PAD 503, Organizational Theory and
ManagementDr. Mark McConkie
TEXTS:
Walter E Natemeyer, Classics of Organizational Behavior, Danville, IL: The Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc, 1989
Stephen R Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To become familiar with the central schools of thought and major theoretical contributions which together constitute the fields of "organizational theory" and "organization behavior."
2. To apply a selected few of these theories and test how well they work in "real-life settings."
3. To strengthen each student's interaction and management skills through the process of strengthening each student's story-telling abilities.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course covers fourteen general topic areas, each reflecting a major school of thought within a given sub-division of the fields of organization theory and organization behavior. As indicated on the "Schedule of Activities", we will discuss each of these topics, noting strengths and weaknesses of given approaches, their applicability to the public sector, and their relationship to the larger world of organizational behavior. In order to increase understanding of the issues under study, I will ask each student to gather and share with the class a number of "organization stories" which deal with the topics under examination.
"Organizational Stories:" In our research into organizational conduct, we are discovering that the stories people tell are among the principle means of communicating in the organizational setting. Certainly we use stories as tools of management far more frequently than many of what have been considered "traditional management tools"--things like budgets, reports, statistics and the like. One of our objectives in this course, then, deals with learning to hear and interpret stories, as well as to tell them more effectively. Consequently, I will ask that each student collect three short stories, each one dealing with a different topic area from the "Schedule of Activities." Each story collected is to be written up and submitted for grading. In addition, each story will be told in class.
I will anticipate that each written story submitted will contain two components: 1) the telling of the actual story itself; and 2) an analysis of how that story illustrates or modifies some principle which we have discussed in class or read. In that analysis, be sure to tie the learnings from the story to the concepts and theories we have discussed and read in such a way as to eliminate any confusion as to your purpose in telling the story. Typically, any given story will illustrate multiple concepts. It is important therefore that you designate the particular emphasis which you choose to highlight.
In making the oral presentation of the stories, students should follow the same model, first telling the story itself, and then telling why it is important: what does it illustrate, how does it relate to the literature we are reading, and what do we learn from it?
The stories you gather may come from your own experience or the experience of others. You may interview people to obtain them, or take them from your experience in your group work. I only stipulate that they must be authentic, and they not come from some printed source. That is, I want you to see things in "the real" and record them, noting their conceptual significance. They may also be short and simple--indeed, they likely will be. The in-class recitation of each story should take no longer than 4 or 5 minutes at the most.
I frankly hope that by the telling of stories we will not only see how the ideas we discuss play out in the real world, but also see relationships which are not easily observed when presented in print only. We should see, for example, that there are many shades and gradations between "Theory X" and "Theory Y," and that the world is not always so easily divided into polar opposites.
Finally, I am particulary interested in seeing stories surface which illustrate the principles which we will discuss in the Covey book.
"News Media Reports:" For want of a better name, I call this learning activity a "news media report," in which I invite you to take one news item from the media--newspaper, magazine, television report, for example--and summarize what occurred and then detail how it might have been better managed had the concepts we consider in this class been integrated into the behavior of those involved. In short, you will: a) outline what occurred, b) analyze how it might have been different had the theories and models we discuss been used. In some instances, you may prefer to illustrate the learnings of this class by, a) outlining what occurred, and b) then showing how what occurred illustrates an appropriate implementation of the concepts, models, and theories we discuss. I will anticipate the submission of two such news media reports. You may find it helpful, in the instance of magazine and newspaper accounts, to xerox those accounts to ensure that I am familiar with the issues under discussion.
Concept Application "Test": Again, while still searching for a better name, I call this activity a "concept application test" -- asking, "does the concept work in real life?" In this instance, I ask each student to pick one concept we have discussed or read about, and then go out and "do it" or "live it" in your work, family, or some other interactive world. Then evaluate the experience. Did it work, or do what the theories say it should have done? Why, or why not? Is the theory correct, or does it need modification? Why, or how? In short, choose a theory or concept, live or do it, and then evaluate what happened. The submit that evaluation in a short essay which does not exceed three pages.
FINAL EXAM: The final exam will be a take-home final, due on the last day of class, the content of which we will discuss in class.
GRADING:
Stories: 25%
News Media Reports: 15%
Concept Application 20%
I will grade the stories in terms of their clarity of presentation, their relevance to the issues we are studying, and the degree to which their recitation is tied to the theory we discuss and read.