Psychology 267

Organizational Behavior

(online)

Spring, 2021

Professor Frank McAndrew

email: fmcandre@knox.edu

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TUTOR FOR PSYC 267:

Nicolette Schmidt (ntschmidt@knox.edu)

How the Online Format will Operate

The class will be run as an "asynchronous" class. This means that the class never has to be together online at the same time. Instead, each of you will be free to engage with the material at your convenience, although there will be clear due dates for written assignments and time windows during which quizzes must be taken.

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Having said this, there will be a synchronous Zoom Meeting of the class every Wednesday during 5th period (1:20 p.m. Central Daylight Time). Attendance at this session is optional. It is an opportunity for me to check in with you once per week to answer questions and to give you a preview of what will be coming up in the next module of the course, and no "content" material will be covered (i.e., for the quizzes) that cannot be found elsewhere. This weekly online get-together is also an opportunity for me to match student names with faces and for us to get to know each other a bit better. In other words, the weekly session will be more of a conversation and a question and answer session than a lecture.

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The class will consist of a series of seven modules. Plan on spending about NINE DAYS on each of the modules.  Each module will include assigned reading from the textbook, some "outside readings" downloaded from this web page, Powerpoint (PPT) slides narrated by me, and a quiz.  Most of the modules will also have video clips attached to them. These video clips are NOT required viewing; they are entertaining and informative, and they are intended as enjoyable aids to help you understand and remember the material from the module.

FOUR of the modules will also have a written assignment for you to complete.

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MOST of the modules will be based on a TWO CHAPTERS of the textbook. Check this syllabus regularly to be sure you understand what you are supposed to be reading for each module.

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THE MODULES CAN BE FOUND BY SCROLLING DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE.

HERE IS THE SCHEDULE FOR SPRING TERM, 2021:

March 24: First Day Of Class

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March 31 - April 2:

Take Quiz for Module 1 - Organizational Behavior & Diversity in Organizations

CHAPTERS 1 & 2; Outside Readings #1 & 2 (There is no written assignment for Module 1)

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April 10 - April 12:

Take Quiz for Module 2 - Attitudes, Values, Personality, & Job Satisfaction

CHAPTERS 3 & 5; Outside Readings #3, 4, 5, 6

April 11: Written Assignment for Module 2 (How "Dark Triad" Are You?) is due

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APRIL 14 - CAMPUS-WIDE DAY OF DIALOGUE - NO CLASSES

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April 20 - April 22:

Take Quiz for Module 3 - Communication: Organizational & Interpersonal

CHAPTER 11; Outside Reading #7 (There is no written assignment for Module 3)

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April 30 - May 2: Take Quiz for Module 4 - Decision Making, Group Dynamics, Creativity, Work Teams CHAPTERS 9 & 10 & pp. 187-204 in CHAPTER 6; Outside Readings #8, 9, 10, 11

May 1: Written assignment for Module 4 (Values & Managerial Decision Making) is Due.

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May 10 - May 12: Take Quiz for Module 5 - Leadership & Management Style

CHAPTER 12; Outside Readings #12, 13, 14, 15

May 17: Written assignment for Module 5 (Understanding Your Leadership Style) is Due.

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May 20 - May 22: Take Quiz for Module 6 - Organizational Structure, Culture, & Change

CHAPTERS 15 & 16 + pp. 622-641 from Chapter 18; Outside Readings #16, 17, 18

May 28: Written assignment for Module 6 (Assessing Organizational Culture) is Due

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May 28 - LAST DAY OF CLASSES

May 30 - June 1: Take Quiz for Module 7 - Power, Politics, Conflict, & Negotiation

CHAPTERS 13 & 14; There are no outside readings for this module.

(There is no written assignment for Module 7)

Grading

In normal times with in-person classes, I do not drop any test scores or written assignment scores. However, we are not living in normal times right now. To give you some flexibility, there will be a generous window of time for taking quizzes and I will also be dropping your lowest quiz score and your lowest written assignment score. 

Your final grade will be based upon the average percentage of six quizzes (one for each module minus your lowest quiz score) and three written assignments (one for each written assignment minus your lowest written assignment score). Thus, each quiz and each written assignment will carry exactly the same weight in your final grade.

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Here are the grade cutoffs:  A = 93%; A- = 90%; B+ = 88%; B = 83%; B- = 80%; C+ = 78%; C = 73%; C- = 70%; D+ = 68%; D = 63%; D- = 60%; F < 60%.

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The Quizzes

At the end of each module, I will email a link that will allow you to access an online quiz. Each quiz will be available for a specific period of time (usually three days). ALL of the quizzes will be multiple choice, and they will be fairly short - usually ranging between 25 to 40 questions.

YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO USE YOUR TEXTBOOK AND NOTES DURING THE QUIZ. 

I recognize that it would be extremely difficult to stop cheating if I require a closed-book exam, and this would not be fair to the honest students who play by the rules. Having said this, your textbook and notes are the ONLY resources that are allowed. You cannot communicate or collaborate with other students while you are taking a quiz - I will consider this to be an honor code violation. The quiz will be timed, so you will not have unlimited time to complete it. This means that you will need to be organized when you open up the quiz. Most of the questions will not be something that you can simply look up, so do not expect to be successful if you have not studied well ahead of time. I strongly recommend that you study for the quizzes as if they were not open-book.  You will receive instant feedback after the quiz regarding your score and what the correct answers were for the questions you got wrong.

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Once you begin the quiz, you must complete it. You will not be able to leave the quiz and come back at a later time to finish it.

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When I calculate your final grades, I WILL BE DROPPING YOUR LOWEST QUIZ SCORE.

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The quizzes will be based primarily on the textbook, but it will be fair game for me to include some questions from the outside readings and from my narrated PPT slides that may not be in the textbook.

The Written Assignments

The written assignments in this course are intentionally designed as self-explorations. In three of the assignments, you will engage in activities that will assess aspects of your personality, values, leadership style, and ways of dealing with conflict. In each assignment, you will write an essay in which you reflect on how what you have learned about yourself translates into strengths or weaknesses for your ability to function well in a work organization. The fourth assignment offers you the opportunity to reflect upon the "organizational culture" of a group that you have been a part of.

There will be written assignments in Modules 2, 4, 5, & 6.  The instructions for the assignments and any other materials that you need can be downloaded from this web page. All assignments should be typed and double-spaced. There are specific due dates for these assignments that can be found in this syllabus (above), but I will constantly remind you about deadlines throughout the term. Please remember that I will be dropping your lowest written assignment score.

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THE WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE TURNED IN, GRADED, AND RETURNED TO YOU THROUGH "GOOGLE CLASSROOM," SO BE SURE THAT YOU HAVE JOINED THIS CLASS ON GOOGLE CLASSROOM. This will be the only thing that you will use Google Classroom for in this course.

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PLEASE NOTE THAT THE QUALITY OF YOUR WRITING WILL BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR GRADE ON THE WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS. There is a standard psychology department writing policy that is applied to writing assignments in ALL courses taught in the psychology department EXCEPT for Psychology 100. You can download a copy of the writing policy by clicking HERE.