BU 288 Organizational Behaviour I

COURSE OUTLINE
Fall 2012 Section A1 Instructor: Jennifer Komar Office: P2022 Phone: TBA E-mail: jkomar@wlu.ca OFFICE HOURS: By appointment
COURSE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON MyLearningSpace

Faculty Assistant: Jennifer Ferfolja Office: SBE 2201 Phone: 519-884-0710 ext 2062

Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Lauriers Accessible Learning Office for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus.

REQUIRED READINGS Johns, G., & Saks, A. M. (2010). Organizational Behaviour: Understanding and Managing Life at Work (8th Edition). Pearson Education Canada, Inc: Toronto, ON. o Note that MyOBLab accompanies this textbook. This CD has practice multiple choice questions that are based on the textbook material. Note that these practice questions are intended to help you test your knowledge of the textbook and may or may not be representative of the questions on the exams. Case Package (available from WLU bookstore). Note that the costs of this package include (a) the package at the bookstore and (b) the handouts that you will be given in class. COURSE SUMMARY This course focuses on three major levels of analysis dealing with human behaviour in an organizational context: individual, interpersonal/group, and organizational. Each of these levels is examined in depth to examine factors predicting or explaining behaviour at work. COURSE DESCRIPTION In the last century, organizations have become the most prevalent social structure in people's lives. From the health organizations that see us into this world, to the educational organizations that shape our knowledge and behaviour, to the spiritual organizations that support our faiths, to the business organizations for which we work, the time we spend organizing, being organized, or just in an organization consumes much of our lives. Organizations are such an integral part of our existence that we often and naturally assume that we understand organizations and the people working in them. Far too often, that assumption is erroneous. Organizations and people are complex entities that are not only difficult to understand, but also difficult to manage. This course is designed to explore human behaviour in organizations in order to improve how we manage behaviour and increase organizational effectiveness as well as employee well-being. LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE 1. 2. 3. 4. To increase understanding of the theories and concepts related to individuals, groups, and organizations. To increase your ability to understand and effect change. To improve skills in problem identification and analysis, in developing alternatives, and in implementing solutions. To increase your understanding of management and leadership roles and responsibilities related to three levels of analysis: individuals, groups, and organizations.

TEACHING METHOD 3

Different instructors will use different teaching methods. In general, the teaching method is lecture-based with interactive exercises and cases. This approach has several advantages: 1. 2. 3. 4. You have an opportunity to test and expand your understanding of the theories presented in the readings; You have an opportunity to apply those theories to analyze and solve real problems in organizations; You have an opportunity to develop skills in communicating your ideas to others, in developing and presenting arguments, in listening to and understanding the views of others, and in challenging others' views in a way that advances understanding; You are encouraged to think independently because each of you must choose the theoretical or conceptual framework that best fits with the major issues, problems, and possible solutions to a case or a situation

ROLE OF THE INSTRUCTOR The role of the instructor is to stimulate and guide discussion to achieve learning objectives. This may involve asking questions that probe the depth of your understanding of issues, reviewing a theoretical concept that is difficult to understand, and encouraging students to present different points of view. The role of the instructor does NOT include reviewing all of the assigned material. ROLE OF THE STUDENT Students are expected to behave as adult learners. That is, they will attend class, they will be prepared for class, and they will participate in class. Additionally, they will challenge themselves, their classmates, and the instructor when they fail to understand material or disagree with what is being said or discussed. The best classes are those in which there is a sharing of perspectives which leads to students discovering for themselves the relevance and applicability of conceptual ideas, realizing the subtleties and fine points of a case or exercise, and understanding the rationale for various options to handle the problems in a case. COURSE GRADING SCHEME Participation/Active Learning Group Presentation and Written Report Two In-Class Midterm Exams Exam 1 (October 2): 20% Exam 2 (October 30): 20% Final Exam (Cumulative) EVALUATION 35% 40% 10% 15%

Participation/Active Learning (10%) This course relies heavily on discussions and application of key concepts. Accordingly, 10% of your grade will be determined from participation/active learning. Active learning means that you take responsibility for your learning and helping others to learn more about the material. Each instructor has his or her own guidelines for active learning. Examples include (but are not limited to) contributing insightful comments to class discussions, acting as facilitators by bringing others into the discussion, and bringing relevant newspaper articles/current events to the attention of your classmates and instructor. Active learning also involves listening to what others say and responding accordingly. It requires that each student comes to class prepared and able to intelligently discuss the topic of the day. Emphasis is on the quality of participation. Active learning does NOT involve being a warm body in the classroom whose mind is pre-occupied with other issues. Attendance. Given that interaction is central to meeting the learning objectives in this course, you are expected to attend every class. If a student misses more than 3 classes without permission, the instructor reserves the right to refuse to allow that individual to write the final exam. If you do miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out from your classmates what material was covered, what additional assignments were given, and what handouts you have missed. Note that attendance is a prerequisite to participating (you must be in class to participate) but does not equate to participation. Your participation grade will reflect the quality of your contributions to the classroom learning environment. Preparation. You must read assigned material in advancetext, readings and casesto be fully prepared for class discussion. Concepts and how they apply in organizations may appear simple on the surface, but typically they are subtle, complex, and more difficult to apply. To understand the material covered in this course and do well in the examinations it is critical that you read the material BEFORE class sessions so that you can contribute thoughtfully to the class discussions and exercises. Readings will not be fully reviewedit is assumed that you have read and understood them prior to coming to class. You may be called upon to contribute at any time. If you have been unable to prepare adequately, let your instructor know. This will help avoid embarrassment. Contribution. You are expected to effectively participate and contribute to the class. This includes providing analysis, arguments, examples, material questions, presenting relevant outside materials, facilitating the learning of othersin short, anything that will enrich the learning experience. Class participation provides you with an opportunity to develop skills in oral communication, in presenting a point of view, in listening, and in helping your peers learn and to learn from them. Note that contributions should enhance classroom discussion. Airtime is a scarce resource so please use it wisely. Participation that does not add any value to the discussion (i.e., does not move the conversation forward, repeats what has been said, etc) will be treated the same as not participating. The quality of contribution is rewardednot quantity. All contributions must be worded with respect for others. Frequent non-quality contributions as well as behaviors that detract from the classroom environment (e.g., surfing the web, checking email, texting, watching youtube, etc) are not appropriate and will be penalized.

Group Presentation and Written Report (15%) 5

You will form a group of 7-8 people, or be assigned a group, depending on your instructors arrangement. This will occur in the first week of class. Your group will be randomly assigned an OB-related movie and a discussion question based on the movie. Each group will make one 20 minute presentation in the last two classes of semester, analysing the movie using constructs and theories you learn from this course. This time allocation includes a 5-minute question and answer period. Everyone is encouraged to watch all movies before the presentation classes, so that we can expect a more engaging and interactive question and answer period. However, the audience is not required to watch movies presented by other groups. Therefore, presentations should be designed accordingly. Students who are absent will not share in their groups grade and will receive a zero grade on the presentation. Group presentations will be evaluated based on: Topic: Identify and describe the most important and relevant OB topics in the movie Scientific analysis/Depth: Analyse the OB topics in detail by applying constructs and theories you learn from this course Presentation style and skills (clarity of speaking, posture, visual/audio aids, pace, etc.) Q & A: Be prepared for questions and handle them professionally On the day of your groups presentation, you should submit a written report (2-3 pages, doublespaced). This should include your description of important OB topics delivered in the movie and your analysis of the movie using OB constructs and theories. Your report will be evaluated based on the clarity of description, appropriateness of OB constructs and theories applied to your analysis, and writing quality. In-Class Midterm Examinations (40%). Weeks 4 and 8 Two in-class examinations will use a combination of multiple-choice and short answer formats. To do well, you will need to understand and be able to apply the concepts and theories discussed in the course. Students are well-advised to keep up on their reading assignments. The exams are scheduled for Tuesday October 2 and Tuesday October 30. The exams will be held during regular class time and will be 80 minutes in length. Similar, but not identical, 30 multiple-choice questions (1 point each) will be used for all sections of the course. These questions will be drawn from the textbook material. Three short-answer questions (10 points each) will test material covered in class. This material may not be addressed in the readings. These questions will vary across course sections to reflect differences in instructor focus. Comprehensive Final Examination (35%) The final exam will be 2.5 hours in length and include multiple choice, short answer, and long answer/integrative questions. The final exam will be scheduled during the regular examination period in December. The multiple choice questions will focus on textbook material not previously tested by the midterm exams. Short- and long-answer questions will comprehensively test material covered throughout the entire course. Material covered in the text and/or in lectures will form the basis for these questions. Similar to the midterm exams, some of the material tested may not be addressed in the readings. Some of these questions will vary across the course sections. 6

BONUS MARKS OB/HRM Research Participation System You may receive up to three bonus marks (out of 100 possible in the course) by participating in the SBE Research Participation System. This system is design to: (a) facilitate the research of faculty and graduate students in Marketing and OBHRM area groups; and (b) enable undergraduate students taking Marketing and OBHRM courses to gain an appreciation for research and the research process by participating in actual research projects. The system is automated via the World Wide Web and you may create a user ID and password via the following web site: http://sbe.sona-systems.com/. Once you have a user ID and password, you may sign up for either in-person or on-line studies. A maximum of 3 research credits are allowed per course (3% of course grade). On-line studies are worth that of in-person studies. If a student is unable to participate in on-campus or on-line studies, they can complete an alternative written assignment(s) (see below for guidelines). You must still request an account as a participant in the system if you are interested in pursuing this option. The last day to submit bonus marks is the last day of classes of the Fall term (December 3, 2012). No exceptions! Alternative Written Assignment Guidelines As an alternative way of obtaining research participation credits (instead of participating in research studies), you may review journal articles (1 article review = 1 full credit) (a list of acceptable journals is appendedNO REVIEWS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR NON-LISTED JOURNALS). Reviews must be between 3-5 double-spaced typed pages with 12-point font and 1-inch margins. All reviews must be sent to your course instructor by the last day of classes at the very latest. No exceptions. Instructors may mark the assignments as pass/fail (suggested) or use any other marking scheme they deem acceptable. Submissions MUST BE sent as a MS Word (.doc or .docx) or .pdf file to the relevant instructor by the deadline noted above. It is the students responsibility to find the definitions for any unfamiliar terms (e.g., dependent variable; confounds) prior to completing the assignment. To find an article to review, we recommend going to the WLU library online which can be accessed either from a computer at home or on-campus as follows. 1. Connecting from home: (a) Go to WLU library site (http://library.wlu.ca/). (b) Click on Quick Links: Off-campus login. (c) Follow directions to login. (d) Find Articles. (e) Journals by title (online or print). (f) Full text electronic journals. 2. Connecting from on-campus at WLU: (a) same as above except start at letter (d). Once you find the journal, you can browse recent issues of this journal online to find a topic of interest to you. If the article you select has more than one study, you only need to select one study (from that article) to review. 7

The summary of the article should flow from these questions and should not be a simple restatement of the abstract. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. What is the phenomenon that is being studied? What were the hypotheses? What were the independent and dependent variables? How was the hypothesis tested? What were the results? What criticisms can you make about the research? (e.g., threats to validity, sample issues, operational definitions, confounds, demand characteristics?) 7. How could these problems be resolved? Be sure to summarize the study in your own words. DO NOT directly quote. Tips on How to Read Journal Articles Preparing Yourself How you read is as important as what you read. Reading an important article is not very helpful if you do not know how to identify the main points. Most researchers write articles from the perspective that the reader has a working knowledge of the phenomenon that is being investigated. Consequently, the main points will be lost if you do not have a basic understanding of the phenomenon you are reading about. If this is the case, you should first read a review article or the relevant chapters in a textbook concerning the phenomenon. Once you have a working knowledge of the phenomenon, the articles you read will make more sense. As you read articles you will begin to develop a point of view or a perspective as to how you want to focus your paper. Use this point of view or perspective to help you decide which articles to read and which articles to not read. As you read an article it is important to take systematic notes. The best approach is to try and summarize main points and ideas rather than copying parts of the article word-for-word. You can do this through the use of note cards in which you have one note card for each article and each article is summarized on the note cards. The advantage to this approach is you can organize the note cards by topic, issue, author, or the outline. Alternatively, you may wish to make notes directly on your copy of the article. This can be done by highlighting sections that make important points or writing your comments on the article. Be careful not to simply engage in massive photocopying. If you do this, you will eventually have to reread everything you photocopied to determine why you thought it was important. Evaluating the Article When reading research articles it is important to remember that each section of the article has a defined purpose. You should be very aware of the role of each section of a research article by now. However, if you are not, the APA (American Psychological Association) manual discusses the types of information in each section of a research article. You should review these sections of the APA manual. When reading research articles it can be easy to get lost in the details. Here are several questions you can ask yourself if you begin to get confused: 1. Why are you reading the article? What is it about the article that is of interest to you? 2. What is the theoretical basis for the research? 8

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

What past research suggests the need for the study presented? What were the results of the study? Do the results make sense? Do other theories potentially explain the results -- other than the one proposed by the author? Were operational definitions used? Were they adequate? Were the definitions circular? Did the researcher eliminate potential rival explanations in the design of the study? Does the researcher answer the original question asked? LIST OF ACCEPTABLE JOURNALS FOR MARKETING COURSES

*Journal of Consumer Research *Journal of Marketing *Marketing Science *Journal of Marketing Research LIST OF ACCEPTABLE JOURNALS FOR OBHRM COURSES * Academy of Management Journal * Journal of Applied Psychology * Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes * Personnel Psychology OTHER ISSUES Policy Regarding Re-grading of Coursework In the event that you feel something was missed in the grading of your work (be it a mathematical error or other), please provide a brief written summary of what you feel needs further attention. This submission must be made within ONE (1) week of receiving your grade. If you request that something be regraded, the exam will be re-graded in its entirety. Therefore, your grade may increase OR decrease as a result of the second grading. If no written request is provided within one week after it is returned, the grade is considered to be final and will be no longer open for re-grading. We do not accept personal lobbying efforts on behalf of grades unless the aforementioned procedure is followed. We are happy to discuss your work with you for educational purposes, but we will not discuss specific grade changes in this format. Academic Misconduct Please note that students involved in any form of academic misconduct may receive a zero grade on the course and a notation of academic dishonesty on their transcripts. In this course, academic misconduct includes copy or use of unauthorized aids in cases or examinations (i.e., cheating); plagiarism; submission of work that is not your own; submission of work generated for another course without prior clearance by the instructor of this course; aiding and abetting another student's dishonesty; and giving false information for the purpose of gaining credit. Students are strongly encouraged to make themselves familiar with the University regulations concerning Academic Misconduct as outlined in the online WLU Calendar.

Deferred Examinations Please note that there are no deferred examinations during the semester in this course. If, for any reason, a student must miss an in-class examination, the value of that examination will be applied to the final examination (i.e., a missed in-class mid-term exam will result in the final exam being valued at 55% of the final grade). However, students MUST provide documentation outlining a valid reason for missing an in-class exam (e.g., note from a doctor). Students who miss an in-class exam will be notified by the Dean or the Dean's designate that they may not miss more than one in-class exam under any circumstance. Students who miss two in-class exams will not be allowed to write the final exam. Any request for a deferred final examination must be made through an application to the SBE Academic Petitions Committee. Note about the Course Outline The course outline serves as a guide to give you a general idea of what to expect during class sessions. Other material may be introduced that is not on the outline. This material will help further illustrate the topics under study and will be of benefit to you. The outline is not carved in stone. Variations will be evident during the semester dependent on your needs as well as the instructor's discretion. Do not be alarmed therefore, when you see changes being made. The course also varies from section to section. Although the BU 288 sections will have some common elements, different classes respond differently to different faculty members. As a result, differences in pace or coverage are to be expected. A section that is doing something different is not necessarily advantaged or disadvantaged. It is simply different. STUDENT PRIVACY One important goal of this course is to offer a positive educational experience for the student through lectures, in class debate, group work, presentations and assignments. During the course, it may be necessary to divulge students names, ID numbers, marks, or other personal information to other members of the class. Every reasonable effort will be made to keep the personal information of the student private and secure. The following measures have been put in place to balance the requirements of the course with the need to protect personal information: 1. Exams and assignments will only be released to the student who submitted them. If a student is uncomfortable with their name being called in class, he or she should contact the instructor the day before the assignment is to be returned. 2. Marks will only be released through MyLearningSpace. 3. The individual circumstances or performance of a student will not be discussed before, during, or after class. A student wanting to review their performance or discuss personal circumstances affecting their performance should make an appointment to speak to the instructor in private during office hours. Please note, however, that the office door will NOT be closed at any time during a meeting with a student. 4. Group work may be a necessary component of this course. This will involve disclosure of some personal information to other class members in order to assign topics, arrange groups, submit, evaluate and return work. Enrolment in the course is deemed to be consent to such necessary disclosure. 5. Class participation is a vital component of this course. This may involve the use of class lists, name tags, posting on MyLearningSpace bulletin boards, in-class discussions, etc. If a student is 10

uncomfortable with his or her name being disclosed in these formats, he or she should bring this matter to the attention of the instructor during the first week of class so that alternate arrangements can be made. 6. The record of the students progress throughout the course will be maintained by the instructor for a period of one year after completion of the course. Some instructors may retain students records for a longer period of time. 7. Sign in sheets will be used to record attendance at the midterm and final exam. If a student does not wish to sign the sheet, he or she should bring this to the attention of the proctor before the start of the exam. If a student is concerned or needs to make special arrangements to accommodate specific privacy issues, he or she must bring these matters to the attention of the instructor within the first week of classes so that reasonable accommodations can be made or an alternate course can be selected by the student.

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CLASS SCHEDULE
Week 1 September 11 September 13 Week 2 September 18 September 20 Introduction to Organizational Behaviour Reading: Johns/Saks, Chapter 1 Research in OB Reading: Johns/Saks, Appendix (pp. 565-578) Personality Reading: Johns/Saks, Chapter 2 (pp. 38-48) Learning Reading: Johns/Saks, Chapter 2 (pp. 48-66) Week 3 September 25 September 27 Week 4 October 2 October 4 Perceptions, Attributions, and Diversity Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 3 Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 4 In-Class Exam: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, Appendix Groups and Teamwork Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 7 Exercise: Food for Thought (distributed in class) Theories of Work Motivation I Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 5 Theories of Work Motivation II Reading: Johns/Saks, Chapter 6 (pp. 191-206) Case: The Well Paid Receptionist (textbook pp. 140-143) Decision Making I Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 11 Exercise: Carter Racing (Case Package) Decision Making II Readings: see above

Week 5 October 9 October 11

Week 6 October 16

October 18 Week 7 October 23

Negotiation I 12

Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 13 (pp. 431-437) Exercise: Negotiation Exercise (distributed in class) October 25 Negotiation II Readings: see above Video: The Sluggers Come Home Week 8 October 30 November 1

In-Class Exam: Chapters 5, 6, 7, 11, 13 (listed pages only) Conflict & Stress Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 13 (pp. 424-431and 437455)

Week 9 November 6

Leadership I Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 9

November 8 Week 10 November 13 November 15

Leadership II Readings: see above Communication Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 10 Organizational Culture and Organizational Change Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 8(pp. 268-277) & Chapter 16 (pp. 531-532)

Week 11 November 20

Power and Politics Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 12 (pp. 390-408) Ethics in Organizations Readings: Johns/Saks, Chapter 12 (pp. 408-419) Group Presentations Group Presentations

November 22 Week 12 November 27 November 29

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