HRM301-451 Organizational Behavior (DL)	Course Syllabus

NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
HRM 301 (Organizational Behavior)  Dr. Naomi Rotter Fall 2008
Office: CAB 4031, Hours (Fall 2008): Wednesday 12:00 Noon - 2:00PM
Online Office hours, see WEBCT below for specific days and times.
Phone: 973-596-3290; FAX: (NJIT) 973-596-3074,
E-Mail: rotter@.njit.edu, naomirotter@yahoo.com Homepage: http://eies.njit.edu/~rotter/

A. Course Description and Goals
This course is designed to study the organization as a mechanism for joining individuals and groups in productive systems. We will examine the processes involved in organizational socialization and adaptation over the span of work life. The major goals of this course are to build both analytical and diagnostic skills for the application of theories of organizational behavior to problems in organizations. In addition the course aims to create an awareness of the dynamic nature of organizations, particularly technology-based firms, in an environment of continual change.

A1. Course Objectives - The course focuses on three aspects of behavior: the individual, the group, and the organization. By examining the influences at each level, students build an appreciation of the complex nature of the forces which shape behavior in worksettings. While each lecture has specific objectives that can be found in the lecture outlines, at the most general level, course objectives are:

1. Be able to explain how issues of perception, learning, motivation and individual differences shape a employee's behavior (both subordinate and superior) and apply fundmental principles to organizational problems

2. Understand how group processes, communication, decision making and leadership can be harnessed to build productive, functional teams or be misused to create conflict and tension. These processes are applied to ethical decision making and behavior.

3. Develop an appreciation of the impact of organizational design, culture, environment, technology, on organizational effectiveness in global business environment.

B. Format
This section of HRM is the distance learning section. That means you will get the content of the course from lectures via itunes, through reading the text (listed below) and through use of group-ware. The particular conferencing system we will be using is the WebCT system at NJIT. See the section on WebCT below for details on how this works and how it will be used in this class.  It will be the major medium through which we communicate and discuss issues.

C. Grades
Grades will be a combination of two exams (a mid-term and an end-term), and your participation and assignments on WebCT. Each component weighs equally and contributes one-third of your grade. That is: the mid-term is worth one-third of your grade, the end-term is worth one-third of your grade and the combined assignments on WebCT are worth one-third of your grade. There are nine assignments to be completed: a personal introduction, five reflective questions, and three discussion forums. The dues dates are posted below. Questions, and discussion forums will be posted soon in the course.  Both exams will be take home type of exams. The will also be posted in WebCT.

C.1 Penalties for Late Submissions
Grades work on a scale of F to  A+.  Each day that an assignment  is late, your grade will be lowered by one-third.  So if you earn an A and it is one day late, you will get an A-, two days late you will get a B+, etc.  Everyday counts!  Again, plan on systems being down, phone lines being tied up etc.  In other words, do not wait until the last day. Assignments submitted more than 10 days late get an automatic F.

D. Text
George. J. M. & Jones, G. R. (2008). Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior, 5th Ed., Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ.  ISBN 0-13-239457X The text is available from the NJIT bookstore or any other online book vendor.

E. Itunes lectures
The lectures were made specifically for this course and consist of 26 one hour lectures.  They cover material  which expands on the text and also introduces concpets and ideas not found in the text but improtant in understanding behavior in the organization particularly in a technical setting.  The lectures are availableat http://itunes.njit.edu and as video tapes in the NJIT library for use in the library.

F. WebCT
WebCT is the space where we will meet for discussion, questions, answers, and chit-chat. Since there is no distinct time or space for us to meet as in the traditional class, we will useWebCT instead. The way to access WebCT is to go to http://webct.njit.edu and to select student. Yyou should be automatically added to WebCT upon registering for this course. Your student login and password will automatically be set to their NJIT Campus Directory login/password. If there is a problem, contact me or contact the WebCT administrator at webct.admin@njit.edu)

F.1 On line chats and office hours:
On the WebCT course page you will see an icon for chat.  Click on that and then on "Chat Room 1
We will have an on line chat or office hour during the following times:
1. Wednesday - Sept. 10, 9-10 PM
2. Thursday - Oct. 2, 9-10 PM
3. Thursday - Oct. 23, 9-10 PM
4. Tuesday - Nov. 11 , 9-10 PM
5. Wednesday - Dec. 3, 9-10 PM

Chats are not requird but are recommended if you can fit them into your schedule. It is ok to attend part of a chat if that is all your schedule permits.
 

F.2 WebCT assignments consist of:

• (1) a personal introduction so that other members of the class can get to know you and vice versa,
• (2) five reflective questions that pertain to a specific topic. The questions may combine some activity with questions to be answered about that activity
• (4) three discussion forums concerning a current related topic in organizational behavior.

Each reflective question is graded in a traditional way and each accounts for 5.5% of your total grade. Discussion topics will be posted and active for at least two weeks. During that time you are expected to post at least two thoughtful comments on that topic. The comments can be opinion and can be reactions to things others have posted. However, your opinions should be backed by some evidence. As long as your comments are not frivolous, they will be acceptable and count. Grades for comments are based on frequency with which you post. To get an A on comments you need to post the self-introduction and at least two comments for each forum for a total of 7 comments. To get a B you need to post the self-introduction and a total of 5-6 comments with at least one in each forum. To get a C you need to post the self-introduction and a total of 3-4 comments with at least one in each forum. Anything less than that gets you a D or an F. This cumulative grade accounts for the final 5.5 % of your WEBCT grade so that in sum all WEBCT assignments total one-third of your grade.

F.3 WebCT assignment due dates and the WebCT Calendar

All assignment due dates can be found in two places: (1) in the Week by Week assignment table at the end of this syllabus and (2) in the course calendar in WebCT. It is useful to check the calendar regularly to make sure you are up to date. On rare occassion a due date might change from the initial one during the semester. The change will always move the date back to allow more time. You will have ample notication of any date change during the semester. Again, check the calendar regularly.

Starting with the week of September 8th, you will have at least one, often two and on occasion three WebCT assignments.

G. Learning, Originality and Turnitin

As a way of ensuring learning, it is important that answers to question be written in your own words.  Quotes are permissable but generally you should be paraphrasing relevant sections of the text or the notes.  Copying word for word is not helpful in learing and is not acceptable as a way for answering questions.  To promote answering question in your own words, you will be required to submit your midterm and endterm exams to Turnitin.com.  This website is an intelligent system that helps prevent plagiarism from sources on the internet.  It helps prevent by indentifying sources students use when they cut and paste in material they have found on the internet.  It will also identify copying directly from the text we are using by comparing students answers to each other in a database it forms for the class.  I will go over step by step procedures for using Turnitin below.  However, your will have access to the originality reports it generates and if you are in the RED DANGER ZONE, you can rewrite your submission and resubmit it.  If you do not submit your own exams, then I will be submitting them for you but you do not get to revise them if they are in the danger zone.

G.1 Originality Reports

Turnitin generates an originality report for your submission within 24 hours after you submit.  When you click on the originality report, it gives you a color code result.  If you color code result is blue, green, or yellow; then your paper is sufficiently original for this class.  If it is orange or red, then it is too similar in language to either an internet source or another submitted paper.  That means you will need to revise the language you use and resubmit it so that it is written more in your own words.

G.2 Submitting papers to Turnitin.

1. First you will need to register as a user at Turnitin.com. To do this, go to www.turnitin.com   If you are a new user, you will need to create a profile.  To logon, use your NJIT email address for email and use your UCID for your password. 

2. This will bring you to the student homepage.  Follow instructions for enrolling in a class.  The Class ID is 2372537 and the Password is george. The system is case sensitive, so be sure to use lower case letters for the password. After you enter that information and click on submit, you are added to the class list.  That should bring you to a page called Your classes. You should see HRM301451_Fall08 listed. Then click on HRM301 to bring up your class portfolio.  This where you can actually submit your exams.  Remember only the midterm and the endterm are submitted here.  This review is not being used for other assignments. You will not see any assignments until I enter them into the system.

3. When you are ready to submit an exam to Turnitin, get to the Class Portfolio page and click on Turnitin.  Then complete the information for the paper submission page.  For the midterm use "Your Last Name -  301 Midterm" in the box called paper title.  For assignment, use 301 Midterm.  Then follow instructions for uploading a paper. Be sure to click on Submit. For the end term, use "Your Last Name -  301 Endterm" in the box called paper title.  For assignment, use 301 Endterm.

4. To view the results look in your Class Portfolio page.  You will see the title of your paper and some symbols before it.  It usually takes less than 24 hours to get the report.  When it comes in, click on the symbol under "P" that looks like a page of text.

5. Resubmissions: If your midterm or your endterm exam come back coded orange or red, you will need to resubmit. That means you copied too much. Notify me of your resubmission since I many have to delete the originial. If you do not resubmit your endterm exam, then you will get an automatic F on the original.

6.  What happens if you do not submit your midterm or endterm to Turnitin? I will upload your midterm into Turnitin and get the originality report.  Then I will email you if you have an exam that is coded orange or red. Orange and Red coded exams get an automatic F.

7.  Are you totally confused?  I will be posting a power point tutorial in WebCT.  If you are still confused after going through the tutorial send me an email or call.

H. Compliance with Academic Affairs Guidelines for Syllabi

1.The NJIT Honor Code will be upheld and any violations will be brought to the immediate attention of the Dean of Students.

2. Students will be consulted with by the instructor and must agree to any modifications or deviations from the syllabus throughout the course of the semester.

I. Week by Week Assignments
 

G. Lecture Outlines

 

One	Two	Three	Four	Five	Six
Seven	Eight	Nine	Ten	Eleven	Twelve
Thirteen	Fourteen	Fifteen	Sixteen	Seventeen	Eighteen
Nineteen	Twenty	Twenty-one	Twenty-two	Twenty-three	Twenty-four
Twenty-five	Twenty-six	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

H. Lecture Notes