Organizational Behavior (MKMG329)

SIENA COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT

MKMG429 – ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (3 Credit Hours)
Spring, 2004
Andrea Smith-Hunter, Ph.D.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is a core course for students in the Marketing Management department of the Business Division and an elective for non-business majors.  This course is designed to allow students to apply the specific principles that comprise the foundation of organizational behavior to the functions, needs and roles of management. The disciplines covered include psychology, sociology, engineering, organization theory and communication systems and cover such topics as: organizational culture, decision making skills, group and intergroup behavior, productivity, nonverbal and interpersonal communication skills, participatory management, organizational development and change, stress in managerial work life, quality of work life, improving subordinate performance and developing effective organizations. A prerequisite for this course is MKMG211, Organization and Management, which would have introduced the student to the basic principles of the subject area. .  It is assumed that students in this class will have completed all of the freshman- and sophomore-level courses in the business core before entering this course in order to assure they will have a pluralistic perspective of organizations.

REQUIRED TEXT AND MATERIALS

1. Organizational Behavior. 2003. 3rd edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill Publishing. Jennifer M. George and Gareth Jones.
2. Diversity and Entrepreneurship: Analyzing Successful Women Entrepreneurs,
   University Press of America, Andrea Smith-Hunter.
3. Access to the following periodicals: Business Week, Harvard Business Review, Management World and the Wall Street Journal.

COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVE

Organizational behavior is the study of individual behavior and group dynamics in organizational settings. It focuses on timeless topics such as motivation, leadership and teamwork and more contemporary topics such as organizational citizenship behavior and transformational leadership. Few, if any of the dramatic challenges facing today's organizations can be handled effectively without a good understanding of human behavior as it is presented in organizational settings. One simplistic way of looking at this course is to view the organization from an internal level with the observation and interpretation of its members' behavior at an individual and group level, and then to look at organizations on an external level, as it interacts with the outer environment. The objectives of this course rest on the assumption that learning involves not only acquiring knowledge, but also developing skills. Thus, the class lectures, discussions, exercises, articles and cases present the opportunity for the student to acquire the concepts, ideas and theories that are important to any study of organizational behavior and to apply this knowledge to practical issues that enhance the explanation of human behavior at work.

SPECIFIC ASSESSABLE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand the key theories, concepts, and skills related to personal, interpersonal, and team processes.
2. Apply the theories, concepts, and skills of organizational behavior to organizational settings.
3. Use the theories, concepts, and skills of organizational behavior to provide an integrative perspective when diagnosing problems in organizations and when making recommendations.
4. Write an in-depth, integrative case analysis that includes an understanding of the events that are taking place in the case, a list of recommendations, and an analysis of the impact of these recommendations.

TEACHING METHODOLOGY

There are different ways in which to approach the teaching of the same subject area and materials. The focus of this course will be on applying the theories and concepts presented in the textbooks to practical business examples and experiences in the real world, through contemporary articles from leading business sources, class exercises, mini-cases and in-depth cases. The objective is to get students to move pass a regurgitation of the materials and to apply what they have learnt to solving practical organizational issues that are not often monolithic and are instead integrative and complex.
      Not all of the chapter materials will be covered in class, however students are expected to know all of the materials covered in each chapter and to apply the materials learnt to their graded assignments.
      Although there are scheduled office hours, I am available to meet with students at other times to discuss any questions or concerns they might have. If you need to meet with me, please call me at my office or and leave a message if I am not available. I can also be contacted via email.

GRADING - Grades will be based on the following point system:

The following letter grades will be assigned to article presentations, case analyses, exams, attendance and participation:

GENERAL POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS

1. Attendance – Attendance will be taken and recorded for every class. This class emphasizes classroom discussion, therefore your attendance is critical. More than three unexcused absences may adversely affect your grade up to and including a lowering of the grade. For an absence to be considered “excused” you must provide a written documentation (from a coach, doctor, etc.).
   
2. Class Participation – This course requires extensive in-class discussions. It is essential that students perform the assigned readings prior to attending the relevant class. Class participation grades will be assigned based on students’ effective participation.

   What is participation?

• Raising and answering questions.
• Sharing ideas, observations and personal experiences.
• Pointing out relevant data.
• Generating potential solutions.
• Relating and synthesizing the ideas of others.
• Pointing out relationships to earlier discussions.
• Helping others develop their views and ideas.
  

3. Article Presentation – Each student will volunteer for an article presentation. An article presentation will start with a brief summary of the article and continue with a discussion of the issues present in the article. Students should avoid repeating the information in the article. Instead, students are expected to identify the pertinent issues that need to be addressed, perform the necessary analyses and evaluations and propose a set of recommendations or action plan. Students will hand in a written evaluation of the article at the end of the presentation. Students are also expected to provide copies of the articles for the other students in the class. A good presentation and written analysis incorporates the issues learnt from the chapters into the article evaluations. Articles should be taken from the periodicals listed on page 1 of the syllabus or any other appropriate medium. The written article analyses are due at the time of the presentations.
   
4. Case Analyses - Students will form into groups of 5 to 6 students and do two written case analyses , similar to the cases we will analyze during classes. The analyses should be at least 6 pages in length. Again, students should avoid repeating the information provided in the cases. Instead, students are expected to identify the pertinent issues that need to be addressed, perform the necessary analyses and evaluations and propose a set of recommendations or action plan.
   
5. Case Presentation - Students will also be expected to do an oral presentation on the final case analysis. The dates for each group's presentation will be announced in class.
   

   ** Additional details on the written case analyses and presentations will be provided when the cases are distributed to each group.**

6. Academic Integrity (Paraphrased from the Siena College Catalog) Academic integrity is extremely important at Siena College and as such academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Students who commit such acts, expose themselves to punishments as severe as dishonorable dismissal from the College. Academic dishonesty can take different forms, and includes, but is not limited to: cheating, plagiarism and computer abuse.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week of