Individual & Group Behavior in the Organization

Kent State University

Kent Branch

M&IS 34185

Fall, 2001

Instructor: Jalane Meloun, M. A. (not to be confused with all the other Jalanes you may know)

Weekly time we will spend together: M, W 3:20-4:35

Time we can spend together outside of class: Immediately after class or by appointment

Office: A419 located in the M&IS department

E-mail: jmeloun@uakron.edu

Phone: Leave message with departmental administrative assistant, Jody Khlem: 330-672-2750

Fax: 330-672-2953

Text:

Text: DuBrin, A. J. (1997). , Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior: an Applied Approach. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western.

The instructor reserves the right to provide you with additional readings.

Course Description:

This course will introduce students to the application of sound organizational behavior principles and theories.

Students should spend class time actively listening to lecture, participating with insightful comments and questions, and being involved with in-class exercises.

Teaching philosophy:

It is my goal to educate you to the best of my ability on all topics covered in this course. I aim to imbue you with the same level of enthusiasm that I feel toward this subject matter. Throughout the course, I will share my flavor of humor and plan exercises that I consider to be “fun.” However, do not misinterpret these actions to mean that the course is not a serious one. Furthermore, understand that a certain level of professionalism must be maintained in the classroom at all times. Within this context, we can learn and have a good time doing it.

Electronic Devices:

No tape recorders, videotape equipment, cameras or other communication equipment and/or devices are to be used in class without the written permission of the instructor.

Participation:

Occupying space in my classroom is not synonymous with participating. Please make a concerted effort to meaningfully contribute to the class.

Article Review:

You will be asked to find a recent article (i.e. published in the last six months) relating to a concept we have learned in class. You are welcome to use articles from the Internet, except that the article must be a full article and NOT a summary of another article. If you have questions about the acceptability of the article, bring it in to me PRIOR to the due date and I will be happy to give you feedback. The original article or a photocopy will be submitted with your typed, 1-1.5 double-spaced write-up of the article.

Your write-up should NOT include a summary of the article; I will be reading the article myself and do not need your restatement. However, it should include exactly how this article relates to a concept or concepts we have learned in class. Ensure that when you have completed your writing, it will be clear to me that you have thoroughly demonstrated that you can 1) recognize concepts that we study in class when they appear in life (i.e. magazines, etc) and 2) understand the concept well enough to write about it and relate it to the article topic.

Additional formatting information: Include a title page with your name and class on it. The first page of your paper should NOT start any further down than 1”. In fact, your document should have 1” margins on all four sides. Do not put any identifying information in page headers/footers. Use APA style in-text documentation if you are directly quoting from your article. You should be writing concisely and not have many long quotes from the article – you only have 1-1.5 pages in which to make your point. Use a 10 or 12 point sized Times New Roman font. Do not play games with: margins, fonts, or font sizes to manipulate article length.

Place the article at the end of the paper and staple the papers together once in the upper left-hand corner. Refrain from using binders. When you submit your paper, open the paper to the first page and ensure that the cover page is NOT visible. This maintains anonymity and ensures objective grading.

Grading criteria is: 15 points formatting, 35 points spelling & grammar (note: I am a stickler), 100 points demonstration of understanding concepts/relationship between article content and O.B. concept. Your paper will receive a grade of zero if you break university policy and use another person’s words or ideas without giving that person credit. If you have any questions regarding this assignment, please feel free to ask me prior to the due date.

Group Presentations:

You will be assigned to a group to put together a presentation which either elaborates on something we touched on in class, covers something in the book that we skipped/skimmed, or is a related O.B. topic. You will need to get your topics approved by me at least two weeks prior to your presentation day. Group size and duration of presentation will depend entirely on how many students sign up for this particular section. I will fill you in on these details after the class is underway.

Presentations will be graded on the following criteria: 40 points content, 40 points delivery, 10 points visual aids (spelling error erase points quickly), and 10 points overall impact. When I am assigning the impact grade, I ask myself whether or not the presentation met its intent and whether or not the audience “got anything out” of the presentation. If visual aids are not used, the impact score doubles to a potential 20 points.

As with other assignments, if you have a question, please feel free to query me prior to the due date.

Questions I am typically asked:

Do you take attendance?

No, I consider you adults, and, if I wanted to be employed as a babysitter, I would not have applied to KSU. However, research suggests that attendance is strongly correlated with course grades. Therefore, it can do you no harm to regularly attend and it can only help you and your grade. Also, on a personal level, I would prefer if you attend my class.

Do I have to buy the book?

I am not going to torture you into purchasing the book, but I STRONGLY endorse it. I have seen that students who purchase the textbook typically score better in my courses. I am only recommending the book for your own good; I do not reap any personal or financial gain from your purchase. If I thought that you could get the same value from the course without spending your hard-earned cash on the textbook, I certainly would not have recommended it. What you can take from this is: Buy the book.

How can I score well in your class?

Read the assigned textbook material before the class meets. Attend every class meeting. Then, do your very best to actually participate in class. By extending the effort to participate, you will be engaging your cognitive abilities and it should aid your memory.

Then you should also take good notes, while paying close attention to the point of the discussions. Do NOT try to write down every single word that I say nor every single word on my PowerPoint slides. That is not the point in taking notes.

I would also highly recommend forming study groups or at the very least developing a buddy system, thus allowing you a means of getting notes if you happen to miss a class.

Study before exams. Enough said.

What do I do if I miss a class?

Due to the class sizes, please do NOT contact the instructor to let her or the departmental secretary know this. It is your responsibility to gather the material discussed in the class. Do this from other students, NOT your instructor. Specifically, I suggest you get the notes and/or discuss what transpired in class with several different students. That should help to ensure that your absence will minimally penalize you on the tests.

What about The format and content of your course exams?

My exams for this course will be multiple choice – probably with 4 or 5 alternatives each. Perhaps some short answer items may be included. Exams will test on important words, concepts, and how well you can integrate material. On each exam, there will be a possibility of accumulating more points than the exam is stated to be worth. i.e. the exams will include extra credit items. The extra credit is included to combat any misunderstood or oddly worded items, etc. This precludes any reason to argue with the instructor about items and/or grades. No argument will be entertained.

Be advised that my lectures/exercises will present material not found in the textbook, and that material will appear on the exams. This means that you will probably not do well in my class if you simply read the book and do not attend the classes. Likewise, if you only attend the class meetings and neglect to read the book, you probably will not score well on the exams. The simple solution is to show your beautiful face in my classroom and put that same beautiful face in your book before class meetings. Each exam may also cover fresh material and material covered in prior exams.

How may I review my exams?

Exams will be placed on file in the M&IS Student Service Center (A402 BSA), where you may browse through them at your leisure, providing the office is open.

May I miss an exam?

For an unavoidable exam absence such as emergency medical condition, etc. to be excused, a note on official letterhead from a doctor or other appropriate professional needs to be submitted within 48 hours of the scheduled exam time. You may either fax it in to the M&IS department to my attention or have one of the administrative assistants in the M&IS department time stamp, sign, and put your note in my mailbox. Excused exams will NOT be retaken, instead, the remaining exams’ weights will be adjusted accordingly. Unexcused exams will score zero points and other exam weights will NOT be adjusted. Should a bus run you over on your way to take the final exam, thus preventing you from taking it, alternative arrangements may be made within 48 hours. However, in every case in which a student has missed one of my exams and been given a make-up essay exam, each student has confided in me that they wished they had not missed the regular exam. My make-up exams are always essay and always several notches more difficult. This means: do not miss the final exam.

How may I contact you?

Please feel free to contact me via email or by phoning me. Time critical messages should not be left to email.

What is the grading scale?

Grade Components:

Grade Components	Point Value
Article Review	150
Exam #1	250
Exam #2	250
Exam #3	250
Group Presentation	100

Grading:

A	Aim here and be goal-driven	1000-900
B	Not bad, but could be better	899-800
C	Average – who wants to be only average?	799-700
D	Surviving education by the skin of your teeth is not admirable	699-600
F	Needs no comment	£ 599

Tentative Class Schedule*

Monday	Week	Itinerary
8/27	1	Introduction to course
		Chapter 1 Nature/Scope of OB
9/3	2	9/3 Labor Day – no laboring at KSU on this day
		Chapter 14 TQM & Reengineering
9/10	3	Chapter 2 The Individual in the Organization
9/17	4	Chapter 3 Learning, Perception, Attitudes, Values, & Ethics
9/24	5	Chapter 4 Decision Making and Creativity
10/1	6	Chapter 7 Conflict and Stress
		Exam #1 covering Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, & 14
10/8	7	Chapter 5 Basic Concepts of Motivation
10/15	8	Chapters 5-6 Enhancing Motivation
10/22	9	Chapter 8 Interpersonal Communication
10/29	10	Chapter 9 Group Dynamics and Teamwork
11/5	11	Chapter 11 Power, Politics, and Influence
		Exam #2 covering Chapters 5, 6, 8, 9, & 11
11/12	12	Veteran’s Day 11/12 – No class
		Chapter 10 Leadership in Organizations
11/19	13	Chapter 12 Organizational Structure and Design
		Thanksgiving Recess – 11/21-11/25
11/26	14	Chapter 13 Organizational Culture and Change/ Chapter 15
		Presentations
12/3	15	Presentations
		Presentations/Exam #3 covering chapters 10, 12, 13 & 15
Exam	Week	Final Exam

*Instructor reserves the right to make changes to the above schedule, however, the changes will be announced in advance and, if necessary, in writing.

The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course

A. Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.

B. Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. You are advised to review your official class schedule during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until September 7, 2001 to correct it with your advising office. If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

C. Academic Honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

D. For Fall 2001 the course withdrawal deadline is Saturday, November 3, 2001. Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

E. Students with disabilities: In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) in the Michael Schwartz Service Center (672-3391).