Elmira College – Office of Continuing Education

PSY 5150-59 Organizational Psychology Winter 2000

Liverpool, Thursday, 4:15 to 7:15 PM

Ted Pietrzak, Ph.D.

Phone: 315-498-5699

Box 100

Jamesville, NY 13078

Email: tedpiet360 @aol.com

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Most people work in organizational settings. They will contribute individually, work in groups or teams and experience an organizational environment. They will be affected by interpersonal and group dynamics, leadership, motivational climates, change, communication effectiveness, transitions and pressures from organizational culture and strategies. This course will assist students in learning how organizations work on a variety of levels and how to contribute to ones own career growth and to increased organizational effectiveness.

Topics covered will include: socialization, motivation, group decision making, intergroup relations, communication, leadership, personal growth, planned change and organization development. An experiential approach to learning will be used. Students who are in or plan to enter industrial, educational or governmental organizations will find the learning and experience very useful for their understanding and success in organizations.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The students will be able to:

  1. Know how individual, group and managerial levels affect performance and employee satisfaction in organizations.
  2. Assess their individual skills and preferences for learning, communication, influence and conflict resolution.
  3. Understand the key elements of effective leadership with respect to teams, groups and projects.
  4. Use models for understanding organizations, personalities, strategies, behaviors and effective performance.
  5. Know what it takes to effect change in organizations.
  6. Know how to work more effectively in organizational settings.

 

LEARNING PHILOSOPHY

The instructor believes in self-directed learning with the use of the learners’ particular life experiences both with and within organizations. Along with this comes the use of observation, reflection, interpretation, inquiry, reference to theories and hypotheses, conceptualization, dialogue, prediction and understanding.

Learners are considered limited only by their perceptions of boundaries and barriers to learning and intellectual growth. Efforts should be made to stretch oneself outside current patterns of thinking and take insight and knowledge from a variety of credible pertinent sources.

RESOURCES

Required WORKBOOK: Bowen, Lewicki, Hall and Hall (1997) Management and Organizational Behavior, 4th edition. New York: J. Wiley & Sons.(EMOB)

Required READER: Bowditch and Buono (1997) A Primer on Organizational Behavior, 4th edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons. (POB)

Accessible journals, websites and books will also be recommended.

COURSE FORMAT

Class discussions, self-assessments, case studies, sharing of student organizational experiences. Class exercises from the workbook and readings from the Reader. Working in small groups and a group project will be undertaken. Individual advising and coaching meetings will be implemented.

It is highly advisable that students have access to an email account and the internet.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  1. Participation, informal presentations, contributions through workbook exercises and keeping up with pre-class reading is expected.
  2. Individual Concepts Application Paper (ICAP) will be required. Concepts from the course applied to the context of the learner’s experience will be written up. Details will be discussed in class.
  3. A Topical Learning Contract (TLC) will be developed by each student early in the semester to specify particular learning interests in organizational issues and concepts with measures and follow up.
  4. A Group Project (GP) will be initiated, developed and implemented by a group of learners working together over the semester. Topics will be suggested from discussion between the group and the instructor.
  5. An individual Group Analysis Paper (GAP) on the dynamics, leadership, etc. of their group involved in the Group Project will be required by each learner. It will be confidential between instructor and learner and be used for purposes of learner insight and analysis and not for punitive action.
  6. A Group Project Presentation (GPP) will be expected from each group at the end of the semester. Each group member will participate.
  7. Email communication with the instructor is encouraged as needed.

KEY EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. Participation, preparedness, informal presentations 15%

2. ICAP – application, clarity, interpretation, completeness 20%

3. TLC – specificity, measures, commitment, progress 15%

4. GP - perspective, methodology, completeness 20%

5. GAP – analysis, insight, honesty 20%

6. GPP – completeness, clarity, application 10%

APPROXIMATE

SCHEDULE

 TOPICS PRE-READ

POB Chaps.
WEEK 1                 Course Organization, Psychological Contract, Socialization,

OB Research

 1, pp. 108-

111
WEEK 2 Organization as an Open System, Organizational Models,

Project Discussion

 9
WEEK 3 Managing People, Differences, Motivation   3, 4
WEEK 4 Group Project and Individual Work, Individual

Meetings/Advising

 2
WEEK 5 Interpersonal Communication/Preferences 5
WEEK 6 Leadership and Decision Making, Individual Meetings/

Advising

 8
WEEK 7 Problem Solving across the Organization 6
WEEK 8 Group Project and Individual Work, Individual

Meetings/Advising

 -
WEEK 9 Values and Ethics -
WEEK 10 Collaboration, Conflict, Negotiation 7
WEEK 11 Power and Influence; Group Project Work, Individual

Coaching

 (8)
WEEK 12 Organizational Learning and Culture 11
WEEK 13 Group Presentations -

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