THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
MANAGEMENT 4310
ADVANCED ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Fall 2006
Professor:
Telephone:
Office Hours:
Class:
Dr. Diane Miller
Office:
380-1845
E-mail:
Tuesday 1:00-3:00, or by appointment
M/W 8:00-9:15, E575
E516
d.miller@uleth.ca
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this fourth-year seminar is to further explore the determinants of behaviour in
complex work settings. Through readings, discussions, and assignments, we will attempt to
understand why people behave the way they do in organizations and what this means for
management practices. To this end, students will be expected to read, discuss, present, and
debate leading edge issues in research and management. The course is appropriate for students
majoring in HR/IR.
PREREQUISITES
4TH Year Standing, Management 2030 (3030), and Management 3051.
TEXT
Staw, B.M. (2004). Psychological Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, (3rd. Ed.). NJ: Upper
Saddle River.
EVALUATION
Weekly Quizzes
25%
Final Exam (during final exam period)
Individual Research Project (Due December 6)
Debate
Participation
25%
20%
15%
15%
GENERAL CLASS STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION
In general, we are covering one chapter per week. In the Monday class we will review the
readings, clarify issues through discussion, and have students present related articles. On
Wednesday we will complete topic discussion, and students will participate in activities such as
debates and exercises. There will be a short quiz on Wednesdays to cover the main points of the
week.
QUIZZES AND FINAL EXAM
Unless otherwise indicated, in-class multiple choice quizzes will be given at the start of
Wednesday’s class to cover the main issues of the week (25 percent). There will also be a final
exam (25 percent) during the formal exam period. The material covered will be readings,
presentations, class notes, discussions, exercises, and videos covered during the course. In other
words, everything! You are expected to write the quiz on the assigned day. Your highest 10 of
12 values will count towards your final grade. The final exam will be written on the date
assigned by the university (no exceptions unless given permission by the Undergraduate
Office). This will be a comprehensive exam and will be in an essay style.
INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROJECT
For this research paper students should develop a research question, that is relevant to the field of
Organzational Behaviour. Questions might centre around topics such as employee attitudes,
motivation, satisfaction, decision making, diversity, teamwork, or other relevant topics. Peer
reviewed articles are required as part of your source material. Peer reviewed sources can be
obtained from ABI Inform, other similar data bases, or from the library. I will not accept
personal web pages as sources. Use APA format for the bibliography. The paper should
summarize the current state of the literature and address the question(s). The paper is intended to
invoke critical thinking to resolve an issue by pulling together relevant literature so that you
came come up with your own conclusion to the issue. Literature review papers will receive a
lesser grade. The paper should be as long as is required to address the issue. This project is
worth 20% of the course grade. Due: December 6.
PARTICIPATION
Debate: Teams will be formed to give a debate presentation to the class. Each team will make a
15 minute presentation of their side. Following the main statements there will be a five minute
break during which each team will prepare its rebuttal to the main arguments posed by the
opposition (rebuttals are limited to 5 minutes for each team). At least two days before the
debate, presenting teams should e-mail the instructor a 1-2page (typed double spaced) summary
of the team’s position and its main arguments. Attach a bibliography in APA form listing the
sources used in preparing your position. Debates account for 15% of the course value.
Presentation: Working individually or in pairs, students will be responsible for finding and
presenting in Mondays class (unless otherwise specified) an article related to the weeks’s
readings. The presenter(s) must also prepare a two-page bullet-point summary to give to class
members (make photo-copies for everyone). The two-page summary will include the key
points from the reading. Use ABI Inform and other similar sources to find your article. You
should also present your appraisal of the reading noting its particular strengths and limitations.
You will make a 10 minute class presentation of how the article relates to the weekly topic,
the reading highlights and your reaction. You are encouraged to rehearse the class
presentations for content, flow, use of visual aids, and timing. The presentation is worth 7%.
The marks given for the above assignments will be determined by computing the average score
of the assessments completed by the other course members. The instructor reserves the right to
adjust student evaluations that may be too lenient or too strict. Criteria can include presentation
quality, response to readings and other debators, and answers to questions.
Discussion: The importance of pre-class preparation, regular class attendance, as well as
consistent and meaningful contributions during class cannot be overemphasized. Making
insightful observations and asking thoughtful questions about the readings and class
activities, will be the primary criteria for assigning discussion marks. Members of the class
are responsible for their individual and collective learning in this course – you will get out of the
class what you put into it. Participation in class discussion is worth 8%
ETHICAL CONDUCT
Ethical Conduct is expected from all students, in accordance with University policies as
described in the Calendar. Students cheating on any test OR submitting plagiarized, copied or
duplicated work for individual or partnered projects can receive an immediate "F" in the course
(please refer to the Student Discipline Policy - Academic Offenses and Discipline Procedures
section of the Calendar). The circumstances of any applied penalties will be thoroughly
documented in your personal academic files. Ask yourself: Is it worth having such a penalty
documented on my academic file? If you are having problems completing work it is far
wiser for you to contact your instructor and request help and/or due date extensions than
to cheat.
YOUR PROFESSOR.
I am an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour. I received my B.A. from the
University of Victoria, my M.A.Sc. from the University of Waterloo, and my Ph.D. from the
University of Toronto. Before going back to school for my Ph.D., I worked as a contract
consultant for the Department of National Defence and for the Department of the Solicitor
General. I also worked as an internal consultant for the Federal Public Service Commission. My
research interests are in the area of groups and diversity and I have research and publications
covering issues related to these interests.
GRADE DISTRIBUTION
90 -100 A+
85 - 89 A
80 -84 A-
77 - 79 B+
73 - 76 B
70 -72 B-
67 - 69 C+
63 - 66 C
60 - 62 C-
57 - 59 D+
50 - 56 D
0 -49 F
COURSE OUTLINE
WEEK
TOPIC
Introduction
September 6
September 11
Psychological Contract
September 13
September 18
Individual Differences
September 20
September 25
Satisfaction
September 27
October 2
Motivation
October 4
ASSIGNMENTS
Handout: Course Outline
Readings: Rousseau
Hankin
Quiz/Exercise
Readings: George & Jones (1)
Quinn
Quiz/Exercise
Readings: Staw (7)
Organ (8)
Quiz/ TBA
Readings: Steers, Mowday & Shapiro
Nadler & Lawler (2)
Kerr (4)
Pfeffer (6)
Exercise
Quiz/Debate
October 11
Motivation
October 16
Cognition & Emotion
Reading: Aronson (10)
Rafaeli & Sutton (9)
Quiz/TBA
October 23
Diversity
October 25
October 30
Group Processes
November 1
November 6
Decision Making
Readings: Hewlett (28)
Javidan, Dorfman, de Luque, & House
Quiz/Debate
Readings: Leavitt (32)
Hackman (34)
Quiz/Debate
Readings: Bazerman (14)
Staw & Ross (15)
Klien
Exercise
Quiz/Debate
October 18
November 8
November 15
Decision Making
November 20
Organizational Culture
November 22
November 27
Conflict
November 29
December 4
Creativity
December 6
Readings: O’Reilly (24)
Van Maanen (23) Read this for examples
of culture
Quiz/Debate or alternate activity
Readings: Bailyn, Fletcher & Kolb (26)
Crary (27)
Quiz/Exercise;
Readings: Amabile (35)
Staw (37)
Quiz/Research project due
Note: weekly activities may be modified slightly from those listed above.