MBAMGT 650 | SPRING 2015
ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND SKILLS
SECTION 1 (THURSDAYS 5:30 – 8:15PM) | M02-206
COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON
Professor Ed Carberry
Office: McCormack 5th Floor, 215
E-mail: edward.carberry@umb.edu |Office: 617.287.7885
Office hours: Tuesdays, 2:00 – 4:00 PM and by appointment
Teaching Assistant
Bettina Specht, bettina.specht001@umb.edu
Welcome to MGT 650! This syllabus provides a summary of the course. MGT 650 focuses on the organization of
the future, identifying its characteristics and exploring the strategic design, political, and cultural implications for
working in and managing such an organization. More specifically, this course examines the impact of the new
organization on the roles and careers of individual managers, the functioning of groups, the processes that exist
within organizations, the relationships of organizations with their environments, and the learning and change
practices needed to enhance global performance. Finally, the course introduces MBA students to a variety of skills
that they will be called upon to use throughout their MBA experience (case analysis, analytical writing, selfawareness, team-building, and oral communication).
Learning Objectives
Use strategic, political, and cultural lenses to explain behavior in groups and organizations
Learn key elements of team-building and team improvement
Understand the factors that facilitate or inhibit organizational change
Understand how the wider environment, including the global environment, affects the objectives and
effectiveness of organizations
Gain skills for giving appropriate consideration to human differences in age, gender, social class, race,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religion
Improve critical thinking and communication skills for effective managerial action
Apply knowledge and skills in a wide variety of collaborative exercises and projects
Understand the role of ethics and values in effective management
Improve your self-awareness and your ability to learn through reflection on your own behavior
Required Course Materials
Ancona, D., Kochan, T., Scully, M., Van Maanen, J., Westney, D.E. 2005. Managing for the future:
Organizational behavior and processes (3nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing. The
textbook is organized in “Modules,” which will be used in varying order
Ancona, D. et al., Module 2A—packaged at the UMass Bookstore with above text
Cases from Harvard Business Publishing. Purchase each case by using the following link:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/33760239
Additional readings and course materials will be distributed periodically via e-mail
Additional Course Meeting Times
In addition to the regularly scheduled, weekly class meetings, you must attend a weekly discussion section (team
meeting) at the time you enrolled in, or at a time that is agreed upon by all team members (the alternative must be
agreed upon by consensus of the team). You can meet on campus or at a location of your choosing.
MGT 650: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND SKILLS, PROFESSOR CARBERRY , FALL 2014
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Course Norms
I expect that you will complete reading and related assignments so that you will be prepared to contribute to
classroom activities. Professors serve as an additional information resource and as a “coach” to help you integrate,
and apply your knowledge and skills. You the student, however, are more important to the success of the course
than either the professor or the written materials. What matters most in this course are the changes that
occur in the breadth and flexibility of what you know, what you can do, and how you think. It is essential
that each of you also serves as a resource for other students, in your teams and in the class as a whole. The
classroom is a learning community.
The following should guide your behavior in this class to make it the most worthwhile for everyone:
Come to class having read and understood the material, and completed the assignments
Behave in ways that are trustworthy, professional, and respectful towards each other
Encourage the free expression of ideas by all team members
Contribute equitably to your team and the class
Encourage full participation of all classmates & teammates who speak English as a second language
Expectations for Participation in Class
I will evaluate your class participation based on the following:
Class attendance (missing any classes without a legitimate reason – health, emergency, or inflexible work
commitments - will have a seriously negative impact on your class participation grade)
Your informed contributions throughout the course to discussions, role plays, and team exercises
Your demonstrated ability to listen to and build on the contributions of other students and help to create a
respectful learning environment
Your demonstrated effort to improve your personal mastery of skills throughout the semester
Your full participation in handling the workload of the team is essential
Because participation is so important, you should attend every class. If you have to miss a session due to health or
other emergencies, you should discuss with me the reasons for your absence; if possible, do this before the class
session in which you will be absent. Following any missed class, it is essential that you check with someone on
your team to be certain that you know what is expected of you for the following session.
Teamwork
One of the primary objectives of this course is to help students learn how to build effectively functioning teams
from the groups to which they will be assigned early in the semester. Each of you has registered through the MBA
Program Director for a 3-hour block of team meeting time. Your team can decide by consensus to meet another time, but
you should expect to meet 3 hours weekly with your team and, in addition, to do other work related to the team on your
own. Students will work together in teams to prepare cases and other exercises for weekly class discussions and
presentations. These teams will also be used as a vehicle for learning self-awareness, communication, conflict
resolution, and, of course, team-building skills.
Grading Scale
A
93 and above
B+
86.67 – 89.99
C+
76.67 – 79.99
D+
66.67 – 69.99
F
Below 60
AB
C
D
90 – 92.99
83.33 – 86.66
73.33 – 76.66
63.33 – 66.66
BCD-
80 – 83.32
70 – 73.32
60 – 63.32
Incompletes
A final grade of “Incomplete” will be granted only rarely. Furthermore, an “Incomplete” will not even be
considered unless you have completed two-thirds of the work of the course (including all team assignments). To
receive an “Incomplete” you must formally request this from your instructor, providing substantial justification. If
MGT 650: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND SKILLS, PROFESSOR CARBERRY , FALL 2014
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the request is granted, guidelines for completing the work will be arranged in a mutually agreeable plan; unless you
meet the terms of this plan, your “I” will become an “F.”
Learning Disabilities
If you require assistance during regular class sessions, or if you need assistance in preparing any of the items that
will be evaluated for your final course grade, please explain your learning disability to your instructor as early as
possible in the semester. Your instructor will work with you to make appropriate arrangements.
Academic Honesty
I expect that you will familiarize yourself with the Code of Student Conduct found on the university’s website. Any
student found to violate the provisions of this policy will suffer serious sanctions as specified in the policy; such
sanctions can include failing this course. Plagiarism includes copying someone else's words and claiming them as
your own, paraphrasing someone else's words and/or ideas and claiming them as your own, or collaborating
excessively with another person or persons and claiming the work as solely your own. If you are unclear about
what constitutes plagiarism, please see me for an explanation. Plagiarism on any assignment will, at minimum,
result in an "F" for the assignment. I reserve the right to pursue further disciplinary action if appropriate. I
strongly recommend students maintain a record of the preparation of their assignments..
Course Content: Levels of Organizational Analysis
This course urges you to think across levels of analysis:
The individual: How do I engage in “self-leadership,” to pursue excellence, encourage others, and enact
the values and changes I wish to see in the world? How can I organize myself and my goals to be most
effective?
The group or team: How can we work collaboratively to tackle complex projects? How do individual
differences play out in the context of the team? How do I work with others who have different working
and learning styles? What are the impacts of my behaviors on others, and theirs on me?
The organization: How do organizational structures, politics, and cultures affect how work gets done?
What factors enable or inhibit changes from happening? What does a manager need to know to mobilize
effort in different contexts?
The environment: How does the competitive, regulatory, and societal environment of the organization
shape organizational choices and effectiveness? How do we learn across borders in a global business
context?
Course Content: Organizational Skills
1. Analytical Tools: What are the strategic design, political, and cultural lenses? Why do we use multiple
lenses to analyze organizational features or situations?
2. Case Analysis: What is case analysis? How do I apply analytical tools to a case, in order both to
understand the case more fully and to assess the usefulness of the analytical tools?
3. Communication Skills: What are effective communication skills for working in teams? How do team
members recognize and work across differences?
4. Managing Change: How do managers see where change is needed, advocate for change, translate topdown or bottom-up change efforts across the organization, and mobilize stakeholders who have different
interests in supporting or resisting change? The topics of leadership, issue selling, managing cultural
diversity, and managing in flexible and global environments will be addressed.
5. Organization Action in Complex Environments: How do organizations respond to changes in their
environment? How does the environment provide both resources for and constraints upon strategic
efforts? Where do political and cultural factors come into play at the global level?
MGT 650: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND SKILLS, PROFESSOR CARBERRY , FALL 2014
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Detailed Course Schedule
Due in class: I=Individual, T=Team
Readings: M1, M2, etc. refers to Module 1, Module 2, etc. of the textbook
(H) = handout/on-line document; (BB) = reading posted on Blackboard
WEEK
TOPIC, READINGS, PREPARATION
Week 1
Introduction to Organizational Analysis
Jan 29
READ: M1 (CORE): The “New” Organization
DUE in class
I: Team Formation Survey
PREPARE: Mapping Your Organization (M1: pp. 27-28)
Note: No team meetings this week.
Week 2
Three Lenses – The Strategic Design Lens
I: Case Briefing (Dynacorp)
Feb 5
READ: Module 2: 1-11: Why do we use “three lenses?”
Module 2: 13-32: The Strategic Design Lens
Team composition
announced.
PREPARE CASE: Strategic Design at Dynacorp: M2:28-32
Each team has time to meet in
class and plan first meeting.
Week 3
Three Lenses – The Political Lens
I: Case Briefing (Rosewell)
Feb 12
READ: Guidelines for the Organizational Analysis Project
Module 2: 33-55
T: Identifying an initial set of
companies for the project
PREPARE CASE: Negotiating Corporate Change at
Rosewell, Inc.
Discussion of Team Projects
How to pick an organization
Examples from past semester
Week 4
Feb 19
Three Lenses: The Cultural Lens
READ: Module 2: 57-84
PREPARE CASE: Building and Sustaining a CustomerCentric Culture at Cisco Systems.
I: Case Briefing (Cisco)
T: Organizational
Identification Form (found in
Module 2A)
MGT 650: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND SKILLS, PROFESSOR CARBERRY , FALL 2014
WEEK
TOPIC, READINGS, PREPARATION
Week 5
Communicating in Teams and Organizations
Feb 26
READ: “The New Science of Building Great Teams” (BB)
“Take the Rest of the Day Off” (H)
IN-CLASS: Debrief and discuss Dynacorp case
Role play (Chris Stanley, Pat Burke)
Week 6
Mar 5
5
DUE in class
I: DynCorp Analysis Paper
due– Please bring 2 copies
(one for me, one for the TA);
stapled.
I: Complete and Score & bring
to class the “Cognitive Style
Self-Assessment” (M4: 6-9).
Team Effectiveness, Personality, and Diverse Cognitive
Styles in Teams
*Note: Do the Reading BEFORE you finalize the Team
Contract and Project Plan!
T: Team Contract, with team
roles
P: Organizational Analysis
READ: M3: “A Team Primer” (M3: 10 - 15)
Project Plan (v. 1)
M3: “Handbook” (end of Module 3)
M5 (CORE): Team Processes
“Building the Emotional Intelligence of Groups” (BB)
Week 7
Leading Teams in Organizations
Mar 12
READ: M6: 4-10 (CORE)
“Managing Multicultural Teams” (BB)
“The Necessary Art of Influence” (BB)
PREPARE CASE: Aston-Blair (M6: 11-17)
Week 8
Mar 19
SPRING BREAK!
I: Individual Application
Paper
MGT 650: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND SKILLS, PROFESSOR CARBERRY , FALL 2014
WEEK
TOPIC, READINGS, PREPARATION
Week 9
Interim Project Reports
Mar 26
Each team will have approximately 15 minutes to introduce
the organization for their analysis and a dilemma or two they
have encountered. The class brainstorms approaches.
6
DUE in class
P: Present a report on how
your project is going, elicit
class feedback
I: Individual assessments of
your team (H). These are
confidential. Do them on your own
and bring to class.
Organizational Action in Complex Environments
Week 10
April 2
Week 11
April 9
READ: Module 9
I: Case Briefing (RU-486)
PREPARE CASE: RU-486: “The Handling by RousselUclaf of a Double Dilemma”
T: Revised Project Plan
(optional)
Organizational Change
READ: Module 8: 4 – 21 (Organizational Change)
Module 13: 6-11 (Issue-Selling)
I: Case Briefing (Paul Levy)
PREPARE CASE: “Paul Levy: Taking Charge of the Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center” Handout (A) and the
Multimedia Case, Harvard Business Coursepack
T: Team Dynamics Paper
Week 12
Leadership
April 16
READ: Module 14: 4 – 17, 21 – 41
Additional Reading TBA
PREPARE CASES: Charles Vest and Carly Fiorina
I: Case Briefing: Charles Vest
and Carly Fiorina
MGT 650: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND SKILLS, PROFESSOR CARBERRY , FALL 2014
WEEK
TOPIC, READINGS, PREPARATION
Week 13
Diversity and Cross-Cultural Management
April 23
READ: Module 11: 6-24; 32-42
Groysburg and Connolly, “Great Leaders Who Make
the Mix Work” (BB)
7
DUE in class
I: Case Briefing: Part-Time
Partner and Part-Time Partner
Redux
PREPARE CASE: Part-Time Partner and Part-Time Partner
Redux (Module 7: 44-53)
Week 14
April 30
Week 15
May 7
May 13
Team Project Work
Team Research Project Presentations and Reflections on
the Semester
Team Presentation of Organizational Analysis
P: Organizational Analysis
presentation given by each
team in class.
FINAL PROJECT PAPER DUE (5PM)
MGT 650: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND SKILLS, PROFESSOR CARBERRY , FALL 2014
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OVERVIEW OF ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Due
Assignment/Deliverable Due
Individual/Team
% Course
Grade
All
Semester
Participation and Professionalism
Individual
15%
Multiple
Weeks
Case Briefings
Complete SIX of the following:
Weeks 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13
Individual
25%
Week 5
Dynacorp Analysis Paper
Individual
15%
Week 7
Individual Application Paper
Individual
5%
Week 11
Team Dynamics Paper
Team
5%
Multiple
Weeks
Organizational Analysis Project
Team
35%