OB 6301.

005 INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Fall 2005

Time: Monday, 07.00-09.45 PM
Place: SOM 1.107
Instructor: Padmakumar Nair, SOM 4.208
Telephone: 972-883-6264
Email: padmakumar.nair@utdallas.edu

Office hours: Saturday 11.45 am to 12.45 pm, Monday 05.30-06.30pm

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 (and personal flourishing) 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 the 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 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 2a: Client-Consult Role-play (Group Activity)

The purpose of this assignment is to develop OB skills through discussion. There are 12 groups in
total and are grouped into four client-consultant-client 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 10-15 min
sessions to “consult”. That means there will be 24 such sessions in the class. When a group -pair is
“consulting”, the other members of the class are not expected to be present in the room.

Assignment 2b: Client-Consultant role-play (Final Group Presentations)

At the end of the semester all the 12 groups will present their “client” / “consultant” experience for
10 minutes. This is a reflection presentation and this should include the following items:
1. Reflection on the client-consultant role-play. What was good, what went wrong etc.
2. Recommendations you gave to your clients
3. Your experience in general
Assignment 3 : Individual Reflection Paper (Individual)
This paper should include the following items / answers to the following questions:
1. Your expectations from this class [include what you have written on the first day of the
class]
2. What you have learned in this class and its relevance to organizational life or family life?
3. Did any thing change in the way you work in the organization or the way you view
organizations?

Assignment 4: Mid-term Exam (Multiple Choice) (Individual)

Class schedule and reading assignments

Week Date Topics Textbook
Chapters
Week 1 08/22 Syllabus Chapter 1

Class Expectations

Introduction to OB
Week 2 08/29 Individuals and Organization Chapters 2,
Personality, Perception and Well-Being 3 and 7

Movie: 12 Angry men

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

H. Mintzberg, “Managing Government, Governing

Management”, Harvard Business Review, May -June 1996
(Group 02)
Week 3 09/05 Individuals and Organization Chapters 2,
Personality, Perception and Well-Being 3 and 7

MBTI assessment

Week 4 09/12 Motivating you and others in Organizations Chapters 4,

Learning and Motivation 5 and 6

MBTI (feedback)

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

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

Lovable Fools, and the Formation of Social Network”,
HBR June 2005 (Group 04)
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 09/19 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)

Client-Consultant Role-Play G1-G2-G3

Week 6 09/26 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)

Client-Consultant Role-Play G4-G5-G6

Week 7 10/03 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)

Client-Consultant Role-Play G7-G8-G9

Week 8 10/10 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)

Client-Consultant Role-Play G10-G11-G12

Week 9 10/17 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)

Client-Consultant Role-Play G1-G2-G3

Week 10 10/24 Mid-Term Exam
Week 11 10/31 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)

Client-Consultant Role-Play G4-G5-G6

Week 12 11/07 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)

Client-Consultant Role-Play G7-G8-G9

Week 13 11/14 Creating and Leading Organizational Stability and Chapters 10,
Change 11 and 16

Readings:
Charles Handy, “What is a Business For”, HBR, Dec. 1, 2002
(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)
Client-Consultant Role-Play G10-G11-G12
Week 14 11/21 Readings:

Sumantra Ghoshal “Bad Management Theories are

Destroying Good Management Practices”, Academy of
Management Learning and Education, 2005, vol.4, pages 75-
91 (Group 11)

Starting with the comment by Kanter on “Bad Management

Theories are Destroying Good Management Practices”,
Academy of Management Learning and Education, 2005,
vol.4, pages 92 to 113 (GET all the pages from
92 to 113) (Group 12)
Assignment 3: Individual REFLECTION PAPER DUE
TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Week 15 11/28 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. Client-Consultant assignment and Final presentation 30%
3. Individual assignment 30%
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) September 17 2005 09.00-09.15
G2 G3 (Decision September 17 2005 09.15-09.30
Making)
G3 G1 (Individual September 17 2005 09.30-10.45
Development)

G4-G5-G6
Consultant Client Date Time
G4 G5 (Motivation) September 24 2005 09.00-09.15
G5 G6 (Decision September 24 2005 09.15-09.30
Making)
G6 G4 (Individual September 24 2005 09.30-10.45
Development)

G7-G8-G9
Consultant Client Date Time
G7 G8 (Motivation) October 01 2005 09.00-09.15
G8 G9 (Decision October 01 2005 09.15-09.30
Making)
G9 G7 (Individual October 01 2005 09.30-10.45
Development)

G10-G11-G12
Consultant Client Date Time
G10 G11 (Motivation) October 08 2005 09.00-09.15
G11 G12 (Decision October 08 2005 09.15-09.30
Making)
G12 G10 (Individual October 08 2005 09.30-10.45
Development)

SECOND ROUND
G1-G2-G3
Consultant Client Date Time
G1 G2 (Motivation) October 15 2005 09.00-09.15
G2 G3 (Decision October 15 2005 09.15-09.30
Making)
G3 G1 (Individual October 15 2005 09.30-10.45
Development)
G4-G5-G6
Consultant Client Date Time
G4 G5 (Motivation) October 29 2005 09.00-09.15
G5 G6 (Decision October 29 2005 09.15-09.30
Making)
G6 G4 (Individual October 29 2005 09.30-10.45
Development)

G7-G8-G9
Consultant Client Date Time
G7 G8 (Motivation) November 05 2005 09.00-09.15
G8 G9 (Decision November 05 2005 09.15-09.30
Making)
G9 G7 (Individual November 05 2005 09.30-10.45
Development)

G10-G11-G12
Consultant Client Date Time
G10 G11 (Motivation) November 12 2005 09.00-09.15
G11 G12 (Decision November 12 2005 09.15-09.30
Making)
G12 G10 (Individual November 12 2005 09.30-10.45
Development)