Faculty Contact Information:
Instructor: Dr. Brett Hamilton
Mailing Address: Am Borngraben 10, 65510 Idstein-Walsdorf,
Email Address: Novantiq@aol.com | |
Consultation:
| Tel and Fax: 06434-6222 (1100 hrs - 2100 hrs, 7 days) | |
Required Texts and Readings:
American Psychological Association. 2001. Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington D.C.:
Author.
Ott, J.S., Parkes, S.J. & Simpson, R.B. 2003. Classic readings in
organizational behavior (3rd ed.). Toronto, Ontario: Thomson
Wadsworth.
Robbins, S.R. 2003. Organizational Behavior (10th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall. | |
Supplementary Readings:
Janis, I. (1982). A perfect failure: The Bay of Pigs. In I. L. Janis,
Groupthink (pp. 14-47). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills. | |
Recommended Journals:
A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge, and pay-per-view academic journals are listed on the PA Webboard at http://webboard.ed.umuc.edu/~pa. The Journal of Organizational Behavior is especially useful in this course.
Recommended Journals:
Leadership Quarterly
Journal of Communication
Academy of Management Review
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Management Review
Harvard Business Review
Journal of Organizational Behavior | |
Course Description:
| Prerequisite: Undergraduate principles of management or permission of the program director. Presents basic concepts of formal organizations. Students become acquainted with the major conceptual models that purport to explain organizational behavior, acquire an understanding of the methods used to study organizations, and analyze research that has been produced. While the emphasis is placed on critical analysis of literature that deals with "what is," attention is given to views about "what should be" in order for people to derive maximum satisfaction and other benefits from organizational activity. | |
Course Goals:
As one of three foundations courses in the MPA program, a requirement for the Certificate in Public Management, and an elective in the MIS program, this course introduces and analyzes major theories of organizational behavior and the ways in which theses theories inform management of organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Particular attention is given to theories focusing on:
Individual and group behavior in relation to each other and larger
organizations
Leadership styles, principles and contingencies
Motivation and Reward Systems
Values, Attitudes and Job Satisfaction
Organizational Communication
Organizational Culture
Organizational Development and Change | |
Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Analyze case material, web sites, public law, and research articles related to organizational behavior and organizational change
2. Investigate the relationship between historical and current issues in organizational behavior
3. Utilize electronic resources to find primary source documents, data, statements on best practices and research articles related to issues in organizational behavior and organizational change
4. Develop and present written and oral arguments, case studies, and/or research papers on current issues in organizational behavior that make reference to and build on factual and expert information | |
Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 92%
B 80 – 91%
C 70 – 79%
F Below 70%
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs in your local Education Center. | |
Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to provide:
Midterm Examination: 20%
Final Examination: 20%
Project: 20%
Class Participation: 20%
Assignments: 20%
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Description of Course Requirements:
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Usually this requires two to three hours of additional for every hour of a face-to-face class and approximately ten hours of preparation per week for a DE class.
Write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Plan on committing approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your research in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates.
Complete one or more written examination(s): The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary to successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam.
Project Description:
For our term project, you will identify a real-world organizational problem in your own environment or experience and then act out the role of a paid consultant (human resources management specialist, training officer, executive officer or other "hired gun") brought in to solve the problem.
You will analyze the organizational situation within frameworks developed in class and in the readings, propose alternative solutions to the problem, and then select a change plan or intervention appropriate to the situational analysis.
To do this you will have to state the problem in such a way that evaluation criteria acceptable to the "client" can be developed. Your evaluation criteria will serve in demonstrating that the planned strategy did, in fact, succeed or was effective. To give an example here: Before your intervention, something was either happening that should not have been happening or not happening that should have been happening. Your task is to identify the "gap," perform a discrepancy analysis and propose a solution.
The project deliverable is a proposal to include:
• a statement of the problem
• analysis of dynamics of the problem
• theoretical support and defense of intervention strategy
• approach strategy
• implementation plan
• evaluation plan.
Student and instructor will work together to select an organizational problem.
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Course Schedule:
This schedule presents 16 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a regular three-hour weekday meeting, a half-day on weekends, or a full week of DE.
MODULE 1
OB RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS
First Weekend: Saturday, 23 Aug 2003
Support Topics: Managerial Skills; Modeling Independent and Dependent Variables of OB
1. Read Robbins Chapter 1.
2. Answer random fifty set of exam questions for Chapter 1.
MODULE 2
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
First Weekend: Saturday, 23 Aug 2003
Support Topics: Human Learning; Values, Attitude Formation; Relationship of Job Satisfaction to Productivity.
1. Read Robbins Chapters 2,3
2. Read Appendix B (page 594)
3. Read Ott: "Introduction" and "The Hawthorne Experiments" Pp.1-56. Contemporary debate.
4. Topic Choice for Paper #1.
5. Private Log or Workbook: Self-Study Questions / Exams
[Suggested answers for Self-Study Questions and Exams will be available through email.]
MODULE 3
PERSONALITY AND EMOTIONS
First Weekend: Sunday, 24 Aug 2003
Support Topics: Personality Traits and Determinants, Perception, Judgments, Decision-Making, Ethics.
1. Read Robbins Chapters 4,5
2. Read Ott: "Effects of Group Pressure Upon .." (Pp.312-319) and "Groupthink: .." Pp.344-351.
3. Select Paper #1 Topic.
4. Self-Study Questions / Exams
MODULE 4
MOTIVATION
First Weekend: Sunday, 24 Aug 2003
Support Topics: Traditional and Contemporary Theories; Applications in MBO, Employee Recognition - Involvement; Equity Theories; Moderating Effect of Cultural Orientation; Special Challenges with Diverse Workers.
1. Read Robbins Chapters 6,7
2. Read and Analyze Case Study #1 (to be announced)
3. Read Ott: Pp.57-101.
4. Test yourself on Self-Study Questions / Exams.
MODULE 5
GROUP BEHAVIOR
MODULE 6
GROUP DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES
Second Weekend: Saturday, 6 Sept 2003
Support Topics: Formal and Informal Groups; Developmental Stages and Interaction; Norms;
Support Topics: Groupthink; structure and dynamics; Role of Manager in Decision Process
1. Read Robbins Chapter 8
2. Read Ott Chapter II, Pp.111 161.
3. Read Robbins Appendix A
4. Test yourself on Self-Study Questions / Exams.
5. Read Library Reserve article: "A Perfect Failure: The Bay of Pigs"
6. First topic paper due.
MODULE 7
WORK TEAMS
MODULE 8
COMMUNICATION
Second Weekend: Sunday, 7 Sept 2003
Support Topics: Teams vs. Groups; Types; Composition; Teams and Quality Mgmt; Team Building
Support Topics: Process and Networks; Interpersonal; Nonverbal; Cross-Cultural Issues
1. Read Robbins Chapter 9 and 10
2. Self-Study Questions / Exams.
3. Note Study Group Assignments
4. Read Ott: Chapter III, VI
5. Group Presentations
6. Selection of Term Project
MODULE 9
BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
Second Weekend: Sunday, 7 Sept 2003
Support Topics: Selective Perception; Filtering; Gender and Cultural Differences; Self Image Issues.
1. Case Study: Analysis of "Bing and Hart."
2. Self-Study Questions
3. MIDTERM EXAM
MODULE 10
LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS
Third Weekend: Saturday, 20 Sept 2003
Support Topics: Leadership versus Management; Trait Theories; Contingency Theories; Situational Variables
1. Read Robbins Chapter 11.
2. Read Ott: Chapter VII
3. Self-Study Questions
MODULE 11
CONTEMPORY LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES
Third Weekend: Saturday, 20 Sept 2003
Support Topics: Types of Trust; Charisma; Transformational Leadership; Emotional Intelligence; Challenges to the Construct of Leadership; Creating Effective Leaders.
1. Read Robbins Chapters 12.
2. Read and Analyze Second Case Study
3. Read Ott: Chapter IV
4. Self-Study Questions / Exams
MODULE 12
DYNAMICS OF POWER, CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
Third Weekend: Sunday, 21 Sept 2003
Support Topics: Power Bases; Dependency Relationships; Political Dynamics; Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict; Conflict Handling Intentions; Bargaining Strategies; Negotiation Process.
1. Read Robbins Chapter 13 and 14.
2. Self-Study Questions /Exams
3. Conflict Mode Instruments - Self Assessments.
MODULE 13
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND WORK DESIGN
Third Weekend: Sunday, 21 Sept 2003
Support Topics: Departmentation; Bureaucracy; Control Span; Alternative Design Effect on Employees; Process Reengineering; e-Organizations; New Work Designs.
1. Read Robbins Chapter 15 and 16
2. Self-Study Questions / Exams
MODULE 14
HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES
Third Weekend: Sunday, 21 Sept 2003
Support Topics: Training and Development; Performance Evaluation; Diversity
1. Read Robbins Chapter 17.
2. Self-Study Questions / Exams.
3. Take First Managing Change Test.
4. Project support Topic Paper due.
MODULE 15
MANAGING CHANGE
Fourth Weekend: Saturday, 4 Oct 2003
Support Topics: Role of Change Agent; Stress Management; OD Processes; Lewin Model.
1. Read Robbins Chapter 19.
2. Self-Study Questions / Exams.
3. Take Second Managing Change Test.
MODULE 16
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Fourth Weekend: Sunday, 5 Oct 2003
Support Topics: Functional and Dysfunctional Effects; Formation and Change.
1. Read Robbins Chapter18.
2. Self-Study Questions / Exams.
3. Term Project Due
FINAL EXAM
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Academic Policies:
Please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs/ or from your local Education Center, for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities | |
Faculty Bio:
About Your Instructor: Dr. Hamilton provides organization development and management consulting services to civilian, military and academic organizations. He has conducted training research and development in the aerospace industry as well as basic learning research in education. He has delivered OD training for organizations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
His nine year university teaching experience includes the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Maryland, Boston University and the Army Management Staff College. At the graduate level he taught organizational psychology, research methods for the behavioral sciences and program evaluation methods as well as core courses in Business Management including leadership, organizational communication, and organizational change processes. His research at UCLA centered on the cognitive development in children and he has applied this work to the design of computer-assisted-learning strategies as well as to the development of educational toys.
His work history includes design and development projects with organizations such as Thiokol Chemical, Ampex Computer, McDonnell-Douglas Space Systems Center, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools, Kettering Foundation, Mattel Toys, Quark Express, Army Management Staff College, International Training Consultants (Teheran, Iran), the U.S. Army Europe, and the American Postal Corporation.
Now living in Germany, Mr. Hamilton provides management consulting services in change management, personal productivity, and instructional system design. His recent consulting activities have focused on creative decision processes and the role of managers in conducting these processes while building and maintaining working environments supportive of innovation. He completed both undergraduate work in Psychology and graduate work in Education at UCLA. | |