| Course
Information |
| Course
Description: |
This course is designed to expose
the student to the fundamental principles with which to understand human
behavior inside public organizations. The course examines various theories
developed in an attempt to explain and predict employee behavior in an
organizational context.
|
| Course
Objectives: |
1. To introduce the student to the
fundamental theories and concepts developed to explain human behavior
inside public organizations.
2. To examine the historical and philosophical development of human
resource management inside public sector organizations.
3. To analyze and develop an understanding of the political, economic, and
social ramifications of various management styles upon public sector
employees.
4.To provide the student with an understanding of the impact and
importance of individual employees upon public sector organizations.
GENERAL EDUCATION GOALS: In addition to the objectives discussed above,
the more general goals of this course are to provide the student with the
tools with which to develop his or her own potential and abilities.
1. This course will help to develop the student's analytical thinking
capabilities by comparing and contrasting conflicting theories of
organizations.
2. The student's literacy skills will be enhanced through assigned
readings, class discussions, and examinations.
3. This course utilizes the historical perspective to help students
understand the evolutionary development of organizational theory during
the past 100 years.
4. By considering the impact of various organizational management and
human resource styles on individuals within public organizations, the
student should develop a better understanding of human behavior.
5. This course should be useful in increasing the student's awareness of
the cultures and experiences of persons in a multi-cultural society as the
application of different management styles and priorities exerts a
substantial impact upon diverse cultural groups.
6. This course will prepare the student for more advanced studies in
political science and public administration.
|
| Prerequisites
and Corequisites: |
none |
| Course
Topics: |
The resident course materials and
associated text reading assignments should be accessed and studied as
they are presented, beginning with Week One and continuing through the
term. |
| Specific
Course Requirements: |
No special knowledge of software
is necessary for this course. |
| Textbooks,
Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements |
| Required
Textbooks: |
Please visit the Virtual Bookstore
to obtain textbook information for this course:
http://rodp.bkstr.com |
| Supplementary
Materials: |
No
published materials other than the text books are required for this
course. |
| Hardware
Requirements: |
See
RODP
Minimum Requirements |
| Software
Requirements: |
See
RODP
Minimum Requirements |
| Assessment
and Grading |
| Testing
Procedures: |
Both
exams must be taken at a proctoring center during the weeks designated in
this syllabus. The exams will cover only the material since the last
examination. Therefore, the final examination will not be comprehensive. |
| Grading
Procedure: |
Grades will be determined by two
(2) examinations. The first examination will cover Part 1 of the course
(organizational theory), while the second examination will cover Part 2
of the course (organizational behavior). The two examinations will be
worth 150 points each (300 points combined) and will be composed of
multiple choice, short answer, and true-false questions. In addition,
both exams will have an essay component. MAKE-UP EXAMINATIONS:
Students are expected to take all examinations when scheduled. Make-up
examinations will only be allowed for legitimate reasons. Approved
make-up examinations will be given at a time and place determined by the
instructor outside of scheduled class periods.
All make-up examinations taken after the scheduled examination time will
be in the form of essay and short-answer questions. |
| Grading
Scale: |
Grades will be assigned as
follows:
A=90%-100%
B=80%-89%
C=70%-79%
D=60%-69%
and F=59% or below.
Examinations will be equally weighted. Attendance and class
participation will be considered in determining the student's course
grade. |
| Assignments
and Participation |
| Assignments
and Projects: |
SCHEDULE OF LECTURES AND
ASSIGNMENTS:
Part 1: Organizational Theory
Week 1 January 22-26 Vasu
Preface; Chapter 1: Introduction to Organizational Behavior in the Public
Sector; Chapter 2: Approaches to Organization Theory
Week 2 January 27-February 2
Harmon and Mayer Chapter 5: A Baseline for Organization Theory and Public
Administration
Week 3 February 3-9 Harmon and
Mayer Chapter 6: Neo-Classical Theory: Organizations as Decision-Sets;
Chapter 7: Systems Theory: Organizations as Purposive Entities
Week 4 February 10-16 Harmon and
Mayer Chapter 8: Later Human Relations Theory: Integrating Individuals and
Organizations; Chapter 9: Market Theories: Organizing as Revealed Self
Interest
Week 5 February 17-23 Harmon and
Mayer Chapter 10: Interpretive and Critical Theories: Organizing as Social
Action; Chapter 11: Theories of Emergence: Organizing as Discovered
Rationality
Midterm Examination (Vasu
Chapters 1, 2, and Preface; Harmon and Mayer Chapters 5-11)
Week 6 Part 2: Organizational
Behavior February 24-March 2 Vasu Chapter 6: Communication
Week 7 March 3-9 Vasu Chapter 3:
Motivation in Organizations
Week 8 March 10-16 Vasu Chapter
7: Decision-Making
Week 9 March 17-23 Vasu Chapter
4: Leadership
Week 10 March 24-30 Vasu Chapter
5: Role Behavior: Individuals and Groups
Week 11 March 31-April 6
Vasu Chapter 8: Worker
Participation and Total Quality Management
Week 12 April 7-13 Vasu Chapter
9: Organizational Change
Week 13 April 14-20 Vasu Chapter
13: Management Ethics
Week 14 April 21-23 Final
Examination (Vasu Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 13)
|
| Class
Participation: |
STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITIES:
It is very important that the
student read the assigned materials, attends class, and be prepared to
participate in class discussions. I have found that a student's grade is
almost always positively related to class attendance. Attendance and
class participation will be considered in determining the student's
course grade. |
| Punctuality: |
Read your text and the associated
lecture notes in a timely manner. Prepare yourself for examinations. |
| Course
Ground Rules |
|
Students are expected to be
prepared for discussion and to complete any assignements in a timely
manner. Take some time and become familiar with WebCT and the many
features the course management tool provides. Contact the instructor
should you have questions about the content or any assignment or exam |
| Guidelines
for Communications |
| Email: |
When communicating with the
instructor or with each other, always include the course name and ID in
the subject line. This will help each student identify the folks they
are communicating with and will also help keep their correspondence
organized. Become familiar with elements of Netiquette so as not to
inadvertently upset another student. Respect the privacy of others, do
not provide the eddresses of enrolled students to anyone. |
| Discussion
Groups: |
Discussion groups are a wonderful
tool and easy to use. If you are assigned discussion group work, make
sure you participate as directed. |
| Chat: |
When in a chat environment, be
polite and be on-time. |
| Web
Resources: |
You may share web resources with
each other, but make sure they are legitimate. |
|
Library
|
|
The
Tennessee Board of Regents Virtual Library is available
to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links
to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases,
interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps,
and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to
complete online assignments and as background reading must be included
in all courses. |
|
Students
With Disabilities
|
|
Qualified students with
disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic
accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability
services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability
accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written
verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from
the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's
responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's
disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for
having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor. |
|
Syllabus
Changes
|
|
The
instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this
syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the
instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by
individual email communication and posting both notification and nature
of change(s) on the course bulletin board. |
|
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