Faculty Contact Information:
Instructor:
John F. Booth
Mailing Address:
University of Maryland University College
Office of Graduate Programs
Unit 29216
APO AE 09102
Email Address:
john.booth@t-online.de
Supplementary Web site:
I have prepared a supplementary web site for this course which will offer partially-interactive lesson modules, extra lecture material, Internet and library resources regarding professional literature, and special topics designed to deepen your understanding of OB principles, theory and practice! Take a look--most of my students find it worthwhile. And : if you have an idea for a new topic or theme for the site material, let me know! The site is an ongoing project of mine which is designed to help all of us get more out of our in-class discussions about OB.)
The link to the site:
http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jbooth/M511-OrgBehavior-Supp1/
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Consultation:
Tel: 06221-300 605 (arrange for call via e-mail)
Fax: 06221-300 605 (brief communication only)
e-mail (7/24): john.booth@t-online.de:
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Required Texts and Readings:
American Psychological Association. 2001. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.). Washington DC: 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.
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Supplementary Readings:
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Will be listed in class conference, and will involve full-text articles available from the Internet and the University of Maryland's library data base, or the lecturer's own published material.
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Recommended Journals:
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Will be listed in class conference regarding full-text publications which are available from the UMUC virtual library and other sources such as Internet-based publications, and academic/professional organizations.
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Course Description:
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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.
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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
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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.
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Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 90% +
B 80 – 89%
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. Hard copies of the catalog are available in your local Education Center.
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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:
Participate frequently and well in classroom discussions, write several papers effectively and in a scholarly manner, and complete a take-home final examination which will require your applying what you have learned in this course to a case study problem.
The percentage of the final grade is based upon a student's academic and class performance on various activities. The actual assignment percentages are given in the following table for each class activity.
Class Participation 20%
Paper 1 20%
Paper 2 20%
Paper 3 20%
Final Exam 20%
(take home, open book)
Details regarding these course activities will be discussed in class conference
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Description of Course Requirements:
Class participation:
Regarding frequency and quality of in-class participation, your input and general responses to class conferences are critical to the eventual success of this course. As such, substantive contribution to class discussions is desired and expected, and the frequency and quality of your communication in class will be evaluated. Regarding the importance of your in-class participation, until I receive your papers, I have no real way of telling how you are doing in the course, and how you are mastering the various concepts. In-class postings, and your participation regarding such postings, provides me much-needed feedback on your progress during the course. And in-class discussion provides another source of valuable input and feedback that is used as a learning device and delivery platform for such learning. In brief: in-class participation is the motor behind scholarly debate and interaction.
In order to evaluate class participation as objectively and fairly as possible, a student's contributions to the class will be monitored each week as to frequency (this is done automatically by WebTycho, and is recorded in each student's portfolio) and will also be assessed as to quality. Frequency will constitute half of a student's participation grade; quality of postings and discussion will constitute the other half. Details of the evaluation of class participation will be given in class conference.
Papers:
You will be required to write 3 papers during this course. Each is to consist of 8-10 pages, and is to be oriented on issues of Organizational Behavior. Your papers will involve your being able to cogently evaluate positions taken by various authors of full-text articles we will be analyzing, and your being able to discuss the various issues involved in such work within the framework of principles of organizational behavior as outlined in class discussion and our texts. Each paper will be focused upon one of three main viewpoints of the organization: the individual level, the group level--and the organization as a whole. Details concerning writing mechanics, formatting and grading will be discussed in class conference.
Final exam:
Your final exam will be take-home, and is designed to simulate the same type of examination you can expect to have regarding your knowledge of Organizational Behavior concepts which you will be encountering on your comprehensive examination. Thus, it will consist of your reading background information about some organization that is having problems, and will require your coming up with a solution (as a quasi "OB expert" or consultant) regarding that problem. Nothing dry here! No indeed! You will be required to put into practice the theoretical and pragmatic OB knowledge you will have acquired up to this point in the course. Details about the examination will be given in class conference.
Please note: in all your written work during this course (papers and final) you will be expected to uphold conventional academic standards of ethics and academic honesty which are explained in the graduate and undergraduate catalogs of this university and the UMUC Europe program. As pointed out on page 31 of the graduate catalog, detailed information on UMUC-Europe's policy regarding academic dishonesty/plagiarism can be found in Appendix H of the undergraduate catalog, or can also be found on the University web site at: www.umuc.edu/policy.
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Course Schedule:
Table Legend:
WW = Class week
DD = Day
MMM = Month
TOP/AR = Topic(s)/Assigned reading
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WW DD MMM TOP/AR
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01 03 Nov Course Intro, What OB is / R1
-------- ------ -------- ------------------------------------------
02 10 Nov Individual Behavior / R2
-------- ------ -------- ------------------------------------------
03 17 Nov Values, attitudes, and job satisfaction /
R3
-------- ------ -------- ------------------------------------------
04 24 Nov Personality and emotions / R4
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05 01 Dec Perception and decision making / R5
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06 08 Dec Motivation concepts / R7,8
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06 08 Dec Paper 1 due!
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07 15 Dec Group behavior / R8
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07 20 Dec ======= Start of Term 2 Break!
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00 18 Jan ======= End of Term 2 Break!
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08 19 Jan Work teams / R9
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09 26 Jan Communication / R10
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09 26 Jan Paper 2 due!
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10 02 Feb Leadership / R11,12
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11 09 Feb Conflict and negotiation / R14
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12 16 Feb Organizational structure / R15
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13 23 Feb Organizational culture / R18
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13 23 Feb Paper 3 due!
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13 28 Feb Final exam posted to WT
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14 01 Mar Organizational change / R19
-------- ------ -------- ------------------------------------------
14 05 Mar Final to be returned to WT
-------- ------ -------- ------------------------------------------
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Academic Policies:
Please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.
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Faculty Bio:
Mr. Booth has over two decades of research and experience in working with and using computer technology in testing and training, personnel selection and assessment, and psychometric testing. He has been involved in organizational development for German companies and international corporations, and has provided consultation and services in ISO 9000 quality management issues to German and Belgian companies involved with information technology and transportation (airlines/railroad) services.
Having studied undergraduate psychology at the University of Maryland where he graduated summa cum laude, John earned a graduate degree (Diplom) in clinical and organizational psychology at the Universität Mannheim (Mannheim, Germany) and worked several years as a research assistant in the testing and assessment division at an international educational research institute in Frankfurt, Germany.
Since 1979, John has taught courses for Maryland's undergraduate regular, and distance education programs to include courses such as Organizational behavior, Educational Psychology, Statistical Methods, Adult Psychopathology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Environmental Psychology, and Organizational Development.
In addition to having taught courses at the graduate level for other universities (counseling, research methodology, organizational behavior), John has also often published articles in European professional journals, and is an International Editor for the International Journal of Selection and Assessment (IJSA; Oxford, England). He was Guest Editor for a Special Issue on the use of PC technology in selection and assessment for that same international publication. He is also a member of the editorial review board of the International Journal of Distance Education Technologies.
Supplementary Web site:
(As mentioned above, I have prepared a supplementary web site for this course which will offer partially-interactive lesson modules, extra lecture material, Internet and library resources regarding professional literature, and special topics designed to deepen your understanding of OB principles, theory and practice! Take a look--most of my students find it worthwhile. And : if you have an idea for a new topic or theme for the site material, let me know! The site is an ongoing project of mine which is designed to help all of us get more out of our in-class discussions about OB.)
The link to the site:
http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jbooth/M511-OrgBehavior-Supp1/
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