SYLLABUS

PSYCHOLOGY 245

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES

THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

Wednesdays, 3:30-5:45 p.m.

August 28-December 4, 1996

COURSE: Psychology 245, Cohort 2B

TITLE: Organizational Behavior

SUBJECT: This course is designed for graduate students who want to improve their

skills in understanding and coping with human behavior in organizations. It will provide an overview of organizational behavior, focus on individual and group behavior within organizational settings, and give special attention to the understanding of one's own behavior. An important component of the course is a work group experience that will provide a potential means for integrating theory and research.

PROFESSORS: Eric Dent (Lead Professor) and Hamilton Beazley

Phone: ED: (202) 496-8385 (office)

ED: (301) 881-2115 (home)

HB: (202) 994-7375 (office)

HB: (202) 686-6850 (home)

E-mail: edent@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu

beazley@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu

Home page: ED: http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~edent

Office hours by appointment

REQUIRED 1. Bolman, Lee G. And Terrence E. Deal. Reframing Organizations:

TEXTS: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1991. ("Bolman")

2. Kolb, David A, Joyce S. Osland, and Irwin M. Rubin.

Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach. 6th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. ("Kolb")

3. Vaill, Peter B. Learning as a Way of Being. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, Inc., 1996. ("Vaill")

REFERENCE 1. Strunk, William and White, E. B. 1979. The Elements of

TEXTS: Style. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc.

2. Turabian, Kate L. 1987. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 5th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

STUDENT OBJECTIVES:

1. To learn about--and to critically examine--theories and research findings about human behavior in two-person, group, and organizational settings with special emphasis on situations in which managers and leaders find themselves.

2. To develop multiple perspectives from which to understand how organizations function and how they can be more effectively managed.

3. To participate in a group that carries out a work project and to experience, identify, and understand the behavioral dynamics that are integral to that group's existence and functioning.

4. To contribute to the project group's product.

5. To analyze one's own experience in the group, employing the framework of theory and research discussed in the readings and in the classroom.

6. To develop a Personal Learning Record that describes one's experiences and learning in pursuit of objectives #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 above. The Personal Learning Record should be a literate description of what you learned (or didn't learn) and should be written so that it reflects your awareness of the literature of the course.

Psychology 245 is designed to provide you with an opportunity you may not have had before: to deliberately move back and forth among various modes of learning about yourself and others in individual, two-person and group settings. Objectives #1 and #2, above, will be pursued during weekly class sessions. Through lectures, discussions and exercises, you will have the opportunity to understand, experience and discuss human behavior in individual, two-person and group situations. Many different subjects will be covered, including, for example, theories dealing with leadership, effective communication, the causes and consequences of human conflict, the roles people play in reference to each other, and the nature of the self and its relation to the world.

In addition, you will become a member of a project group composed of six to seven members. You will meet with your group during the semester outside of class on a schedule to be determined by the group. In the project group, you will pursue objectives #3 and #4.

Finally, you will have the opportunity both within and outside class to reflect on your experiences in the project group and to develop material for your Learning Record (objectives #5 and #6).

THE PROJECT GROUP'S WORK

Each project group will complete a project that addresses the question, "What do competent managers need to know about human behavior?" or one that will be of use to another community in which the project group has an interest.

The exact nature of the group's product is up to the group to determine. It may be a written report of formal research carried out by the group. It may be something that is performed, such as a play, a dance, a movie, or a musical composition. It may be a piece of art. It may be an essay, a poem or a short story. The main criterion regarding the final design of the group's output is that it be a disciplined piece of work that clearly communicates the essence of its purpose to others.

As the project group goes about working on its task, it should try to create a setting within which members can learn about themselves, one another and groups in general. Stated differently, the purpose of the group is both to give participants an opportunity to do research and to provide an environment in which members can identify, experience, and understand the human dynamics of work groups and organizations. In other words, the process is as important as the product.

Each group will present its work in the form of a presentation to the class. The group's grade on the project will be based both on the competency with which it carries out its research and the competency with which it presents its briefing. Each group will have thirty minutes to present its project to the class.

Whatever form the presentation takes, the group must also produce a disciplined record of its work. Generally that means a written research project, a script, a copy of its poem, a set of directions (and necessary equipment) for its game, or a menu for the food it cooked. The record should also express an understanding of the relevance (or irrelevance) of the concepts, theory and research from behavioral science literature relating to its topic. The record must also contain an analysis of how the group functioned in terms of the individual and group dynamics we discussed in class. This analysis may be written by the group as a whole or by each member of the group individually, whichever the group determines.

Finally, as part of the group project, each member must prepare an anonymous evaluation of every other member of the group (a peer review) which should be turned into me on a disk in MS Word or WordPerfect format for collation and distribution. The format of that evaluation should be as follows:

1. List three characteristics or behaviors that you liked most about the person or that were most effective for the group's functioning.

2. List three characteristics or behaviors that seemed to impeded the work of the group and that the individual could improve upon. Your honesty here will allow your colleagues to see more of their Johari Window.

Items number 1 and 2 will be provided to the individuals about whom they were written. In addition, for every other member of the group:

3. Give the person a grade for group performance.

4. Explain why you gave the person that grade.

Group members who did not participate or who failed to carry their fair share of the group load should be so identified by their colleagues. Failure to do so is to abrogate your responsibility to them as well as to yourself.

I will be happy to consult with the group as it considers its alternatives for the project and how it will proceed. Additionally, more extensive assistance probably can be arranged by calling on an Organizational Behavioral Doctoral student who is interested in gaining consultation experience as a group facilitator. I can help you find such a student.

Presentations of group projects will take place on November 20th and 27th. Disciplined records of the group's project and the peer review will be due on the day of the presentation.

YOUR LEARNING RECORD

Your Learning Record should be written in a form that is meaningful to you. It should, however, be in a disciplined format that will permit me or others to clearly understand what you have thought about and learned from your experiences in the course (or what you did not learn). Your Learning Record must specifically include:

A reference to your experience in your project groups.

A reflection of your understanding of the literature of the course.

What you have learned about learning and how that learning and learning itself will benefit you in your leadership role.

Whatever form it takes, your Learning Record should be written as an analysis and not merely as a descriptive report of what happened in class or what you learned from the readings. The Learning Record should be written competently within the framework of the metaphor you chose--scientific research, essay, poetry, a short story or some other metaphor that you may find useful. References should be footnoted. Learning Records are due on November 20th.

After each class, beginning with week 2, you are required to send an email message to me by midnight on Friday. This message will include:

Key Learning: What did you get out of the class?

Muddiest Points: What was not clear to you? Some issue or topic or idea might have come up that wasn't explained well, that required more information, or that, for some other reason, wasn't clear to you. If you have an unanswered question, for example, you can pose it here.

Level of Preparation: Rate your own level of preparedness for class on a scale of 1 (unprepared) to 5 (fully prepared) for the class.

The purpose of the feedback is not to evaluate you. You will receive all 5 points for sending the messages, regardless of their content. The purpose of the feedback is to help me know how the class is being received, whether concepts are coming across clearly, and whether or not I need to make any adjustments. These messages are intended to be composed in 3 minutes or less.

The University has established guidelines for academic dishonesty. Your instructor will indicate what will constitute "cheating" in the course. "Cheating" will not be tolerated.

The Administrative Sciences faculty hopes that the course format described in the syllabus will allow you to make the best use of your talents and abilities and simultaneously provide you with the opportunity to learn and gain experiences of value. I assume that you are taking the course because you want such learning and experiences and that, in the pursuit of your studies, you will maintain an open and inquiring mind. Ultimately, the success or failure of the course will itself be a test and application of the theories and research with which the literature of the course deals.

Your grade in the course will be determined by the quality of your group product, your Learning Record, and your mid-term and final examinations in accordance with the following scale:

% item

25 Learning Record

15 Group Project Presentation

15 Group Project Record

15 Group Project Peer Review

15 Final Examination

5 E-Comm

10 Mid-term Examination

100 Total

CLARIFICATIONS AND QUESTIONS

As your professor, I am available by telephone, e-mail, or in person to answer any questions you may have about the content or the process of this course. I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity. You are welcome to come to me if you want clarification concerning issues raised in the classroom discussions or in the readings or if you want to pursue a topic, thought, or hypothesis in more detail. I am also available to answer any questions you may have about the applicability of what you are learning in class to what you are doing in your work at the Pentagon or elsewhere. Being a resource for you is part of my responsibility to you, and one that I am happy to fulfill.

SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

1. Class Participation vs. Contribution

I am not as interested in classroom participation as I am in classroom contribution. I place a value on thinking rather than talking. "Participation connotes involvement, sharing, and simply taking part, all desirable attributes especially for the social dimension of a class. Contribution, on the other hand, connotes not only social, but also intellectual involvement and sharing of knowledge and knowledge construction. In addition, it also implies the willful intent to assist others in the forging of understanding. Contribution not only includes, but also enlarges upon the values represented by participation, because it rivets attention on the goal of generating knowledge. ...The litmus-test question: Does a student comment contribute to class process and peer understanding of the concept under discussion?"⁽¹⁾ [Italics added]

Some ways to contribute in your groups and in the larger group that is the class are as follows. By:

"Providing recapitulations and summaries

Making observations that integrate concepts and discussions

Citing relevant personal examples

Asking key questions that lead to revealing discussions

Engaging in devil's advocacy

Disagreeing with the instructor, so that the difference of opinion serves as both counterpoint and a basis for exploring all sides of a concept, issue or practice."⁽²⁾

In other words, a contribution to our mutual learning in the exploration of ideas does not just mean a "right answer." It may as easily be a "wrong answer," a "right question" or a "wrong question" that leads us to an insight, discovery, hypothesis, productive train of thought, or conclusion. Both analytical and creative thinking have their place in the process of learning as well as in decision-making. Once again, we want to be aware of the process as well as the product. Therefore, monitor your own classroom contributions as well as those of your fellow classmates, and learn to distinguish between that which is productive and that which is not. Such a skill will serve you well in the world beyond the classroom.

2. Writing Quality

I read your written work carefully. In fact, I read it for grammar, punctuation, syntax, organization, transitions, clarity and precision of expression. I read it for content. If you are doubtful about your ability to write effectively, please take a course on expository writing (I will be happy to help you locate one). If you write well from a technical standpoint, then, if possible, write with creativity and flair. Elements of Style should assist you in so doing.

3. Responsibility for Learning

I do not take responsibility for what you learn, for the quality of your work, or for the consequences of the decisions you make regarding our class. I do believe that part of our work is to help you achieve the best you can at whatever you set out to do. Then, if you do incompetent work, I will feel sadness for you. But I never live by the credo, "If a student hasn't learned, the teacher hasn't taught." I am a professor, not a teacher in the sense that I profess (claim) skill in, or knowledge of, my field, but I do not necessarily teach it: whether or not you make use of that knowledge is up to you. I respect you too much to try to teach you things you choose not to know.

4. We have an opportunity, over the next several months, to explore the most fascinating of all worlds: people. What we learn can have an immediate and significant impact on our lives--both personal and professional--if we choose to make it so. We are undertaking a journey together, and what we make of that journey, as well as the final destination we reach, is entirely up to us. In the glory days of transatlantic crossings, the great Cunard Steamship Company's slogan was, "Getting there is half the fun." In other words, enjoy the process. And welcome aboard!

PSYCH 245

SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS

Date	Topic	Assigned Text/Other	Pages
Aug 28	Course Introduction & Frames of Reference	Bolman, Chapters 1 & 2 Kolb, Chapter 1 Vaill, Introduction	3-39 2-21 1-21
Sep 4	Part I: Individuals Introduction to Personality	Kolb, Chapter 8 Vaill, Chapter 1 Kolb Ch. 8 Exercise ("Individual Work") with someone else	193-213 25-50
Sep 11	Attitudes, Perceptions & Feelings	Kolb, Chapter 6 Vaill, Chapter 2 "On the Folly of Rewarding A..." Kolb Ch. 6 Exercise (optional) Writing Sample Due	125-160 51-102
Sep 18	Part II: Group Behavior Communication and Motivation (Human Resource Frame)	Bolman, Chapters 6-8 Kolb, Chapter 7 Kolb Ch. 7 Exercise ("Communi- cation Climate Inventory," pg 165) as a self-test about you and not your supervisor. Dent, Chapter 10	119-183 169-178, 186-187
Sep 25	Bion's Theory of Groups	Kolb, Chapter 9 Abilene Paradox Groupthink Rioh on Bion	214-240
Oct 2	Part III: Organizations Organizational Theory & Design (Structural & Systems Frames)	Bolman, Chapters 3-5 Kolb, Chapter 20 Kolb Ch. 20 "Personal Application Assignment" (pg 542) as a model for the AF Parkinson's Law	43-119 519-543
Oct 9	Influencing Groups: Conflict, Power & Politics (Political Frame)	Bolman, Chapters 9-11 Mid-term Examination	183-243
Oct 16	Organizational Culture: (Symbolic Frame)	Bolman, Chapters 12-14	243-309
Oct 23	Organizational Change	Bolman, Chapters 15-16, Chapters 18-19 Kolb, Chapter 22 Vaill, Chapter 3	309-342 368-403 617-640 103-120
Oct 30	Diversity	Kolb, Chapter 12 Vaill, Chapter 5	303-322 151-175
Nov 6	Ethics & Decision-Making	Vaill, Chapter 6 Kolb, Ch 5 (pgs 108-113 only)	177-194 108-113
Nov 13	Leadership	Bolman, Chapters 20-23 Kolb, Chapter 13 Vaill, Chapter 4	403-451 326-342 121-151
Nov 20	Group Presentations 1 & 2	Group Records 1 & 2 Due Learning Records Due Peer Reviews Due Course Evaluations Due
Nov 27	Group Presentations 3 & 4	Group Records 3 & 4 Due
Dec 4	Final Examination	Final Examination

Note: I am indebted to George Washington University Professors Jerry Harvey, John Lobuts, and Erik Winslow for portions of the contents of this syllabus. I am specifically indebted to Professor Harvey for "Your Learning Record" and for paragraph #2 (taken verbatim) and paragraph #3 under "Some Additional Thoughts."

ERIC B. DENT

In 1993, Mr. Dent founded Always Improvement a management consulting firm dedicated to organizational improvement. For 1995-97, Mr. Dent also serves as Visiting Professor at The George Washington University. His recent work has been in the areas of organizational change, consultation skills, team-building, conflict resolution, strategic planning, total quality management, leadership, and business process assessment.

Prior to founding Always Improvement, Mr. Dent served as Vice President, Operations and General Manager of the Washington, DC office of The Todd Organization, a national executive compensation consulting firm. For several years, Mr. Dent worked as a management consultant with Macro International. As Technical Director, he managed over $10 million of training and development contracts with the federal government. He most frequently consulted with The Royal Bank of Canada, The Navy, and Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Mr. Dent's career began as a computer scientist. He worked for several years designing Air Force satellite communications systems for the IBM Corporation.

Mr. Dent has a Ph.D. (ABD) in Management and Organization. He has an M.B.A. - major in Organizational Behavior and Development, minor in Finance, and both M.S. and B.S. degrees in Computer Science. He is a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Managerial Issues. He is the author of, Organization Development and his most recent book, Management: Perspectives, Processes, and Productivity which was published in 1995.

Mr. Dent's research interests include: leadership in turbulent environments, new science and chaos theory applications in organizations, the appropriateness of mental models to organizational work, and organizational learning.

1. ¹Dennis A. Gioia, "Contribution! Not Participation in the OB Classroom," The Organizational Behavior Teaching Review, 11, no. 4 (1987): 16.

2. ²Ibid., 17.