Course Syllabus

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 500 - Lecture 800

Fort McMurray Cohort MBA

SMO 500 -- MANAGING PEOPLE

Spring 2012

Instructor: Dr. Richard Field

Office: Business Building Room 4-30M

Telephone: Office 780.492.5921; Fax 780.492.3325

E-mail: Richard.Field@ualberta.ca

Class Times: June 18 to 22, 2012, 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. then 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Office hours: After class or by appointment.

Textbook: Organizational Behavior V1.1 by Talya Bauer and Berrin Erdogan, ISBN: 978-1-4533-0084-8

Go to: http://www.flatworldstudents.com/course?cid=803581&bid=122425

This text is published by Flat World Knowledge and is available in various print versions, for the iPad or other reader, and as an audio book. It is available in print at the Keyano College Bookstore in Black and White softcover for $49.30. It also may be read online for no charge.

See the University of Alberta uLearn site for PowerPoint slides that accompany the textbook.

Web Address for Professor: www.business.ualberta.ca/rfield

Notes from General Faculties Council: 

1. “Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.” Specifically, "At the beginning of each course, instructors are required by GFC to provide a course outline which must include the following: (1) a statement of the course objectives and general content; (2) a list of the required textbooks and other major course materials; (3) an indication of how and when students have access to the instructor; (4) the distribution of weight between term work and final examination; (5) identification of all course activities worth 10% or more of the overall course mark; (6) whether marks are given for class participation and other in-class activities as well as the weight of such participation; (7) dates of any examination and course assignments with a weight of 10% or more of the overall course mark; (8) the manner in which the official University grading system is to be implemented in that particular course or section, i.e., whether a particular distribution is to be used to determine grades, or whether there are absolute measures or marks which will determine them, or whether a combination of the two will be used. Instructors should refer to the University of Alberta Marking and Grading Guidelines.

2. From the University of Alberta Libraries website "Imagine that you were about to get surgery and just as you were going under, you discovered that your surgeon had cheated throughout his/her university career. Would you feel betrayed? What if it was your lawyer? Your accountant? Your child's teacher? All the above scenarios are reflective of a concept called academic integrity. As the above examples illustrate, academic integrity not only affects the climate at the university but it can also affect every other area of your life." http://www.library.ualberta.ca/guides/plagiarism/academic/index.cfm

The Centre for Academic Integrity at Duke University defines academic integrity "as a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. From these values flow principles of behaviour that enable academic communities to translate ideals into action." (See http://www.academicintegrity.org/)

From General Faculties Council: “The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/gfcpolicymanual/content.cfm?ID_page=37633) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.”

3. The University of Alberta Code of Student Behaviour (online at http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/gfcpolicymanual/content.cfm?ID_page=37633#38360) specifies in Section 30.3.4 Inappropriate Behaviour towards Members of the University Community, subsection 30.3.4(1) Disruption, paragraph 30.3.4(1)a that "No Student shall disrupt a Class in such a way that interferes with the normal process of the session or the learning of other Students." Under Section 30.4.3 Levels of Sanction, subsection 30.4.3(1) Minor Sanctions, paragraph 30.4.3(1)a "Instructors have the authority to dismiss a Student from Class for no more than 3 hours of Class time for Disruption of a Class. In cases where a single class meeting is longer than 3 hours the student may be excluded from that entire class."

University Policy on Recording: 

Recording is permitted only with the prior written consent of the professor or if recording is part of an approved accommodation plan.

In the School of Business course calendar the SMO500 course is described as: “Introduces students to organizational behavior (OB) and Human Resource Management (HRM), and how to generate energy and commitment in employees. Examines options relevant to staffing, performance management, reward systems, leadership, motivation, decision making, communication, labor relations, and current issues in the field of management."

Course Requirements

This is an MBA course that will be run as a seminar. The course components are designed to encourage you to come to class, to share your thoughts with others, and to learn from a variety of sources and methods. To achieve the maximum benefits from this course the student needs an open mind, the willingness to prepare seriously for class, to attend class and participate with the objective of learning as much as possible, and to work with the professor and other students in the class as colleagues.

My course activity goals are for you to: read all materials assigned before class; think about them; and come to class and actively participate and discuss the topic under consideration.

LEARNING GOALS

There are a number of learning goals for this course:

1. Communication Skills - Oral -- the student will have the opportunity to speak to the rest of the class and participate with others.

2. Critical Thinking -- Students will be exposed to issues and ideas from the business press and this will help to develop their ability to analyze problems, situations and issues in a clear-minded, rigorous intellectual manner.

3. Ethical Awareness -- Students will develop a high degree of awareness of ethical concepts and issues in the world of business and will begin to learn to develop strategies to both recognize and deal with ethical problems.

4. Global Awareness -- Students will develop an awareness of the global community in which business operates and how management and business operations are likely to vary between countries and cultures.

5. Information Literacy -- Students will read articles from the business press and learn to extract the key lessons from those articles. 

6. Practical Experience -- Students will develop the ability to apply academic knowledge to their own real-world work situations.

7. Teamwork -- Students will have the opportunity to work in class in teams and apply group concepts and techniques of leadership and conflict resolution toward the effective functioning of the team.

8. Leadership Skills -- Students will be encouraged to develop an understanding of leadership roles and skills and how leadership methods may change depending on organizational circumstances.

There are two components that will determine the course grade in SMO 500.

1. Participation 27%. Each of the first nine course sessions in which the student is engaged and positively participating with the class and the material, for all of the class time, is worth 3 percent. Participation involves learning from others and helping others to learn what you know. Be aware that a disruptive student or one who does not actively and positively engage in class sessions will receive a mark of 0.0 out of 3.0 on this criterion for that class session. Missing a portion of a class will result in an equivalent reduction in the participation grade for that class session. For example, attending two hours of a three hour session results in a grade of 2.0 out of 3.0 for that session.

2. Final Exam 73%. The final will cover all course materials, articles, and lectures from meetings 1 through 9 inclusive. The final will consist of multiple choice questions. Expect a question or two for each article and video, a question for most class activities, and several questions per chapter. The final will be done individually, is closed  book, with time limited to two hours.

Course Grading

The University of Alberta recommends for 500-level courses a mean grade of 3.2, or "B+". Your grade will be based partly on your absolute performance in the class and partly based on your performance relative to the other students in the class. The grades below C+ are failures at the Master's level and are given when there are significant problems with that student's performance in the class.

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