STUDENT COURSE GUIDE
BUS 622
Organization and Leadership
In this course, students will study organizational effectiveness.
Models and theories of leadership will be used to analyze
management and organizational behavior and make
recommendations for improvement. Some examples of functional
and dysfunctional leadership are examined with specific
sensitivity to cross-cultural differences. Team development
dynamics and performance are reviewed in the context of
identifying best practices to improve individual and team
effectiveness in pursuing company or group objectives.
OUR MISSION ...................................................................................................................................................................3
COURSE OVERVIEW ...........................................................................................................................................................3
MBA PROGRAM OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................... 3
LEARNING RESOURCES ........................................................................................................................................ 3
COURSE POLICIES ..............................................................................................................................................................3
TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................................................................. 3
WRITING STANDARDS AND RESOURCES .................................................................................................................. 4
CLASS PARTICIPATION AND LATE POLICY ................................................................................................................. 5
ACADEMIC RECYCLING POLICY .............................................................................................................................. 5
COURSE COMMUNICATION .................................................................................................................................. 5
INSTRUCTOR QUESTIONS AND GRADING ................................................................................................................. 6
COURSE AND UNIVERSITY EVALUATION .................................................................................................................. 6
STUDENT ASSESSMENT ...................................................................................................................................................6
DISCUSSION FORUMS ....................................................................................................................................... 6
WEEKLY QUIZZES .............................................................................................................................................. 6
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT .................................................................................................................................... 7
FINAL EXAM ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
COURSE GRADING ........................................................................................................................................... 7
ASSIGNMENTS .................................................................................................................................................................9
WEEK ONE ...................................................................................................................................................... 9
WEEK TWO ..................................................................................................................................................... 9
WEEK THREE.................................................................................................................................................. 11
WEEK FOUR................................................................................................................................................... 11
WEEK F I V E ................................................................................................................................................... 12
WEEK SIX...................................................................................................................................................... 13
WEEK SEVEN .................................................................................................................................................. 13
WEEK E I G H T ................................................................................................................................................ 14
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Our Mission
Executive Academy of Scottsdale is committed to providing high-quality distance learning graduate
business education to a diverse group of learners in a flexible, affordable, and student-centered
academic environment. Our programs empower students to achieve career advancement and personal
enrichment, and become expert global leaders committed to the application of sound business practices
in corporate governance, entrepreneurship, and service to the community.
Course Overview
MBA Program Objectives
Students who successfully complete the Master of Business Administration degree program will be able to:
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Critical Thinking: solve managerial problems using critical thinking skills and quantitative analysis;
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Ethical Reasoning: evaluate the moral and ethical principles practiced in the organizational setting;
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Team Development: analyze the use of managerial and leadership skills to develop productive teams;
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Decision Making and Execution: research business information to support the decision making process
and execute decisions;
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Effective Communication: assess internal and external communication practices used in business; and
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Global Thinking: analyze business opportunities and challenges from a global perspective.
Learning Resources
Required Text
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior, v. 1.1. Retrieved from
www.flatworldknowledge.com.
Course Policies
Student rights and responsibilities and detailed EAS academic information and policies can be found in
the EAS University Catalog. The catalog can be accessed, electronically, through EAS web-site
www.eascottsdale.org. Specific student responsibilities, policies, requirements, and standards applicable
to online coursework are provided below. All university policies apply to students taking this course.
Technology Requirements
Competencies
Students must have the following competencies:
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Ability to access course and program material on the Internet;
Ability to correspond with University staff, faculty, and students through email and the Internet.
System Requirements
The following system configuration and software are recommended:
Platforms: Mac OS X 10.2 or higher or Windows XP or higher;
Hardware: 256 Mb RAM, CD-ROM, and 1 Gb free disk space;
Productivity Software: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel 2003 or higher; Adobe Reader 8.0 or
higher;
Web Browser: Firefox 3.0 or higher, Internet Explorer 8.0 or higher, Safari 4.0 or higher, or Chrome;
Networking: 56k dialup modem, DSL, or Cable modem;
Email: Outlook, Outlook Express, Mac Mail, Eudora, Entourage, or Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail.
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The following are recommended for optimal performance
Productivity Software: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel 2007 or higher;
Networking: Broadband Internet connection (DSL, cable, or other).
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Writing Standards and Resources
General Guidelines
The following writing standards apply to assignments as part of this course.
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All individual and group papers must be submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.
All papers must be formatted according to APA Guidelines listed below. Cited sources must be given
appropriate credit through inclusion in a reference list at the end of the paper, as well as an
appropriately formatted in-text citation must be used.
Paper size guidelines are provided so that students can appropriately focus their writing within a
specified scope. Students should consider these guidelines as approximations, although a significant
deviation on either side of the guideline may be subject to grade penalties.
APA Guidelines
EAS has adopted the use of APA (American Psychological Association) guidelines for use in written
assignments, including papers and discussion posts. These guidelines govern document formatting,
organization, style, and citations. The use of APA guidelines for discussion posts is limited to the
development of in-text citations and reference lists. A more informal writing style is otherwise acceptable
for discussion posts.
Below are some sources of additional information about APA style, which are publicly available information.
1. APA Style website from the American Psychological Association
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/index.aspx
2. The OWL (Online Writing Lab) from Purdue University
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/
3. The BibMe website to automatically generate APA citations for paper bibliographies.
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www.bibme.com
Plagiarism
EAS takes academic honesty very seriously. Students are expected to always submit original work, and
outside sources should be appropriately credited whenever used. Works that require citation include, but are
not limited to, hard copy or electronic publications (copyrighted or not), communication (verbal or
otherwise) originating from identifiable sources. Academic dishonesty occurs when: students use words or
ideas that are not their original work in assignments, citations are not included for all used outside sources,
work is recycled from another course taken by the same student (unless agreed with the instructor in
advance), documents, such as transcripts or diplomas are forged, etc. (EAS University Catalog, 2012)
Faculty members are trained and encouraged to try and prevent plagiarism in their classes. Some steps in
that direction are for a faculty member to make it very clear, through announcements or assignment
instructions, what constitutes plagiarism (as well as the potential consequences), and how assignments
and citations should be formatted. Both students and faculty members are encouraged to check
assignments through a plagiarism checking software. Instances of plagiarism are addressed immediately.
(EAS University Catalog, 2012)
Academic Research
Academic research and papers must meet quality standards recognized by the academic community.
Research should include Primary (original) or Secondary credible sources written by experts in the
area of study. Peer-reviewed journal articles are required in major course written assignments.
Educational websites such as Wikipedia, Investopedia or others are not recommended for
academic research and referencing in course assignments.
Class Participation and Late Policy
Students are expected to participate and actively contribute to class assignments (including discussions),
demonstrating knowledge of the concepts and theories studied, and the ability to apply that knowledge when
analyzing current events, assigned case studies, or real business questions from their own organizations and
communities. Assignments should be completed timely and within the posted deadlines. Limited extensions of
time may only be granted for unexpected business, health, or personal emergencies, whenever those are
communicated in advance of missing a due date. Emergencies require a written proof. In the rare occurrence of a
technical issue preventing students from submitting assignments on time, the late penalty will not be applied,
provided the technical issue is university-wide and outside of the control of individual students.
Academic Recycling Policy
Re-using of papers submitted for other courses, is generally, not acceptable. Partial recycling may be allowed,
provided that the student receives permission from the faculty member, given the individual circumstances
for each assignment. Using coursework from a previous class, partially or in its entirety, without explicit
prior approval of the faculty member may result in a failing grade for the assignment.
Course Communication
Our MBA programs place a high importance on effective written communication. We encourage you to visit
the classroom daily, and to participate in classroom discussions a minimum of 3 days per week. Students are
expected to contribute a minimum of 8 substantive posts per week in order to earn participation credit.
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Faculty and students will use the in-course messaging system to exchange private communications related to
the course. For questions that concern the majority of the students in the class, it is best to post the question
in the respective forums assigned for process questions in the virtual classroom.
Instructor Questions and Grading
Questions posted in the course classroom and sent via the course messaging system or email will be
answered within 48 hours. Personal information and questions related to grading must be handled via
private communications in order to protect students’ privacy rights. Discussion board written assignment
grades will be posted within 5 calendar days after the end of each week, i.e. by end of day each Friday. Final
grades will be posted within 7 calendar days after the course ends, i.e. by end of Sunday following the end of
the course.
Course and University Evaluation
Students may be asked to submit a course evaluation at the end of their course. Your feedback is very
important to your university and faculty members. Your feedback will allow us to improve the quality of our
programs and ensure successful and productive student experience for future cohorts.
Student Assessment
Students have a number of opportunities to demonstrate learning through the measures of evaluation
provided below. Please, use the table below to identify the days of the week as referenced in this
section. Please, note that each week starts with Monday and ends with Sunday.
Day 1
Monday
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Discussion Forums
Each Week there will be discussion activities, which require critical thinking and responses that are
based in theory, readings, current events, and personal experiences. All discussions pertaining to the
topics of a particular week must take place within that week. Students should plan to begin
participating in discussions early in the week, so as to allow a substantive discussion and exchange
of ideas to take place within the week.
Weekly Quizzes
Most weeks, there will be quizzes offered in the online classroom, which consist of multiple-choice and
True-False problems. Quizzes are meant for practicing of the concepts and theories studied in class.
Quizzes can be taken multiple times and are scored automatically.
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Individual Assignment
Students complete one individual written assignment. This assignment requires the use of APA guidelines to
format it.
Final Exam
There is a final exam, which is administered in the virtual classroom and is open for students throughout
Week 8. The final exam may include a variety of question types, including definitions, calculation
problems, or analysis from all topics covered throughout the term.
Course Grading
MBA Program Grading Philosophy
Students should note that the average grade for EAS is a grade of “B”. Students, whose performance is
solid and meets expectations consistently, can expect to earn this grade. Our university is very focused on
ensuring that classes are not grade inflated and as such, grades of “A” are only provided for those
assignments and activities for which a student goes beyond expectations. Please, note that per university
policy, grades less than B are not meeting standards of graduate school competency and students whose
cumulative GPA falls below B are subject to being placed on Academic Probation or Dismissal, as detailed in
the University Catalog .
Course Grading Rubric
The following grading rubric will be used in evaluating student work in discussions and written
assignments.
Above Expectations
(A range)
Critical
Student uses relevant,
Thinking/Originality professional or personal
experience in a unique and
insightful manner that adds
substantially to the
knowledge on the topic.
Content/Subject
Student thoroughly
Knowledge.
addresses all elements of
the question and
demonstrates an advanced
knowledge of the theory
behind the question
Meet Expectations
(B range)
Student uses relevant,
professional or personal
experience.
Below Expectations
(C-F range)
Student poorly applies
relevant, professional or
personal experience to
the topic.
Student addresses most
of the elements of the
discussion question, and
demonstrates a basic
knowledge of the theory
behind it.
Frequency of
Participation for
Discussions
Student responds in a
substantive manner to
Discussion Questions or
colleagues’ responses at
least 8 times during the
respective week as counted
in all discussion forums
together.
Student responds in a
substantive manner to
Discussion Questions or
colleagues’ responses at
least 5 times during the
respective week as
counted in all discussion
forums together.
Organization and
Writing contains very few,
Writing contains errors
Student fails to address
a majority of the
elements in the
discussion question, and
does not demonstrate
basic knowledge of the
topic.
Student responds nonsubstantively to
Discussion Questions or
colleagues’ responses
and/or responds less
than 5 times during the
respective week as
counted in all discussion
forums together.
Writing contains errors
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Mechanics
if any, minor errors related
to grammar, spelling,
sentence structure or
clarity. Student properly
cites resources, if
applicable.
related to grammar,
spelling, sentence
structure or clarity, but
the errors do not impact
understanding of the
content. Student cites
resources, if applicable.
Course Grading Breakdown
Please note that there are no D grades or plus or minus signs.
Letter Grade
Percent
A
B
C
F
90-100
80-89
70-79
69 and below
Grading Percent Breakdown
Discussion Forums
Individual Quizzes
Individual Assignment
Final Exam
Total:
42%
27%
6%
25%
100 %
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related to grammar,
spelling, sentence
structure, and citations,
and the errors impact
the clarity of the post.
Assignments
Week One
Objectives
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Describe organizational behavior (OB) and explain what challenges and opportunities exist for OB.
Explain why organizational behavior matters.
Describe the research methods used to study organizational behavior?
Understand what constitutes diversity.
Explain the benefits of managing diversity.
Describe challenges of managing a workforce with diverse demographics.
Describe the challenges of managing a multicultural workforce.
Understand diversity and ethics. Understand cross-cultural issues regarding diversity.
Assignments Overview
Assignment
Due Date
Format
Post your Introduction
Day 1 (1st post)
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Day 3 (1st post)
Discussion Forum
Readings
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior, v. 1.1. Retrieved from
www.flatworldknowledge.com. Chapters 1-2
Discussion Forums
1. Due by Day 1. Post your Introduction on the discussion forum titled, "Introduction." Briefly introduce
yourself to your cohort and faculty member. Discuss your expectations of what you may learn in this course
and how it may be useful in your career and personal life. Greet and respond to your fellow students’
postings.
2. Initial Post Due by Day 3. Discussion Questions Forum. Read the assigned textbook chapters and
respond to 2 of the posted discussion questions - use your personal experience or work examples, to
clarify or illustrate the concepts. Respond to some of your colleagues’ posts. All responses must be
completed by Day 7.
Week Two
Objectives
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Define personality and describe how it affects work behaviors.
Understand the role of values in determining work behaviors.
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Explain the process of perception and how it affects work behaviors.
Understand how individual differences affect ethics.
Understand cross-cultural influences on individual differences and perception. Identify the major work
attitudes that affect work behaviors.
List the key set of behaviors that matter for organizational performance.
Understand the link between work attitudes and ethics.
Understand cross-cultural differences in job attitudes and behaviors at work.
Assignments Overview
Assignment
Due Date
Format
Discussion Questions Forum
Day 3 (1st post)
Discussion Forum
Quiz
Day 7
Quiz
Individual Written Assignment
Day 7
Individual Assignment
Readings
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior, v. 1.1. Retrieved from
www.flatworldknowledge.com. Chapters 3-4
Discussion Forums
Initial Post Due by Day 3. Discussion Questions Forum. Read the assigned textbook chapters and
respond to 2 of the posted discussion questions - use your personal experience or work examples, to
clarify or illustrate the concepts. Respond to some of your colleagues’ posts. All responses must be
completed by Day 7.
Written Assignments
Individual Paper Due by Day 7
Please, write a paper of about 1000 -1200 words on the below topic. Research at least 3 external sources
and use them to support your ideas. Please, use APA guidelines to format your paper: generally, a title
page is required, as well as a reference page including all sources used in the research. (The website
www.bibme.com can be used to help you appropriately format your reference entries.). When you
complete the paper, please, save it in Word format and attach it here.
TOPIC
You found out that one employee from your company has created a blog about the company. Other current
and ex-employees are also posting on this blog, and the picture they are painting is less than flattering. They
are talking about their gripes, such as long work hours and below-market pay, and how the company’s
products are not great compared to those of competitors. Worse, they are talking about the people in the
company by name. There are a couple of postings mentioning you by name and calling you unfair and
unreasonable.
1. What action would you take when you learn the presence of this blog? Would you take action to stop
this blogger? How?
2. Would you do anything to learn the identity of the blogger? If you found out, what action would you
take to have the employee disciplined?
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3. What would you change within the company to deal with this situation?
4. Would you post on this blog? If so, under what name, and what comments would you post?
Week Three
Objectives
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Identify the role of motivation in determining employee performance.
Classify the basic needs of employees.
Describe how fairness perceptions consequences of these perceptions are determined
Understand the importance of rewards and punishments.
Apply motivation theories to analyze performance problems.
Describe the history of job design approaches.
Understand how to increase the motivating potential of a job.
Understand why goals should be SMART. Set SMART goals.
Give performance feedback effectively.
Describe individual-, team-, and organization-based incentives that can be used to motivate the
workforce.
Assignments Overview
Assignment
Due Date
Format
Discussion Questions Forum
Day 3 (1st post)
Discussion Forum
Quiz
Day 7
Quiz
Readings
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior, v. 1.1. Retrieved from
www.flatworldknowledge.com. Chapters 5-6
Discussion Forums
Initial Post Due by Day 3. Discussion Questions Forum. Read the assigned textbook chapters and
respond to 2 of the posted discussion questions - use your personal experience or work examples, to
clarify or illustrate the concepts. Respond to some of your colleagues’ posts. All responses must be
completed by Day 7.
Week Four
Objectives
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Understand the stress cycle and recognize the sources and outcomes of stress on employees.
Determine how to manage stress in organizational contexts.
Understand the role emotions play for attitudes and behaviors at work, and how emotions affect
perceptions of what is ethical.
Identify cross-cultural differences in stressors.
Understand the communication process and compare and contrast different types of communication and
communication channels.
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Understand and learn to overcome barriers to effective communication. Understand the role listening
plays in communication.
Learn how verbal and nonverbal communication can carry different meanings among cultures.
Assignments Overview
Assignment
Due Date
Format
Discussion Questions Forum
Day 3 (1st post)
Discussion Forum
Quiz
Day 7
Quiz
Readings
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior, v. 1.1. Retrieved from
www.flatworldknowledge.com. Chapters 7-8.
Discussion Forums
Initial Post Due by Day 3. Discussion Questions Forum. Read the assigned textbook chapters and
respond to 2 of the posted discussion questions - use your personal experience or work examples, to
clarify or illustrate the concepts. Respond to some of your colleagues’ posts. All responses must be
completed by Day 7.
Week Five
Objectives
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Define group dynamics and development and understand the difference between groups and teams.
Determine how to design effective teams.
Understand cross-cultural influences on teams.
Determine the types, causes, and consequences of conflict.
Identify how to manage conflict effectively.
Apply the stages of the negotiation process and avoid common negotiation mistakes.
Apply conflict management and negotiation ethically. Apply cross-cultural differences in conflict and
negotiation.
Assignments Overview
Assignment
Due Date
Format
Discussion Questions Forum
Day 3 (1st post)
Discussion Forum
Quiz
Day 7
Quiz
Readings
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior, v. 1.1. Retrieved from
www.flatworldknowledge.com. Chapters 9-10.
Discussion Forums
Initial Post Due by Day 3. Discussion Questions Forum. Read the assigned textbook chapters and
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respond to 2 of the posted discussion questions - use your personal experience or work examples, to
clarify or illustrate the concepts. Respond to some of your colleagues’ posts. All responses must be
completed by Day 7.
Week Six
Objectives
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Understand what is involved in decision making and compare and contrast different decision-making
models.
Compare and contrast individual and group decision making.
Understand the pros and cons of different decision-making aids.
Engage in ethical decision making. Understand cross-cultural differences in decision making.
Define what leadership is and identify traits of effective leaders.
Describe behaviors that effective leaders demonstrate.
Specify the contexts in which various leadership styles are effective.
Apply the concepts of transformational, transactional, charismatic, servant, and authentic leadership.
Assignments Overview
Assignment
Due Date
Format
Discussion Questions Forum
Day 3 (1st post)
Discussion Forum
Quiz
Day 7
Quiz
Readings
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior, v. 1.1. Retrieved from
www.flatworldknowledge.com. Chapters 11-12
Discussion Forums
Initial Post Due by Day 3. Discussion Questions Forum. Read the assigned textbook chapters and
respond to 2 of the posted discussion questions - use your personal experience or work examples, to
clarify or illustrate the concepts. Respond to some of your colleagues’ posts. All responses must be
completed by Day 7.
Week Seven
Objectives
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Define the basic elements of organizational structure.
Explain the difference between mechanistic and organic structures and describe factors shaping an
organization’s structure.
Describe matrix,, and learning organizations.
Understand how structure affects ethics. Understand cross-cultural influences on structure and change.
Assignments Overview
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Assignment
Due Date
Format
Discussion Questions Forum
Day 3 (1st post)
Discussion Forum
Quiz
Day 7
Quiz
Readings
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior, v. 1.1. Retrieved from
www.flatworldknowledge.com. Chapters 14-15
Discussion Forums
Initial Post Due by Day 3. Discussion Questions Forum. Read the assigned textbook chapters and
respond to 2 of the posted discussion questions - use your personal experience or work examples, to
clarify or illustrate the concepts. Respond to some of your colleagues’ posts. All responses must be
completed by Day 7.
Week Eight
Assignments Overview
Assignment
Due Date
Format
Free Forum Discussion
Day 3 (1st post)
Discussion Forum
Final Exam
Day 7
Individual Assignment
Readings
Bauer, T. & Erdogan, B. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior, v. 1.1. Retrieved from
www.flatworldknowledge.com. Chapters 1-14.
Discussion Forums
Initial Post Due by Day 3. Discussion Questions Forum. This week discussions are free form. Please,
check your course site for any updates from your professor with regards to this assignment.
Final Exam
Individual Assignment Due by Day 7. FINAL EXAM
Please, check your course site for updates from your professor with regards to this assignment. The exam
will be open book and must be completed without assistance.
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