Department of Management
MBAD 205, Human Dynamics in Organizations
Spring 2007
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed as a foundation course for all MBA students. Students will be exposed to theories and knowledge about management, organizational behavior, and human resource management. The focus of this course is on organization and management and is designed for all managers regardless of their areas of professional specialization. The content of this course will meet the needs of those who need a framework for understanding the relationship between management, organizational behavior and development, human resource practices and organizational effectiveness.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of this course is to introduce the student to the important components that underlie behavioral, developmental and human resource management issues in organizations. It is designed for students who may or may not specialize in this area, but who wish to be successful in a competitive organizational environment. Students will learn about roles and functions in today's corporations as well as a variety of behavioral issues in organizations. The material presented in this course will be a combination of research, theory, and practical application in the fields of management, organizational behavior and human resource management.
INSTRUCTOR
Stuart A. Umpleby, Professor of Management and Director of the Research Program in Social and Organizational
Learning (www.gwu.edu/~rpsol), 2033 K Street (entrance on 21 st Street), Suite 230 C (enter through Suite 240), tel: 202/994-1642, fax: 994-5284, email: umpleby@gwu.edu
, http://www.gwu.edu/~umpleby.
REQUIRED TEXTS
1. Essentials of Organizational Behavior (2004, 8 th
edition), Stephen P. Robbins, Prentice Hall.
2. A Framework for Human Resource Management (2004, 3 rd edition), Gary Dessler, Prentice Hall.
3. Additional reading materials from a variety of sources will be made available on Blackboard.
4. Class notes are available at www.gwu.edu/~umpleby/mgt201
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The principal requirements for the course are class participation, three short papers, and a group project.
1.
Members of the class are expected to participate actively in the class discussions. As part of their class participation students, in teams of two, will make a presentation on the readings for that week. Presentations are 10 percent of the course grade.

2.
Students are expected to make comments and ask questions via Blackboard. These discussions are 10 percent of the grade.
3.
Three papers are due early in the semester. They should be on topics related to the course and of interest to the student. Papers should combine personal experience and references to the text. Problem solving papers are preferred. List references, including the text. Cite references in your essay. The essay should be about 3 double-spaced, type-written pages. Put a title, your name, the course number, and semester at the top. Also say if it is the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd paper. If it is the second draft, say so. You may rewrite the 1st and/or 2nd paper to get a higher grade. Each paper is 10 percent of the grade.
4.
Groups of three to five students will agree on a project which will improve the functioning of some organization. The project is the laboratory for the course. At the end of the semester the group will present both an oral and a written report describing: a) what the group accomplished; b) how what the group did illustrates concepts discussed in class; and c) how the group worked together. An evaluation by the client is required. Follow the directions on how to prepare the report, which can be found in the class notes, available on the web. Projects are 50 percent of the grade.
ASSIGNMENTS ( R=Robbins textbook; D=Dessler textbook; additional readings are posted on Blackboard )
1.
Course Overview: Syllabus, requirements, review of the texts
A brief introduction to the history of management thought
Factors influencing the development of management
2.
Introduction to Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
R 1, D 1
Umpleby, “Should Knowledge of Management be Organized as Theories or as Methods?”
Mode 1 and Mode 2 knowledge
Process improvement methods as an example of Mode 2 knowledge
3.
Communication
R 9, D 5
First short paper is due
An exercise in the Technology of Participation
4.
Managing Change and Innovation
R 16
Description of group project and client is due
Ackoff's interactive planning, metaphors of organization, growth vs. development
5.
Personalities and individual differences
R 2 & 3, D 3
Umpleby, “Cybernetics”
The law of requisite variety and intelligence amplification
6. Selection and performance management
R 15, D 4 & 6
Umpleby, et al., Slideshow on The History and Development of Cybernetics (www.gwu.edu/~asc)
Self-organizing systems and the design of institutional ecologies
7.
Motivation
R 4 & 5, D 7
Second short paper is due

Fish Sticks film
The red bead experiment
8.
Leadership
R 10, D 5
FOCUS PDCA, cost of quality
Deming Prize, Baldrige Award
9.
Teams
R 7 & 8
Quality improvement tools, ways of describing systems
The nursing case study
10.
Organizational Culture
R 14, D 2 & 8
Umpleby, et al., “Cultural Differences”
Third short paper is due
Kaizen, a comparison of Japanese and American management methods
11.
Power and politics
R 6 & 11
Quality Improvement Priority Matrices, data driven decision-making
12.
Conflict and Negotiation
R 12, D 9
Fisher and Ury , Getting to Yes , the veil of ignorance, principled negotiation vs. positional negotiation
13.
Organizational structure
R 13
Umpleby, “The Viable System Model”
14.
Group presentations

Department of Management Courses
210 Individual and Group Dynamics in Organizations
The course is designed to improve theoretical and personal understanding of the roles of interpersonal and group dynamics in management. Focus on individual and group behavior in various organizational settings.
211 Current Issues in Organizational Behavior
Study of behavioral factors relating to issues such as automation, ethics, interpersonal relations, organizational change, and similar problems in organizational settings. Problems of conducting behavioral science research in organizations. "I':
213 Change Management
The focus of this course is on the change process and is designed for all students and managers regardless of their areas of professional specialization. The content of this course will meet the needs of those who need a framework for understanding the dynamics and challenges that often accompany the change process and who desire to learn experientially.
214 Behavioral Factors in Management Consulting
Theories and methods of planning, introducing, and coping with change in management through the helping process. Intended both for managers seeking an understanding of the consultative approach to planned change and for persons in staff or consultative roles seeking understanding of the consultative process.
215 Conflict Management: Theory, Concepts, and Methods
Exploration of various approaches to the causes of conflict and its resolution. Students study and experience ways to make conflict a creative rather than a destructive experience. Methods of conflict resolution are practiced.
Conflict is explored at the micro (person-to-person) and macro (system-to-system) levels. Prerequisite: Mgt 210 or permission of instructor.
216 Cross-Cultural Management
This course focuses on the variety of issues and opportunities that arise when managing outside one's own culture.
The manager's credibility and effectiveness are assumed to be culture bound. Emphasis on the personal level as opposed to the inter-institutional or intercultural levels. Extensive use of student experiences and research.
250 Human Resource Management
Human resource practices in a competitive u.s. economy and in an internationally competitive environment, including labor- management relations. Not open. to those with MBAD 202 credit.
251 Total Compensation
Comprehensive review of all elements of adaptive compensation systems that affect an organization, including wages and salaries, incentives, benefits, perquisites, and intrinsic rewards. 252 Global Human Resource
Management
International applications to HRM. Selection, preparation and compensation of U.S. managers and executives for service abroad. Adaptation of human resource management policies to conform to specific cultural environments.
MBAD 205 is prerequisite.
254 Labor-Management Relations and Negotiations
This course examines labor-management relations in both union and nonunion settings. Special emphasis is placed on negotiation and conflict resolution, arbitration and grievance procedures, public sector labor relations, global labor relations issues, labor laws, and employee participation. Exercises designed to enhance negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
256 Human Behavior and HRM in Health Service Organizations
The theory and application of human behavior, hrm, and labor relations policies, concepts, and practices as they affect health service organizations. The primary focus is on the management of people at work and on the development of management skills.
257 Performance Management and Development
Comprehensive review of performance appraisal and training and development. Students learn to develop customized training programs that relate to the performance appraisal process.
258 Applied Organizational Leadership
In-depth studies of theories of leadership. Legal and ethical obligations of leadership. The leader in the process of

assuming responsibility. Experiential and video-taped exercises designed to develop the students' interpersonal abilities and leadership capacities.
.
259 Employment Law and Ethics
An examination of the interaction of legal requirements and personal ethics and their influence on managerial decisions affecting the employment exchange. Special emphasis on equal employment opportunity and civil rights, workers' compensation, occupational health and safety, collective bargaining and wrongful discharge.