Organizational studies Essay

Prof. Andras Tilcsik, Rotman School of Management andras. tilcsik@rotman. utoronto. ca (preferred contact method) https://portal. utoronto. ca/ 416-946-0610 (email preferred) 95 St. George St. , Room 7018; Thursdays 2:30-3:30pm & by appointment TBA Course Scope and Mission Organizations are all around us in society: we study in them, work for them, rely on them for goods and services, and we are regulated and influenced by them. Understanding organizations, therefore, is key to becoming more effective actors in the organizations that we are, or will be, part of. Organization theory is the scientific study of how organizations function as collective social systems in their particular environment. Applied to business, organization theory primarily focuses on how different organizational design choices facilitate or hinder the achievement of organizational goals (e. g. , profit, survival, growth) in competitive marketplaces. In this course, we will explore organization theory with an emphasis on understanding organizations as systems, and on the practical applications of these theories for organization management. The primary focus of our course materials, analysis, and discussion will be on organizations (not the people who comprise it). Thus, this course—like organization theory more generally—offers a unique perspective for those interested in business and management. By the end of the course, you will achieve the following to become a more effective organizational actor: ? Familiarity with key elements of organizational structure, design, processes, and context 1 of 10 ? ? Skills in organizational analysis and the diagnosis of strengths and  weaknesses Ability to apply organizational theory to real world organizations Course Prerequisites RSM260H1/ MGT262H1 Course Exclusions RSM360H1/ MGT363H1 Required Readings ? ? Daft, R. L & Armstrong, A. (2012). Organization Theory and Design (2nd Canadian edition). Toronto: Nelson. (ISBN-10: 0176503684 / ISBN-13: 9780176503680) Supplemental material will be occasionally handed out in class, or posted on Blackboard. Evaluation and Grades Grades are a measure of the performance of a student in individual courses. Each student shall be judged on the basis of how well he or she has command of the course materials. Work Class Participation & Attendance Individual Short Paper Team Project Proposal Presentation Report Closed-book short quizzes Open-book final exam Bonus credit 10% 15% 0%* 5% 30% 10% 30% (up to 3%) Due Date Ongoing January 28, 2013 February 11, 2013 Variable March 18, 2013 Variable FAS final period (March 25, 2013) * Final project reports from groups that fail to submit the proposal on time will NOT be graded. 1. Class Participation & Attendance (10%) In each class, I might randomly call five to six students to present their work or ideas or to lead class discussion at any time. It is likely that I will open the class by asking someone to summarize the readings or cases briefly, or answer a short question. Please be prepared to participate in class by ensuring that you have read the assigned material before class. I also strongly recommend taking detailed in-class notes and reviewing them after class, while the material is fresh in your mind. I expect you to attend every class on time, and stay for the entire session. If you have an unavoidable conflict, which makes it impossible for you to attend a particular session, please notify me at least 24 hours in advance. 2 of 10 2. Individual Short Paper on Management Fads (15%) This assignment asks you to gather some information on a current and a past trend or fad in management and consider the causes and effects of these fads. This assignment is explained in more detail in Chapter 5 of the textbook (p. 195, â€Å"Chapter 5 Workbook: Management Fads†). Make sure that your address all three questions in the assignment. Your report should read like a coherent (short) essay, rather than just a set of disconnected answers to different questions. If it is helpful for your analysis, you might consider how the institutional perspective on organizations (pp. 188-193) helps explain your findings. The paper should be approximately 800 words, typed double-spaced. Write clearly and concisely and indicate all your sources. If you are not sure where to start looking for information, or how you might think about these questions, please see me well in advance of the due date. 3. Team Project (35%) In teams of 5 to 6, you will analyze a case—or a set of cases—by applying appropriate theories to generate insights about organizational theory, design, and change. The project also requires you to be creative in how you present the insights. More information about the final case project will be posted on Blackboard and provided in class on January 28, 2013. 4. Closed-book Short Quizzes (10%) To enhance your overall learning effectiveness, I will give 4 short pop quizzes through the semester. Your best 3 quiz scores will count towards your grade. Further details will be announced in class. 5. Open-book Final Exam (30%) The final exam will be an open-book written examination, in which non-electronic aids are permitted. The final will cover all readings and course content (e. g. , lectures, class discussions). 6. Bonus Credit (up to 3%) Organizational scholars sometimes run experimental studies to test new hypotheses. You can earn extra credits up to 3% by participating in research studies conducted through the Rotman Participant pool between January 7, 2012, and March 25, 2013. These credits will count towards your cumulative course grade, and your participation in a study will help contribute to cutting-edge research on organizational behavior, marketing, or other business issues. You will receive 1% extra credit for each hour of research in which you participate. To participate in a research study, sign up for an account online at http://rotman-credit. sona-systems. com. When you request an account, make sure you fill out all of the information accurately, including selecting the correct course and section, to ensure that you receive credit. Once you have an account, you may read over the descriptions of research studies that are posted online. When you identify a study in which you would like to participate, you may view available timeslots for that study and sign-up online to participate. Participation in the actual research study will take between 45 and 60 minutes. You will be debriefed at the end of the study, and you will be asked to answer a question about some aspect of the study. Once you correctly answer the question, you will be given credit for completing one study. COURSE FORMAT AND EXPECTATIONS For Written Assignments: Please note that clear, concise, and correct writing will be considered in the evaluation of all your written work for this course (i. e. , individual short paper, team project report, and final written exam). That is, you may lose points for writing that impedes communication: poor 3 of 10 organization, weak paragraph development, excessive wordiness, hard-to-follow sentence structure, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Students who require additional support and/or tutoring with respect to their writing skills are encouraged to visit the Academic Success Centre (www. asc. utoronto. ca) or one of the College Writing Centres (www. writing. utoronto. ca/writing-centres). These centres are teaching facilities – not editing services, where trained staff can assist students in developing their academic writing skills. For Class Participation: It is my hope that our class can serve as a riskless environment in which we all feel comfortable testing new ideas and pushing the boundaries of our thinking. This may be a different experience than you have had in previous classes, but exploring your ideas out loud by participating in the discussion will serve you well in other classes and in your future careers. I know that some of you may be shy or uncomfortable speaking publicly and/or English is not your first language. If you are particularly worried about your in-class contributions, please check in within the first two weeks of the semester, and I can work with you in creative ways to help your contributions. There is, however, no alternative to participating in class discussions. But if you do fall into this category, please come see me early in the term, and we will work together to come up with ways to facilitate your participation. There is no charge for the instruction and support. For Group Work: The final project requires students to work in teams of 5 to 6. Learning to work together in teams is an important aspect of your education and preparation for your future careers. That said, project-based teamwork is often new to students and you are therefore reminded of the following expectations with respect to behaviour and contributions to your team project. 1. Read the document entitled, â€Å"Working in Teams: Guidelines for Rotman Commerce Students† which is available on the RC portal under the Academic Services tab. 2. When working in a team, Rotman Commerce students are expected to: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Treat other members with courtesy and respect; Honour the ground rules established by the team; Contribute substantially and proportionally to the final project; Ensure enough familiarity with the entire contents of the group project/assignment so as to be able to sign off on it as original work; Meet the project timeline as established by the team. 3. Resolving differences: Conflicts can – and do – occur. Conflicts are part of the team’s process of learning how to work together effectively and can actually generate exciting debate and creative solutions – if managed appropriately. Student teams are collectively expected to resolve disputes or misunderstandings as soon as they arise (and prior to submission of the final project). In cases where teams are unable to reach a mutually agreeable solution, the entire team must meet with the Rotman Commerce Team Coach** as soon as possible. The Coach will listen to the team and help develop options for improving the team process. All members of the project team must commit to, and, utilize their action plans. ** The Rotman Commerce Team Coach, Nikoleta Vlamis, may be reached 4 of 10 at nikoleta@nikoletaandassociates. com for an appointment. Nikoleta is an expert in team dynamics and facilitation. Note that Nikoleta’s role is to provide guidance, support and advice on team matters – not to formally evaluate or assess teamwork for academic purposes. 5 of 10 WEEKLY SCHEDULE (subject to change) Session 1 Date Jan 7 Topic and cases Introduction: Organization Theory & Design Textbook readings Chapter 1 2 Jan 14 Organization Design & Strategy Chapter 2 3 Jan 21 Organizational Structure Short Case: Aquarius Advertising (pp. 124-127) External Environment & Inter-Organizational Relationships Final case project announced Organization Design in an International Environment Short Case: Ivanhoe Mines (pp. 236-238) Halfway Point: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead Case: Tim Hortons (pp. 510-513) Chapter 3 Chapter 4 & 5 Individual short paper due Chapter 6 4 Jan 28 5 Feb 4 6 Feb 11 Team project proposal due No class Feb 18 University Closed (Family Day). No Class. 7 Feb 25 Organization Size, Life Cycle, and Decline Short Case: I Love Rewards Inc. (pp. 348-350) Organizational Culture Short Case: Closing the Gap (pp. 386-387) Innovation & Change Management Case: The Hospital for Sick Children (pp. 514-520) Chapter 9 8 Mar 4 Chapter 10 9 Mar 11 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Team project report due Chapter 13 10 Mar 18 Decision-making 11 Mar 25 Conflict, Power & Politics Final team presentations (1) Final Review & Debrief Final team presentations (2) 12 April 1 N/A TBA by FAS. FINAL EXAM All course materials 6 of 10 POLICY AND PROCEDURE Missed Tests and Assignments (including midterm examinations) Students who miss a test or assignment for reasons entirely beyond their control (e. g. illness) may submit a request for special consideration. Provided that notification and documentation are provided in a timely manner, and that the request is subsequently approved, no academic penalty will be applied. In such cases, students must notify Rotman Commerce on the date of the missed test (or due date in the case of course work) and submit supporting documentation (e.g. a medical certificate) to the Rotman Commerce Program Office within one week of the originally scheduled test or due date. Students who do not provide Rotman Commerce or the instructor with appropriate or sufficient supporting documentation will be given a grade of 0 (zero). Note that the physician’s report must establish that the patient was examined and diagnosed at the time of illness, not after the fact. The Faculty will not accept a statement that merely confirms a later report of illness made by the student to a physician. Late Assignments Assignments are due at the beginning of the class of the weeks specified in the outline. The grade will normally be reduced by 10% if the assignment is not received by the specified time, and by an additional 10% per day late. Students who, for reasons beyond their control, are unable to submit an assignment by its deadline must obtain approval from the instructor for an extension. Supporting documentation will be required as per the policy on missed tests and assignments. Accessibility Needs The University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations for a disability, or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom or course materials, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible: disability. services@utoronto. ca or http://www. accessibility. utoronto. ca/. Attendance of Other Sections I teach two sections of this class on Monday. You must attend the section in which you are registered. Under exceptional circumstances, however, you may attend a different section on the same day (each section will cover the same material) provided that you receive permission from me at least three days in advance. Email Policy & Office Hours At times, the course instructor may decide to communicate important course information by email. As such, all UofT students are required to have a valid UTmail+ email address. You are responsible for ensuring that your UTmail+ email address is set up AND properly entered on the ROSI system. For more information please visit http://help. ic. utoronto. ca/category/3/utmail. html Forwarding your utoronto. ca email to a Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo or other type of email account is not advisable. In some cases, messages from utoronto. ca addresses sent to Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo accounts are filtered as junk mail, which means that important messages from your course instructor may end up in your spam or junk mail folder. 7 of 10 Blackboard and the Course Page The online course page for this course is accessed through Blackboard. To access the course page, go to the UofT Portal login at https://portal. utoronto. ca/ and log in using your UTORid and password. Once you have logged in, look for the My Courses module where you’ll find the link to all your course websites. If you don’t see the course listed here but you are properly registered for the course in ROSI, wait 48 hours. If the course does not appear, go to the Information Commons Help Desk in Robarts Library, 1st floor, for help, or explore the Portal Information and Help at www. portalinfo. utoronto. ca/students and review the Frequently Asked Questions. Classroom Norms Consistent with the general goal of mutual respect for all course participants, students are expected the following: Attending the class. Each class benefits from the attendance and participation of all students. Your grade for participation will be affected by absences. You should sit in the assigned seat, if relevant, and display a legible name card at all times. Arriving on time. Late arrivals are disruptive to both lectures and class discussion, and show disrespect to those who are on time. Class starts 10 minutes after the hour. Minimizing disruptions. All cell phones and pagers should be turned off during class. You should not leave and re-enter the class. You should avoid engaging in side conversations after class has begun. Focusing on the class. Laptops, iPads, and other electronic devices should be turned off during class. Being prepared for class. You should be ready to discuss any assigned readings and to answer any assigned questions for each day’s class, including being ready to open a case assigned for that day. Respect. You should act respectfully toward all class participants. Prepare using only class materials. Before a case is analyzed in class, you should neither read an analysis of the cases nor discuss it with students who have previously discussed it in class (either in a previous year or in a different course or section). Similarly, you should not share the notes handed in class with another student who may take the course at some later time. If you are in violation of this policy, or know of someone who is, please discuss it with the professor. How to Prepare for Class For all lectures: ? Start by skimming the readings, looking at headings and subheadings to understand what the reading discusses. ? Then, delve into the readings and consider the following questions. What are the central points of the reading? Why are these points important? What is not addressed? What assumptions are being made? 8 of 10 For cases: While there is no set method of case preparation, one approach involves the following: 1 ? Start by reading the textbook or any theoretical readings or articles that are also assigned. Consider what the case is designed to accomplish—why this case, now, in this course? Use the other readings as a way to frame your reading of the case ? Read the exhibits (if any) first. What do they say about the case? Then, skim the case. ? Read the case. Take notes on important issues. Draw links between the other readings and the assigned case. Apply any tools discussed in the other readings. ? Reread the exhibits (if any). ? Also, don’t forget what we’ve learned in prior classes. Often, using our tools of analysis will give you new insights into a particular case. ? It’s often helpful to summarize your perspective of the case on a single page of notes. It requires you to focus on the larger issues at hand, rather than feeling that every fact is important. ? Take a stand. What are the core issues in this case? Why are they so important? What should be done? What will happen if your idea is implemented? Academic Integrity Academic Integrity is a fundamental value essential to the pursuit of learning and scholarships at the University of Toronto. Participating honestly, respectively, responsibly, and fairly in this academic community ensures that the UofT degree that you earn will continue to be valued and respected as a true signifier of a student’s individual work and academic achievement. As a result, the University treats cases of academic misconduct very seriously. The University of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters http://www.governingcouncil. utoronto. ca/policies/behaveac. htm outlines the behaviours that constitute academic misconduct, the process for addressing academic offences, and the penalties that may be imposed. You are expected to be familiar with the contents of this document. Potential offences include, but are not limited to: In papers and assignments: †¢ Using someone else’s ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement. †¢ Submitting your own work in more than one course without the permission of the instructor. †¢ Making up sources or facts. †¢ Obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on any assignment (this includes collaborating with others on assignments that are supposed to be completed individually). On test and exams: †¢ Using or possessing any unauthorized aid, including a cell phone. †¢ Looking at someone else’s answers †¢ Misrepresenting your identity. †¢ Submitting an altered test for re-grading. 1 This section borrows from Prof. Anita McGahan’s notes on case preparation (article forthcoming) 9 of 10 Misrepresentation: †¢ Falsifying institutional documents or grades. †¢ Falsifying or altering any documentation required by the University, including (but not limited to), medical notes. All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated by the following procedures outlined in the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. If you have any question about what is or is not permitted in the course, please do not hesitate to contact the course instructor. If you have any questions about appropriate research and citation methods, you are expected to seek out additional information from the instructor or other UofT resources such as College Writing Centres or the Academic Success Centre. Recording Lectures Lectures and course materials prepared by the instructor are considered by the University to be an instructor’s intellectual property covered by the Canadian Copyright Act. Students wishing to record a lecture or other course material in any way are required to ask the instructor’s explicit permission, and may not do so unless permission is granted (note: students who have been previously granted permission to record lectures as an accommodation for a disability are, of course, excepted). This includes tape recording, filming, photographing PowerPoint slides, Blackboard materials, etc. If permission is granted by the instructor (or via Accessibility Services), it is intended for the individual student’s own study purposes and does not include permission to â€Å"publish† them in anyway. It is absolutely forbidden for a student to publish an instructor’s notes to a website or sell them in any other form without formal permission.