NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
School of Business
Department of Management & Organisation
MNO4313 Managerial and Organizational Cognition
Course Instructor
:
Dr Michael Zyphur
Session
:
Semester 1, 2007/2008
Course Description
This course will provide a broad overview of cognition in organizational contexts
(i.e., decision making, judgment, and mood), and will attempt to provide a context
within which you may practice and observe decision making and judgment. The
former will be accomplished by first providing an introduction to the concept of
cognition in a biologically-grounded manner. Then, based on this understanding, we
will investigate how people make decisions and form evaluative judgments that
precede decisions. This will be punctuated with discussions of facial expressions and
snap judgments, cognitive biases, how moods influence (and are a necessary part of)
cognition, persuasion and influence, conformity and obedience, sensemaking in
organizations, ethical decision making, cognition in groups and teams, and a
discussion of happiness (including its antecedents and outcomes).
All of this discussion will put the spotlight on our selves, highlighting the importance
of developing introspective abilities—something that is an integral part of most
religions and academic disciplines, but is too often neglected in business training.
With a sense of how we are being perceived, how we are perceiving our environment
(and how we may change our perceptions to better our decisions and judgments), you
should finish this course with a better understanding of how you and your colleagues
cognize and make sense of your world.
The course will also utilize a number of exercises meant to provide insight into your
own biases and decision styles.
Course Topics
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The structural and functional bases of cognition
Facial/self expression and snap judgments
Moods and cognition
Persuasion and influence
Conformity and obedience
Cognition in groups and teams
Sense making in organizations
Ethical decision making
Happiness
Basic Text

Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of
Complexity by Karl E. Weick, Kathleen M. Sutcliffe, Hardcover: 224 pages,
Language: English

Judgment in Managerial Decision Making by Max H. Bazerman, Hardcover:
256 pages, Language: English
Methods of Assessment
Lecture/Readings:
(all tests are in-class)
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Choose 2 30%
out of 3 30%
Tests
30%
Exercises:
Peer-ratings
20%
Report
20%
Self-Appraisal:
Description of evaluative components:
Tests……………..
Each test will cover lectures and assigned reading materials.
There will be three non-cumulative tests with multiple choice
and short answer items. The lowest of these three grades will
be dropped. This means, for example, that you could take the
first two tests and, if contented with your scores, not take the
last tests. Alternatively, if sick, you could miss one test and
take the remaining two, thereby suffering no penalty for being
absent. Because of this policy, there are no make-up tests
given under any circumstances.
Exercises……
The in-class exercises will be an opportunity for you to
collaborate in a variety of activities meant to enhance
awareness, knowledge, and experience in the context of
decision making and judgment, while concurrently allowing
introspection regarding various decision-making relevant
processes/phenomena within your group over time.
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Self-Appraisal …… A self-appraisal will be accomplished by taking a hard,
introspective look at your own decision making and judgment
across various contexts. You will be asked to examine:
Two ways in which you feel your own biases affect your
decision making and judgment. One bias should result in a
outcome and one bias should result in a negative outcome. For
each, please give a detailed account of the situations that your
bias is most likely to function and how you may come to better
recognize when it occurs.
Two ways in which your emotions affect your decision making
and judgment. Again, one should result in positive outcomes
and the other in negative outcomes. For each, please give a
detailed account of how you may come to better recognize how
your emotions influence your thinking “in situ”.
One way in which your natural tendency toward ethical
behavior may be challenged by your circumstances and how
you may learn to recognize when you are acting unethically and
how you may learn to prevent such unethical action.
Academic (Dis)Honesty
Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty is
defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one’s own work, taking
credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate
authorization, and the fabrication of information.
Students with Disabilities
Any student with a physical or other disability in need of course or examination
accommodations should contact the professor directly. Please do this as soon as
possible.
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