TARLETON STATE UNIVERSITY

MGMT 508 - Section 110: Online

Analysis & Design of Organizations

Fall, 2005

Syllabus Version 5 (August 29, 2005)

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1. Your Instructor

 

Name:

 

Dr. Jody Fry

 

 

 

Department:

 

Management, Marketing, and Administrative Systems

Office Secretary:

 

Mrs. Chestene Fullingim

Phone:

 

(254) 519-5441

 

 

 

Campus Office:

 

Suite 130-D, TCT, Killeen Texas

Phone:

 

(254) 519-5476

Fax:

 

(254) 519-5490

 

 

 

Home Phone:

 

(254)547-7114

 

 

 

E-mail Address:

 

fry@Tarleton.edu

 (Use this address only for email not related to this course. For email related to this course, you must use the email facility of WebCT.)

 

 

 

Home-page:

 

http://www.tarleton.edu/~fry/

 

 

 

Instructor Background:

 

http://www.tarleton.edu/~fry/bio.html

 

 

 

Office Hours:

 

University Office

 

 

Monday/Wednesday

1:30-4:30

 

 

Tuesday/Thursday

2:00-4:00

 

 

 

 

I suggest that you call ahead to visit with me during my center office hours to be sure that I can be available to you. The best way to communicate with me is via email, which I check daily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2. Course Overview

Examines theories, processes, and “fit” models of organization design. Emphasis is placed on alignment of business strategy with structure, technology, information systems, reward systems, people, culture and management processes - including organization-environment and interorganizational relations, innovation, control systems, decision making, conflict, and power and politics. Compares and contrasts the flexible, adaptive learning organization with the traditional centralized, standardized, and formalized bureaucratic organization.

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3. Course Prerequisites & Entrance Competencies

To be admitted to this course, you must have graduate level writing skills, basic computer skills, creative and analytical thinking skills, effective reading skills, advanced learning skills, and a general understanding of problems faced by business managers.

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4. Course and Unit Objectives

Overall Course Objective: As a result of completing this course, the learner will be able to identify theories, processes and “fit” models of organization design; align of structure, technology, information systems, reward systems, people and culture, and management processes with organizational goals; and compare and contrast the flexible, adaptive learning organization with the traditional centralized, standardized, and formalized organization.

The primary objective for each Unit is listed below. After you complete each unit of this course, you should be able to:

Unit Objectives

 

 

 

1

Orientation

After you complete this first unit you should be able to demonstrate the use and application of various components, resources, and WebCT tools required to successfully navigate and complete this course as a part of your degree program.

 

 

2

Organizations and Organization Theory - Chapters: 1& 2

After completing this unit you should be able to describe the characteristics of organizations and organizations as systems, define and explain organization theory and outline its value for managers in a rapidly changing world; describe strategic direction in terms of the types of goals and strategies that top management develops, as well as two frameworks for determining strategic action; and identify several approaches for measuring organizational effectiveness.

 

 

3

Unit 3: Fundamentals of Organization Structure - Chapter: 3

As a result of completing this unit you should be able to define basic concepts of organization structure and discuss how structure can help organizations achieve their goals; explain how an information processing perspective on structure creates an understanding of how organizational linkages can provide needed information capacity; demonstrate strategies for grouping organizational activities into different structures; and, describe symptoms of structural misalignment.

 

 

4

The External Environment and Organizational Design - Chapters 4, 5 & 6

As a result of completing this unit, you should be able to describe the relationship between organizational design and its environment.

 

 

5

Organization Technology, Control, Size, and Life Cycle - Chapters: 7, 8, & 9

After completing this unit, you should be able to describe the nature of organizational technology and the impact that technology has on organization design at the organization and departmental levels.

 

 

6

Organizational Culture, Ethical Values and Innovation and Change - Chapters 10 & 11

After completing this unit, you should be able to describe the nature of corporate culture, its origins, and purpose, and how to identify and interpret culture through ceremonies, stories, and symbols.

 

 

7

Unit 7: Decision-Making Processes and Conflict, Power, and Politics - Chapters 12 & 13

After completing this unit of study, you should be able to discuss the nature of conflict and use of power and political tactics to reduce conflict.

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5. Instructional Materials & Support Resources

 

TEXTS:

Daft, R L., (2004). Organization Theory and Design (8th Ed.), St Paul:
West Publishing Company, ISBN: 0-324-15691-X

 

 

COMPUTER RESOURCES:

A PC configured to support WebCT (see technical specifications in the WebCT tutorial identified under support resources)

A personal INTERNET account with E-mail and web browser capabilities. All TUSC-CT students are provided a free E-mail account through the University server.

A copy of Acrobat Reader, You may download the free Acrobat Reader at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html                            

You may claim your Tarleton student email account, set your Tarleton student email account to forward messages to another email account of your choosing, send auto-replies to your email while you are away from internet access, and view your Tarleton email at: http://www.tarleton.edu/~helpdesk/

Citing references in APA format:

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html

The Web Site for this course will be found at: http://online3.tarleton.edu/

The Publishers Text Website is at:
http://www.swlearning.com/management/daft/otad8e/otad8e.html

Text books may be purchased online at:
http://www.bkstore.com/tarleton/

A student passed on these other sites which she claimed had excellent prices but required 2-3 weeks lead-time. There are many others on the net including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc:
http://bookhq.com/
http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/bobuk/scripts/welcome.jsp
http://www.pickabook.co.uk

Tarleton Direct Bookstore
http://direct.mbsbooks.com/tarleton.htm

Two different WebCT student tutorials will be found at:
http://www.webct.com/quickstart and
http://online.tarleton.edu/4xhandbook/contents.htm

The TSU/TUSC-CT library on line:
http://www.tarleton.edu/~library/

The Center for Instructional Technology & Distance Learning on-line: http://online.tarleton.edu/

The Tarleton Internet Information Center:
http://www.tarleton.edu/~helpdesk/

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6. Course Requirements

a. Course Contribution: I ask for your attentiveness to study and learning assignments, on time completion of assignments, and regular participation in and effective contribution to online discussions and activities. Those who demonstrate consistently high quality, professional performance, and who regularly contribute to course activities will earn higher grades.

I expect you to meet the course requirements schedule. I know however, that on occasion, circumstances beyond your control may result in your missing a course commitment. When you are able, please contact me by phone or email in advance. I have voice mail on both my office and home phone. I expect each of you to take personal responsibility for meeting course commitments.

 

Make note of the standards of conduct required by TSU, at:

 

http://www.tarleton.edu/~stuserv/handbook

 

 

 

Also note the policies of TSU concerning computer usage, at:

 

http://www.tarleton.edu/~policy/279999t101.htm

b. Students with Disabilities: If you have or believe you have a disability, you may wish to self-identify. You can do so by providing documentation to the office of the Academic Dean of Tarleton State University-Central TX, or to the Americans with Disabilities Office on the Stephenville campus. I encourage students with disabilities to speak with me early in the semester about the accommodations that they might need to assure success in this class. To register your need, contact:

Dr. Peggy Malone, Academic Dean
Tarleton State Univ-Central TX
1901 S. Clear Creek Rd.
Killeen, TX 76549
(254) 519-5494

Phyllis Guthrie, Interim Director
Disability Services
Tarleton State Univ
Box T-0010
Stephenville, TX 76402
(254)968-9480

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c. Your Responsibilities for Study Opportunities: I expect you to prepare for each class by studying the text chapters assigned under STUDY ASSIGNMENTS and completing assignments shown under LEARNING ACTIVITIES. These represent opportunities for you to ready yourself for participation in course activities. As a result of your study, I expect you to contribute to and learn from online discussions. I will trust that you are responsible graduate students, that you will study the material in the text, and will complete the assignments on time. You are responsible for learning the course material on your own. Online discussions and chat times should be used to seek clarification of the more difficult or ambiguous aspects of the text material. You should expect to demonstrate your understanding of terminology and course concepts by asking and answering questions during discussion or chat opportunities. If you don’t understand something, I expect you to either ask about it during chat times or to post a question on the course discussion board. Please take these learning opportunities seriously.

The course web site will contain all assignments and changes to assignments, web links to research information, individual student grades (secure for each student), on-line chat capabilities, and other information useful to this course. You should plan to check it at least three times a week to be sure you are current with requirements for this course. I may make additional material for this course available as the course progresses, at a reasonable time in advance of the time you need it for assignments.

d. Specific Guidelines for Written Learning Opportunities:

(1) Quality Work: When you submit written work, please prepare it in typewritten form using a format/style consistent with professional business practice. We will use the Style Guide of the American Psychological Association as the standard. Your use of the APA style assures that you demonstrate consistency, professional appearance, organization, and effective authentication and documentation of sources. The quality of your work is a reflection of you. Present your best side. Quality work is free of spelling and grammar errors, and has a professional appearance. I will consider the professional appearance of your work as part of the grade you earn for an assignment.

(2) Identifying Submissions: Please include as the first page of each assignment, a title page that indicates appropriate identifying information. Include, for example, the title or descriptive name of the assignment, question #/page number and/or assignment number whatever is appropriate; your name; date due; and the course name, number, and section. You will find an example in the APA Guide Summary available at this course site under RESOURCES. If the requirements for an assignment indicate a minimum or maximum number of pages, the title page, table of contents if any, and list of references is not counted in the number of pages submitted.

(3) Submission Style Requirements:

I will grade only work that:

(a) is typed using double spacing, left justified (not full justified);
(b) applies a type size of 11 or 12 points;
(c) uses Arial Type Face or its equivalent;
(d) displays a one inch margin on all sides;
(e) provides an identifying title page; and,
(f) provides a page number on each page.

I reserve the option to return work without a grade that does not meet these requirements. If I return an assignment for your not meeting these requirements, you may resubmit the corrected work. Starting with the second incident, I will reduce your grade by 10%.

(4) Non-compliance: Failure to submit any assignment will result in a grade of zero.

(5) Late Submissions/Resubmissions: Your grade for any assignment submitted after the due date and time will be reduced by 5% for each day or part of a day that it is late. This applies as well to work returned for not meeting the submission requirements of the assignment.

(6) How To submit: You will submit most assignments as an upload/submit to the course site, at SUBMISSIONS. Note that it is a two-step process: upload and then submit. In some cases, I may ask you to submit an assignment as an email attachment or a discussion posting attachment. Please submit them only in MS Word or RTF format. Any documents I send to you will be in MS Word format.

(7) When You May Expect Feedback: You may expect me to return graded assignments within two weeks of your submitting them.

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e. E-mail Guidelines:

(1) Use WebCT: You must use our course website to initiate any course related emails to me. I will do the same. That way, all of your emails to me related to this course will always be available to me and to you at our course website. I will be using the course site to reply to your emails as well. Please be clear that I may not answer any course related email messages you send to me via my Tarleton email address. We are using only our course site for email communication in this course.

(2) Automatic Forward: You can and should indicate at our course site that emails to you should be automatically forwarded to an email address of your choosing but even if forwarded, the email will also be available at the course site for your later reference.

(3) Use Quote: For “correspondence” between us using email, please always reply to my messages on the same subject at the top of my message so I have a chronological history of our exchange. To do this, select quote rather than reply. I will do the same for you. This applies to the email system only. For the Discussion Board, do not use quote. Use reply.

(4) Acknowledging and Replying: I will acknowledge within 24 hours (except weekends) all messages from you that require action on my part even if I can’t give you a full reply at the time I receive it. I expect you to do the same. Generally, I will review and respond to my email before noon M-F, and once during my scheduled office hours M-W. If you need my email response at any times other than these, please call me to alert me. I may reply to email on Saturday and Sunday depending on my schedule, so if you need to get in touch with me over a weekend, feel free to call my home.

f. Exams, Quizzes and Self-tests:

(1) Self Tests: Self-tests for each chapter are found by linking to the publisher’s text site and selecting Interactive Quizzes. You may also link to it by selecting ASSESSING / SELF-TESTS from the Course Menu.

http://www.swlearning.com/management/daft/otad8e/otad8e.html

I strongly urge you to complete these self-tests to help you assess your level of understanding of the material. The self tests will help you more effectively learn the material and it will prepare you to take the Graded Unit Quiz. The self tests are scored but these scores are just a guide - they will not be used as part of your course grade. You may take the self tests as many times as you would like.

The website provides you the ability to send the questions and your answers via email to yourself for review. I suggest that you do this, but do not send them to your instructor.

(2) Graded Quizzes: Our WebCT course site contains Graded Quizzes for each unit. You must complete these for a grade during the week assigned. The Graded Quizzes contain objective questions based entirely on the text material. You may take them only once during the period each Graded Quiz is open. I will drop the lowest Graded Quiz score of those you completed. Any you do not complete will be counted as zero and will not be dropped. The time allotted for a quiz allows for technical delays during the quiz.


Honor Code: All work on Graded Quizzes must be your own and only your own. You may not collaborate in any way, or discuss the Graded Quizzes with anyone. By submitting your Graded Quiz, you are certifying that all work on it is entirely your own and that you have not discussed it or collaborated in any way with anyone concerning the Graded Quiz.


(3) Case Essay Exam: There will be one open-book, open notes take home examination. It will consist of a case article of a company that will be made available to you at SUBMISSIONS the week before the exam due date. You will submit your completed exam paper to SUBMISSIONS by the date and time indicated there. The analysis of the company, the format of the presentation and its grading will follow that of the case analysis outline below.

g. Semester Case Analysis Research Project:

Your semester project will be a written group case analysis research project of a real organization. You may petition your instructor to do this as an individual project if your circumstances make it very difficult to do group work.

During the semester you will pick an organization and study it as a case study. This can be an organization where you are employed or a FORTUNE 500 company. The analysis of the company, the format of the report and its grading will follow that of the case analysis outline below. In the implementation section, be sure and discuss how you would make changes in the organization. Your case analysis should also include an implementation plan that discusses a time frame, costs, and any other relevant factors that need to be incorporated. The paper should be 15-20 double-spaced pages (exclusive of cover page, table of contents, references and attachments). Be sure to use at least ten references with citations.

You will develop your Research Project in two progressive phases with each phase submitted to me for my review and acceptance. Your course site provides specific guidelines on what and to submit for each of the two phases.

Research Proposal
Research Report

Note: Each individual or group should discuss his or her idea with me via phone or WebCT email. Then one team member should submit the team Research Proposal as an upload to SUBMISSIONS in a two-three page outline for my final approval before starting your analysis.

 

Case Analysis Outline for Semester Case Analysis Research Project

I. Situation Analysis (40%): Describe briefly in summary form the management situation reflected in the case. This is not a restating of the case details or history. Instead, it captures the essence of the management situation and leads to the development of the issue(s) statement to follow. Incorporate a Vision/Stakeholder Effectiveness Analysis and a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis in terms of the management issues.

II. Issue(s) Statement (5%): Identify and discuss briefly the primary management and leadership questions and issues reflected in the case situation. Close this section with a single, concise but comprehensive underlying management question that must be answered to deal with the situation.

III. Organization Design /Strategy Implementation Analysis (40%)

1.Organization Design/Strategy Implementation Variables

a. Technology
b. Structure
c. People
d. Information Technology
e. Reward Systems

2. Organization Size, Life Cycle, and Control
3. Organizational Culture and Ethical Values
4. Organizational Change
5. Decision Making Processes
6. Conflict, Power, and Politics

IV. Courses of Action (5%): Between three and five courses of action with the advantages and disadvantages of each should be considered.

V. Selected Course of Action and Rationale (5%): The selected course of action should be spelled out as well as the rationale for that course of action.

VI. Implementation (5%): The implementation is the plan of action to be used by the organization to resolve the problem that is being faced. It should include a timetable for putting the plan of action into action.

h. Citing and Authentication: Review the TSU ethical requirements at the web site noted under Course Requirements above. You have an ethical and legal responsibility to authenticate all information you submit for grading. This means that you must cite authoritative sources to authenticate facts, statements and opinions that were derived from one or more others, whether quotes, paraphrases, or summaries. You must clearly differentiate between facts and opinion by using language that attributes opinion to its source. Citing does not do that. You must properly cite sources in the body of your submissions, and must provide an appropriate list titled References Cited as the last page of your submissions. Failure to do so will be treated as plagiarism with appropriate consequences according to university policy.

i. Team Member Performance: Team collaboration is permitted ONLY for the two components of the Case Analysis Research Project and the Research Project Presentation. All other work in the course must be your individual work. For Research Project teams, I expect each team member to fully participate and contribute to the completion of the Research Proposal, the Research Report, and the Research Presentation discussion. Both team members will generally share the grades for the team Research Projects. However, I reserve the right to make exceptions to that practice as circumstances such as performance imbalance or communication issues warrant. I reserve the right to administer peer evaluations at any time for your projects and to consider these in the allocation of grades among team members. I strongly urge you to discuss your mutual expectations with your team partner(s). If at any time, you believe that your team partner is not living up to his/her commitments, you have the right to terminate the partnership and proceed with the project on your own, after notifying me.

j. Semester Case Analysis Research Project Presentation & Discussion:: Each project (individual or team) will prepare an online PowerPoint presentation (with notes) on the research project. Plan on a 15-frame slide show maximum. Your research report, as depicted in your slide presentation with notes, will be evaluated, critiqued, and discussed by discussion groups that I will establish during the semester. If the project was completed as a team, the team members must participate equally in the discussion group

k. Peer Evaluations: All students must fill out the peer evaluation form provided at SUBMISSIONS and upload it to SUBMISSIONS by the date shown in the WebCT calendar. I use this as a mechanism to determine an individual’s contribution to the group’s effort. If you rate a group member significantly higher or lower than the other group members, you must write down the specifics of the situation and justify your rating.

l. Projects and Case Discussions:

Students will prepare individually by reading all assigned cases and preparing answers to all assigned questions. For those cases assigned to be done individually, each student will upload his/her written answers to SUBMISSIONS. For some cases, some students will be assigned to a presentation team (Cases with an * in the Course Schedule below). The team will develop a PowerPoint presentation with notes to present the assigned text case. For team presented cases, you will participate in a group discussion of the PowerPoint presentation at the discussion forum rather than submitting your written answers.

I may also assign you other small projects and cases with specific questions to be answered. These must be your own work and may not be done as a team unless I say otherwise. For some of these, you may be asked to participate in a web-based discussion forum or an online chat.

Discussions and individually prepared cases are graded on an unsatisfactory, satisfactory, or exceptional basis (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2). You can either be penalized up to 2 points, be given credit (0 points), or receive up to two extra points for you performance in these activities. Thus your grade can be affected if you are 1-2 points above or below 60, 70, 80, or 90. Remember you must have at least a 70 average to pass this course and must maintain at least a B average [3.0] to continue in the program and graduate.

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m. Grade Computation:

Assignments

 

% of Course Grade

Graded Quizzes

 

 

 20%  

Case Essay Exam

 

 

 30% 

Text Case Submissions, Presentations & Discussions

 

 

 15%  

Semester Research Project

 

 35% 

Proposal

  5%

  

Report & Presentation

 30%

  

Authentication

 Must be A or B 

 

   

  TOTAL = 

100 %

    

 Grade Equivalents:   

  

  

  

If the grade is given numerically,

   

If the grade is given as a letter grade

89.5 - 100 % = A

   

A= 95%

79.5 - 89.4% = B

   

B = 85%

69.5 – 79.4% = C

   

C = 75%

59.5 – 69.4% = D

   

D = 65%

0 – 59.4% = F

   

F = 0%

  

   

+ = +5%

  

   

- = -5%

   

*** I reserve the right to modify the requirements  & grade percentages for this course as necessary to achieve the course objectives.

**** I will compute your final numerical grade to one decimal, and then round it.

                                                                   

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7. Your Course Schedule

 

Unit

 

Topic

Text Assignment

Assignment

Remarks

1

 

Course Orientation

 

Syllabus

 

2

 

Organizations & Organization Theory

Chapter 1 – Organizations and Organization Theory
Chapter 2 – Strategy, Organization Design, and Effectiveness
  

Ch 1-SS Technologies
Ch 2-University Art Museum
Form groups & Assign Text Cases

Unit 2 Quiz  

3

 

Fundamentals of Organization Structure

Chapter 3 – Fundamentals of Organization Structure

Ch 3-C&C Grocery
Ch 3-Aquarius Adv*   

Unit 3 Quiz

4

 

The External Environment & Organizational Design

Chapter 4 – The External Environment
Chapter 5 – Inter-organizational Relationships
Chapter 6 – Designing Organizations for the Environment

Ch 4-Acme-Omega*
Ch 5-Hugh Russell Inc*
Ch 6-Rhodes Industries*

  Unit 4 Quiz

5

 

Organization Technology, Control, Size, & Life Cycle

Chapter 7 – Manufacturing and Service Organizations
Chapter 8 – Information Technology and Control
Chapter 9 – Organization Size Life Cycle and Control

Ch 7-Acetate Dept*
Ch 9- Dowling Flexible Metals (p. 580)*

  Unit 5 Quiz

6

 

Organizational Culture, Ethical Values, Innovation & Change

Chapter 10 – Organizational Culture and Ethical Values
Chapter 11 – Innovation and Change 

Ch 10-National Industrial Products*

Ch 11- Shoe Co*   

Unit 5 Quiz


Case Essay Exam

7

 

Decision-making Processes & conflict, Power, & Politics

Chapter 12 – Decision Making Processes
Chapter 13 – Conflict, Power, and Politics

Ch 12-National Bank of San Francisco*
Ch 13-Custom Chip*

Unit 7 Quiz

 

 

Presentations

 

Group Case Analysis &
Peer Evaluations Due

*Indicates that the case will be completed as a team and discussed at the discussion forum. Other cases will be submitted individually to SUBMISSIONS   

 

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