Mgt_311_Syll

Syllabus School of Business MGT/311 Version 1 Organizational Development Copyright ©2011 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This organizational behavior course encompasses the study of individual and group behavior in organizational settings. Students will learn to examine their role in an organization. Other topics include strategic elements of organizational behavior, workforce diversity, managing change, effective communication, and performance systems. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. Universitypolicies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Robbins, S.P.,& Judge, T.A. (2011).Organizational behavior (14thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. All electronic materials are available on the student website. Week One: Individual Employee Characteristics Details Due Points Objectives 1.1 Evaluate individual characteristics of employees. 1.2 Analyze the impact of individual employee characteristics on organizational performance. 1.3 Determine management methods based on individual employee characteristics. Reading Read Ch. 1 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 3 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 4 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 5 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 6 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Attendance Participate in class activities 6/19 2 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions in class. 6/19 2 Individual Self-Assessments Imagine you are a manager of three employees. You have decided to assesseachindividual’s character, personality, and job satisfaction toimprove your ability to manage them. Resources:Self-Assessment Library,University of Phoenix Material: How to Save the Self-Assessments Guide Ask three co-workers, friends, or family members to take the following self-assessments: • How Satisfied Am I with My Job' • Am I Engaged' • How Are You Feeling Right Now' • What’s My Affect Intensity' • What’s My Emotional Intelligence Score' • Am I A Deliberate Decision Maker' Provide the participants with a copy ofUniversity of Phoenix Material: How to Save the Self-Assessments Guide. Ask the participants to return hard copies of the completed self-assessments to you. Note.Be sure your browser is not set to automatically clear your cache and cookies. Your survey results will be cleared if you have your browser set to automatically clear your cache and cookies. 6/19 3 Week Two: Motivation and Communication Details Due Points Objectives 2.1 Determine strategies to motivate employees. 2.2 Create effective organizational communication. Reading Read Ch. 7 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 8 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 11 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Readthe “Performance Evaluation” section in Ch. 17 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Attendance Participate in class activities. 6/26 2 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions in class. 6/26 2 Nongraded Activities and Preparation Teamwork and Communication Resources:“Teamwork in Hospitality: Communication” video Watch the “Teamwork in Hospitality: Communication” video found on the student website. Discuss, as a team, why communication is such an important part of an effective team or organization. How did the video illustrate this' What happens if there is a failure to communicate in an organization' Create a list summarizing what the team considers to be the most important components of effective organizational communication. 6/26 Individual Employee Portfolio: Management Plan You are a manager of three employees at Riordan Manufacturing. You recently had these employees take a series of self-assessments to aid you in managing them. Now that you have these assessments, you are now tasked with creating an Employee Portfolio for each of the employeesto help guide you in developing ways to best manage them. Resources: Results of Self-Assessments, University of Phoenix Material: Employee Portfolio Management Plan Complete the Employee Portfolio: Management Plan found on your student website for each of the three employees. Write a 350- to 700-word summary. Include the following in your summary: • Howmight these three employees’ characteristics affect the performance of the organization' • Recommendations for additional assessments. Submit the Self-Assessment Results with the Employee Portfolio and Summary. 6/26 5 Learning Team Learning Team Reflection Discuss the objectives for Week One and Two. Your discussion should include the topics you feel comfortable with, any topics you struggled with, and how the weekly topics relate to application in your field. Write a 350 word summary of the team’s discussion. 6/26 2 Week Three: Groups and Teams Details Due Points Objectives 3.1 Determine strategies to help develop effective groups and teams. 3.2 Determine strategies to resolve conflict within organizations. Reading Read Ch. 9 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 10 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 14 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Attendance Participate in class activities. 7/3 2 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. 7/3 2 Nongraded Activities and Preparation Teamwork and Collaboration Resource: Teamwork, Collaboration, and Conflict Resolution simulation Divide the class into the learning teams Completethe Teamwork, Collaboration, and Conflict Resolution simulation found on the student website. Discuss the effects of the conflict management styles during the simulation. What effect does your own conflict management style have on the team' How do the team members vary in their approaches' Should you change your conflict management style or continue with what is comfortable for you' Create a list of strategies for managing conflict in the Learning Team. 7/3 Individual Employee Portfolio: Motivation Action Plan You are a manager for Riordan Manufacturing. You recently administered a series of assessments to your three employees to give you a better understanding of their different traits. You have begun putting together an Employee Portfolio for each employee. Now you must use the information from the assessments to create a Motivational Plan. Resources: University of Phoenix Material: Employee Portfolio: Motivation Action Plan, Self Assessments from Week One and Week Two Individual Assignment Determine the motivational strategy or strategies that would likely be most appropriate for each of your three employees based on their individual characteristics, and complete the Motivational Action Plan for each employee. How will you leverage employee evaluations to motivate each of the three employees' Describe how the strategy selected connects to one or more of the motivational theories described in the text. 7/3 7 Learning Team Learning Team Reflection Discuss the Week Threeobjectives. Your discussion should include the topics you feel comfortable with, any topics you struggled with, and how the weekly topics relate to application in your field. Write a 350 word summary of the team’s discussion. 7/3 2 Week Four: Organizational Structure, Culture, Power, and Politics Details Due Points Objectives 4.1 Analyze the influence of organizational structure on behavior. 4.2 Analyze the influence of organizational culture on behavior. 4.3 Analyze the influence of power and politics on behavior. Reading Read Ch. 13 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 15 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 16 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Attendance Participate in class activities 7/10 2 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. 7/10 2 Individual Groups, Teams, and Conflict Part I: Team Strategy Plan You are part of a group of newly hired team superintendents with Riordan Manufacturing. Your group was hired to lead new teams and begin production of the newly designed CardiCare Valve heart valves. This will be at the organization’s Pontiac, MI, location that is currently manufacturing custom plastic parts. Many of the production employees are current employees from other divisions, and the company expects to hire some new employees. Resources: Riordan Manufacturing Virtual Organization, and University of Phoenix Material: Team Strategy Plan Review the Riordan Manufacturing intranet site and the Human Resource section under Demographics, Employees, Employee Files, and Reports. Prepare a plan to create the teams. Address the following in your plan: • Identify various strategies available to build teams. • What challenges or barriers may happen' • How will the best strategy be determined' • What measures will you use to determine if the team is operating successfully Part II: Conflict Management Plan While developing the teams, the management group finds that there is currently some internal conflict among two of the employees chosen for this project. David Nguyen has spoken to his current manager twice regarding his feelings that James Deal is intentionally creating problems on the production line, which is causing David to miss his quality checks. James insists that he has no idea what David is referring to and does not understand why David is trying to cause problem. James now goes to his own superintendent because he feels David is spreading rumors that he is looking for other work. David advises his own manager that he is not sure why James thinks this because he has never said anything like that. Before the new teams are formed, the management group knows they must resolve this issue so that the new production teams can operate smoothly. Both James and David are good employees with positive performance reviews, and they were chosen for the new project because of this reason. Resources: Riordan Manufacturing Virtual Organization, and University of Phoenix Material: Conflict Management Plan Create a Conflict Management Plan for the conflict between David and James. In this plan, include the following: • The various conflict management strategies • The strengths and weaknesses of each • Considerations for selecting a strategy • Alternate strategies • Possible challenges 7/10 20 Learning Team Learning Team Reflection Discuss the Week Fourobjectives. Your discussion should include the topics you feel comfortable with, any topics you struggled with, and how the weekly topics relate to application in your field. Write a 350word summary of the team’s discussion. 7/10 2 Week Five: Managing Diversity and Change Details Due Points Objectives 5.1 Determine strategies to manage diversity. 5.2 Devise methods to manage organizational change. Reading Read Ch. 2 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read Ch. 18 of Organizational Behavior. Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Attendance Participate in class activities 7/17 2 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. 7/17 2 Individual Final Examination Resource:Organizational Behavior Clickthe link to the Final Examination on your student website available from the end of Week Four through the end of Week Five. Complete the Final Examination. You are allowed one attempt to complete the exam, which is timed and must be completed in 3 hours. Results are autograded and sent to your instructor. Note.Final Examination questions are adapted from Organizational Behavior. 7/17 15 Learning Team Change Management and Communication Plan…paper and presentation Riordan Manufacturing has decided to make a change to company’s customer management system.The company does not currently have any formal system for managing their customer information and has traditionally left this up to individual employees.This new system will require all employees to use one customer management system.Your team is now working to help Riordan implement this planned change. Your team must do the following in your role as consultants: Resource: Riordan Manufacturing Virtual Organization Review the intranet site for Riordan Manufacturing including Human Resources – Organizational Charts, Employee Files, etc., and Sales & Marketing – Marketing Information Systems. Create a change management plan and communication plan of 1,050- to 1,400-words.Your plan should include the details from section I and section II outlined below. Section I: Change Management Plan • Identify the current formal and informal power structures in the organization. How might the power and political structure of the organization affect employee behavior' • Identify the most appropriate and effective organizational structures for Riordan Manufacturing that will help them accomplish their planned changes. • What are the potential effects of this selected structure on employee behavior' • Identify characteristics of the company’s culture. What are the potential influences of the corporate culture on employee behavior' • Identify the potential sources of resistance to change and develop strategies to manage resistance to change. • Recommend a strategy to implement the changes over the next 12 months. • Describe how you will evaluate the success or failure of the planned change. Section II: Communication Plan Create a Communication Plan for the proposed change covered in the Change Management Plan. In the Communication Plan, complete the following: • Select the most appropriate channels to communicate the change to the employees, and explain why you selected these channels. • Identify the potential barriers to effective communication and strategies for overcoming the barriers. Develop a message for one of the selected communication channels. In the message, complete the following: • Identify those areas affected by the change. • Establish the need for the change. • Create a sense of urgency around the change. • Outline next steps in the change process. 7/17 24 pts. ---------- -18 pts. paper -6 pts. presentation Learning Team Presentation Develop 10-12 PowerPoint slides presenting the key aspects of your Change Mgt. and Communications Plan to the BOD (Board of Directors) asking for approval to move forward. All team members need to present. 7/17 Optional Discussion Questions Week One Discussion Questions • Which of the following employee characteristics have the greatest impact on employee behavior: general attitudes, job satisfaction, emotions and moods, personality, values, orperception' Provide a rationale for your choice. • What type of assessments and evaluations might you use to determine the characteristics of your employees' Does the type of tool used make a difference' Why' • Which of the following employee characteristics have the greatest impact on organizational performance: general attitudes, job satisfaction, emotions and moods, personality, values, orperception' Provide a rationale for your choice. • How might an individual employee’s personality affect the performance of an organization' If the effect is negative, how might you change this' If the affect is positive, how can you capitalize on this' • As a manager, how can you use your knowledge of employee characteristics to improve organizational performance' Provide specific examples to support your response. • Review the section in Ch. 5 of your text titled, “An Ethical Choice: What If I Have the ‘Wrong Personality'’” As a manager, what do you if you have someone who scores low in desirable personality traits, but their behavior does not reflect this' How would this affect your management of that employee' How might this affect the organization' Week Two Discussion Questions • There are a variety of theories of motivation, many of which are complementary. Of the main motivational theories described in the text, which theory or theories do you think would apply most fully to the people you had take the self-assessments' Why' • In Week One, you learned about individual personality characteristics. How do these traits affect the type of motivational strategy you use' Provide an example of how this would apply. • Evidence indicates high-performing managers tend to be more media sensitive than low-performing managers—they are better able to match appropriate media richness with the message to be delivered. As a manager, how would you determine which communication channel should be used for a particular message' What barriers might distort the message' • As a manager, what factors do you consider when determining the most effective way to communicate a message to you employees' Does this change if you are preparing to communicate the same message to your superiors' Why' Week Three Discussion Questions • How can understanding stages of group development and group properties help employees in a work group function more effectively' As a manager, how would you help employees come to that understanding' • Althoughthe optimal level of conflict can be functional, no conflict or too much conflict can be dysfunctional. What steps would you as a manager take to stimulate some degree of conflict when appropriate and reduce conflict when it is excessive' • What is the difference between a group and a team' Would your strategy be different for putting together a group than creating a team'Explain your answer. • In the article, “Conflict in Work Teams”, the author discusses several strategies for resolving group or team conflict.Which type of strategies seems to fit you best'What criteria should you consider when determining the best conflict resolution strategy' Week Four Discussion Questions • Why do organizational structures differ' What is the difference between a mechanistic structure and an organic structure'Which structure would be most appropriate for an innovative organization like Apple or 3M'What about an organization that focuses on cost-minimization like Wal-Mart' • Organizational culture is in many ways beneficial for an organization and its employees but can also be a liability. What do you think are the most significant ways that organizational culture is beneficial' A liability' Be sure to provide specific examples. • An effective manager accepts the political nature of organizations. Power tactics are used to translate power bases into specific action, and there are a number of tactics that could be used in various situations. As a manager trying to influence your employees, what tactics would you personally be most likely to use' Why' • What is the difference between the position a person holds in a company and their political power' Is the top executive in an organization always the person who holds the most political power' Explain your answer. Week Five Discussion Questions • Deep-level abilities are closely related to job performance. As a manager, how could you use the knowledge that people differ to increase the likelihood an employee will perform his or her job well' What challenges does this pose when managing a diverse workforce' • Employees often see change as threatening. What are some of the sources of resistance to change, and what can you as a manager do to overcome that resistance' • What role does diversity play in managing change' What are some possible strategies for managing diversity' What influence does diversity training have on organizations' • Does the type of change being planned affect the strategy for managing the change' Explain and provide an example. Copyright University of Phoenix® is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft®, Windows®, and Windows NT® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Final Examinations contain third-party copyrighted materials. Portions are: Copyright © 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix® editorial standards and practices.