MGMT 121 Organizational Behavior (Fall 2010)
Instructor: Karen Lee
Course Evaluation
I. Individual Work
1. Examination 1
2. Examination 2
3. Class Participation
4. Research participation
Individual Subtotal
25.0%
25.0%
12.5%
5.0%
67.5%
II. Group Work
5a. OB Issues in the News (written paper)
5b. OB Issues in the News (presentation)
Group Subtotal
20.0%
12.5%
32.5%
Total
100%
Distribution of course grades will be based on the following school guidelines:
Grade
A+, A, AB+, B, BC+, C, CD
Percentage
10-20%
25-40%
35-45%
5-10%
F
0-5%
Grade rebuttal
If you disagree with the evaluation of your performance on any exam, you may submit a grade
appeal. Your appeal will only be considered if you submit a one-page rebuttal to me within one
week of receiving the grade. In the rebuttal, you should detail the reasons why you believe your
grade should be revised. A grade review will be completed within one week, which may result in
a grade increase, grade decrease, or no change.
Student Feedback
I welcome feedback on my teaching throughout the term. You are encouraged to contact Patrick
or me any time you have questions, problems, or need advice regarding class matters.
Course Evaluation Details
1.
2.
Examination 1 (25%) – 20 October (Wednesday) (from 1830-2030) (LTA)
Examination 2 (25%) – during final exam week
The two examinations are non-cumulative, i.e. Exam 1 covers the first half of the course and
Exam 2 covers the second half. Each exam will consist of multiple choice and short questions.
All course materials – lectures, discussions, exercises, and anything else mentioned– are subject
to examination.
Kindly note the scheduled examination dates indicate in the syllabus. There will be no make-up
exams except due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control (e.g. medical emergencies).
Appropriate supporting document (e.g. documents issued by a registered medical practitioner) is
required for the consideration for a make-up exam. The make-up exam, if granted, will consist of
short questions only.
3.
Class Participation (12.5%) - ongoing
Your active participation and involvement is a very important part of your learning process. Your
participation grade will reflect your level of engagement and quality in all of the following
activities:





Attendance
Class discussions
Personal Response System (PRS)
Self-assessment exercises
Discussion board in LMES
Attendance is important because class discussions, experience sharing and story-telling are
prominent features of this course. Punctual attendance is highly recommended.
Participation in class discussions is a prominent feature in university education. It is a learning
platform not only for knowledge sharing but also to train us to become critical thinkers.
We will use PRS (Personal Response System) throughout this course. Bring your PRS handset to
every class.
There will be five self-assessment exercises for you to know yourself better. These selfassessments will not be graded; however, it will be counted as participation to reflect your level
of engagement in the course. Completed self-assessments will be collected on the respective due
date at the beginning of class. These self-assessments play an important role for your selfdevelopment into a better manager and leader. There is no right or wrong answer in these selfassessments. You should not give “socially desirable” answers (i.e. answers that other people
expect from you). Answers should reflect your true self.
The dynamic nature of today’s organizations makes the OB study an art and not a science. There
are many ways to look at the same issue, and this is what makes OB exciting (or painful some
people may say). We have set-up the discussion board on LMES for you to share your views,
to learn from each other and grow to be a better manager and leader.
4.
Research Participation Requirement (5%)
You are required to participate in two hours of experiments conducted by faculty or doctoral
students in the MGMT department. Prior notices will be given regarding the times and venues of
these experiments. If no experiment is scheduled during this semester or if you do not wish to
participate in the experiment, you will have to complete a written assignment, which will take
about two hours. The written assignment will only be granted for those students who request to
do so before the start of the research studies.
5a.
5b.
Group Project – Written Paper (20%) – due 1 December, 2010
Group Project - Presentation (12.5%) – due 1 December and 3 December, 2010
You will write an analysis of OB issues (in commercial organizations) based on two recent news /
magazines clippings. One clipping MUST be dated 1 June 2010 or later. There is no time-bound
for the other clipping. In the paper, you should (1) describe the OB issues presented in the
clippings, (2) identify the OB challenges, problems or opportunities presented in the clippings, (3)
analyze the identified issues with relevant theories and concepts you learn from the course, and (4)
discuss implications based on your analysis, such as your recommended next course of action or
potential consequences emerged from the identified issues.
You will form your own groups of seven (7) people. Each group will prepare a maximum of
five-page analysis (12pt, Times New Roman, 1.5 lines-spaced), not counting the cover page and
reference list. You should find two clippings from English newspapers and/or business
magazines. The two clippings must form a coherent theme. You should attach a copy of the two
clippings at the end of your paper, with clear citation of the source (name and date of publication).
Towards the end of the term, your group will give an 8-minute presentation to the class based on
your written analysis. There should be no less than 2 presenters from each group. At the end of
each presentation, there will be a 2-minute question and answer session. The class will vote for
the best presentation of the day at the end of each class session. The group with highest and
second highest votes in their respective class will receive 10 bonus points and 5 bonus points for
their group project presentation score, respectively.
Students who arrive after the
commencement of first presentation are not entitled to vote.
Examples of list of newspaper/magazine available at HKUST library:
Newspapers (both hardcopy & electronic resources available)
- South China Morning Post
- Financial Times Asia
- Wall Street Journal (Asia)
- Wall Street Journal
- Business Times, Times, China Daily, etc...
Magazine (both hardcopy & electronic resources available)
- The Economist
- Business Week
- Newsweek
- Forbes, Time, etc...
Instruction on how to search articles in HKUST e-library has been loaded on LMES.
Tips on presentation
Presentation is a "fact of life" in the world of management, and in our career. Mastering
presentation skills is seen as an important asset. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, is considered
by many as one of the most effective presenters. I have loaded in LMES under “course content”
“group project” a 6-minute video clip "Present like Steve Jobs" as well as tips on power-point
preparation from Garr Reynolds of Presentation Zen.
presentation tips from these masters.
I hope you will learn some crucial
Team peer evaluation
To encourage constructive team work and to discourage free-riding, toward the end of the term
your contribution to the group project (written and oral presentation) will be assessed by
confidential peer evaluations twice, one for the group project written and one for group project
presentation. With an objective to ensure fairness, your individual grade on the group project
will be adjusted when necessary to reflect any significant uneven sharing of workload among the
team members. Peer evaluation form is posted on LMES.
Late submissions will be penalized 10 points per every 24-hours period after the due time.
Written paper that exceed the specified page limits will not be entertained.
On the due date of the written paper, you should:
 Hand in one hard copy of your written paper and one hard copy of the two articles at the
beginning of class session.
 Hand in your individual peer evaluation (written project) at the beginning of class session.
 One representative of your group to email soft copy of group written paper to Patrick
(xxx@ust.hk) no later than 11pm on the due date.
 On the cover sheet of your written paper, you must mark clearly your session number, group
number, names and email addresses of all your group members.
On the due date of your oral project presentation, you should:
 Hand in one hard copy of your presentation material at the beginning of your class session.
 Hand in your individual peer evaluation (oral presentation project) at the beginning of class
session.
 Email your final soft copy to Patrick (xxx@ust.hk) no later than 9am on the date of your
presentation. You will not be allowed to upload a revised version prior class session.
Group Project – OB Issues Identified in the News
Written Paper Assessment Criteria
OB issues presented in the clippings are 6
well-synthesized.
8
10
12
14
16
Very
Good
18 20
Thorough in-depth understanding of the 6
OB issues identified. Comments reflect
your own judgment.
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
/20
OB concepts and theories relevant to the 6
course are identified and applied.
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
/20
Discussions of the implications are 6
appropriate and logical.
Comments
reflect your own judgment.
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
/20
Arguments are persuasive and well- 3
justified.
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
/10
Presentation is professional, clear and 3
logical. Writing skills is good. Wellstructured and very few grammatical
errors.
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
/10
Presentation Content
Poor
Pass
Good
Score
/20
How can you improve?
Score:
/ 100
Group Project – OB Issues Identified in the News
Presentation Assessment Criteria
Criteria
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Organization
Presentation is very
disorganized; little
flow; vague;
difficult to
understand.
Presentation is
confusing and
disorganized in a
number of places,
disconnected or
choppy; take some
effort to follow.
Presentation flows
smoothly with
occasional
confusion or rough
patches between
ideas.
Presentation is
smooth, polished
and organized;
flows well.
8 marks
12 marks
16 marks
20 marks
Points not clear;
irrelevant
information; does
not support ideas;
listeners gain little.
Information is
confusing in
places; too much or
too little
information;
listeners gain a few
insights.
Sufficient
information; many
good points made;
some areas lacking;
listeners gain
adequate insight.
Abundance of
material; points
clearly made;
evidence supports;
listeners gain good
insights.
8 marks
12 marks
16 marks
20 marks
Communication
aids are poorly
prepared and/or
distracting or
nonexistent.
Communication
aids marginally
prepared; do not
support
presentation well.
Professional
communication
aids, but not
varied; may use too
many or too few.
Appropriate,
varied, and
professional
communication
aids.
8 marks
12 marks
16 marks
20 marks
No creativity at all.
Audience lost
interest.
Mostly presented
information with
little imagination;
audience frequently
bored.
Some interesting
twists; held
attention most of
the time.
Involved audience;
made points in a
creative way; held
attention
throughout.
8 marks
12 marks
16 marks
20 marks
Presenters are
uncomfortable;
pace is rushed;
style is distracting
and annoying’
noticeable use of
filler words (uhs,
likes, ums) or
pauses.
Presenters are
somewhat
uncomfortable or
nervous; noticeable
use of filler words
(uhs, likes, ums) or
pauses.
Presenters are
general
comfortable;
somewhat
polished; minor
problems.
Presenters are
comfortable;
presentation flows
smoothly.
8 marks
12 marks
16 marks
20 marks
/ 20
Score:
/ 100
Content
Communication
Aids
Creativity
Team delivery
Score
/ 20
/ 20
/ 20
/ 20