SYLLABUS

 

MGT 6135

Organization Theory and Behavior

Fall 2009

 

Instructor:      Dr. N. A. Beadles II

Office:                         430 Atkinson

E-mail:                        see my policy on email

Phone:                         445-2575

Text (s)                       Consult the Bookstore. (I used to have a hyperlink here, but the University changes links).

Office Hours:             Monday/Wednesday: 10:00-11:00 AM

                                    Monday 3:15-5:00 PM

                        By Appointment (I am often in at other times, feel free to drop by for a chat - - if I’m busy I’ll let you know). I’ll generally be in at 8:00 AM M/W mornings and Tuesday, but I’m not committing to being here for “office hours”.

                                    If you have a sense of humor then you can click here for my take on office hours (if that offended you then you can click here).

 

Course Objectives and Description:

The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the fundamentals of organization theory and organizational behavior.  Topics to be covered include organizational structure, culture, technology, environment, and decision-making, as well as other organizational topics. 

 

Policies:

The format for this class will generally consist of student presentations, class discussion, and case studies.  The requirements are as follows: 2 exams (30% and 40%); term project (15%); participation (15 %). Term project and final exam will be discussed in class.

Exam format is short answer, discussion, true/false, multiple choice.  No make-ups are provided for. 

 

Articles:

Each student is responsible for bringing a relatively current article to class for discussion (that means do this yourself - - 1 article distributed among several students is not acceptable) along with a typed summary of the article.  These articles should relate to material covered in class for that particular week (indeed you must identify the concept in the book that the article illustrates or explicates).  Unrelated articles are not acceptable.  Articles may not be discussed every class, however, students should bring their articles and summaries each day in anticipation of discussion.  Normally (but not necessarily), each student will be called upon to present one article per week (no duplication allowed).  No credit will be given for reading the material in class.  Rather, each student will be expected to summarize the article in his/her own words and lead a discussion based on the information contained in the article.  You should maintain an orderly notebook of the articles throughout the semester (the format is available at my website). 

 

Project(s)

To be discussed in class (the project will consist of the completed notebook of your articles).

 

General Policies for Dr. Beadles’ Courses

See Dr. Beadles’ webpage http://hercules.gcsu.edu/~nbeadles/

 

Cheating

            Unless informed otherwise you will be provided with all necessary paper.  You are responsible for your writing instrument (remember to bring a scanable lead pencil) and, if needed, a calculator.   Any other materials are not permitted at your desk.  The presence of any notes at your desk--no matter what class--will be considered cheating and you will be subject to discipline by the School of Business. 

            Your continuation in this course is premised on your acceptance of this policy.  If you cannot abide by this condition you should drop the class.  Continuance in the class constitutes an implied agreement to the policy

 

Students with Disabilities

            It is the policy of GCSU to accommodate students with disabilities, pursuant to federal and state law. Any student with a disability who needs accommodation, for example in seating placement or in arrangements for examinations, should inform the instructor at the beginning of the course. The chair of the department offering this course is also available to assist with accommodations.

 

 

Schedule

            The following schedule indicates the topics for class discussion. Please note that this is a tentative schedule and variations (actually, they can be major variations) in timing may occur.   Note also that the syllabus itself (with the exception of the section on cheating) is not to be considered a contract which cannot be modified.  I reserve the right to make change when I deem them necessary. 

                                                           

Tentative Course Outline (other readings and work will be assigned weekly as we continue throughout the course and topics may be modified to reflect the interests of the students).

 

Week of:

Topics

8/17

Introduction

8/24

Chapter 1 Introduction to Organizational Behavior

Chapter 2 Organizational Culture (Do 1 article this week. Just do Chapter 2 for your project)

8/31

Chapter 3 Individual Differences and Work Behavior (Do 2 articles this week one for each chapter)

Chapter 4 Perceptions, Attributions, and Emotions

9/7

Labor Day no class on Monday the 7th

9/14

Chapter 5 Motivation

Chapter 6 Job Design, Work, and Motivation

9/21

Chapter 6 Job Design, Work, and Motivation

Chapter 7 Evaluation, Feedback, and Rewards

9/28

Test I

10/5

Chapter 8 Managing Misbehavior (Ethics)

Chapter 10 Groups and Teams

10/12

Fall Break no class on Monday the 12th

10/19

Chapter 12 Power, Politics, and Empowerment

10/26

Chapter 13 Communication

11/2

Chapter 14 Decision Making

11/9

Chapter 15 Leadership

11/16

Chapter 16 Organizational Structure and Design

Projects Due

11/23

Test II

11/30

Last day of class: Grades Returned: Review for Exam

12/7

Final Exam