Harvard University

Fall 2015 – via web conferencing

(as of 10/04/2015)

MGMT E-4000 Section 4: Organizational Behavior, Section 4

THURSDAYS: 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Room: Hybrid – online + on campus

Instructor: Jennifer Kay Stine, PhD, jstine@fas.harvard.edu

Appointments: by arrangement, please email

Course Description

This course deals with human behavior in a variety of organizations. Conceptual

frameworks, case discussions, and skill-oriented activities are applied to each topic.
Topics include communications, motivation, group dynamics, leadership, power,
organizational design and development, and organizational culture. Class sessions and
assignments are intended to help participants acquire the skills that managers need to
improve organizational relationships and performance. (4 credits)

Course Objectives

This course is designed to deepen your knowledge of organizational behavior from an

individual, group, and organizational perspective; and to encourage you to reflect on
and apply this knowledge in ways that will enhance your abilities as a manager. Specific
learning objectives include:

• Describe current research in organizational behavior and identify how can be

applied to workplace settings

• Understand how application of OB frameworks, tools, and concepts can enhance

individual, group, and organizational effectiveness

• Reflect on your own beliefs, assumptions and behaviors with respect to how
individuals, groups and organizations act in order to expand your approaches and
increase your own organizational effectiveness.

Stine, page 1 of 9
Emails, Office Hours, Feedback on Assignments and Exams

I strive to answer emails within 24 hours. If for some reason your email has not been
answered in that timeframe, please resend it.

Grades and comments are posted online in the comments section of Canvas. Once
grading is complete I am happy to schedule time to meet to provide additional feedback
and guidance. I schedule online office hours after returning grades and comments on
major assignment for additional feedback.

I also answer questions of clarification about the assignments and exams in class and by
emails to the entire class, and I provide occasional extra credit assignments that, while
generally designed to enhance your learning in the course, can also help your grade.
These are pass/fail and do not include comments.

Required Readings

For this class you will need to purchase a textbook and also an online pack of articles
and cases. These are:

(1) Robbins, SP, and Judge, TA, Essentials of Organizational Behavior. You may
purchase either the:
11th edition, 2012 (ISBN-10: 0132545306), or the
12th edition, 2013 (ISBN-10: 0132968509).
If you are outside of the United States, you will probably need to purchase
the 12th Global Edition (ISBN-10: 0273787012).
Correct chapters for all three editions are noted on the syllabus.
Note: You do NOT need the optional access to MyManagementLab.
Also, This is NOT the longer textbook with a similar name by the same authors
– make sure the version you buy has “ESSENTIALS” in the title.

(2) Course pack of articles, to be purchased and delivered online from HBS Press,

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/38190540

IMPORTANT INFORMATION – ONLINE COURSE

I will be providing important updates and instructions for the online version of this
course by email and on our course site https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/4137

Please read emails as soon as you receive them, and refer to the course site for
important information.

Stine, page 2 of 9
Our course is offered synchronously, that means “live”. You are expected to login and
join the course during our scheduled times and participate actively. I will be taking
recordings of the course for people who cannot make it, but viewing these will not
count towards your participation grade. Failure to attend classes live and participate
may result in a lower participation grade – see Course Requirements and Grades, below.

I will be scheduling an orientation to our online learning environment prior to the

course – to be arranged by email.

You will also be receiving information directly from Harvard Extension on how to access
and login to BlackBoard Collaborate, and how to test your computer and connection in
advance of the first class. Please review this information carefully and follow the
directions.

In order to support a better online experience for all students in the class, please
purchase and use a headset with a microphone. These may be purchased inexpensively
through an office supply store. Ear buds such as you would use on a phone are not
always reliable.

Course Requirements and Grades

The expectation is that you will read assigned materials prior to class. The class
discussion will be based on the reading and your reflections on its import and how it
might apply to your experiences. Assignments and papers are intended to encourage
deeper exploration, reflection, and synthesis of the assigned materials and course
discussions. Assignments are indicated in this syllabus and are due at the beginning of
the class indicated. Late submissions will result in a lower grade and must be approved
in advance by the instructor.

Grades will be calculated as follows:

Class Attendance, Preparation & Participation 20% of total grade (letter)

As lectures, discussions, and your reflections and applications of the learning are an
important part of this course, regular attendance, preparation, and regular participation
in class discussions is required.

Students are encouraged to exchange contact information and provide support to one
another should a class be missed. Additionally, please contact me if you are concerned
about your attendance or need additional information about assignments. If you are
unable to attend three or more classes, then you may be asked to complete an
additional assignment in order to complete the course.

Stine, page 3 of 9
Personal Reflections 20% of total grade (letter)

Developing the ability to reflect on your experiences and learning is a key component of
both professional and organizational development. You will be asked to turn in a
reflections paper of two pages in length, two times during the course. Personal
reflections are an opportunity to connect a topic or issue discussed in class with your
own work experience, with what you aspire to, or with what you have observed in
others. Your reflection should have a clear topic and you should support your
observations by drawing on selected readings and course frameworks. Topics are noted
in the syllabus.

Small Group Project 15% of total grade (letter)

During our in-person weekend on October 2/3/4, you will be creating small groups and I
will assign you a small group project. This project will be submitted along with your
midterm paper. As part of the group work you will be asked to provide a brief self-
assessment, and an assessment of one other team member.

Midterm 15% of total grade (letter)

You will be asked to complete a short essay of up to three pages in length that explores
ways to enhance organizational performance based on concepts you have learned thus
far in the course. Your paper should have a clear topic and a persuasive argument that
clarifies the importance of the topic and supports your point of view by drawing on
relevant readings and course frameworks. Topics will be provided.

Final Examination 30% of grade (letter)

For this examination you will asked to write a paper of up to six pages that defines,
illustrates and applies key concepts you have learned during the semester. This may
include both short answer and essay. The topics and essay questions for the final paper
will be provided one week before the exam is due.

Extra Credit up to 5% of grade (credit/no credit)

Students who complete 10 extra credit assignments will receive an additional 5% toward
their total score (.5% per assignment)

****************

Note on All Papers and Written Work:

All written assignments are 11 point font, one and a half, or double spaced (NOT single
spaced) and submitted electronically to the course site where a dropbox will be
provided.

Stine, page 4 of 9
Work should include a cover page and a bibliography – these are not included in the
page count.

Assignments are due prior to the beginning of the class indicated on the course syllabus
– due dates/times are noted in the corresponding dropbox on the course site.

Work should be well organized, follow an essay format, and grammatically correct. Brief
citations, noting the author’s name and page number in parentheses in the text, for
example (Robbins, 58), are acceptable for assigned readings (please indicate the edition
in the bibliography). Full citations should be provided for any references to material
that is not on the syllabus. For these, you can use your preferred citation format.
Additional instructions for written assignments are provided on the course site,
https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/4137.

All late papers will receive an automatic reduction in grade of one step, for example an
A- will be a B+. Submission of late papers must be approved in advance. Late finals will
not be accepted.

Important:
You are responsible for understanding Harvard Extension School policies on academic
integrity (www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/student-conduct/academic-
integrity) and how to use sources responsibly. Not knowing the rules, misunderstanding
the rules, running out of time, submitting "the wrong draft", or being overwhelmed with
multiple demands are not acceptable excuses. There are no excuses for failure to uphold
academic integrity. To support your learning about academic citation rules, please visit
the Harvard Extension School Tips to Avoid Plagiarism
(www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources/tips-avoid-plagiarism),
where you'll find links to the Harvard Guide to Using Sources and two, free, online 15-
minute tutorials to test your knowledge of academic citation policy. The tutorials are
anonymous open-learning tools.

The Extension School is committed to providing an accessible academic community. The

Disability Services Office offers a variety of accommodations and services to students
with documented disabilities. Please visit www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-
policies/resources/disability-services-accessibility for more information.

Students looking to improve their writing are strongly encouraged to take advantage of
the services at the Harvard College Writing Center,
http://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources/writing-center. Support from the Writing
Center is approved by me for all written work in this class, including the midterm and
the final.

This syllabus is subject to change.

Stine, page 5 of 9
(Note: assigned chapters vary depending on the edition of the textbook. Please refer to
the “required readings” detail above if you are unclear which textbook edition you have.
“Course pack” indicates articles and cases you purchased electronically from HBSP – see
required materials, above.)

Course Schedule (Course meets online except for Oct 2/3/4)

September 3 Introduction to Organizational Behavior

What is Organizational Behavior, and Why Does it
Matter?
Reading: Robbins, Ch. 1 (all editions)
“How Great Companies Think Differently” (course
pack)

September 10 Attitudes and Emotions in the Workplace

Required Reading: Robbins Ch. 2 & 3 (11th); or 4 & 7
(12th); or 3 & 4 (12th Global)
“Keeping Colleagues Honest” and
“Counterproductive Work Behaviour 101” (course
pack)

September 17 Personality and Values; Diversity in the Workplace

Required Reading: Robbins Ch 4 (11th); or 2 (12th);
or 2 and 5 (12th Global)
“Making Differences Matter”, “Differences at Work:
The Leadership Challenge” and “Next 20 Years”
(course pack)
Personal reflection #1 due
(select topic from: Attitudes, Emotions, Personality,
Values, Diversity – pick one or two)

September 24 Perception and Decision-making

Case Discussion: Mount Everest – 1996
Required Reading: Robbins, Ch. 5 (11th); or 3 (12th);
or 6 (12th Global)
“Mount Everest – 1996 ”, “How (Un)Ethical Are
You”, and “Learning to Live with Complexity”
(course pack)

Stine, page 6 of 9
INTENSIVE WEEKEND in Cambridge MA!

Friday, October 2, 5-8 pm (One Brattle Square 201)

Understanding Job Satisfaction & Motivation
Required Reading: Robbins, Ch. 6 & 7 (11th); 5 & 6
(12th); 7 & 8 (12th Global), and
“Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant”(course pack)

Saturday, October 3, 9 am-5 pm (One Brattle Square 201)

Communication & Social Networks

Required Reading: Robbins, Ch. 10 (11th and 12th);
11 (12th Global)
“Informal Networks: The Company Behind the
Chart”, “Building Effective One-on-One
Relationships”
(course pack)

Power and Politics

Required Reading, Robbins, Ch. 12 (11th and 12th)
13 (12th Global)
“Power Play” (course pack)
Case Discussion: Thomas Green
Required Reading: “Thomas Green: Power, Office
Politics, and a Career in Crisis”, and “Why
Managing Up Matters” (course pack)

Conflict and Negotiation

Required Reading, Robbins, Ch. 13 (11th and 12th) or
14 (12th Global)
“Want Collaboration? Accept – And Actively
Manage – Conflict” and “Transforming
Negotiations” (course pack)

Sunday, October 4, 9 am-1 pm (One Brattle Square 201)

Group Behavior and Teams
Case Discussion: Henry Tam and the MGI Team
Required Reading: Robbins, Ch. 8 & 9 (11th and
12th); 9 & 10 (12th Global)
“Henry Tam and the MGI Team”, and “The New
Science of Building Great Teams” (course pack)

Small group project assigned

Stine, page 7 of 9
October 8 & 15 – no class, work on small group projects

October 22 Small group project due online by 8pm;

Midterm emailed (no class)

October 29 – no class, work on midterm

November 5 Leadership
Required Reading: Robbins, Ch. 11 (11th and 12th);
12 (12th Global)
”Becoming the Boss”, “In Praise of the Incomplete
Leader”, “Social Intelligence & the Biology of
Leadership” (course pack)
Midterm due, 5pm

November 12 Organizational Design

Required reading: Robbins, Ch. 14 (11th or 12th) or
15 (12th Global)
“Do You Have a Well-Designed Organization” and
“The Third Wave of Virtual Work” (course pack)

November 19 Organizational Culture

Case Discussion: Zappos.com 2009
Required reading: Robbins Ch. 15 (11th or 12th) or
16 (12th Global)
“Zappos.com 2009”, and “Strategies for Learning
from Failure” and “Lost in Translation” (course
pack)

November 26 – no class Personal reflection paper due on Nov 25, 5PM

(Select topic from: either Leadership,
Organizational Design, or Organizational Culture)

December 3 Organizational Change

Case Discussion: Google’s Project Oxygen
Required reading: Robbins Ch. 16 (11th or 12th) or
17 (12th Global)
“Google’s Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter?”,
and “Leading Change”
Final exam emailed after class

December 17 Final Examination Due Online by 7PM (no class)

Stine, page 8 of 9
***Please Note: Syllabus may be modified prior to and during class, including updates
to assignments and additional materials***

Stine, page 9 of 9