3360 Outline Spring 2007

8/3/2019 3360 Outline Spring 2007

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UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT

MANAGEMENT 3360

ORGANIZATION THEORY

Section A

Instructor: Dr. John M. Usher Term: Spring 2007Office: E582 Time: MW 15:05 to 16:20Telephone: 329-2759 Room: AH176

E-mail: [email protected] Office hours: MW 13:30 – 15:00

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Course Objectives:

This course is about organizations and the linkages among their environments, strategies and

structures. How and why organizations function as they do will be described in a framework designed to improve organizational effectiveness. The course will focus on the aggregate

behaviour of people in various organizations - business, government, education, professions.

This course builds on the material covered in MGT2030 which deals with the behaviour of individuals and small groups in organizations - a “micro” focus. MGT3360 will use an

integrative “macro” focus to diagnose and analyze how the successful implementation of

organizational strategies is often contingent upon achieving a good fit between specificenvironmental factors and organizational structure and process variables.

Course Materials:

Daft, Richard L. Organization Theory and Design, 9th edition, (8th edition may also be

used if available.), St. Paul MN: West Publishing, 2007. ISBN: 0-324-40542-1

Basis of Evaluation

1. Group Presentation 20%2. Mid term examination 35%

3. Group Assessment 10%4. Final examination 35%

100%

Grade Distributions

A+ 95-100 B+ 82-85 C+ 70-73 D+ 58-61

A 90-94 B 78-81 C 66-69 D 50-57

A- 86-89 B- 74-77 C- 62-65 F 00-49

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Course Structure and Requirements:

Group Presentation: Students will be required to work in groups of their own choosing to

prepare and present a case analysis from the text. Group size will be 5 students. Group membersmay be ‘fired’ for cause by a majority of the group following consultation with me. There is no

alternative work for credit available to fired members. Do not find yourself in this situation.

Teamwork is a critical managerial skill set. Presentations will be structured as follows:

(1) A 15-20 minute overview / interpretation of the case facts ending with a summary of the keyissues facing the organization. Creativity (game shows, videos, skits, etc.) is highly encouraged

for this segment but you should be sure that form does not overwhelm substance.

(2) Each presenting group will also have the responsibility of providing a list of questions about

the case to be answered by the other groups in the class. You will assign each non-presentinggroup a different question that applies the theory of the current chapter (and previous chapters if

appropriate) and the taking up of these questions by the presenting group will constitute the

analysis / diagnosis segment of their presentation. Questions that should be avoided include thosewhich call for conclusions such as specific recommendations or details of implementation as

these are the job of the presenting group. Upon assigning the analysis questions, members of the

presenting group will circulate among the non-presenting groups to provide advice and generalassistance during the 15-20 minutes available for these groups to work on their responses.

Before your presentation begins please provide me with a list of the questions that you expect

the other groups to answer and ensure that I am aware which groups will be assigned which

questions. I will gladly review your proposed questions before you finalize them for class use.Just email them to me, drop by during office hours or make an appointment for this purpose.

(3) Upon reconvening the class, the presenting group will call upon a spokesperson from eachnon-presenting group in turn to provide their response to the assigned question. After each

response, a member of your presenting group will comment on the answer provided and discuss

in detail how you handled that question. You are the experts after all!

(4) During the final segment of the presentation, the presenting group provides details of how

they would resolve the issues of the case: alternative courses of action that were considered (withthe pro's & con's of each), the recommended course of action (which of the alternatives was

chosen), and implementation details (demonstrating the feasibility of putting your

recommendation into action.) Examine your alternatives carefully to ensure that they are true

alternatives, i.e. it is not possible to do more than one at the same time. A hint: if you find thatyou are recommending more than one of your alternatives, your thinking may have gone astray.

The time available for each presentation including Q&A and final comments will be 60-65minutes. Time management is in the hands of the presenting group and excessively long or short

presentations will be reflected in the grade assigned. The 65 minute time limit is to allow aminimum of 10 minutes at the end of your presentation so that I can comment briefly on your performance. Grading of the presentation and Q&A segment will be based on the attached

guideline (Appendix 1) which I and each of the other groups will complete for each presentation

to yield a composite score: My score + average of other group scores = group presentation score.

Group Assessment: Since the participation of non-presenting groups is crucial to the success of

each case, part of your grade will depend on my assessment of the degree of preparation, quality

of analysis and attendance of your group when it is not presenting. This is an “evaluation byexception” activity. If the majority of your group is in attendance, you appear to have read and

discussed the case before coming to class and your responses show good understanding of the

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course material each time, you will get full marks. For each exception to these criteria, I will

deduct marks.

Course Outline:

Jan 8 Introductions and syllabus review

Jan 10 Organizations and Organization Theory

Read: Chapter 1Exercise: You’ll play the role, so why not pick the part?

Jan 15 Strategy, Organization Design and EffectivenessRead: Chapter 2

Case: Airstar Inc.

Jan 17 Case: The Maclean’s Survey (Do in class)

Jan 22 Fundamentals of Organization Structure

Read: Chapter 3

Jan 24 Case: UofL Faculty of Management structure (Do in class)

Jan 29 The External Environment

Read: Chapter 4

Case: Genesco

Jan 31 Case: The Paradoxical Twins (Group #1)

Feb 5 Interorganizational RelationshipsRead: Chapter 5

Exercise: Ugli Orange

*Hand out essay questions for mid term

Feb 7 Case: Hugh Russell, Inc. (Group #2)

Feb 12 Designing Organizations for the International Environment

Read: Chapter 6

*Assign Chpt. 7 Workbook exercise: Bistro Technology

Feb 14 Mid-Term Exam: Wednesday, Feb 14th

Feb 19 Reading Week

Feb 21 Reading Week

Feb 26 Return and review Mid-Term results

Feb 28 Manufacturing and Service Technologies

Read: Chapter 7Workbook exercise: Bistro Technology

Mar 5 Case: Acetate Department (Group #3)

Mar 7 Organization Size, Life Cycle and Decline

Read: Chapter 9

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Workbook exercise: Control mechanisms

Mar 12 Case: Sunflower Incorporated (Group #4)

Mar 14 Organizational Culture and Ethical Values

Read: Chapter 10

Corporate culture video exercise

Mar 19 Case: Does this Milkshake Taste Funny? (Group #5)

Mar 21 Innovation and Change

Read: Chapter 11

Case: Southern Discomfort

Mar 26 Case: Shoe Corporation of Illinois (Group #6)

Mar 28 Decision Making ProcessesRead: Chapter 12

Case: The Dilemma of Aliesha State College

Apr 2 Case: Cracking the Whip (Group #7)

Apr 4 Conflict, Power and Politics

Read: Chapter 13Workbook exercise: How do you handle conflict?

Apr 10 *Hand out essay questions for final

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Appendix 1

PRESENTATION EVALUATION FORM

DATE: CASE: GROUP:

Scale: 1 = poor; 2 = barely adequate; 3 = average; 4 = very good; 5 = excellent

1. Did each group member have a full bio up front & adequate role? 1 2 3 4 5

2. Was an overview / agenda provided and timing well managed? 1 2 3 4 5

3. How creative was the group’s portrayal of the case facts? 1 2 3 4 5

4. Did the group facilitate appropriate use of current chapter theory? 1 2 3 4 5

5. Did the group use theory from previous chapters where appropriate? 1 2 3 4 5

6. What was the quality of the group’s proposed solution? 1 2 3 4 5

7. Was a workable plan of action developed for implementation? 1 2 3 4 5

8. Was supporting PowerPoint clear, informative and engaging? 1 2 3 4 5

9. What was the quality / depth of the group’s assigned questions? 1 2 3 4 5

10. How well did the group work with the other groups in the Q&A? 1 2 3 4 5

Total Marks: /50

Additional Comments:

8/3/2019 3360 Outline Spring 2007


Documents

3360 Outline Spring 2007