Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Management is both a skill and an art. Organizations are complex systems--varying in size, industry
constraints, and structure--and so are the problems that managers face. This course will provide you
with the necessary tools to diagnose and solve organizational problems and to influence the actions
of individuals, groups, and organizations. Specifically, this course is designed to provide a practical
guide to managing behaviour--your own, and that of your co-workers--in organizations. We draw on
social science theory to identify the key human tendencies that can pose obstacles to career
achievement even for the most talented and technically competent individuals. Topics include the
challenges of making decisions effectively, motivating others to implement your vision, influencing
those who resist your ideas, designing and managing teams, organizational diversity, social networks
and key concepts in organizational design. We will explore these issues using readings, cases,
lectures, discussions, and in-class exercises.
Because the course is only ten weeks long and the scope of concepts, theories, and applications is
immense, we have had to be selective in choosing the material. As a class, we will have to be
focused in moving through the concepts, as we will spend only a session or two on topics that could
easily take an entire quarter. My objective is to cover some fundamental ideas in Organizational
Behavior as well as some applications of those ideas. I hope the concepts will provide you with a
framework for organizing your own past experience, as well as guiding additional learning and
reading you will be doing after you complete the course. My objective is not to teach you how to
follow a specific recipe for doing something, but rather to teach you to cook for yourself, by
developing conceptual skills and knowledge so that you can solve novel problems independently and
with confidence.
1
PREPARING FOR CLASS
• It is important that you complete the reading and cases for each session in advance. You will not
profit as much from the class sessions unless you come prepared, nor will you be able to
contribute to the class discussion of the case. The readings are selected to augment the in-class
discussions and lectures. In particular, the readings provide more technical or in-depth
explanations of the research on which the concepts are based and/or provide “real world”
illustrations of how the concept has functioned in an organizational context. For some sessions,
the syllabus lists readings to be done after the class. You will be responsible for these materials
at the time of the exam, as well as being responsible for knowing the concepts from readings
done before class.
• Many of the principles and issues involved in managing people and organizations are relatively
timeless. Consequently, you should not rely on the copyright dates of either the readings or the
cases in evaluating their usefulness. “Classic” readings and cases are included because they
speak to important issues in useful, interesting, and time-tested ways.
• The articles in your case packet provide key ideas and theoretical insights into human behavior
and its impact on productivity and performance. To be sure you have grasped the point of each
article, ask yourself:
o How can I use this information to tackle the challenges we are discussing in class?
• Many sessions in this course follow a case discussion format. The cases provide concrete
situations to which you should apply the concepts introduced in articles. They provide an
opportunity for you to practice diagnosing the nature and causes of organizational performance,
and to practice thinking through the potential consequences of action strategies. Some of the
cases appear far-removed from problems pertinent to your particular interests or industry
experience, but in general, the lessons from the cases are universally relevant and transcend
particular situations. I have provided discussion preparation questions for each case to help you
prepare for the class.
• I facilitate class discussion of the cases first to obtain all views and second to integrate the
prevailing views that have been presented with theoretical constructs in the class. In this way,
the direction and quality of the discussion is the collective responsibility of the group, not the
sole responsibility of the instructor.
• All required readings and cases for the course may be found in the Course Reader or in the
following assigned book:
o Cialdini, R. (2009). Influence: Science and Practice. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Please note that there is a reading assignment for the first session!
2
COURSE GRADING
Class Attendance and Participation (15% of the final grade). Every session of the course involves
interaction in the form of class discussion, which is an important part of the learning process. To
attain a rich and flexible understanding of the concepts, you need to become actively engaged with
the material by reading the assignments and preparing the cases before class—in other words, be
actively involved in the learning process. Participation also provides you with an opportunity to
develop your communication skills which includes not only the ability to express your own ideas,
but also your ability to listen, inquire and accurately interpret others’ ideas.
Attendance: Students are allowed to be absent no more than 20% of regular class sessions
without a direct grade penalty. Thus, two absences from your 409 class are permissible. An
additional absence will result in lowering the grade by one full letter. Thus, a third absence
would trigger an automatic grade penalty. It is not possible to complete the course with any
more than three absences. The course must be retaken. If you miss a class, you are
responsible for informing the instructor and your TA of your absence ahead of time and for
obtaining announcements, information, handouts, and materials from your classmates or
from the course website. It may be possible to make up a missed class with another section.
To do so, contact the TAs from both your section and the section that you would like to
attend. Made up classes will not be considered absences.
Classroom Discussion: Participating in class discussions is essential to the pedagogical
approach of this course. Your grade on class participation will be based primarily on the
quality of your contributions to the ongoing discussion and your success in leading the
discussion in productive, analytical directions. Comment quality will be assessed using the
following criteria (in order of importance):
Relevance: How is the comment related to the current discussion? Does it link to ideas in
the course readings and discussions?
Logic: Do you explain the reasoning behind your comment using clear evidence and
coherent arguments?
Integration: Does your comment move the discussion forward by building on previous
contributions with new insights?
Individuality: Does your comment contribute a new perspective to the discussion, or does it
simply repeat what others have already said?
A single, high-quality comment is more valuable than several, average-quality ones. High
quality comments are succinct and demonstrate that you have been listening to the
discussion. I will facilitate the discussion with an eye toward inclusiveness, but it is your
responsibility to raise your hand and get involved. I encourage each section to discuss
norms about how to distribute opportunities to participate fairly and optimize the quality of
the discussion. Note that missing a class will impact the participation component of your
grade, since you cannot participate in a discussion if you are not present.
Forum on Course Website: A discussion board is also available for this section, which you
can access from the course website (“Discussion” link). We encourage you to continue our
class discussions during the week, particularly if you find any real-world examples of course
3
concepts in the media or based on your interactions at work. You may include links to
publicly available news stories but please do not post anything proprietary from your
employer on the board. Please keep comments constructive and respectful.
Peer evaluation: At the mid-point and at the conclusion of the course, every student will
submit confidential self and peer-evaluations on course participation, taking into
consideration how much they learned from each classmate and how constructively each
classmate contributed to their learning experience. Please take into account participation in
both the classroom and website discussions.
Professor and TA evaluation: Your participation will also be measured by the professor and
TA at the end of each class session. To make sure we are fairly and accurately recalling
contribution to the class discussions, the TA will periodically record the comments you make
during class so we have a record to which we can refer when making our assessments.
A final note on citizenship: Unless otherwise noted, computers, cell phones, and other electronic
devices are not to be used during class.
Online Surveys (10% of the final grade): You will complete three online surveys in preparation for
specific classes during the quarter. Links to the surveys and specific instructions will be sent to your
Anderson email address. Completing the first and third surveys each account for 3% of your final
grade and the second survey accounts for 4% of your grade. With your permission, data from these
surveys will be used by Professor Bendersky and her colleagues for academic research as well. You
have an opportunity to anonymously opt out of participating in the research project without
consequence for your grade.
Double space your work, use 12- point fonts and 1-inch margins. Please put the following
information in the header of each individual/group assignment: Your UCLA ID number, the
individual/group assignment name, your section letter and the page number. For group assignments,
make sure to include the UCLA ID of all your team members. Do NOT include your name(s).
Assignments should be turned in using Turnitin.com, a website that can be accessed on your class
list at www.my.ucla.edu. Assignments are due before the beginning of class on the day the
assignment is due.
Final Examination (25% of the final grade). The exam will consist of short essay questions
addressing concepts, theories, and facts from the class readings, cases, lectures, exercises and
discussions, as well as a case write-up. The exam will be “open book/open notes” format, and you
will receive the case (but not the associated questions) to read in advance. Computers will be
allowed and we will arrange for you to be able to print your answers in the classroom as well as
submit using Turnitin.com.
Assignment Feedback: Graded assignments are returned to you with a few individualized
comments written on them. In addition, a detailed summary of the assignment will be
emailed to the class that explains what students did really well and what students struggled
5
with. You can figure out how your grade was determined by comparing your individual
comments with the general feedback memo. If you do not understand your feedback or want
more detail, please make an appointment to discuss it with your TA.
Regrade Requests are generally discouraged and will only be considered when made in
writing with a clear explanation for why a mistake may have been made within one week. If
granted, an independent re-grade may result in the same grade, a higher grade or a lower
grade.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Class Slides. Copies of a preview version of the PowerPoint slides will be distributed in each class
for you to take notes. These preview versions exclude information that I do not want to circulate
until our in-class activities are completed. Furthermore, for various reasons, the handouts may not be
completely the same as the slides presented in class. A .pdf version of the final slides will be posted
on the course website following each class. You are responsible for the material on the final set of
slides.
Teaching Assistants. Teaching assistants will help collect, read, and grade assignments, and keep
track of class attendance and participation. The TAs are experienced with the course material and
are glad to answer questions in person or via email. Questions and requests for additional feedback
on graded assignments should be directed at your TA.
• Both sections: Nicholas Hays: nicholas.hays.2012@anderson.ucla.edu
6
COURSE OUTLINE AND SCHEDULE OF SESSIONS
7
Went Wrong at ENRON. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
• Fowler, T. (2005, December 20). Enron’s implosion was anything but sudden. Houston
Chronicle.
SESSION 3: PERSUASION
In class activities: in class video, social influence dynamics as portrayed in Twelve Angry Men
After class: Be sure to collect your materials for the negotiation simulation we are doing in
session 4. Look for email with social network survey link in your Anderson email account.
8
SESSION 4: NEGOTIATIONS
Complete prior to class: Online survey about section social network and personal preferences.
In class activities: Section social network and discussion of personal Network Assessment Exercises.
Unit wrap-up.
9
UNIT 3: MANAGING GROUPS AND TEAMS
Due in class: Group case write-up: Henry Tam and the MGI Team.
In class activities: Online group process survey. Discussion of David Fletcher case.
In class activities: Lego Person and mid-point group effectiveness check activity.
Please read the following after class (handed out in class session 7):
10
• Heath, C. & Staudenmayer, N. (2000). Coordination neglect: How lay theories of organizing
complicate coordination in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 22, 153-
191.
SESSION 8: DIVERSITY
In class activities: Implicit Association Test (IAT) demonstration and diversity discussion. Unit
wrap-up.
11
UNIT 4: MOTIVATION AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE
Due in class: Group case write up of Morgan Stanley/Rob Parsons case sequence.
In class activities: Discussion of Morgan Stanley/Rob Parsons case sequence, including fishbowl
role play. Course evaluations.
After class: Look for a link to the final survey in your Anderson email account.
In class activities: Discussion of SAS and Lincoln Electric case (in class video). Course review and
final-exam preparation.
13