SEMINAR AND CASE STUDIES DISCUSSIONS

Ch1-2

Seminar 1a: Industry-related practical applications

Imagine you are the manager of an organisation with international offices.

Each day your team is required to be at work for an 8 am teleconference,
because this way they can talk with their international counterparts before
their day concludes. The meeting has always been held at 8 am; after all,
it just means an early start and occasionally the team can go home earlier.
While they often grumble about it, you consider it to be a condition of
working here; if they do not like it, then they can leave

Q1. Considering what we have already discussed, identify what problems exist with this
managers view about holding such meetings.
.

Q2. List what potential problems you may face in running this meeting at 8 am.

Seminar 1b:
Additional online resources:

Search Engines are our navigational tools to explore the WWW. Some commonly used
search engines are:

www.excite.com www.yahoo.com www.hotbot.com

www.google.com www.lycos.com www.bing.com

A useful tool for the student (or manager) interested in exploring topics in OB could be to
use the internet to locate information. For this first exercise go to
www.searchenginewatch.com to learn more about what Search Engines and Metacrawlers
do and how they differ. Once you are on the searchenginewatch home page, click on Search
Engine Listings, then on Major Search Engines. This page presents an overview of the major
engines and how best to use them. Do not forget to look at other topics on this website that
of interest to you.

1. Now perform a search for organisational behaviour using three different search
engines. Do the results differ, or are they the same? If they differ, why do you think
they are different? Write a paragraph or two answering these questions based on
what you learned from researching Search Engines. Also, include another paragraph
providing examples and/or reasons of when you would use or choose one Search
Engine compared to another.

2. The text tells us that OB replaces intuition with systematic study. Where do scholars
prepare for a career researching OB topics? Additionally, what if you decide at some
point to pursue graduate study in OB? Where would you go? Perform a search to

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 identify two to three graduate programs in OB; print out the home page of each,
with the descriptions of these programs, and bring them to class. Note that different
schools have programs in different departments and disciplines that show the
diversity of thinking about OB in these programs. If you need ideas as to where to
start, try:

a. Harvardhttp://www.hbs.edu/units/ob/index.html
b. the official website of the Organisational Behaviour Division of the Academy of
Management, http://www.obweb.org/.

3. Many organisations look for ways to promote diversity through family-friendly

policies. Look for three companies that are incorporating family-friendly policies into
their human resource strategy. On a separate paper answer the following questions:

a. Who are the companies? (Be sure to list their web address, too.)
b. What are their policies?
c. How do these policies attract and keep people?
d. Do these policies interest you? Why?
e. How might they make their policies more attractive to workers?
f. If they make the changes you suggest, what results would you expect? (Is
there evidence to back up your opinion? If it is just your opinion, say so, but
later we will look for studies that back up or refute your opinion.)

4. Find an organisation that, on its website, directly addresses the cost of absenteeism
on turnover. Once you have found an organisation, check with me to make certain
that we do not have too many students in the class researching the same company.
What, if anything, is that organisation doing to reduce those costs? What did your
search tell you about the importance or unimportance of these costs to
organisations? In class we will meet in small groups to discuss the strategies that
organisations are using. Be prepared to talk about your organisations strategy to the
group, and possibly to the class. Below are some websites to get you started, but do
not hesitate to perform your own search:

a. http://www.pwc.com.au/industry/healthcare/assets/Workplace-Wellness-
Sep10.pdf
b. http://dnbsmallbusiness.com.au/News/Workplace_absenteeism_costs_28b/in
dexdl_9074.aspx
c. http://eafinc.org/jobsrvy.htm

Case Study 1a: Sen & Basu (moodle)

Case Study 1b: Increasing age diversity in the workplace p53 (TBK)

Seminar 2a: Class exercises

Ch3-5
Changing the rules of the game
This vignette talks of how Deloitte Digital has created Badgeville as a gamification choice.
It encourages people to have a social media experience, but one that is workplace related.
Checking in to meetings and gaining badges for doing so, or collecting and reading certain
information engages their younger workers in a manner with which they are familiar. The
game is to get as many badges as possible. The outcome is that Deloitte Digital knows

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where people are and with whom they are meeting. As more young people, who are familiar
with other social media forms, join the workforce this game is seen as meeting everyones
needs.

Exercise: Considering the previous chapter on the ageing workforce, what are the risks to
introducing such tools? Does the class believe that all younger people want these tools at
work? What about earning badges?
Extra: What do these tools tell you about the workplace? Make links back to the myth or
science and show how attitude can be linked to beliefs brought from past experiences.

Seminar 2b
Ethical choice Sick and tired of absenteeism
This piece argues that many Australians chuck a sickie (take sick leave without being sick)
because they are not engaged with their work, or they are subject to bad management
practices.

Student activity:
How would you manage someone taking sick leave when they were not sick. What actions
could they legally take in relation to this?
Check out what sick and personal leave entitlements means to you. Does the word
entitlement mean it is there to be used? Would this change for you if you had to apply and
have personal absence approved for any reason?

Be reminded that as manager you may be managing a boring piece of work, so thinking
about what might make work fun could be the starting point here, also be mindful that one
persons fun is anothers torture.

Globalisation Culture and worklife balance

This piece discusses how worklife balance may be seen differently in countries like the USA
and Australia (where individualistic views are held) compared with Asia (where the culture is
more collectivist and family focused). While Australia has now legislated to assist parents in
requesting flexible working arrangements many are still not aware of their rights.

Activity: You need to do an internet search comparing and contrasting worklife balance
issues and provisions around the globe. The starting point is to research what paid parental
leave provisions exist at a government level and then seek to understand what might be
provided by certain organisations. Seek information from countries that are part of the
global economy, such as the Philippines, China and India, as well as places such as Saudi
Arabia and Australia, England and the USA. This is an exercise in understanding global
offerings at a government level, but it also looks at how the practice can vary, too.

Create a chart as follows:

Countryor Paid Sickleave Family Flexible ? ?

organisation parental leave work

leave conditions
x x x

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Conclude this activity by linking to the previous chapter on diversity. As we have more
women in the workforce, and an ageing population, and so on, these changes will be
required to enable us to keep the workforce productive.

Case Study 2a: Bob Calvin& Motorolla (Moodle)

Case Study 2b: Long hours, hundreds of emails and no sleep, does this sound like a satisfying job?p77
(TBK)

Seminar 3a:
Ch7

Goal-setting theory.
Goal-setting theory has been shown to be useful in shaping behaviour. Ask students to think
of when practice has paid off for them in changing a behaviour. Get them to link how much
practice was needed and if this changed their behaviour, rather than it being something easily
attained? The intrinsic reward from learning to do something and having incremental goals
was shown in chapter 1, when gamification was discussed at Atlassiantheir badge system is
about small goals along the way.

Consider the argument that if the goals are too readily achievable it would diminish their
ability to shape behaviour. Do you agree or disagree. Justify your choice.

Motivation theory application

Consider what affects your motivation. Think of some experiences when you have found it
difficult to motivate yourself to do something. Having studied this unit, what tactics could you
use to better motivate yourself?

Seminar 3b

Industry-related practical applications

Thats not fair!

Suzie has been very busy at work. So busy that she has not been able to complete the report
on time that her manager asked for. She was thinking she would get it done, but, really, she
needs him to allow her to do it later. He is adamant and says that as a result of her failure to
deliver, her performance is deemed below par. She is upset and considers his actions unfair.

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 1. Using the model of organisational justice from page 183, explain why the manager
sees his decision as fair and how he could explain this to Suzy.

2. Considering what you have learnt about motivation and multitasking, what could you
suggest to Suzy to assist her for the future?

Additional online resources

1. Motivation the old fashioned way? Read how Bill Mork reenergised his workforce and
realised real savings in the process. Go to
http://www.inc.com/magazine/19941101/3187.html and read the article of his companys
success. Choose one classic theory of motivation and one contemporary theory to explain
why his program works. Bring your analysis to class.

2. What motivated you to go to college? What is motivating you to stay and succeed? Visit
these sites for ideas and tips for being successful and staying motivated during your
academic career.

http://home.okstate.edu/homepages.nsf/toc/chp12_1

http://www.academictips.org/acad/collegemotivation.html

http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/motivate.html

http://w3.unisa.edu.au/counsellingservices/success/motivation.asp

http://www.academictips.org/acad/collegemotivation.html

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9ixnGK1qn8

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 Stock options are used as management and employee motivators. Are they powerful
motivators? Read the article Reward System: Increasing Performance and Employee
Happiness found on the website listed below. Write a short reaction paper (one page)
about this article. Include in the paper your thoughts on what organisations should do
when stocks plummet, and why they still need to motivate employees.
http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/motivating_reward_system.h
tml.

For brief outlines of classic motivation theories, go to

http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ and
http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/FIS/Courses/LIS1230/LIS1230sharma/motive1.htm.

Select one theory that you think applies to your present job or a previous job, and write a
short description of the job and how the theory applies. Now look over the class syllabus.
What theories of motivation are applicable for the way this class is set up? Again, write a
short description and the theory as its applied. For example, your paper is due
on ?/?/201? = Goal-setting theory.

3. Read the article found on http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-

labor/7research/7calag07.htm concerning piece rates versus hourly rates for agricultural
workers. Write a journal entry, or short reaction paper, to this article as to what you would
do as a manager confronting this issue with workers, and why.

4. Paying up is hard to do! Should the organisation choose a skill-based pay plan or pay-for-
performance plan? Start by comparing the two, then make a recommendation as to why one
would be preferable to the other.
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/downloads/publications/srspaysy.pdf to
learn more about skill-based plans. Go to http://www.ama-assn.org//ama/pub/physician-
resources/practice-management-center/claims-revenue-cycle/managed-care-
contracting/evaluating-payment-options/pay-for-performance.page If you were to make a
recommendation as to what strategy would be the most effective, which would you choose?
Why? (Hint: it will have to be linked to a motivational theory.) Write a one-page reaction
paper discussing your views.

5. From quality circles to total quality management (TQM), getting employees involved is
not a simple venture. The website
http://www.govexec.com/reinvent/articles/0797fqg2.htm discusses this issue and why the
USA did not have the same success as Japan with the concept. Once youve read this
page, click on one of the related stories (for example, Death of TQM). Write a short

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 summary of both pages, with key points only, that can be used during a discussion of
TQM.

What do workers want? Money? Probably, but other things, too. Go to About.com to read
an assessment of what workers want at
http://humanresources.about.com/library/weekly/aa083002a.htm.

Write your own assessment, just a paragraph or two, of what motivational theories
are at play in this article. Bring your assessment and the article to class for a group
discussion.

Self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-respect, and self-actualisation. Learn more about these

terms and how employers can foster these concepts in their employees at
http://humanresources.about.com/library/weekly/aa081301a.htm.

Write a journal entry, or short paper, about when you experienced an environment
that encouraged you to develop your potential. For example, it could be when you
were involved in an arts program, writing clinic, a club, a sports team, a class, and
so on. What motivated you when you felt discouraged (or were simply tired and did
not want to go that day)? Who was the coach who encouraged you, and how
important a role did that person have in your success? What did you learn about
yourself in the process? Do these skills transfer to other areas of your life
Case Study 3a: Telereach-WorkTeams (Moodle)
Case Study 3b: Multitasking, a good use of your time? P203 (TBK)

Seminar 4a
Ch8-9
OB in practice how to invigorate team building:
While up to 82% of people are willing to participate in team building, 75% have stated that
they have had a bad team-building experience. The issues cited include: participants who
dont cooperate ruining it for everyone; the experience is not fun; the activities are badly
facilitated; the purpose is not clear; people suffer personal embarrassment; the
presentations are tired and clichd; people work in cliques; the activities are outside
working hours; and managers are not participating.

Discuss/Activity: You have a great interest in training and have just joined a training
organisation who specialise in team building. Having done very well in your university
studies, you told the CEO in your interview you had an OB specialty. You scored the job
and this is your first big client. You are leading the group and have just returned from a
briefing with the client, who said, We want to have a fun day for everyone, take some

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pressure off and do some team building. I want to take everyone out of their comfort zone,
you know, do something different

You tried asking some questions about their expectations, but the client just said, Oh, I
dont know, lets go sailing or play football, maybe rock climbing. Youre the expert but
make it fun!

What do you think needs to be considered given the OB in practice case along with your OB
studies to date?

Consider your answer in two parts:

1) What else do you need to collect in the brief?
2) How will you address fun given the above concerns?

Seminar 4b
Industry-related practical applications
Not everyone is in the team
Having studied OB, a colleague asks you for some advice with her team at the local doctors
surgery. Each team member does a different thing for the organisation. There are some
administration people who all do the same job for the same outcome. There is a marketing
person, a multimedia person and several doctors who each run their own practice. In
addition, they have a technical support person to ensure that all their IT needs are met.
They all report to the office manager. They have been working well together for some years,
although one person has a prickly personality. Everyone has just worked around this
because the team seems to function well. They get along well enough, although some
friendships are stronger than others. Recently, the team has undergone some changes; a
new manager and a new team member have joined. No one seems as generally happy as
they were. Your friend thinks an afternoon of team building could work. It would be fun and
its just what everyone needs.

1) Identify what is really going on in this team based on what you know about
personality, and teams and groups.
.
2) What advice could you give your friend that would make a difference beyond a team-
building afternoon?

Case Study 4a: Westinghouse (moodle)

Case Study4b: Using social media to your advantage p293

Seminar 5a
Ch10-12
Online resources

1. Listening requires more than a physical presence, it requires a mental presence, too!
Learn more about how to develop your skills as an empathetic listener at
http://crs.uvm.edu/gopher/nerl/personal/comm/e.html. Write a short journal entry
describing how you plan to further develop one technique listed in the article.

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 2. Organisational communication has been drastically changed by the introduction of
modern technologies in just the last 10 years; however, it does not just happen.
There must be support personnel and products to assist users with communicating
by technology. Go to http://www.databasesystemscorp.com/psccproducts.htm to
explore one vendors products and services that support organisational
communication. Write a short journal entry about what you learn from this website.

3. Learn more about effective cross-cultural communication. Go to the website

http://www.nwrel.org/cnorse/booklets/ccc/. The first four chapters are particularly
interesting. Write a paragraph or two about what you learned from this page.

4. Listening requires more than a physical presence, it requires a mental presence, too!
Learn more about how to develop your skills as an empathetic listener at
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/empathic-listening

Seminar 5b
Industry-related practical applications
You have just been appointed as divisional leader for everything.com. You have been on the
job for three months and notice that Bobby is an up-and-coming leader. She seems to be on
the ball, have great ideas, endless enthusiasm, and a solid work ethic. You have heard from
her manager, though, that she is about to be put on a performance improvement plan.
When you enquire as to why, your direct report says that Bobby is just not a good fit. You
have the feeling that it is because she challenges the status quo. What should you do?

1. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4. Discuss the TED talk about

codifying leadership. Ask students to consider how this talk links to charismatic and
transformational leadership.

2. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0KYU2j0TM4. Discuss the TED talk about

introversion and leadership, what does this talk do to inform your practice of
leadership.

Case Study 5a: Jack Welches Leadership (moodle)

Case Study 5b: Leadership factories p327 (TBK)

Seminar 6a
Ch14-15

In-class activities and discussions

Work specialisation is the division of jobs that enables efficiency by breaking down the steps
in each job. These can then be further grouped by departmentalisation. Considering your
personality and the type of work you seek, would you like to be in an organisation where
work specialisation occurs? What are the arguments for and against such practices? Do you
think there are some jobs that are better handled by specialisation?

Structures and span of control. In looking at spans of control, it is a cost-saving exercise

to have fewer layers. The chapter informs us that a wider span of control can work better
when employees know their jobs well. Yet narrow spans of control increase bureaucracy and
discourage autonomy. Do you believe there is a case for certain jobs to have narrower spans
of control or is this related to organisational or employee maturity?

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 Seminar 6b
Additional online resources
1. What do you think it would be like working for the Happiest Place on Earth, which is,
of course, Disney Land? Disney is huge, so much more than theme parks. Go to
http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/index.html to get a flavour of what their corporate
culture might be like. Click on the links found at the bottom of the page. One link even
references culture, but it is not necessarily referring to corporate culture. Be prepared to
talk about what you learnt about the Disney Corporation in class.

2. How does a change agent go about changing the corporate culture? The task, no
doubt, is never easy, but the following website offers a process to follow at
http://www.lynco.com/culchange.html. Read through the article and try to think of a time
when an organisation you were involved with underwent change. Take the steps outlined in
the article and apply them to your experience. Write a brief commentary on how each step
would apply to your situation. Bring it to class and be prepared to discuss your case.

3. How does one differentiate between a strong and a weak culture? The Denison
Organisational Culture Survey can be found at
http://www.denisonconsulting.com/dc/Default.aspx?tabid=40. It is an internal tool used by
organisations. The page provides information about the survey and a model of strong versus
weak organisational cultures. Write a paragraph or two on how you think this information
might be helpful to organisations.

4. Career bliss. Really? Go to http://www.spiritualityofwork.com/organisation.html to

learn more about spirituality at work. While there, take the 10 Steps to Career Bliss survey
and see what results you obtain. Also on the page is a list of benefits to employers who
incorporate spirituality principles into the corporate culture. Write a short paper on the
concept of spirituality at work. What do you think managers have to gain? Employees? Is
there a downside? Use ideas from the website as a start for organising your paper. Bring it
to class for further discussion.

5. Can you imagine what it is like to arrive in Australia from a foreign country and
work? Look at the resources available at www.spectrumvic.org.au to assist people to
understand what it will be like when they take a job here. Discuss with your class if you
believe the facts in these resources are true and if they are helpful?

6. Visit the TED talk http://www.ted.com/talks/pico_iyer_where_is_home.html, which

explores how the nature of your background and origins affects and forms part of our
identity. It can provide some good insights about multicultural societies and our own
formation of a national culture. This can be considered for students beyond the classroom,
particularly if they have migrated or travelled extensively.

Case Study 6a: Zelte USA (Moodle)

Case Study 6b: Delegate power or keep it close? P360 (TBK)

Seminar 7a
Ch16
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 1. What are the four main approaches to managing organisational change?
2. How can managers create a culture for change?
3. What is stress and what are the possible sources of stress?

4. What are the consequences of stress?

5. What are the individual and organisational approaches to managing stress?

Seminar 7b

Additional online resources

1 What would be your strategy if you were called on to be a change agent for your
organisation? How would you begin, gather information, and create buy-in for
your ideas? Go to Fast Companys website where they feature an article on this
topic at http://www.fastcompany.com/online/05/changetips.html. Even more
interesting, read several of the readers responses linked at the bottom of the
page. Write a short reaction paper on why you think there is such a difference
from the articles perspective versus the readers comments. What OB strategies
would you use as change agents to address some of those readers concerns?

2 Resistance to change is a concern when making organisational changes, but, as

we read in the text, it is to be expected. Read about the theory of constraints
(TOC) model used by some organisations to better know where resistance is and
how to develop a strategy for addressing it. Visit
http://www.focusedperformance.com/articles/resistance.html to find an article on
TOC and how to take advantage of resistance. Print and bring to class for further
discussion.

3 Visit this TED talk http://on.ted.com/Achor about how we frame things and how our mind
can change what we experience. What does this talk teach us about managing stress and
change?

4 Alain de Boton offers some insight into jobs and job-related stress.
http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/when-it-comes-to-your-work-stay-calm/. This
page has a TED talk about measures of success and how this creates stress.

5 David Allen talks about stress and productivity at http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=CHxhjDPKfbY. This asks you to consider at bandwidth and to create space. Its an
important view of why we need to have less going on in our lives and to stop multitasking.

Case Study 7a: Changing the Culture at British Airways (moodle)

Case Study 7b: Did Toyotas culture causes its prblems? P444 (TBK)

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