Simon Fraser University

Beedie School of Business

BUS272-E200: Behaviour in Organizations
Spring 2020

Dr. Afzalur Rahman

Office: TBA
Phone: TBA
E-mail: [email protected]
Class Time: Wednesday 5:30 pm – 7:20 pm (WMC3520)
Office Hours: Wednesday 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm (Burnaby)
Website: Canvas website.

Course Overview:
This is an introductory course in organizational behaviour (OB). The purpose of this course is to provide
a basic knowledge of how to manage people and other resources in organizations. The course will
introduce concepts and theories that help us to understand and predict what people tend to do in various
situations and circumstances. The course is open to all undergraduate students, regardless of whether or
not they intend to work in corporations, hospitals, universities or some other organization. Some topics
also provide background for those planning to take courses in human resources management.

Required Textbook:
Title: Organizational Behaviour, 8th Canadian Edition
Author: Nancy Langton, Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge
Platform: MyLab Management (Required as part of your grade)

This course resource is available as a 'digital first' product:

MyLab + eText Access Code Card (ISBN: 9780134882451) available through SFU bookstore
OR directly at www.pearsonmylab.com.

CourseID: Day Class: zatzick49611 (needed to redeem your Access Code)

Evening Class: zatzick44173 (needed to redeem your Access Code)

This access card gives you online access to your materials and course study tools, including
your MyLab eText. Pearson eTexts are interactive and accessible on your laptop, tablet and
smartphone with the free Pearson eText App.

Additionally, you can redeem an exclusive loose-leaf print offer of your text for $10-15 (shipping
included) after registering with an Access Code Card online at www.pearsonmylab.com.

Grading:

Assignment/Activity Percentage of Final Grade Total Points (400)

Final Exam (cumulative) 35% 140
Midterm Exam 25% 100
Team Project 25% 100
Individual Participation 15% 60
Grading for the course will follow the norms typical for the Beedie School of Business. Your standing in
the class and how your work compares to that of your classmates will influence the ultimate grade you
receive. The distribution of grades will be as follows:

Grade Approximate Percentage of Students Assigned that Grade

A 10-14%
B 31-41%
C 32-46%
D,F,N 0-18%

Grading Disputes: Students who have a question regarding the grade assigned to an exam or paper should
speak to the individual who leads their tutorial. If the dispute cannot be resolved in this initial meeting,
the tutorial leader and student will contact the instructor to discuss the matter further.

Missed exam or paper: You are required to take the exams at their scheduled times; failing to do so
results in you receiving a “0” for that exam. The only exceptions to that rule are (a) serious physical
injury or illness that would significantly impair your performance, and (b) death of an immediate family
member. You must provide written documentation, in advance if at all possible. Make-up exams are
NOT available for missed mid-term exams. In case of documented illness or family emergency, the
midterm grade will be shifted to the final—i.e. the final exam will be worth 65% of your grade. Where
illness or emergency prevents a student from taking the final exam, a make-up exam will be held. The
schedule of the make-up exam is to be determined by the professor.

All papers must be turned in on time. There are no exceptions.

Academic honesty:

All students are expected to live up to ethical principles for their academic work. Academic dishonesty
(e.g. plagiarism) will not be tolerated. See the SFU code of Academic Honesty for details
(www.sfu.ca/policies/teaching/t10-02.htm).

Details of Assignments

Required Examinations: (60% of course grade)

There will be two exams during the semester. Both exams will be closed book. The final exam will
cover material from the entire course. Exams will include both multiple choice and/or short answer
questions.

Individual Participation (15% of your course grade)

Tutorials are intended to provide an opportunity for active learning: that is, they allow you to engage in
discussions and activities to enhance your own and your classmates’ knowledge. There are individual and
team aspects of the tutorial designed to reach this objective.

You are expected to actively contribute to the tutorial by participating in activities and tutorial
discussions, asking questions to learn about your classmates’ viewpoints, and asking questions about
course material. You will also be evaluated on several individual homework assignments throughout the
term. Absences from tutorials will affect your participation mark. Finally, participation or failure to
participate in the team project will influence your participation mark.

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In addition, you will be assigned homework in the form of cases or quizzes to be completed prior to some
classes. Information about these assignments will be provided during the first week of class. These
assignments will be worth 5% of your participation mark.
Team Project (25% of your course grade)

Objectives: There are four main reasons for this assignment. First, it is critical that students develop early
on in their academic careers the ability to research, analyze, and communicate their ideas on an assigned
topic. This is particularly true in an initial business class as the demands of business writing are distinct
from those of other disciplines. Second, Bus 272 is largely a survey course, and a research paper gives
students the opportunity to examine in depth at least one area of study. Third, more and more
organizations require their employees to work in groups, and this assignment gives you the opportunity to
develop teamwork skills. Finally, teamwork is a fundamental aspect of behaviour in organizations. By
having students work in groups, they will have a firsthand opportunity to experience group dynamics.

Requirements: Pick a topic within organizational behavior that your group is interested in learning more
about. It can be a specific organizational problem faced by an organization or it can be a more general
problem. Your group should explore some element of this topic in depth. Here are some examples of
previous topics examined by students:

 A company is having high turnover. The departing employees claim it is due to unfair
organizational policies. What should the company do?
 Why aren’t women making it to the top of organizations?
 Sexual harassment complaints are plaguing a high-tech company. How should the company deal
with it?

Please speak with the individual leading your tutorial if you are having trouble selecting a topic.

Specifics: Details regarding the team project will be distributed in tutorial. The paper should be double-
spaced, with a minimum of one-inch margins, and 12-point font. The paper cannot exceed 12 pages,
excluding bibliography and attachments. You will be required to give a short, graded presentation of your
paper near the end of the semester. The purpose of the presentation is for you to practice public speaking
and to ensure that you are making sufficient progress towards completing the paper.

Submission Requirements
A hard copy of the paper must be submitted during the last tutorial AND electronically to the
turnitin.com website. When you submit a paper to turnitin.com, you will be provided with a
number for that paper. You must write or type that number on the top right-hand corner of your
paper. As this is a team paper, only one member is required to submit the paper to turnitin.com.
More details will be provided during the term.

Team Guidelines
Individuals will be randomly assigned to a group of 4-5 students in their tutorial. Each team member is
expected to contribute equally to the group effort. Teams should attempt to resolve problems with non-
contributing members themselves. In the event that the group has been unable to resolve the problem
after several reasonable attempts, they speak to their TA for help. If that doesn’t help, please speak with
the instructor. At the end of the term, team members will complete peer evaluations on the
participation of all team members including themselves. Individuals that put in little or no effort
may lose points on the project, lose participation points, or receive a zero on the project.

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 Weekly Class Outline
Week Date Topic Lecture Tutorial Preparation
1 Jan 7 Introduction OB Chapter 1 No tutorials

2 Jan 14 Perception, Chapter 2 Introduction and icebreaker

Personality,
Emotions
3 Jan 21 Values, Attitudes, Chapter 3 Team formation Job satisfaction
and Diversity interview due
4 Jan 28 Motivation Chapter 4 Activity hw#1

5 Feb 4 Motivation in Chapter 5 Team contract hw#2

Action Midterm review

6 Feb 11 Midterm Exam

7 Feb 18 READING BREAK No lecture No tutorials

8 Feb 25 Groups and Chapter 6 Team project Team contract due

Teamwork
9 Mar 4 Communication Chapter 7 Activity hw#3
Conflict and Chapter 9
Negotiation
10 Mar 11 Power and Politics Chapter 8 Team project 1 page summary of
Leadership Chapter 11 team project due in
tutorial
11 Mar 18 Decision making, Chapter 12 Activity hw#4
Creativity, and
Ethics

12 Mar 25 Class Cancelled No tutorials - Work on hw#5

team project
13 Apr 1 Organizational Chapter 10 Team project presentations
Culture
14 Apr 8 Organizational Chapter 13 Final exam review Team project due
Structure and Chapter 14
Change
Exam* Apr 15 7:00-10:00pm Room TBA
* Please let the instructor know if you have another exam scheduled at the same time. SFU policy is
that students with 3 final exams within 24 hours can request the middle exam to be rescheduled.

** The instructor reserves the right to change or modify assignments and readings listed above.
Appropriate notice will be given to students before any changes are made.