bcitanigif.gif (12532
bytes)BRITISH COLUMBIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY - A POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION

School of Business

 

COURSE OUTLINE

Note:  Should changes be required to the content of this course outline, students will be given reasonable notice.

 

COURSE NUMBER: ORGB 2110ORGB2110

COURSE NAME: Organizational Behavior

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Start Date: September 2004Week of September 03, 2002

End Date:  December 2004Week of December 09,2002

TAUGHT BY:  Wilf Ratzburg

TAUGHT TO:

Program: BUSA & [CST]

Option: BUSA 2A & 2 ,& [CST 3A, 3C, 3G, 3E, & 3J]

 

Hours/Week

 

Total Hours:

42

Term/Level:

1, [3]

Lecture:

1

 

 

 

 

Lab:

2

 

 

 

 

Other:

 

Total Weeks:

14

Credits:

3

 

Instructor:  Wilf Ratzburg

 

Office No.  SE6-307

Phone: 604-925-0730 (home – preferred #) or 451-6755

E-mail: orgb2110@hotmail.com

URL: http://www.oocities.org/frtzw906

Fax:  439-6700

Office Hours:  AS POSTED

 

 

Pre-requisites: none

Course Number:

Course Name:

This course is a prerequisite for

 

Short Course Description  (from Calendar):

ORGB 2110 - Organizational Behaviour: Helps the student become more effective in dealing with the human element in a business enterprise. Topics include individual factors such as personality, attitudes, perception and motivation; group factors such as communication, leadership, power and politics, group dynamics and conflict; and examples of organizational factors such as organizational structure and culture and managing change.

 

Course Goals:

Students taking this course will gain an appreciation of the human resource aspects of management. More specifically, students will gain an understanding of some of the factors that determine personality and how these factors influence an employee's actions and reactions to superiors, coworkers, subordinates, and various job-related environments.

Students will gain insight into the functioning of teams and understand why the norms and values of teams, as well as the roles assigned to team members, influence the teams' contributions to overall organizational goals.

Students will learn that effective leadership behaviour is a function of situational variables and, concomitantly, that leader behavior is temporal and subject to the demands of the environment, and the abilities and attitudes of followers.

Through a study of power, influence, and coalition formation, students will come to understand the ubiquitous nature of politics in organizations; they will learn to appreciate the positive and negative aspects of political behaviour on the organization.

Using bargaining/negotiating skills, students will gain insight into how alliances are formed, as well as how conflict between disparate groups within an organization can be resolved.

In order to enable students to function in a multicultural and pluralistic business environment, communication models and tools which provide an understanding of communications problems will be examined.

Students will be introduced to several motivational models to help them diagnose organizational problems that are motivation related and to successfully prescribe solutions based on the factors identified by these models.

Through an examination of the concepts of rites, rituals, customs, and ceremonies, students will come to understand the role organizational culture plays in the functioning of an effective organization.

 

 

Evaluation:

Policy:

Effective December 2000, students will be required to produce photo-identification for admittance to examination centres. Photo I.D. must be placed on the desk while writing the exam, for inspection by invigilators. Students should bring a BCIT OneCard or alternatively two pieces of identification, one of which must be government photo I.D. such as a drivers license. Please see BCIT Policy #5300, Formal Invigilation Procedures.

 

Final Examination

45% or (25%)

Students may opt to take a midterm exam if they wish. If a student makes that choice, the mark distribution will be: midterm exam -- 20% and final exam -- 25%.

Midterm Test - Optional

0% or (20%)

 

Quizzes & Assignments

40%

 

Participation

15%

 

Total

100 %

 

 

Text(s) and Equipment:

Recommended: 

Canadian Organizational Behavior by Steven L. McShane

 

 

Prior Learning Assessment Method: N/A

 

 


 

Verification: 

I verify that the content of this course outline is current: Wilf Ratzburg

 

 

Date: 04/09/06

I verify that this course outline has been reviewed: (Chief Instructor/Program Head)

 

 

Date:

I verify that this course outline complies with BCIT policy: (Associate Dean)

 

 

Date:

 

 

Course Learning Outcomes/Competencies:

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

·         State why an understanding of human behavior in organizations is critical to a successful career in management

·         Describe the multidisciplinary origins of the study of organizational behavior

·         Describe some of the factors that influence personality

·         Apply and/or give examples of at least 4 theories of human motivation

·         Describe at least 4 factors that could effect an employee's level of job-related motivation

·         Give examples of how job design and employee motivation are interrelated

·         Apply motivational theories to resolve problems of employee absenteeism, turnover, stress, job satisfaction, job performance and organizational commitment

·         Describe the evolution of leadership theories

·         Apply Blanchard's modified situational leadership theory to the diagnosis and resolution of real leadership problems

·         Apply Vroom's situational leadership theory to the diagnosis and resolution of real leadership problems

·         define organizational politics

·         Analyze organizational leadership positions in order to determine a leader's source of power

·         Give examples of how political behaviors permit employees to implement their values (projects, programs) within the organization

·         Explain the difference between equity and equality from a coalition formation perspective

·         Demonstrate an ability to apply the dependence theory of power in simulated bargaining exercises

·         Describe an elementary model of communications

·         Use a model of communications to describe why communication in an organization can break down

·         Explain why effective communication systems are particularly important in a pluralistic, multicultural workforce

·         Describe the positive and negative aspects of team membership

·         Describe the organizational factors affecting teams

·         Recognize organizational cultures in which groups function

·         Describe the way teams contribute to the organization

·         Describe the methods for team formation

·         Recognize the stages of team development

·         Describe the factors affecting selection of team members

·         Distinguish between team norms and team roles

·         Describe decision-making processes within teams

·         Respect individual, cultural, social, gender, interdisciplinary differences in a team environment

·         Fulfill roles and responsibilities assigned to team members

·         Respect and respond appropriately to different team members’ personality styles

·         Practice a win-win philosophy in team endeavors

·         Value cooperation without compromise in team decision processes

·         Share resources, ideas, and feelings with team while working in a team environment

·         Explain the value of divergent opinions in team meetings

·         Demonstrate a willingness to modify opinions based on new information contributed when working on team projects

·         Demonstrate an willingness to positively reinforce the contributions of others when working on team projects

·         Explain different models of conflict resolution

·         Demonstrate accountability/responsibility for team tasks and team maintenance

·         Use appropriate speaking and listening skills within teams

·         Give, solicit, and respond to constructive feedback when working in teams

·         Participate effectively in team meetings

·         Use controversy creatively in team decision making

·         Identify team process problems and take appropriate corrective action

·         Explain the importance of leadership roles in responding appropriately to the various stages of group development

·         Prepare and follow schedules a required by team projects

·         Demonstrate a willingness to participate actively in the team processing during team projects

 

Course Notes (Policies & Procedures)

Information below can be adapted or supplemented as necessary.  Please be sure to read this section over and revise as necessary

·         Assignments:  Assignments must be done on an individual basis unless otherwise specified by the instructor.

·         Attendance:  The attendance policy as outlined in the current BCIT Calendar will be enforced.

·         Course Outline Changes:  The material specified in this course outline may be changed by the instructor.  If changes are required, they will be announced in class and notification will be sent by email..

·         Ethics:  BCIT assumes that all students attending the Institute will follow a high standard of ethics.  Incidents of cheating or plagiarism may, therefore, result in a grade of zero for the assignment, quiz, test, exam or project for all parties involved and /or expulsion from the course.

·         Illness:  A doctor's note is required for any illness causing you to miss assignments, quizzes, test, projects or exam.  At the discretion of the instructor, you may complete the work missed or have the work prorated (i.e. an average is given according to your performance throughout the course)

·         Makeup Tests, Exams or Quizzes:  See the section above on “Illness”.

·         Labs:  Lab attendance is mandatory. 

·         I.D. Required in Examination Centres:  Effective December 2000, in order to write exams, students will be required to produce photo-identification at examination centres.  Photo I.D. must be placed on the desk before an exam will be issued to the student.  The I.D. must remain in view on the desk while writing the exam, for inspection by invigilators.  Students should bring a BCIT OneCard or, alternatively, two pieces of identification, one of which must be government photo I.D. such as a driver’s license.  Please see BCIT Policy #5300, Formal Invigilation Procedures.

 

 


 

 

 

Assignment Details:

*This schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor:

 

 

Week

Material to be Covered

1

WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

·         Contributions of Other Social Sciences

o        Industrial Psychology

o        Sociology

o        Anthropology

o        Political Science

 

2 & 3

TEAMS

·         Teams defined

·         Reasons for joining teams

o        Selection criteria

o        Goals (objectives)

·         Norms and Roles

o        Deviance

o        Conformity

o        Dysfunctional behaviors

o        Social Loafing

·         Group Processes

o        Communication

o        Responsibility

o        Accountability

o        Respect

o        Evaluation

·         Decision making

o        Consensus

o        Cooperation

o        Constructive conflict

·         Groupthink

4

INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE ORGANIZATION

·         Theories of Human Behavior - a Psychological Approach

o        Characteristics of Achievers (D.C. McClelland)

o        The Human Side of Enterprise (D. Mc Gregor)

o        Employing the Whole Man (P. Drucker)

5 & 6

MOTIVATION

·         A Needs Approach -- Maslow

·         McClelland's Acquired Needs

    • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

·         Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory

    • Job Design (Hackman & Oldham)

·         Equity of Rewards in the Workplace

·         Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence

·         On the Folly of Rewarding "A", While Hoping for "B" (S. Kerr)

·         An examination of piece rates (pro and con)

7

MIDTERM EXAM

8 & 9

LEADERSHIP

·         Historical Review of the Study of Leadership

o        Trait Theories

o        Ohio State Studies

o        Variations of this Approach

o        Situational Variables

o        The Blanchard Model

o        The Vroom Model

o        Fiedler

o        Path-Goal Theory of Leadership (House & Mitchell)

10 & 11

ORGANIZATION POWER AND POLITICS

·         Power defined

·         Sources of Power

·         Power as a Function of Dependence

·         Political Behavior in the Organization

·         Coalition Formation

·         Control of Information

·         Patterns of Political Behavior in Organizations (Farrell & Petersen)

12

ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT

·         Conflict Defined

·         Benefits of Conflict

·         Dysfunctional Nature of Organizational Conflict

·         Interpersonal Approach to Conflict Management

·         Structural Approach to Conflict Management

13

INTERPERSONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

·         A Model of Communication

o        Encoding and Decoding

o        Feedback

o        'Noise' During Transmission

·         Using the Appropriate Communications Medium

·         Barriers to Effective Communication

o        Language

o        Semantics

o        Filtering

o        Cultural Differences

o        Perception

14

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

·         Organizational Culture Defined

·         Organizational Subcultures

o        Stories, Rites, Rituals, Ceremonies

·         Culture and the New Employee -- Communicating the Culture