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BA 352—Organizational Behavior (OB )
SPRING 2007 (Sections 002 & 006)
[Schedule] [Data Files]
Professor: Manolete V. Gonzalez, Phd Email: gonzalezm@bus.oregonstate.edu
Office: B224B
Office hours: T 1:00-2:00pm;
Thurs 9:00-10:00am; Friday 3:00-4:00pm
LEARNING OUTCOMES
When
you enter the “real world”, you will have to accomplish tasks within the
context of an organization. Whether in a
corporation or your own entrepreneurial venture, or as you go about your life,
e.g. social activities, a political cause you are passionate about, etc. you
will be in “a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or
more persons.” This also applies to a
variety of situations you might be involved in as a student, for example, a
fraternity or sorority, student council, a volunteer organization to protect an
endangered species, a group organizing a party, etc. The objectives of this course are to provide
you with tools that will enable you to be productive in these types of
situations, to work as effective members of any organization, and to build the
foundation for future leadership. These
tools, organizational behavior concepts and terminology, by themselves are not
sufficient, but are useful and necessary for individuals to be able to function
effectively in organizational settings.
We
expect the following learning outcomes by the end of this course. You must demonstrate that:
- you can
correctly describe these organizational behavior tools and concepts and
know when these can be used;
- you can
correctly use organizational behavior frames of reference to diagnose
individual and group situations in organizations, as described in
exercises and cases we will use though out the course;
- you can
function as a productive member of a work team.
You
will have to take the responsibility for mastering these learning
outcomes. Your classmates and I can help
you, but we can not do the learning for you.
You will have to do it yourself.
I will provide a roadmap as to how you can achieve these learning
outcomes, create the conditions and provide situations that will hopefully
facilitate your learning, and establish the methods by which we can determine
whether you have mastered the learning outcomes.
E-mail Communication: All
students registered for business courses have an assigned e-mail address on the
TEXTS
- Kinicki, A. & Kreitner, R. 2e (2006). Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills & best practices. NY: McGraw-Hill.
- Ritti, R.R. (2003). The ropes to skip and the ropes to know (6th Ed.). NY: Wiley
TEAMS
We
will organize teams of 4 students early in the term. Membership in and experience working with a
team is an important aspect of this course, a focal point for learning and
skill development. Membership in a team
requires that a member pulls his/her own weight as the team works to meet its requirements. This means attendance during and active
participation in team meetings held outside class, participation in team
activities during class, helping to plan how the team meets its requirements,
and contributing to the execution of these requirements. A student’s team grades will depend on how
peers evaluate the student’s contribution to the team effort. (Refer to Team Membership Rules below)
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A. Quizzes/Exams. There will be at least five quizzes during
the term and a final exam. Quizzes need not be announced, and
will cover readings, lectures, group activities, and cases from the prior quiz
up to the day the quiz is given. These
may be multiple choice and/or essay questions.
The final exam will be comprehensive.
B. Participation. This course is designed to be experiential. Much of a student’s learning will depend on
his or her participation in class activities and group processes. Perfect attendance or up to 2 absences will
merit 35 points. Additional points will
be added based on my evaluation of contributions to class discussions.
C. Team Projects. Each team
must submit the following: two written case analyses and one term project.
a. Case Report.
From the second set of cases to be handed out (see schedule,) each team
must submit a written report on each of two cases of their choosing. The requirements for the case reports will be
discussed in class.
b. Term Project.
Each team must also submit a written term project and present their
findings towards the end of the term.
The global nature of today’s work environment and the focus of this
course require that this term project be on an “international topic.” Both the written portion and the presentation
portion of the term project will be graded based on requirements described in
the Sp 07 BA 352 Term project instructions file. This file will be posted on the website
c. Peer Evaluation.
At the end of the term, each student must submit an evaluation of the
other members of his or her team. The
team will be required to submit a work plan early in the term, including
expected contribution from each member, evaluation criteria, and weights for
each. This becomes the basis for a peer
evaluation to be submitted at the end of the term. This evaluation may affect a student’s grades
for all team assignments.
GRADING POLICIES AND WEIGHTS
1. Late
assignments. Written assignments are due at the beginning
of class. Late assignments will not be
accepted.
2. Missed quizzes. Make-up quizzes will be given only when a
student informs me that he or she can not make it to the class PRIOR to when
the quiz is to be given and that the reason for missing the class is
acceptable.
3. Typing and
writing. As a rule, and unless stated otherwise, these
instructions should apply to all assignments other than in-class writing.
- Assignments
must be typed and written well.
- Assignments
will be marked down by 10% for a combination of five or more spelling and
grammar errors.
- DO
- DO NOT
USE BINDERS. DO staple the pages
together.
- As a
rule, use at least ONE AND ONE-HALF line spacing.
- DO LEAVE
A ONE INCH MARGIN ON BOTH SIDES.
Academic
Dishonesty.
Any case of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of F for the
course. This action is allowed by
Academic Regulations and Procedures as described in the Schedule of
Classes. You should know and understand
these policies and regulations.
Final grade determination. The +/-
grading system will be used. 1000 points
will be divided as follows:
Individual grades:
Quizzes 350
Final
exam 150
Participation 50
Team grades:
2
written case analysis 150
Term
project 300
TOTAL
1000
TEAM MEMBERSHIP RULES
Organization.
We will organize the teams by the first week of class. Students would have had the
Peer
Evaluations.
Each team will be asked to submit a list of criteria against which each member
will be evaluated and the weights for each criteria. At the end of the term, each student will be
required to submit a Peer Evaluation
Form containing an evaluation of each member. These evaluations may be used to adjust a
student’s team grade.
Membership. I prefer that each student remain with the
team to which he/she is initially assigned throughout the term. However mismatches do happen, e.g. schedules
do not allow a student to attend meetings, changes in schedules, personality
conflicts, etc. A request from a student
to move to another team, received before week 5, will be accepted, subject to
my approval based on the following conditions:
a) acceptable
reason for leaving the team and sign-off from members of the team;
b) the student
must find another team willing to accept him or her;
c) the student’s
new team must be willing to grant him or her full status (entitled to full
grade on team requirements subject to final evaluations.)
Requests
for transfers received after week 5 will not be accepted.
A
team may elect to ask that a member be removed from their roster, i.e. fire
him/her, for cause. Acceptable causes
include attendance in team meetings far below the norm set by the team,
disruptive behavior during team activities in a manner that places in jeopardy
the team’s final product, and violation of University policy on academic
dishonesty. The student may contest his
or her removal, which I will rule on as soon as possible.