- Jennifer M. George and Gareth M. Jones, Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior, 6th ed., (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012).
ISBN-13: 978-0136124436
Syllabus for MAN-311
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Organizational Behavior provides a framework for understanding and successfully managing the interactions between individuals, groups, and organizations. Topics include the roles of individuals within organizations, group processes and leadership styles, organizational communication, and the impact on society of organizational culture. A continuing emphasis on ethical behavior connects the course with contemporary concerns.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
You will need the following textbook to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the University's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
ISBN-13: 978-0136124436 |
Organizational Behavior is a three-credit online course, consisting of five modules. Modules include learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written activities (including a written exercise, an application activity, and a self-awareness exercise), take module quizzes, and complete a Capstone Paper. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.
In addition to an ungraded Introductions Forum, Organizational Behavior requires you to participate in graded class discussions, one per module.
Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a posted question (discussion topic) and subsequent comments on classmates' responses.
You will be evaluated both on the quality of your responses (i.e., your understanding of readings, and concepts as demonstrated by well-articulated, critical thinking) and quantity of your participation (i.e., the number of times you participate meaningfully in the assigned forums). Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.
Meaningful participation in online discussions is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement.
For posting guidelines and help with discussion forums, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.
Organizational Behavior has several types of written activities. These activities can be grouped into the following categories:
For the activity topics and questions, see the individual modules. Due dates for each activity are listed in the Course Calendar.
Your answers to the activity questions should be well developed and convey your understanding of the readings and concepts. They should also adequately answer the questions posed. If you need help in writing, take a look at The Writing Center: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Also, formulate responses in your own words. Do not merely copy answers from your reading materials. When quoting or paraphrasing from the text or other sources, be sure to cite the source of information properly according to APA guidelines (see also Note on Documentation). If you have further questions, your mentor will guide you in accordance with the correct style of documentation.
Prepare your written activities using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.
Before submitting your first activity, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your activity as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.
For help regarding preparing and submitting activities, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.
At the conclusion of each module is an online module quiz. Each module quiz is 25 minutes long. Consult the Course Calendar for quiz deadlines.
This course does not have a midterm or a final examination. Instead you will be required to write and submit a Capstone Paper to your mentor. This paper consists of a situational analysis and critique of an issue or problem that you have either participated in or observed in an organization. The particulars of the paper are as follows:
Be sure to employ organizational behavior concepts studied in this course. For example, a paper might deal with the culture of the organization, diversity issues, ethical considerations, leadership styles, and communication patterns. Utilize theories discussed in your text as the underpinning of your analysis and assessment.
To keep you on track, you'll be required to submit a topic idea and a few summary paragraphs about halfway through the course, followed by an outline a week or so later. The paper itself will be due on the last day of the semester. The comments you receive from your mentor as you progress will help you move your paper in the right direction.
Your Capstone Paper should be well developed and convey your understanding of the readings and concepts. It should also adequately cover the topic you have chosen. Your paper should be organized, coherent, and unified; it should also be free of spelling and grammatical errors. If you need help in writing such a paper, take a look at The Writing Center: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
If you have questions about the requirements of the paper, be sure to discuss them with your mentor well in advance of the final submission. You will be submitting a topic idea and general plan first for approval, then an outline for approval, and finally your paper.
For help regarding preparing and submitting activities, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
*Submission of an acceptable topic is worth 1% percent of your grade and submission of an approved outline is worth another 4%. This 5% added to 35% for the paper itself makes up the percentage apportioned to your Capstone Paper.
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.
Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.
Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.
If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.
If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.
If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.
Possible sanctions include:
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