University of the Fraser Valley

School of Business
Bus 408: Teamwork in Organizations
Fall 2015
AB1 CRN #91576; Wednesdays 11:30 am 2:20 pm; Room A234

Important dates

Faculty

Classes begin: Tuesday September 8

Fee payment deadline: Tuesday, Sept 22
Last day to withdraw without a W: Monday, Oct 5
Final day to withdraw: Monday, November 2
Classes end: Monday December 7
Examination period: Wednesday, December 9 to Saturday December 19
Holidays: Monday, October 12 (Thanksgiving); Wednesday, November 11 (Remembrance Day)
Reading Break: Tuesday, December 8

Liz Wiebe, MBA

Office: Abbotsford C2450

Contact

E-Mail: Liz.Wiebe@ufv.ca (Include your name, course & section in correspondence)

Phone: 604-504-7441 (local 4299)

Office Hours

By appointment 1 hour after class.

Prerequisites

BUS 203 Organizational Behaviour, Pre or Co-requisite BUS 304

Course Overview

The ability to work effectively in groups is an important skill in the modern organization. This course will
introduce students to theoretical concepts in group development and performance, and also explore practical
applications of teamwork in existing organizations in the class itself.

Learning
Outcomes

1. To develop self-awareness about interpersonal behaviour by being dependent on others in a team to achieve
good course outcomes. Students will be assigned to teams at the beginning of the semester and will examine
their group behaviour in class exercises. The team must complete a major assignment together and assign each
other scores for their participation.
2. To understand emergent leadership in groups. All groups develop leaders or share the leadership tasks. An
evaluation of group and leadership roles is provided as an assignment to clarify the students experience.
3. To develop theoretical knowledge in group development, team building and group decision making in an
organizational context.
4. To develop behavioural competence in conflict management, influencing others, empowerment, delegation,
and conducting meetings.

Required
Resources

Liz Wiebe, 2015

Levi, D. (2011). Group dynamics for teams. Los Angeles, CA: Sage
The major resource for this course is the text. Assigned readings will increase your knowledge of the theoretical
concepts involved in the subject. The exercises and cases will provide the opportunity to experiment with the
ideas and concepts being presented in the course. Students are expected to prepare for class, participate in small
group exercises and contribute to course discussions.
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Methods of
Evaluation

Assignment

Value

Due

Classroom Contributions
Mid-term Examination
Individual Reflection Journals
New Resources for Teams Presentation
Team Project: Strategic HR Analysis
1) Project Implementation 10%
2) Written project plan 10%
3) Project progress reporting 6%
4) Project presentation 14%

10%
20%
15% (2 x 7.5%)
15%
40% (Total)

Every class
Oct 21
Oct 14 & Nov 26
As scheduled

Total Value

100%

As scheduled
Oct 14
Sept 30, Oct 14, Nov 4
Dec 3

References

Written assignments must use the APA style of referencing. See the APA homepage for more information:
http://www.apastyle.org/. Assignments with citation and/or referencing errors will receive marks deductions.

English
Standards

Assignments must be free of spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors. Assignments containing such errors
will be penalized (i.e. receive marks deductions).

Accommodation

Students with documented disabilities requiring academic and/or exam accommodation should contact Disability
Services in Abbotsford or Chilliwack.

Grading Scale

Grades will be assigned according to the following scale.

Academic
Misconduct

Grade

Percent Equivalent

Grade Point

A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CP
NC

95 100
90 94
85 89
80 84
75 79
70 74
65 69
60 64
55- 59
50 54
0 49

4.33
4.00
3.67
3.33
3.00
2.67
2.33
2.00
1.67
1.00
0.00

Interpretation
Excellent

Above Average

Average
Pass
No credit (fail)

Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, giving and receiving information during any test or exam,
using unauthorized sources of information during any test; plagiarizing; fabrication, cheating, and,
misrepresenting the work of another person as your own, facilitation of academic misconduct, and under certain
conditions, non-attendance.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. You must reference your work and acknowledge sources with in-text citations
and a complete list of references. This includes direct and indirect quotes, diagrams, charts, figures, pictures and
written material.
For group projects, the responsibility for academic integrity, which can result in academic misconduct and its
resulting penalties, rests with each person in the group and sanctions would be borne by each member.
For more information see UFV policy 70 on Student Academic Misconduct and policy 204 on Student Non-

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Academic Conduct.
Examination
Policy

Examinations must be written at the scheduled, time, date and location. The final examination period includes
Saturdays. Writing the final examination at a time other than the one in the posted examination schedule will
only be permitted when a student has a direct conflict between two scheduled examinations. Two exams on a
single day is not considered a valid reason for moving an exam. Students must notify the affected instructors of a
conflict by the end of Week 9 of the class. Exams may be scheduled at a time or day of the week different from
the class meeting time. You must adjust your schedule accordingly. Only severe extenuating circumstances (such
as serious illness) will be accepted as a reason for not writing an exam as scheduled. In this case, the instructor
must be notified by the student at the earliest possible opportunity, and a doctor's certificate must be provided.
The instructor will establish the alternate date and location for the make-up exam. Any travel plans need to be
made for dates after the scheduled exam period which is published well in advance in the UFV Calendar
Schedule of Events. No electronic devices (other than calculators, if required) will be allowed. Where calculators
are allowed, the Professor reserves the right to clear the calculators memory. All papers, mobile phones, books,
bags and outer garments must be placed at the front of the class or under the desk as specified by the instructor.

Proviso

The course outline is intended to inform students of major activities and assignments. The instructor reserves the
right to modify the course content to reflect course schedule constraints, the needs of the students, and the
course topics that need to be covered.

Attendance &
Course
Communication

Regular attendance in class is expected. Attendance is required for all team project presentations and failure to
be present will affect your mark for the team assignment. If you are absent for your own presentation, your mark
will be zero (0) even though other team members are presenting. No recording of the class without prior
permission from the instructor. Students are responsible to log on to MyUFV regularly to check for course-related
e-mail, announcements, updated information or recently posted learning resources.

Assignment
Deadlines

Due Dates, Late Assignments & Extensions

Assignment
Formatting

Formatting Guideline for Written Assignments

a) Submit individual assignments in hard copy, one sided print, stapled in the top left corner.
b) Follow APA style by using Times New Roman 12 point font, double-spaced with 1 inch margins.
c) Include all university appropriate report components: Title page, In-text Citations, Bibliography and Page
Numbers. When required also add professional report components such as an Executive Summary,
Table of Contents, Appendices, etc.

Assignments

Class Participation (10%) Due in every class.

a) Submit assignments at the beginning of the class on the day they are due. Late assignments may be
accepted at the discretion of the instructor if there are significant extenuating circumstances (i.e.
documented illness) but may receive a marks deduction of up to 20% per day late. After 5 days late, the
assignment will receive a zero mark.
b) In extreme circumstances, talk with the instructor before the due date about submitting your
assignment by email. If acceptable, ensure that all components are in one document and submitted in
Word (.doc or .docx) or .pdf only. Unexpected emailed assignments will be subject to late penalties.

Class participation demonstrates a students commitment to active, self-motivated learning and reflection.
Students will be assessed on the quality and quantity of their contributions to class discussions, as well as their
participation in in-class activities. If youre not in class, you are unable to contribute. The marking rubric will be
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posted on the Blackboard class site.

Mid-Term Exam (20%)
The mid-term in-class examination is on October 21st.
Multiple choice and short answer and case related questions will include any material covered in class during our
discussions to that point.
Reflection Journal (15% [2 x 7.5%]) Due on October 14 and November 26
Throughout the course of the semester you will participate in a number of experiential exercises and discussions
during class that will help you to learn about yourself and your ability to work effectively with others in a team.
After each exercise, you are asked to write a reflection on what you learned from the class and the exercise or
discussion. You will be provided a template to follow to help you in the reflection process, which will be uploaded
on Blackboard. The focus of this assignment is self-reflection, and not on theories. However you will need to use
theory to support the claims you make regarding issues as they are related to you. The journal entry for each
class should be a maximum of 2 pages with a journal submission of no more than 8 pages. You will submit journal
entries for classes 2-5 on October 14 and classes 6, 8-9, 11 on November 26.
Be sure to include a title page, in-text citations and a bibliography.
New Resources for Teams Team Presentation (15%) Due as scheduled.
Our knowledge of effective teamwork is continuously being updated by new research. In order to ensure that you
are up to date on the world of teams and learn how to disseminate academic research, you will be responsible
for finding and sharing the results of recent teamwork studies with the class.
Find a minimum of a) two articles from academic journals, and b) one article from a practitioners journal or web
resource that is appropriate for your assigned topic. Prepare a 20 minute presentation that engages the class in a
discussion about your topic. Post the links to all articles and websites on Blackboard so that other students can
also reference them in their individual reflection journals, if desired. The team should strive to make their
presentation as interesting and interactive for the class as possible. Creativity is encouraged! The instructor will
assign the teams their topics in week 2.
Provide a printout of the slides along with your main talking points to the instructor at the beginning of the class.
Make sure to include bibliographic references.
The grading rubric will be posted on Blackboard.
Team Project (40%)
Project implementation (10%) As scheduled
Students will be assigned to one of five learning teams in the second week of class. Each team will plan, organize,
and implement a project or event that engages the community. The Team Project Schedule outlines the tasks
involved in the project. Further details will be provided and discussed during the second week of class.
Written project plan (10%) Due October 14
Each learning team will prepare a report describing the planning, organization, implementation, and outcomes of
the project. This report should follow the topics and structure presented in the Team Project Schedule.
Project progress reporting (6%) Due Sept 30, Oct 14, Nov 4
At three milestone dates in the progression of the project, each team will present in-class, a 5 minute update and
progress report on their project. Each progress report will be worth 2% of the students final grade.
Project presentation (14%) Due December 3
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Each team will prepare a presentation including visuals (academic poster or PowerPoint Slides) that describes and
evaluates their project. Include pictures of the event. They will present their work and describe the outcomes of
the project to the class in a 10-15 minute presentation. After the presentations, students will circulate and
discuss one anothers events and presentations. A copy of the visuals (if using PowerPoint slides) as well as
speaker notes must be prepared and submitted at the beginning of class.
Other students and faculty may be invited to hear the presentations.
Team Project Evaluation & Self Evaluation
The team project evaluation is based on the depth and skill in critical thinking, application of course concepts,
clarity of expression and logic which is found within the report components. The presentation evaluations are
based on content, presentation structure & skills, the application of course material and clear communication.
See instructor marking sheet on the course website for specific details.
Please note: Students may be required to complete an evaluation of self and other participation in the project.
Evidence of non-participation in the team assignment will result in deductions of up to 50% of the participation
mark, in addition to marks deductions from the assignment itself.

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Course Schedule (subject to change)

WEEK & DATE

TOPICS COVERED

Week 1

Course Introduction; Syllabus Review

Sept 9

Understanding teams

Week 2

READINGS

ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES

Chapter 1

Class Participation due each class.

Defining Team Success

Chapter 2

Teams assigned by today.

Week 3

Team Beginnings

Chapter 3

Team exercise

Sept 23

Understanding Team Processes

Chapter 4

Week 4

Cooperation and Competition

Chapter 5

Sept 16

Sept 30

Cooperation exercise
New Resources Presentation 1
Team Progress Report 1

Week 5

Conflict

Chapter 7

Oct 7
Week 6.

Conflict exercise
New Resources Presentation 2

Leadership

Chapter 10

Oct 14

Leadership exercise
Reflection Journal #1 due (wks 2-5)
Team Progress Report 2 and Written
Plan

Week 7.

Mid-Term Exam

Mid-Term Exam

Oct 21
Week 8

Communication

Chapter 6

Oct 28
Week 9

Communication exercise
New Resources Presentation 3

Power and Social Influence

Chapter 8

Nov 4

Power relations exercise

New Resources Presentation 4
Team Progress Report 3

Week 10

Remembrance Day No class

Nov 11
Week 11

Decision Making and Problem Solving

Nov 19
Week 12.

Creativity

Nov 26
Week 13

Chapter 9

Problem solving exercise

Chapter 11

New Resources Presentation 5

Chapter 12

Creativity exercise
Reflection Journal #2 due (wks 6, 8-9, 11)

Team Presentations

Team Presentations with PPT slides due

Dec 3

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Team Project Schedule

Project Activity Schedule

Weeks
2

10

11

12

13

Develop goals and a team contract

Select a topic/event
Research topic/event;
(set a tentative date and explore
possible venues)
Progress Report 1 Sept 30
Collect information and literature
Assess feasibility (date, venue)
Team Project Plan and Progress
Report 2 Oct 14
Make revisions if necessary
Confirm date, venue; complete
logistics and resources
Detailed planning; advertising,
sponsors, charity groups
Progress Report 3 Nov 4
Account for contingencies
Hold the event
Team Project Presentations - Dec 3

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