UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT 3360
ORGANIZATION THEORY
Section A
Instructor:
Dr. John M. Usher
Term: Spring 2005
Office:
E582
Time: MW 10:50 – 12:05
Telephone:
329-2759
Room: AH177
E-mail:
john.usher@uleth.ca
Office hours: MW 3:00 – 5:00
______________________________________________________________________________
Course Objectives:
This course is about organizations and the linkages among their environments, strategies and
structures. How and why organizations function as they do will be described in a framework
designed to improve organizational effectiveness. The course will focus on the aggregate
behaviour of people in various organizations - business, government, education, professions.
This course builds on the material covered in MGT2030 which deals with the behaviour of
individuals and small groups in organizations - a “micro” focus. MGT3360 will use an
integrative “macro” focus to diagnose and analyze how the successful implementation of
organizational strategies is often contingent upon achieving a good fit between specific
environmental factors and organizational structure and process variables.
Course Materials:
Daft, Richard L. Organization Theory and Design, (8th edition).
Publishing, 2004. ISBN: 0-324-15691-X
St. Paul MN: West
Basis of Evaluation
1.
2.
3.
4.
Group Presentation
Mid term examination
Group Assessment
Final examination
20%
35%
10%
35%
100%
Grade Distributions
A+
A
A-
95-100
90-94
86-89
B+
B
B-
82-85
78-81
74-77
C+
C
C-
70-73
66-69
62-65
D+
D
F
58-61
50-57
00-49
Course Structure and Requirements:
Group Presentation: Students will be required to work in groups of their own choosing to
prepare and present a case analysis from the text. Group size will be 4-5 students. Group
members may be ‘fired’ for cause by a 2/3 majority of the group following consultation with me.
There is no alternative work for credit available to fired members. Do not find yourself in this
situation. Teamwork is a critical managerial skill set.
Presentations will be structured as follows:
(1) A 10-15 minute overview / interpretation of the case facts ending with a summary of the key
issues facing the organization. Creativity (home videos, skits, etc.) is highly encouraged for this
segment but be sure that form does not overwhelm substance.
(2) Each presenting group will also have the responsibility of providing a list of questions about
the case to be answered by the other groups in the class. Each non-presenting group should be
assigned a different question (or different sides of the same question) and the taking up of these
questions by the presenting group will constitute the analysis / diagnosis segment of their
presentation. Questions which call for conclusions such as specific recommendations or details
of implementation should be avoided as these are the job of the presenting group. Upon
assigning the analysis questions, members of the presenting group will circulate among the nonpresenting groups to provide advice and general assistance during the 15-20 minutes available
for these groups to work on their responses. Before your presentation begins please provide me
with a list of the questions that you expect the other groups to answer and ensure that I am
aware which groups will be assigned which questions.
(3) Upon reconvening the class, the presenting group will call upon a spokesperson from each
non-presenting group in turn to provide their response to the assigned question. After each
response, a member of the presenting group will comment on the answer provided and discuss
how they handled that question.
(4) During the final segment of the presentation, the presenting group provides details of how
they would resolve the issues of the case: alternative courses of action that were considered (the
'what' with the pro's & con's of each), the recommended course of action ('which' of the
alternatives was chosen), and implementation details (the 'how' of putting the recommendation
into action.) Examine your alternatives carefully to ensure that they are true alternatives, i.e. it is
not possible to do more than one at the same time. A hint: if you find that you are recommending
more than one of your alternatives, your thinking may have gone astray.
The time available for each presentation including Q&A and final comments will be 60-65
minutes. Time management is in the hands of the presenting group and excessively long or short
presentations will be reflected in the grade assigned. The 65 minute time limit is to allow a
minimum of 10 minutes at the end of your presentation so that I can comment briefly on your
performance. Grading of the presentation and Q&A segment will be based on the attached
guideline (Appendix 1) which I and each of the other groups will complete for each presentation
to yield a composite score: My score + average of other group scores = group presentation score.
Group Assessment: Since the participation of non-presenting groups is crucial to the success of
each case, part of your grade will depend on my assessment of the degree of preparation, quality
of analysis and attendance of your group when it is not presenting. This is an “evaluation by
exception” activity. If the majority of your group is in attendance, you appear to have read and
discussed the case before coming to class and your responses show good understanding of the
course material each time, you will get full marks. For each exception to these criteria, I will
deduct marks.
Course Outline:
Jan 12
Organizations and Organization Theory
Read:
Chapter 1
Exercise:
Words in Sentences
Jan 17
Strategy, Organization Design and Effectiveness
Read:
Chapter 2
Jan 19
No Class
Jan 24
Fundamentals of Organization Structure
Read:
Chapter 3
Jan 26
Case:
Jan 31
The External Environment
Read:
Chapter 4
Feb 2
Case:
Feb 7
Interorganizational Relationships
Read:
Chapter 5
Feb 9
Case:
Feb 14
Designing Organizations for the International Environment
Read:
Chapter 6
*Hand out essay questions for mid term
Feb 16
Mid Term Exam:
Feb 21
Reading Week
Feb 23
Reading Week
Feb 28
Return and review Mid Term results
Mar 2
Manufacturing and Service Technologies
Read:
Chapter 7
Mar 7
Case:
Mar 9
Organization Size, Life Cycle and Decline
Read:
Chapter 9
Mar 14
Case:
Mar 16
Organizational Culture and Ethical Values
Read:
Chapter 10
Mar 21
Case:
Faculty of Management
The Paradoxical Twins
Oxford Plastics Company
(Do in class)
(Group #1)
(Group #2)
Thursday, Feb 16th
Acetate Department
Sunflower Incorporated
Does this Milkshake Taste Funny?
(Group #3)
(Group #4)
(Group #5)
Mar 23
Innovation and Change
Read:
Chapter 11
Mar 28
No Class
Mar 30
Case:
Apr 4
Decision Making Processes
Read:
Chapter 12
Apr 6
Case:
Apr 11
Conflict, Power and Politics
Read:
Chapter 13
Apr 13
Case:
The Daily Tribune
*Hand out essay questions for final
Apr 18
Review Session: Answer ‘questions about questions.’
Southern Discomfort
The Dilemma of Aliesha State College
(Group #6)
(Group #7)
(Group #8)
Appendix 1
PRESENTATION EVALUATION FORM
DATE:
CASE:
GROUP:
Scale: 1 = poor; 2 = barely adequate; 3 = average; 4 = very good; 5 = excellent
1. Were all group members introduced & given adequate roles?
12345
2. Was an overview of the presentation provided?
12345
3. Were the major issues of the case clearly identified and addressed?
12345
4. Did the group conduct / facilitate appropriate analyses?
12345
5. Did the group evaluate a range of mutually exclusive alternatives?
12345
6. Was a workable plan of action developed for implementation?
12345
7. How creative was the group’s portrayal of the background facts?
12345
8. Were presentation aids clear, informative and engaging?
12345
9. What was the quality of the group’s assigned questions?
12345
10. How well did the group work with the class for their Q&A session?
12345
Total Marks:
Additional Comments:
/50