OB 6301.

502 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Spring 2006

Time: Tuesday 07.00 to 09.45 PM
Place: SOM 1.212
Instructor: Padmakumar Nair, SOM 4.208
Telephone: 972-883-6264
Email: padmakumar.nair@utdallas.edu

Office hours: Tuesday 05.00-06.30pm or by appointment

TEXT BOOK and READINGS

The text book is available at the UTD Bookstore or at Off Campus Books on Campbell Road.
(a) Text: Organizational Behavior, 10th ed., Hellriegel and Slocum, South-Western.
(b) Readings can be downloaded from the library website (go to eJournals:
http://www.utdallas.edu/library/collections/journals.htm )

INTRODUCTION
A good knowledge of Organizational Behavior is important for all of us. This is because we all are
members of some kind of organizations. The smallest organization we belong to is our family!
In this course we will focus our attention on creating, fostering and managing organizations in
which people thrive and perform at their best. The core premise of our approach is that managerial
excellence (individual achievement) is fundamentally tied to creating/enabling organizational
contexts that build human strengths and unlock the positive dynamics of vibrant human
communities.

Historically, the field of organizational behavior has accumulated almost 90 or more years of
experience in studying and explaining organizational life. OB addresses topics such as: how
organizational cultures and subcultures affect organizational performance, how to motivate and
reward people, what makes work groups function effectively, the impact of leadership styles and
communication, how to gain power and influence, how to diagnose need for change, how to create
change, and how to design jobs and organizations.

Traditionally OB literature focused on three levels of analysis, individual-level, group-level and

organization-level. In our discussions we will introduce a fourth level of analysis, the societal-level.

Achieving the Objectives

You will be required to complete several activities in order to achieve the identified objectives:

1. Contribute to in-class discussions of chapters and readings by exhibiting an understanding

of the information presented.

2. Attendance is required at all class sessions to fully make use of and participate in all class
discussions. That being said, I recognize that, at times, professional and personal
emergencies may arise which may prevent one from attending class. Let’s all be
 intrinsically motivated to contribute and learn from each other! Everyone should strive to be
off to a “fast start” by being enthusiastically and actively engaged.

Overview of the Assignments

In the first day of the class twelve groups with 2 to 6 members in each will be formed for the group
assignments. Please “self-select” into your groups.

Please do not rely too much on the Internet for your research. Spend some time in the library—
there are greater opportunities for serendipitous results.

Assignment 1: Reading (GROUP) (GROUP CLASS PRESENTATIONS)

Class presentations are based on the readings assigned to specific groups. The presentation
should include:
1. Key ideas discussed in the paper
2. Why these ideas are important and any points in the reading (article), which you disagree
with?
3. How can the useful ideas discussed in the paper be translated into actual practice?
4. What is the best way to teach these ideas in practice (in class or at work)?

The major aim of this exercise is to initiate a good class discussion. All of you are STRONGLY
encouraged to read ALL these readings thoroughly before every class. In every class, two
groups will make oral presentations on the assigned readings, which are assigned to
them. These presentations will be of 10-15 minutes in duration followed by a brief class
discussion. We will keep the duration of the presentations flexible depending on how well the
discussions develop in class.

Assignment 2: OB Consulting (Group Activity)

The purpose of this assignment is to develop OB skills through discussion. Please note that the
purpose of this assignment is NOT to develop consulting skills! There are 12 groups in total and
are grouped into four meta-groups of three groups. That means all the 12 groups will get an
opportunity to act as clients and consultants. The client-consultant interaction will take place in the
class between 09.00 and 09.45 PM. Every client-consultant pair will get two 10 min sessions to
“consult”. That means there will be 24 such sessions in the class.

At the end of the semester all the 12 groups will make a final presentation to their clients (10
minutes). This presentation should include the following items:

1. Final recommendations to your clients

2. Reflection on the consulting role-play. What was good, what went wrong etc.
3. Any other relevant point
Assignment 3: Individual research paper (Individual)
Students should write a 2000 word essay on a selected OB topic [I will help you decide a topic]. A
sample essay will be posted on WebCT in the beginning of the semester. This assignment is to
give you an opportunity to understand scholarly writings in OB and use it to analyze organizational
issues.
Suggested topics (select one topic from the following):
1. Big-Five personality and classroom learning
2. Big-Five and Job satisfaction
3. CSE and Teamwork
4. CSE and Entrepreneurial orientation
5. Job satisfaction and performance
6. Big-Five and Goal setting
7. Personality and Decision Making
8. Culture and Decision Making
9. CSE and Leadership Effectiveness
10. Any other topic of your interest

Assignment 4: Mid-term Exam (Multiple Choice) on March 14th 2006

Class schedule and reading assignments

Week Date Topics Textbook
Chapters
Week 1 01/10 Syllabus Chapter 1

Class Expectations

MBTI assessment

Career Decision Making Assessment

Week 2 01/17 Individuals and Organization Chapters 2,
Personality, Perception and Well-Being 3 and 7

Readings:
A. Priestland and R. Hanig, “Developing First Level
Leaders”, HBR, June 2005 (Group 01)

T. Casciaro and M. Sousa Lobo, “Competent Jerks,

Lovable Fools, and the Formation of Social Network”,
HBR June 2005 (Group 02)
Week 3 01/24 Individuals and Organization Chapters 2,
Personality, Perception and Well-Being 3 and 7

MBTI Feedback
 Readings:
W.H. Starbuck, “Why I stopped trying to understand
the real world”, Organization Studies, 25(7), 1233-
1254, 2004 (Group 03 and Group 04)

Week 4 01/31 Motivating you and others in Organizations Chapters 4,

Learning and Motivation 5 and 6

MBTI (feedback)
Movie: 12 Angry men

Readings:
F. Luthans, “The need for and meaning of positive
organizational behavior”, Journal of Organizational Behavior
J. Organiz. Behav. 23, 695–706 (2002) (Group 05)

F. Herzberg, “One More Time: How Do You Motivate

Employees?”, Harvard Business Review, Jan. 2003
(Group 06)
Week 5 02/07 Motivating you and others in Organizations Chapters 4,
Learning and Motivation 5 and 6

Readings:
Bartlett, C.A. & Ghoshal, S. 2002. Building competitive
advantage through people. Sloan Management Review,43-2:
34-41. (Group7)

S. Kerr, “On the Folly of Rewarding A while Hoping for B”

Academy of Management Executive, 9(1): 7-15, 1995
(Group 8)

OB Consulting G1-G2-G3
Week 6 02/14 Motivating you and others in Organizations Chapters 4,
Learning and Motivation 5 and 6

Readings:
F. Ferraro, J. Pfeffer and R.I. Sutton, “Economic Language
and Assumptions: How Theories Can Become Self-Fulfilling”,
Academy of Management Rev., vol.30, no.1, Jan. 2005
(Group 9)

C.M. Christensen and M.E. Raynor, “Why Hard-Nosed

Executives Should Care About Management Theory”,
Harvard Business Review, Sept. 2003 (Group 10)
OB Consulting G4-G5-G6
Week 7 02/21 Decision Making in Organizations Chapter 13

Readings:
I. Royer, “ Why Bad Projects are So Hard to Kill”, HBR, Feb.
2003 (Group 11)

J.J. Janney and G.G. Dess, “Can Real-Option Analysis

Improve Decision-Making? Promises and Pitfalls” The
Academy of Management Executive, vol.18, No.4, Nov. 2004
(Group 12)

OB Consulting G7-G8-G9
Week 8 02/28 Decision Making in Organizations Chapter 13

Readings:
K. Shimizu and M.A. Hitt, “Strategic Flexibility: Organizational
Preparedness to Reverse Inefective Strategic Decisions”,
The Academy of Management Executive, vol.18, No.4, Nov.
2004 (Group 1)

S.D. Sarasvathy, “Causation and Effectuation: Toward a

Theoretical Shift from Economic Inevitability to
Entrepreneurial Contingency”, Academy of Management
Rev., vol. 26, no.2, p.243, 2001 (Group 2)

OB Consulting G10-G11-G12
Week 9 03/07 SPRING BREAK
Week 10 03/14 Mid-Term Exam
Week 11 03/21 Group and Social Processes in Organizations Teams, Chapters 8,9
communication and conflict and 12

Readings:
Kirkman, B. L. & Colleagues. 2002. Five Challenges to
Virtual Team Success: Lessons from Sabre, Inc. Academy
of Management Executive, 16 (3): 67-79 (Group 3)

P. Evans and Bob Wolf, “Collaboration Rules”, HBR

July-August 2005 (Group 4)

OB Consulting G1-G2-G3

Week 12 03/28 Organizational Culture and Learning Chapter 15

Readings:
Nonaka and Takeuchi, “The Knowledge creating company”
 HBR, Nov-Dec. 1986 (Group 5)

A.L. Tucker and A.C. Edmondson, “ Why Hospitals Don’t

Learn from Failures: Organizational and Psychological
Dynamics that Inhibit System Change”, Cal. Management
Rev., vol.45, No.2, Winter 2003 (Group 6)

OB Consulting G4-G5-G6
Week 13 04/04 Creating and Leading Organizational Stability and Chapters 10,
Change 11 and 16

Readings:
J. Gosling and H. Mintzberg,”Five Minds of a manager”,
Harvard Business Review, Nov. 2003 (Group 7)

Jim Collins, “Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve”, HBR,

Jan. 2001 (Group 8)

OB Consulting G7-G8-G9

Assignment 3: RESEARCH PAPER

DUE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Week 14 04/11 Creating and Leading Organizational Stability and Chapters 10,
Change 11 and 16

Readings:
G. Hamel, “Waking-Up IBM” , HBR, July-August 2000
(Group 9)

Mayer, J. D. and others. 2004. Leading by Feel. Harvard

Business Review, 82 (1): 27-35 (GET all the
pages from 27 to 35) (Group 10)
OB Consulting G10-G11-G12

Week 15 04/18 Readings:

J.A. Conger and R.M. Fulmer, “Developing your leadership
pipeline” HBR Dec. 2003(Group 11)

J.P. Cotter, “Leading Change”, HBR March-April 1995

(Group 12)
Week 16 04/25 Final Presentation

GRADING

The grades in the activities in which you will be participating will be combined to determine your
final course grade. Please note that items 1 and 2 below will be multiplied with a peer evaluation
multiplier* to get your effective grade. The relative weights are as follows:

1. Class Participation (this includes the reading presentations) 20%

2. OB Consulting and Final presentation 20%
3. Individual assignment (research paper) 40%
4. Mid-term exam 20%

Total 100%

* Peer Evaluations (to be completed at the end of the final class meeting)

All group members are expected to do their fair share of work on the assignments. Fortunately, in
about 85 to 90 percent of the groups this is not the case. Unfortunately, that leaves (historically)
approximately 10-15 percent of the groups in which inequities occur. Since I do not know which
groups have such a problem, I will use peer evaluations for all groups. For such a system to work,
everyone must be honest and fair. First, if a group member(s) is making only a nominal contribution
and/or is overly difficult to work with, the other group member(s) may expel them/her/him from the
group and this individual must complete the assignment individually within two weeks after the due
date. Second, all groups members should assign a certain points to themselves and to other group
members based on the following three dimensions:

1. Contribution (this includes data collection and time spend on constructive discussions)
2. Command over the subject matter
3. Team work

A final grade-multiplier will calculated based on the total points every individual gets from self and
other group members.

EXAMPLE: You should start with a total point of 100 x (number of members in the group). If your
group has 8 members, start with 800 points. Distribute 800 points to your group based on the
above three dimensions. If a person gets 100 each from every other member including herself,
then her grade-multiplier will be 1 (800/800 = 1). If another person gets a total of 780, then his
grade-multiplier will be 0.975 (780/800 = 0.975). If your total point is 900, then your grade-multiplier
will be 1.125 (900/800 = 1.125).

CLIENT-CONSULTANT ROLE-PLAY (FIRST ROUND)

G1-G2-G3
Consultant Client Date Time
G1 G2 (Motivation) Week 5 Feb.07 09.00-09.15
 2006
G2 G3 (Decision Week 5 Feb. 07 09.15-09.30
Making) 2006
G3 G1 (Individual Week 5 Feb.07 09.30-10.45
Development) 2006

G4-G5-G6
Consultant Client Date Time
G4 G5 (Motivation) Week 6 Feb.14 09.00-09.15
2006
G5 G6 (Decision Week 6 Feb.14 09.15-09.30
Making) 2006
G6 G4 (Individual Week 6 Feb14. 09.30-10.45
Development) 2006

G7-G8-G9
Consultant Client Date Time
G7 G8 (Motivation) Week 7 Feb. 21 09.00-09.15
2006
G8 G9 (Decision Week 7 Feb. 21 09.15-09.30
Making) 2006
G9 G7 (Individual Week 7 Feb. 21 09.30-10.45
Development) 2006

G10-G11-G12
Consultant Client Date Time
G10 G11 (Motivation) Week 8 Feb. 28 09.00-09.15
2006
G11 G12 (Decision Week 8 Feb. 28 09.15-09.30
Making) 2006
G12 G10 (Individual Week 8 Feb. 28 09.30-10.45
Development) 2006
SECOND ROUND
G1-G2-G3
Consultant Client Date Time
G1 G2 (Motivation) Week 11 March 21 09.00-09.15
2006
G2 G3 (Decision Week 11 March 21 09.15-09.30
Making) 2006
G3 G1 (Individual Week 11 March 21 09.30-10.45
Development) 2006

G4-G5-G6
Consultant Client Date Time
G4 G5 (Motivation) Week 12 March 28 09.00-09.15
2006
G5 G6 (Decision Week 12 March 28 09.15-09.30
Making) 2006
G6 G4 (Individual Week 12 March 28 09.30-10.45
Development) 2006

G7-G8-G9
Consultant Client Date Time
G7 G8 (Motivation) Week 13 April 04 09.00-09.15
2006
G8 G9 (Decision Week 13 April 04 09.15-09.30
Making) 2006
G9 G7 (Individual Week 13 April 04 09.30-10.45
Development) 2006

G10-G11-G12
Consultant Client Date Time
G10 G11 (Motivation) Week 14 April 11 09.00-09.15
2006
G11 G12 (Decision Week 14 April 11 09.15-09.30
Making) 2006
G12 G10 (Individual Week 14 April 11 09.30-10.45
Development) 2006