Faculty Contact Information:
J.E.D. Riggs
PSC Box 3018
APO AE 09123
Email: smartguy53@yahoo.com
|
|
Consultation:
Online: 24/7.
In Class: One-Half hour before class and by appointment.
|
|
Required Texts and Readings:
Text used exclusively in this course--
Robbins, S.P.; Judge, T.A. 2007. Organizational Behavior (12th 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.
|
|
Supplementary Readings:
|
All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at www.ed.umuc.edu/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.
|
|
Recommended Journals:
|
A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are listed in the UMUC Library. The Journal of Organizational Behavior is especially useful in this course.
|
|
Course Description:
|
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.
|
|
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
|
|
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.
|
|
Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 90%
B 80 – 89%
C 70 – 79%
F Below 70%
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.
|
|
Course Requirements:
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:
Complete Three Case Incident Reports: 30%. (Due on the first day of face-to-face class).
Midterm Quiz on Readings: 20%.
Final Exam (online): 40%.
Final Case Incident Report (online): 10%
A full description of these requirements can be found in the COURSE REQUIREMENTS section below.
|
|
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.
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner.
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
The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary to successfully passing 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.
The Breakdown of this class will follow a formula of 4/1/2.
(4).
At the close of registration, you will have access to a Distance Education WebTycho classroom. This classroom is for your benefit. Before the beginning of the face-to-face class you are expected to have completed all of your readings as well as three of your four Case Incident reports. I will be visiting this classroom every day to answer any questions you have about readings or assignments.
The class will follow the structure of the main text. Thus, the class will be divided into three areas of concern: The Individual, The Group, and the Organization. In the DE classroom you will find separate sections for each of these subdivisions containing helpful hints on how to approach the literature. This portion of the class will end on September 17.
(1).
Starting on Tuesday, September 19, we begin our Concentrated Face-to-Face portion of the class. The classes will run from 18:30 - 22:00, Tuesday - through - Friday. On Saturday and Sunday the classes will run from 09:00 - 17:00. Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. This section ends on Sunday, September 24.
(2).
Starting on September 25, you will return to your WebTycho classroom to complete your online examination, and final Case Incident report (both of which are to be submitted via the student Assignment Folder no later than October 8).
DESCRIPTIONS:
Case Incident Reports:
As stated above, this class is structured along the three main divisions of the main text: The Individual (chapters 2-8), The Group (chapters 9-15), and The Organization (chapters 16-18). At the end of each chapter in the book, you will find a series of Case Incidents which ask questions about real life scenarios based on the material covered in the chapter.
You must answer the questions for one Case Incident for each of the three sections (your choice of chapters). These answers are to be typed, double-spaced, and formated in 12 point Times New Roman script, and are due on the first day of face-to-face class (September 19).
Your final Case Incident report will come from Chapter 19 of your text. You must choose one of the cases and provide an appropriate respose. This response is to submitted via the student Assignment Folder no later than October 8. Each of the four Case Incident reports will be worth 10% of your total grade.
Midterm Quiz:
On Friday, September 22, you will have a short quiz based on your readings. The test will be short essay, and you will have choices as to which questions you will answer. This quiz will be worth 20% of your total grade.
Final Examination:
On October 1, your Final Exam will be posted in your WebTycho classroom. It will cover all readings and lectures throughout the class, and will be long-essay format. The answers are to be posted no later than October 8. Please note: because you will have the questions beforehand and sufficient time to respond, the answers you give must be richly detailed, comprehensive, and in-depth. This exam will constitute 40% of your total grade.
|
|
Course Schedule:
Reading Assignments:
Before beginning face-to-face classes, the student is to have read the entire text by Robbins & Judge, and the following articles from the Ott Reader: 2, 3, 6 (Section: Individual); 11, 15, 20, 35 (Section: Group), and 40, 41, 43 (Section: Organization).
Face-to-Face breakdown as follows:
Tuesday:
Introduction to OB, The fundamentals of personality and perception.
Wednesday:
Motivation and Moods.
Thursday:
Leadership.
Friday:
Communication and Midterm Quiz,
Saturday:
Morning: Group Behavior and Work Teams.
Afternoon: Power, Conflict and Negotiation.
Sunday:
Morning: Organizational Culture.
Afternoon: Organizational Change.
|
|
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.
|
|
Faculty Bio:
|
Dr. Riggs is Collegiate Professor of Public Management with UMUC-Europe/Bowie State University. He has taught with the University of Maryland/Europe since 1994.
|
|