "..Learning Leader .." (Schein)
Pp. 97-104, "What Makes a Leader?" (Goleman's EQ hypothesis)
Pp. 105-112, "Leadership as the Legitimation of Doubt." (Weick)
5. Term Project due May 31.
TERM BREAK May 27-June 4
WEEK NINE June 5-11
1. Robbins, 12,13
2. Chapter Exam Questions
3. Self Study questions.
4. Ott: Pp.114-128, "Efficacy and Effectiveness: Integrating Models of Leadership and Intelligence." (Chemers)
WEEK TEN June 12-18
1. Robbins, 14,15.
2. Chapter Exam questions
3. Self Study Questions.
4. Conference area topics and exercises.
WEEK ELEVEN June 19-25
1. Robbins, 16,17.
2. Chapter Exam questions
3. Self Study questions.
4. Conference exercises
5. Term paper due June 25
WEEK TWELVE June 26 - July 2
1. Robbins, 17,18.
2. Chapter Exam questions
3. Self Study questions.
4. Conference exercises.
5. Final Exam questions posted in Course content
WEEK THIRTEEN July 3-7
1. Robbins, 19, 20 (App A), 21 (App B)
2. Review and wrap-up of all chapters and issues.
3. Conference exercises.
4. Final Exam due July 3
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Academic Policies:
The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism.
The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi.
Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.
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Faculty Bio:
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Dr. Twitchell received his DPA from the University Of Southern California. The cirriculum was oriented towards organizational theory and administrative behavior and how the two link up in organizations
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