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GMGT 2070, Organizational Behaviour Asper School of Business

Winter Term 2014-15

GMGT 2070, Introduction to Organizational Behaviour Sections A02 and A03

Course Summary and Objectives

This class is designed around two simple-sounding questions. First, what makes it difficult to cooperate, coordinate and organize? And secondly, what can be done about it?

These two questions are at the heart of organizational behaviour. Contemporary working life involves organizing. It requires working in teams and groups. It involves interdependence and cooperation. And it demands coordination through networks, movements, coalitions, alliances, and organizations, both formal and informal. In other words, when we work, we often need to work together.

Over the course of twelve weeks together, we will address these two questions through ten different thematic and theoretic lenses. Drawing on research and theory from a wide variety of disciplines in the social sciences, we will examine what makes cooperation challenging to achieve. And though class discussions, debates, case studies, games, exercises and simulations, we will work together to identify ways of effectively managing the challenge of organizing.

Of course, you will leave this course with a sound understanding of theory and research in organizational behaviour. But more importantly, I would like for you to walk away from the course armed with the skills to:

• Organize, lead and motivate people • Deal productively with conflict in groups and teams • Negotiate effectively • Arrive at better group decisions • Tap into the ideas and potential creativity in your group, team or organization • Use power and influence effectively in organizational life • Design effective structures for accomplishing shared goals

Professor: Dr. Lukas Neville

Class Time: Tuesday Section A02 10:00-12:45 Section A03 14:30-17:15

E-mail:[email protected]

Office: 412 Drake Centre

Office Hours: Mondays, 15:30-17:00, or by appointment

Phone: (204) 474-9061

Course Website: http://universityofmanitoba.desire2learn.com

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Required Course Materials

Course textbook Langton, Robbins & Judge (2011). Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, 5th edition. Toronto: Pearson.

• Access codes not needed; feel free to buy a used copy or share a copy with a classmate

• There are copies of the text on 1-, 2- and 24-hour reserve at Cohen Library (Drake Centre)

• Online textbook rental is available through the U of M bookstore website

• Don’t buy the wrong book! There is a hardcover book by the same authors called ‘Concepts, Controversies, Applications’ — this isn’t our text!

Casebook • Available for purchase from the University of Manitoba campus bookstore • Required for all students. Includes printed cases and a proof-of-purchase you must bring to

class in order to receive exercises and case material throughout the term

Top Hat • System for in-class “prep checks” • Answer using a web browser, using an iPhone or Android app, or by text message • $20 term license (unlimited courses). Sign up at http://app.tophat.com

Additional Readings • Most weeks contain additional readings beyond the textbook. These are free to you (they are

paid for by the university’s Access Copyright license), and are made available on Desire2Learn.

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Course sections

There are multiple sections of GMGT 2070 offered each term. Any section of 2070 will prepare you equally well for further coursework in organizational behaviour and build many of the same skills. Some classes even use the same textbook or have similar assignments.However, these sections may differ from one another in a number of important ways. The focus, specific topics, structure, exercises, grading criteria, assigned readings, and content of evaluations are not necessarily the same between my sections and those taught by Prof. Byrne, Prof. Kernaghan, or other instructors.So, I’m afraid you cannot attend different instructors’ course sections from week to week. And, since this class often uses in-class activities completed in pairs or groups, you may not attend the Tuesday afternoon section if you’re enrolled in the Tuesday morning section (or vice-versa). Please attend the class sections for your section only.

If you are not able to attend your scheduled class for a legitimate reason one week, please consult the policy on absences later in the syllabus.

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Assessment Grading The numeric grades earned in this course correspond to the following letter grades:

Your course grade is made up of six components, plus a potential bonus mark. The components include both individual and group work. The components, and their weighting in the calculation of your grade, are listed below:

Letter Grade Percentage GPA

A+ 90-100% 4.5

A 85-89% 4.0

B+ 80-84% 3.5

B 75-79% 3.0

C+ 70-74% 2.5

C 60-69% 2.0

D 50-59% 1.0

F <50% 0

Pre-Class Reflections 10%

In-Class Preparation Checks 15%

Group Case Project 20%

Individual Analysis 25%

Final Examination 30%

Total 100%

Bonus 2%

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Pre-Class Reflections 10% Ten times throughout the term, you will be asked to complete an online reflection posted to Desire2Learn. Each survey will be due on Sunday by midnight. The content of the reflection will vary from week to week. It might ask you to apply something learned in the previous week, explain an idea from the week’s readings, or fill out a survey related to a course concept or activity. It may require you to write brief memos or summaries, or complete exam-style short answer questions about your readings. These reflections will be marked on a very basic scale: “Check” (1 point), “check-minus” (0.5 points), and zero. Missing or late reflections will earn 0 points. Reflections that are complete but don’t demonstrate a clear understanding of the concept will earn 0.5 points. Reflections that are complete, thorough, and thoughtful will earn 1 point.

In-Class Preparedness Checks 15%Each week, I will ask you a number of questions pertaining to your readings. These will be simple true/false questions or multiple-choice questions. Some of these will be very easy — they’ll simply check that you got the basic “take home” message from the week’s assigned reading. Others will ask you to recall material from earlier weeks. Some will be labelled as “tough questions”: They will ask about details and nuance from your readings. Over the course of the term, you will answer 30 of these questions, each worth half a percent of your mark. I view these as helpful preparation for the short-answer section of your final exam, and some of the short-answer questions will be variants of the multiple-choice/true-false questions you answer in class (in other words, the prep checks will give you a preview of some of your exam content!) You will answer the prep checks using Top Hat (you can answer on a laptop, a smartphone, or by text message).

Group Case Project 20% Due before class, Week 9 You will be randomly assigned to a group of 6 students to complete a group case analysis. The case, Jieliang Phone Home A, B and C, describes a manufacturing operation in Dongguan, an industrial city in China’s Pearl River delta, from the perspective of both a manager and a line worker. The case is found in your casebook. You will be asked to diagnose the situation and provide recommendations. Your focus should be improvements or changes that will improve employee well-being and satisfaction while enhancing productivity and performance. Your analysis should be based on concepts drawn from the course materials. Your group will submit two deliverables. The first is a report (10 pages of text and 10 pages of exhibits and appendices) that summarizes your analysis, recommendations, and implementation plan. The second is a 10-minute video (involving all group members, uploaded to D2L), presenting a summary of your analysis and recommendations to Precision Electro-Tek’s management. Each deliverable is worth 10% and your group shares both marks equally. A handout in the third week of class will assign groups and outline the full expectations. In Week 4, you will craft a team contract setting out your team’s expectations and responsibilities. See the section in this syllabus about firing group members for details about managing absent or non-performing members of your team.

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Individual Analysis 25% Due before class, Week 14 You will submit an individual paper that reflects on one element of your Jieliang team’s dynamics. You will choose one topic from the course (e.g., personality, culture, motivation, conflict, ethics, etc.), and describe how this topic was meaningful to the performance and cohesion of your team. You must develop a set of recommendations to guide future teams to address the issues you describe. This assignment requires you to apply material and concepts from your course readings, and requires you to read and apply research on the topic from high-quality academic journals. An detailed outline of the expectations for this assignment will be provided in Week 9.

Final Examination 30% The final examination is a 3-hour exam. The exam will cover all the readings, class exercises, cases, and group presentations. The format will be a mix of multiple-choice, short-answer, case and essay questions. Details about the exam will be provided in class.

Research Bonus 2% You may earn a 2% bonus in the course by participating in research being conducted by Asper School of Business faculty. Details will be provided early in the term. You may sign up for the research pool by creating an account at http://manitoba-asper.sona-systems.com.ParticipationThere is no formal participation mark. However, this class hinges on case discussions, on hands-on exercises and shared reflections, and on interaction between students. I start with the assumption that you will arrive prepared and ready to engage with the material. I don’t want to spend our class time counting how many times each student raises their hand. I want our discussions to be genuine rather than forced. However, in the case of unexcused absences or lateness, unpreparedness, unprofessional behaviour, or other indications that you are not making a good faith effort to contribute to the class environment, I reserve the right to reduce your final grade by up to 10%.

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Class Schedule

Complete the assigned readings before class, and ensure you arrive ready to participate or (when applicable) having completed the prep work for participation.

Some notes: • This class does not have lectures that summarize your readings. The discussion, lectures and

exercises build on your readings; they do not replace them. • Readings marked “D2L” can be downloaded in PDF from the course’s Desire2Learn page.

Class Date Topic Readings

1 Jan 6 Welcome No readings

2 Jan 13 Why is Organizing So Hard?

Fisman & Sullivan (2013). Designing the job. In The Org. New York: Twelve, pp. 34-66 (D2L)

3 Jan 20 Motivating and Setting Goals

LRJ Chapter 4Ordonez, Schweitzer, Galinsky & Bazerman (2009). Goals gone wild. Academy of Management Perspectives 23(1), 6-16. (D2L)

4 Jan 27 Working in Teams

LRJ Chapter 5Edmondson (2012). A new way of working. In Teaming. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 11-43.

5 Feb 3 Personality and Culture

LRJ Chapter 2LRJ Chapter 10

6 Feb 10 Making Work Meaningful

LRJ Chapter 3Amabile & Kramer (2011). The power of small wins. Harvard Business Review 89(5), 70-80. (D2L)

7 Feb 17 Reading week — no classes

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8 Feb 24 Leading Others

LRJ Chapter 8Barling (2014). Enough about leadership. Let’s talk about followership! In The Science of Leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 269-298. (D2L)

9 Mar 3 Dealing with Destructive People

Sutton (2007). The damage done: Why every workplace needs the rule. In The No Asshole Rule. New York: Warner Books, 27-52. (D2L) Read The Jenner Situation (casebook)

10 Mar 10 Making Better Decisions

LRJ Chapter 9Surowiecki (2005). Committees, juries and teams: The Columbia disaster and how small groups can be made to work. In The Wisdom of Crowds. New York: Random House, 173-191. (D2L)

11 Mar 17Negotiating to Create Value and Manage Conflict

LRJ Chapter 6Malhotra & Bazerman (2007). Investigative negotiation. Harvard Business Review 85(9), 72-78. (D2L)

12 Mar 24 Being Fair

Brockner (2006). Why it’s so hard to be fair. Harvard Business Review 83(4), 122-129. (D2L) McClelland (2012). Shelf lives. Mother Jones, 37(2), 46-55 (D2L)


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13 Mar 31 Managing Power and Office Politics

LRJ Chapter 7Pfeffer (2010). Power: Good for organizations, good for you? In Power: Why Some People Have It - And Others Don’t. New York: Harper Collins, 213-225. (D2L)Read Thomas Green (casebook)

14 Apr 7 Behaving Ethically

Bazerman & Tenbrunsel (2011). When we act against our own ethical values. In Blind Spots. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 38-60. (D2L)Read The MBA Oath (casebook)

- Apr 13-27 Final exam period; registrar-scheduled final exam time/date TBA


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Policies 1. Classroom expectations

• I expect you to treat your classmates with dignity and respect, especially when there are differences of opinion or when ideas are presented that are different than your own.

• I expect you to provide your classmates with opportunity and encouragement to contribute. Share the airtime!

• I expect you to arrive at class having read the assigned readings and (when applicable) prepared the cases. I will use ‘warm calling’ in class: I may call on you to comment or answer a question. If you need more time to think about it, I can return to you later. But the expectation is that you will be familiar with the readings and prepared to engage in the discussion.

• You must be ready to respond to Prep Check questions using Top Hat. If your phone or laptop has battery issues, bring a charger with you to class.

• I expect you to make judicious use of personal technology during class time.

2. Course updates and news Important updates, course materials, news, and changes will be communicated via the course website on Desire2Learn (D2L). You are responsible for checking it regularly. The instructor may also email students using their official University of Manitoba email address; check yours regularly. Your assignments are also to be uploaded (ideally in PDF format) to D2L.

3. Email policy Please feel free to email me with questions ([email protected]) with ‘2070’ in your subject line.

I will respond to all emails within 48 hours. I will try to respond to your questions by email, but if doing so is impractical, I will arrange with you to meet for office hours. Please note that I will not answer any questions related to course material in the 48-hour period before the final exam. Bring your concerns to me more than two days before the exam, so I have the time to adequately address your questions.

Please direct email inquiries to the TAs directly only if I have instructed you to do so. Grade appeals will not be handled by the TAs.

4. Late penalties In general, contact me as soon as you know or suspect that you may be late in submitting an assignment. As is the case in the workplace, there is more that can be done if you try and make arrangements well in advance than if you simply fail to complete your work.

The general policy is as follows: • Pre-class reflections are due at midnight on the Sunday before class. Late reflections are not

accepted.

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• In-class preparation checks can occur at any point during the scheduled class time (e.g., at the beginning; at the end). If you arrive late or leave early, you may miss these marks. See the policy on absences in the next section.

• Late submissions of either the group report or the group video will be penalized at 10% per day (including weekends).

• You must have submitted your Team Contract before submitting the report and video. I will not accept report or video submissions from any group who has not submitted their Team Contract.

• Late submissions of the individual reflection will be penalized at 10% per day (including weekends).

5. Absences • Planned absences

In the case of a legitimate planned absence from the class, please email the instructor ([email protected]) one week (7 days) before your planned absence. The class frequently involves paired or group activities, and early notice allows the instructor to make alternate arrangements, where possible. Legitimate absences include religious observances or recognized holy days of your faith, conferences and case competitions, varsity athletic tournaments, or previously scheduled medical appointments. Absences for holidays (e.g. a trip extending past the end of reading week) or quotidian non-class conflicts (e.g., shifts at work, regular group meetings, club meetings, team practices, intramural sports, etc.) will not be permitted.

• Unplanned absencesThere are also a range of legitimate reasons for being suddenly unable to attend a class (illness, family emergencies, etc.) If you will be absent for a legitimate reason, let me know ([email protected]) as soon as you can. You will be expected to provide appropriate documentation upon your return to class.

In the case of legitimate absences, in-class prep check marks may be reweighted or alternate assignments provided, at the instructor’s sole discretion. Absences for the final exam are not covered by this policy, and will follow the academic regulations outlined by U of M policy.

6. Deferred exams Effective September 2005, the Department of Business Administration has instituted a policy which provides ONE DATE ONLY for students who have deferred their final exams. The deferred final exam date has been pre-set for May 8, 2015 at 1:00 p.m., Room TBD. This does not apply to take home final exams.

Please refer to University of Manitoba’s Policy 1305 – Exam Regulations (http://umanitoba.ca/admin/governance/governing_documents/academic/454.htm) or the Undergraduate Program Office for rules and regulations concerning deferred exams.

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7. Unclaimed assignments Pursuant to the FIPPA Review Committee’s approved recommendations as of August 15, 2007, all unclaimed student assignments will become the property of the faculty and will be subject to destruction six months after the completion of any given academic term.

Please refer to University of Manitoba’s Policy 1305 – Exam Regulations (http://umanitoba.ca/admin/governance/governing_documents/academic/454.htm) or the Undergraduate Program Office for rules and regulations concerning deferred exams.

8. Grade reviews If you feel there has been an error in the grading of your coursework or exams, please contact me by email with your concern. Allow me a minimum of 48 hours to re-read your pre-class reflection/assignment/exam, and I will meet with you in office hours to address your concerns and explain the grading. I will not do ‘on the spot’ reviews out of fairness to you -- I don’t want to make snap decisions without the chance to carefully review your work and the grade assigned.If the issue cannot be resolved, a formal appeal of grades may be made up to ten working days after the grades for the term work have been made available to the student.

9. Special learning needs Students with special learning needs (who, for legitimate reasons, require extra time to write the exam, or who require aids or other supports) should advise me of this (with accompanying documentation from disability services) during the first two weeks of the course in order to organize suitable accommodation and assessment arrangements. Students for whom English is an additional language (including exchange students) may bring a paper or electronic translation dictionary with them to exams. Use of translation aids must be consistent with the policy on academic integrity.

10. Voluntary withdrawal The last day for voluntary withdrawal without academic penalty is March 19, 2015.

11. A message I am required to paste into my syllabus but don’t actually care about IMPORTANT: Effective September 1, 2013, the U of M will only use your university email account for official communications, including messages from your instructors, department or faculty, academic advisors, and other administrative offices. If you have not already been doing so, please send all emails from your UofM email account. Remember to include your full name, student number and faculty in all correspondence. For more information visit: http://umanitoba.ca/registrar/e-mail_policy.

12. Citation style Your assignments must make consistent and thorough use of citations using a standard citation style (MLA, APA or Chicago are all okay). Information on citation styles can be found

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online through the University of Manitoba libraries (http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/infolit/student/citing_sources.html). Please recall that thorough and careful citation is vital to maintaining academic integrity in your work.

13. Academic integrity Familiarize yourself with the Academic Integrity Policy that follows. Please think of the policy not just as rules to be followed, but as principles to be faithfully lived by. If you are have any doubts about whether a particular course of action is appropriate, err on the side of integrity. Do not hesitate to ask me if you have questions or encounter a “grey area”. I care deeply about academic integrity and I will enforce the University and School’s policies on this matter.

It is critical to the reputation of the Asper School of Business and of our degrees, that everyone associated with our faculty behave with the highest academic integrity. As the faculty that helps create business and government leaders, we have a special obligation to ensure that our ethical standards are beyond reproach. Any dishonesty in our academic transactions violates this trust. Section 8 of the University Policies, found in The University of Manitoba Calendar, addresses the issue of academic dishonesty. Specifically, acts of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to:

• using the exact words of a published or unpublished author without quotation marks and without referencing the source of these words

• duplicating a table, graph or diagram, in whole or in part, without referencing the source

• paraphrasing the conceptual framework, research design, interpretation, or any other ideas of another person, whether written or verbal (e.g., personal communications, ideas from a verbal presentation) without referencing the source

• copying the answers of another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment

• providing answers to another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment

• taking any unauthorized materials into an examination or term test (crib notes) • impersonating another student or allowing another person to impersonate oneself for

the purpose of submitting academic work or writing any test or examination • stealing or mutilating library materials • accessing test prior to the time and date of the sitting • changing name or answer(s) on a test after that test has been graded and returned • submitting the same paper or portions thereof for more than one assignment, without

discussions with the instructors involved

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University of Manitoba I.H. ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MEDICAL ABSENTEEISM FORM

STUDENT IDENTIFICATION: (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY)

_____________________ _______________ ___________ _______________________________ Last Name First Name Middle Initial U of M Student Identification Number

_________________________________ ________________________________________ Course # Instructor Name

________________________________ _______________________________ Student’s Signature Date

TO BE COMPLETED BY THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN: (after the above section is completed) (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY)

___________________________________ _________________________________ ___________ Physician’s Last Name Physician’s First Name Middle Initial __________________________________ _________________________________ ___________ Street Address City, Province Postal Code ________________________ ________________________ Telephone Number Fax Number

To the attention of the physician: Your evaluation of the student’s condition is being used for the purpose of determining whether or not the student has a valid reason to miss an important exam or assignment. Your professional evaluation is necessary to ensure that only valid cases are excused.

I certify that the nature of the student’s condition is severe enough to prevent the student from taking an exam or completing an assignment. If requested, my associates or I will verify for the above named instructor/administrator that this information is accurate.

The student’s condition will likely span the following dates:

______________________________ until _______________________________ (Indicate start date) (Indicate end date)

______________________________ ______________________________ Physician’s Signature Date

NOTES TO PHYSICIAN: • Please make a note in the student/patient’s file indicating that the student has given the above named instructor/

administrator permission to verify with you, your staff, or your colleagues, that the information contained on this form is correct. Thank you for your professional evaluation of this student’s condition.

• PLEASE ATTACH THIS FORM TO YOUR REGULAR OFFICE STATIONERY THAT INDICATES THE STUDENT VISITED YOUR OFFICE.

NOTES TO STUDENT: • The use of this form is at the option of the student. However, in order to obtain an excused absence for an

assignment or exam the student must obtain a doctor’s certification that the student’s condition is severe enough to prevent the student from taking the exam or completing the assignment.

• It is NOT SUFFICIENT to provide a note that only indicates the student visited the doctor’s office.

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