GRADUATE COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK
COURSE TITLE:
TIME:
FACULTY:
E-mail:
WWW.SW.UH.EDU
SOCW 7323: Organizational Behavior and Change
June 9th, June 11th, June 16th, June 18th, June 23rd (8am-4pm)
Larry E. Hill, Ph.D.
OFFICE HOURS: Scheduled by appt.
lehill@uh.edu
PHONE:
713-743-0989
I. COURSE
A.
Catalog Description
Prerequisite: 34 hours in social work or consent of the instructor. Examines
organizational and intergroup behavior in human service organizations
(HS0s). Focuses on developing assessment, interactional, organizational,
and leadership skills to improve organizational effectiveness.
B.
Purpose
This is an elective, second year practice class, available to all students, and
particularly political social work students. The class will focus on
organizational development, learning and change in a multicultural
context. Emphasis will be placed on uncovering implicit assumptions,
structures, and processes that inhibit change, identifying levers that might
lead to fundamental change, and consciously using ourselves to facilitate that
change. By the end of the course, students are expected to have knowledge
and skills for designing a pluralistic, learning organization that supports a high
quality of worklife and service effectiveness.
II. COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this course, students will be able:
1. To discuss the theory and value base of the organization development
approach to change and human systems development with particular
attention to the values of self-determination, participation, autonomy, and
achievement;
2. To conduct a comprehensive organizational assessment of factors
promoting and inhibiting service effectiveness and quality of worklife;
3. To develop alternate designs to hierarchical and bureaucratic models for
structuring organizations which maximize full use of employees' skills and
abilities and reward individual and collective achievement;
4. To implement strategies for effective management with a multicultural work
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force;
5. To demonstrate advanced intervention skills necessary for practice as an
internal or external organizational change agent; and
6. To design evaluations of the process and outcomes of organization
development interventions.
III. Course Content
The course draws from four different bodies of knowledge to help students learn how
to foster team accountability for goal achievement and continuous learning in multicultural settings. The four knowledge bases are as follows:
 organizational behavior, organization development, and organizational
learning,
 change and resistance to change
 workplace diversity and inclusiveness
 conscious use of self and leadership
IV. Course Structure
The course will use required readings, lectures and experiential exercises. Guest
lecturers may be invited. Attendance is required for all five of the classes. Active
participation is encouraged and necessary to the learning process (see attendance
policy). See handout for additional information on the daily format and schedule.
V. Textbooks
No textbook is required.
Supplemental Textbooks (not required)
 Cawsey, T. & Deszca, G. (2007). Toolkit for organizational change.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
 Maurer, R. (1996). Beyond the wall of resistance: unconventional
strategies that build support for change. Austin, TX: Bard Press.
 Poole, M. & Van de Ven, A. (2004). Handbook for organizational
change and innovation. Oxford University Press Inc.
 Proehl, R. A. (2001). Organizational change in the human services
(Vol. 43). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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VI. Course Requirements
A. Reading Assignments
Journal articles will be assigned and other readings will be suggested and
recommended. These readings and handouts will be available on
Blackboard.
B. Written assignments
Assignment #1–Due June 11th (Upon Instructor Request)
Organization Profile & Course Contract
By the beginning of class on Wednesday June 11th, students are required
to submit their course contracts. The one-page, single spaced
document will provide information on the following:
1) organization name
2) mission statement
3) website address to the annual report,
4) five website addresses to media content related to recent
organizational changes
5) two team learning goals for the course, and
6) two individual learning goals for the course
Assignment #2–Due June 11th, June 16th, & June 18th (Upon Instructor
Request)
Monitoring Organizational Changes
Monitoring Changes in Organizations (MCOs) is a brief yet powerful
process that encourages students to strengthen their solution-making
skills. The world has enough problem focused discussions. Therefore, the
MCO process is designed to move from stubborn problematic
organizational issues into solution-focused recommendations. Effective
change agents have a habit of monitoring current social trends and
organizational changes in the media; with the express purpose of staying
ahead of the issues. This exercise will help you identify, critique, and
create recommendations for moving your organization.
Students will submit up to 3 monitoring current trends. Only one
submission is allowed per class. Students will informally present their
assignment in the beginning of class. See handout for more detailed
instructions.
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Assignment #3 – June 12th, June 19th, June 25rd (by 12:00pm)
Weekly Journals
Students will provide ongoing written analyses of their learnings from the
project through a weekly journal. The submission will be on Blackboard.
The instructor will give feedback on the journals to enhance students’
learning.
Students will be given specific criteria to address in each journal and will
be graded in relation to meeting these criteria.
Assignment #4
Organizational Assessment & Change Project
The instructor will randomly assign “consulting teams” at the beginning of
the semester. The team will select an organization that will be the focus of
their lab and group discussions. Each team will complete and submit
assignment #1 as a group. This provides a catalyst for your Assignment
#4. The lab and group discussions are designed to provide hands-on
experience in conducting the organizational assessment as well as
develop a strategic plan for modifying or changing the direction of an
organization. All assignments are designed to move this project forward.
This assignment has several major elements that the team will submit and
present on June 23rd. They are:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
Organizational Background & History – 1pg
Organizational Chart – 1pg
Proposed Organizational Assessment Strategy – 2pg
Anticipated Findings – 2pgs
Strategic Plan – 2-single spaced pages
Balanced Scorecard/Logic Model – 1pg
Presentation – 15 minute
Assignment #5 – June 23rd
Self-assessment and 360 Assessment
Self-assessments and surveys will be completed throughout the course to
supplement learning and discovery of self. The Leading Consciously
assessment will be completed at the beginning and upon completion of
the course. A 360 assessment will also be completed at the end of the
course that is related to your course contract. Each of your team members
will make an assessment of your growth as a change agent.
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D.
Exams
No exams are planned at this time. However, I reserve the option to
give an oral or written exam at any time based on my assessment of
the group’s level of engagement in class discussions.
VII.
Evaluation & Grading
Your calculated grade will be allocated on a 100 point scale.
Due
Assignment #
Activity
Total
Points
06/11/14
Assignment 1
Organizational Profile & Contract
10
06/11/14
Assignment 2.1
Monitoring Organizational Change
5
06/12/14
Assignment 3.1
Weekly Journal
10
06/16/14
Assignment 2.2
Monitoring Organizational Change
5
06/18/14
Assignment 2.3
Monitoring Organizational Change
5
06/19/14
Assignment 3.2
Weekly Journal
10
06/23/14
Assignment 4
Final Organizational Change Project
25
06/23/14
Assignment 5
Self-Assessments & 360 Assessment
10
06/25/14
Assignment 3.3
Weekly Journal (Final)
20
6/13 and/or
6/14
Community
Engagement
Exams
#1
necessary)
Exams
#2
necessary)
Exams
#3
necessary)
Organizational
(5pts/day)
TBA
TBA
TBA
Change
Service-Learning
(10)
(If
Exam on Readings & Class Content
(5)
Exam on Readings & Class Content
(5)
Exam on Readings & Class Content
(5)
Total Points
100
(If
(If
Letter grades will be assigned as follows:
A =
A- =
B+=
B =
B- =
96-100% of the points
92-95.9%
88-91.9%
84-87.9%
80-83.9%
C+
C
CD
F
=76-79.9%
=72-75.9%
=68-71.9%
=64-67.9%
= Below 64%
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Policy on grades of I (Incomplete): Incompletes will be given in cases of
medical emergencies and in accordance with College and University policy. The
policy states in part as follows: "the grade of I (incomplete) is a conditional and
temporary grade given when students are passing a course but, for reasons
beyond their control, have not completed a relatively small part of all
requirements. Students are responsible for informing the instructor immediately
of the reasons for not submitting an assignment on time or not taking an
examination
as
scheduled."
(see
http://www.uh.edu/grad_catalog/gsw/gsw_policies.html). Please do not request
an incomplete because you want to do a more thorough job on one of your
assignments. That reason is not consistent with the College’s policy.
Final course grade. The final course grade will be the composite grade. Since
every assignment is seen as an important part of your learning in the course, a
minimum grade of "C" is required in each assignment to pass the course.
VIII. Consultation
My office is in Room 406. Appointments are highly recommended.
IX. Modifications to Syllabus
The purpose of this syllabus is to provide an overview of the objectives and
requirements of the course. Any portion of this syllabus or attachments is subject
to modification by the instructor according to the learning needs of the class. All
modifications will be discussed in class or disseminated by e-mail prior to their
implementation.
X. Bibliography.
See
required
and
optional
readings
in
the
class
schedule.
X. Addendum.
Whenever possible, and in accordance with 504/ADA guidelines, the University
of Houston will attempt to provide reasonable academic accommodations to
students who request and require them. Please call 713-743-5400 for more
assistance.
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