MHR 405 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Organizational Communication, Team Dynamics, The Instructor
11 Dec 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
1
MHR 405 Organizational Behaviour
Section 031
Fall 2016 Wednesdays 3 - 6 PM TRS1-119
Instructor: Dr. Angus Yongheng Yao
Phone: (416) 979-5000 ext. 3566
Office: TRS 3-095
Office Hours: Wednesday 12pm – 1pm and 6 -7pm (or by appointment)
Prerequisite: None
Email Usage and Limits
Email is the best way to reach me outside of class time and office hours. You must use your
Ryerson e-mail account and an acceptable standard of business communication in any email.
Include your course and section number in the subject line of your email.
Method of Posting Grades
Grades on assignments, tests and exams, including final exams, may be posted on the D2L
Brightspace site for the course at http://my.ryerson.ca. Students who wish not to have their
grades posted must inform the instructor in writing before Week 2.
Course Description
This course combines theories from organizational behaviour with experiential learning and in-
class practice, to introduce students to interpersonal skills concepts and develop a theoretical
understanding of organizational behaviour, as well as their ability to work productively in a team.
Topics include employee motivation, perception and diversity, interpersonal and organizational
communication, team dynamics, leadership, conflict, and power and influence.
Course Overview
Interactions with others permeate organizational life, regardless of the type of job held. This
course will introduce you to a wide array of theories on topics relevant to understanding
employee and managerial behaviour and provide insight and hands-on experience on how to use
this knowledge to address problems that you will face in organizations. Some of the questions
that we will address include: How do we effectively motivate employees? How does personality
affect job performance? What leadership styles are effective with different employees? How can
we manage organizational change? We will be applying theories at the organizational, group and
individual levels of analysis and tying them in to examples of real-world applications through the
use of experiential exercises and case studies.
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2
Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. discuss the major concepts relating to organizational behavior theories and the
interrelationships between these concepts
2. evaluate these concepts critically in terms of their utility, applications, and limitations
3. diagnose and solve organizational problems by applying material learned in the course
4. communicate ideas related to organizational effectiveness, both orally and in writing
5. effectively collaborate on team projects
Text, Website and Readings
Readings: In-class cases, readings and exercises to be assigned and/or posted on D2L
Brightspace.
Required Text: McShane, Steen & Tasa (2015). Canadian Organizational Behaviour, 9th
Edition. McGraw-Hill Ryerson. ISBN-10: 125903053-9, ISBN-13: 978-125903053-6.
Course Site: http://my.ryerson.ca ; I will reserve one textbook in library for my class.
Method of Instruction
This course will integrate formal lectures with exercises, cases, practical application and hands-
on experience. Active participation is not only encouraged, but expected and group work will be
conducted throughout the term. As such, regular class attendance is necessary. Exams and
assignments will cover all of the material covered in class including exercises, cases, and videos.
Preparation for each class is essential for learning the course material.
Method of Evaluation
Individual Case Study 20%
Test 1 20%
Test 2 20%
Final 40%
Students must obtain a weighted average of 50% across the tests and the final exam to pass the
course. Please note that you do not require 50% on each of these evaluation components to pass
the course.
All assignments for this course must be submitted as hard copy in class and electronically to
www.turnitin.com before class. Students who do not want their work submitted to this plagiarism
detection service must, by the end of the second week of class, consult with the instructor to
make alternative arrangements. The instructor reserves the right to subject any work that is
suspected to be plagiarized to any plagiarism detection technique.
Tests (20% each)
Students will complete two test of equal value; one in week 5 and one in week 10. Each test will
consist of 70 multiple choice questions. Test one will cover sessions 1-4 (the portions of chapters
1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 that we cover in the course). Test two will cover sessions 6-8 (chapters 5, 8, and
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3
9). The questions should be mainly application, analysis and scenario-based questions. Students
will have 90 minutes to complete the test.
Case Study (20%)
Students will submit a maximum 6 page Individual Case Study. This assignment requires
students to analyse a business case using material that is covered in class (e.g., perception,
attitudes, personality, teams, decision making, motivation, etc. ). The paper is due at the
beginning of class during Section 8 (Nov, 02) and should also be submitted through turnitin.com
plagiarism detection service. Detailed instructions to follow.
Final Examination (40%)
The final exam will consist of two parts. Part 1 (multiple choice questions) will be drawn from
the chapters after test #2. Part 2 (case study analysis), these questions will be drawn from the
content after test #1.
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Document Summary
Office hours: wednesday 12pm 1pm and 6 -7pm (or by appointment) Email is the best way to reach me outside of class time and office hours. Ryerson e-mail account and an acceptable standard of business communication in any email. Include your course and section number in the subject line of your email. Grades on assignments, tests and exams, including final exams, may be posted on the d2l. Students who wish not to have their grades posted must inform the instructor in writing before week 2. Topics include employee motivation, perception and diversity, interpersonal and organizational communication, team dynamics, leadership, conflict, and power and influence. Interactions with others permeate organizational life, regardless of the type of job held. We will be applying theories at the organizational, group and individual levels of analysis and tying them in to examples of real-world applications through the use of experiential exercises and case studies.
