SYLLABUS
1. Wayland Baptist University, Sierra Vista Campus, School of Business
2. Mission Statement: Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging,
learning-focused and distinctively Christian environment for professional success, lifelong learning, and service to God
and humankind.
3. Course: MGMT 5305 – Organizational Theory
4. Term: Winter 2009 – 2010
(November 9, 2009 – February 13, 2010)
5. Instructor: Dr. James E. Moffett, Sr., owns TR-2 Enterprises. This small business has specialized in wedding
photography and variety music services since 1988. Jim has recently served as a commissioner on the Sierra Vista
Citizens’ Advisory Commission, an advisory body that evaluates issues of interest to City Management. Moffett, with 30
years management experience, is a US Army retired LTC, Product Manager and former Unit Commander. Education: B.S.
Science Education; M.S. Contract and Acquisition Management; D.Mgnt. Organizational Leadership.
6. Office Phone and email: (520) 459-7164 (Home); jmoff@theriver.com.
7. Office Hours, Building, and Location: See section below. Sierra Vista Campus, Landmark Plaza Office.
8. Class Meeting Time and Location: Mondays, 5:30 to 9:10 pm. Sierra Vista Campus, 459-1610.
9. Catalog Description: An intensive study of complex organizations as social systems and the design dimensions and
structure of organizations throughout the 20th Century, the emerging designs for the 21st Century and the application
of these concepts to the analysis and structural design of organizations. Special emphasis on the roles of size,
complexity, environment, technology, and systems perspectives on the analysis of organization structures.
10. Prerequisites: MGMT 3304 or approved substitute
11. Required Textbook and Resources:
BOOK
Organizational
Theory and Design
AUTHOR
ED
YEAR
PUBLISHER
Daft
9th
2007
Cengage
Learning
ISBN#
0-324-40542-1
REVIEW
Spring 10
12. Optional Materials: WBU Blackboard will be used for class lecture notes and assignment postings.
13. Course Outcome Competencies:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
 Describe an organization as an open system & hypothesize its application.
 Summarize the difference between a goal and a strategy.
 Identify the forces that influence environmental uncertainty.
 Differentiate between mimetic, coercive, and normative forces.
 Outline Woodward’s classification of organizational technologies.
 Illustrate an information system and subsystem design for managerial control, decision making, and
knowledge management.
 Contrast Weber’s framework against current organizational control strategies.
 Compare the differences among rites of enhancement, renewal, and integration.
 Discuss the focus in modern organizations on the History of Western Industrialization.
 Develop a methodology for studying organizations.
 Summarize the development of the theory of organizations.
MGMT 5305 1
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Summarize how designing the organization to fit strategy and other contingencies can lead to organization
effectiveness.
Compare the five approaches for assessing organization effectiveness.
Discuss the interface of design components, coupling, and technology.
Using levels of analysis, explain the systemic relationship between environment, adaptation, and change.
Differentiate between the stages of organizational life cycle development in relation to growth,
development, and decline.
Compare the different decision-making process models with the contingency framework.
Rank the impact of globalization on the future of organizations and their design.
Identify the five structural strategies for grouping organizational activities.
Describe the symptoms of structural deficiency.
Explain the institutional view in relation to organizational design and similarity.
14. Attendance Requirements: All absences must be explained to the instructor, who will determine whether omitted
work may be made up. If allowed, the late penalty applies. When a student has absences in accordance with WBU
policy, the instructor will advise the student and file an unsatisfactory progress/attendance report with the campus
dean. Any student that misses more than 2.75 classes will receive a grade of F, per WBU memo dated 5/27/09.
15. Disability Statement: “In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it is the
policy of Wayland Baptist University that no otherwise qualified person with a disability be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or
activity in the university. The Coordinator of Counseling Services serves as the coordinator of students with
a disability and should be contacted concerning accommodation requests at (806) 291- 3765. Documentation
of a disability must accompany any request for accommodations.”
16: Course Requirements and Grading Criteria:
17. Tentative Schedule: Calendar, Topics, Assignments. See below.
18. Additional information.
19. Proctor Hours: No proctors are available on dates that the offices are closed. Please arrive early enough to
complete the exam prior to the close of business. Test proctoring is available on the final Saturday of the term,
February 13, 2010, from 8am until 2pm at the Landmark office only.
Landmark Office:
Fort Huachuca Office:
Monday – Wednesday 8 AM – 9 PM
Thursday 10 AM – 9 PM
Friday 8 AM – NOON
Monday – Wednesday 8 AM – 5 PM
Thursday 10:30 AM – 5 PM
Friday 8 AM – NOON
20. Student Family Members: Family members of WBU students, particularly small children, may not accompany the
learner to class.
21. Late Assignments: Assignments are late if submitted after 9:10 p.m. on the due date. Late assignments receive a
four (4)-point penalty.
22. Acceptable Web Sites: Four types of websites will be accepted as source citations: government (i.e., US, State,
local, etc.), academic (i.e., WBU and other libraries), companies and corporations (i.e., IBM, Raytheon, etc.), and
organizations (i.e., Ethics.org; AMAnet.org, etc.). General-use sites, such as Wikipedia and Google are not accepted
because of much unsubstantiated information and questionable authorships. However, Google Scholar is permitted.
MGMT 5305 2
23. Writing and Documentation: Grammatically accurate writing is paramount. A paper’s content is difficult to
comprehend when there are numerous grammatical and documentation shortcomings. Students may receive writing
assistance from the recently published WBU writing guide, any other writing style guide, and the American
Psychological Association (APA) refresher at www.apa.org. In this course, the intent is to motivate students to elevate
their writing skills to the next level of academic excellence. Graduate students are expected to know and apply
APA documentation.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
24. Reading Assignments: Each week you are required to read information indicated in the course outline below.
Course reading is in accordance with the below week-by-week topics. Be prepared to discuss the concepts in class.
25. Homework Assignments: There are a series of homework assignments that result in development of a professional
Organizational Theory and the Organization (OTO) Plan.
26. Participation: This course includes verbal participation in class exercises, activities, and contributions to class
discussions. Overall course participation equates to the assigned points. The student must be present and actively
involved to receive these points. The student may not make up these points.
27. Define and Relate Papers (DRP): Understanding the concepts is demonstrated through a series of DRP’s. In these 3
to 4 page, double-spaced, APA papers, the student must define the operative concept(s) and discuss them in relation to
his or her organization. Organizational theory (OT) Worksheet findings, if applicable, should be incorporated into the
DRP. Students should expect impromptu DRP discussions.
DRP’s consist of: a title page, thesis statement, discussion, conclusion, reference page, and APA Level 1 and 3
headings are mandatory.
PowerPoint presentations should consist of a minimal quantity of slides that address the applicable OTO concepts.
Citations and a reference list are required.
28.
Organizational Theory and the Organization (OTO) Plan
Outline
I.
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III.
IV.
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VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
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XI.
OTO Thesis Statement .
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Dimensions of Organizations .
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Open System versus Closed Systems
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Goals and Strategies
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Mimetic, Coercive, and Normative Forces
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Woodward’s classification of organizational technologies.
Enact and Enactment .
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Decision-making Special Circumstances .
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Conclusion
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References
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Appendices (OT Worksheets) .
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Basic format of OTO Plan discussion:
A)
B)
C)
D)
Define the concept.
Relate the concept to an organization, preferably your organization.
Include your OT Worksheet findings, if applicable.
How might the concept improve the organization?
MGMT 5305 3
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Page Number
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29.
Assignments
Due
Dates
Class 1. Introductions, Syllabus, Fundamental
Definitions, and Discussions.
Class 3. Open versus Closed System DRP
Part. Points
0
Readings
1
As required
Nov 16
5 PwrPt.
1
No class
11/23/09
Nov 30
10 DRP/5 PwrPt. 1
As required
Nov 9
Class 2. Dimensions of Organizations
Pts.
As required
Class 4. Goals and Strategies
Dec 7
0
1
As required
Class 5. Goals and Strategies DRP
Dec 14
10 DRP
1
As required
0
1
As required
10 DRP/5 PwrPt. 1
As required
0
1
As required
0
1
As required
10 DRP/5 PwrPt. 1
As required
Feb 8
12 DRP
1
5 Final OTO Plan
12 Exam
As required
Total
89
Class 6. Mimetic, Coercive, and Normative Forces
Jan 4
Class 7. Mimetic, Coercive, and Normative Forces
DRP
Jan 11
Class 8. Woodward’s Classification of Organizational
Jan 18
Technologies
Class 9. Decision-making Special Circumstances
Jan 25
Class 10. Decision-making Special Circumstances
Feb 1
DRP
Class 11. Org Structural Strategies DRP
Submit Final OTO Plan
Final Exam
30. Grading Scale:
Letter Grade
A
B
C
Point Percentage
90-100
80-89
70-79
Letter Grade
D
F
MGMT 5305 4
plus
11 = 100 points
Point Percentage
60-69
59 and below