This course, Leadership and Motivation, applies organizational behavior theories, concepts, and skills to leading and motivating individuals and groups. Organizational behavior is the study of human behaviors, attitudes, and performance in organizations. Because of the complexity of working in organizations, understanding the behavior of individuals and groups is an essential part of managing. Since this field is not simple or static, it takes an interdisciplinary approach, building upon areas such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and other fields. The dynamic nature of working with and understanding others makes this an interesting, exciting, and challenging subject.

Since all individuals will work in various group and organizational settings throughout their lives, the study of organizational behavior is important. Whether you are working or are involved in a Fortune 500 corporation, a civic service organization, book club, athletic team, or a family setting, there will be behaviors, actions, and interactions that will influence the performance of each individual and of the organization as a whole.

For managers, understanding and implementing the concepts of organizational behavior through various competencies should lead to higher performance, satisfaction, and motivation on the part of employees. In our own personal life, comprehension of these concepts will lead to greater understanding and insight regarding the behavior and activities of ourselves, other individuals, and groups with which we interact.

While the study of individual and group behaviors dates back hundreds of years, research in this area continues to unveil new theories and concepts. In order to help you understand the behavior of individuals and groups, these current theories and concepts will be presented and discussed. This knowledge should add to the material you have acquired in previous management-related courses and provide you with better skills to deal with individuals in a variety of organizational settings.

Management 321 contains an introductory lesson in which you are asked to provide some information to help me get to know you, 12 content lessons (each with a required lesson assignment that you are to submit for evaluation), one mid-course exam, and a final exam, for a total of 15 submissions. Each content lesson has these components:

• Reading Assignment: These direct you to the appropriate textbook and article readings.
• Learning Objectives: They are repeated at the beginning of each textbook chapter.
• Online Commentary: Each commentary is equivalent to a classroom lecture. Here you will see new concepts or variations of ideas that appear in the textbook. Some commentaries will contain material that is complementary to the text material but may not be covered in your textbook.
• Lesson Assignment: Each lesson contains an assignment that requires you to apply the concepts and theories you have learned. Each graded lesson is worth 10 points. Collectively, graded lessons account for 60% of your final grade.

This course also requires that you access Penn State library materials specifically reserved for this course. To access these materials, click on the Library Reserves link under the Resources tab. The following materials have been reserved: "What it Takes to be Great" (Lesson 7) and "Leadership: What Every Manager Should Know" (Lesson 10).

The primary objective is to help each student formulate and develop his or her own insight and reasoning into organizational behavior and the processes of dealing with individuals and groups of individuals. To accomplish this objective, the focus of this class will be directed toward both (1) theory – especially those which help explain and predict individual, group, or organizational responses, and (2) practice – i.e., the vicarious application of theory to practical problems. The specific objectives for the course are:

• to build a framework for the study of organizational behavior by identifying, describing, and analyzing the basic functions of the behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations;
• to understand the importance of developing one's own philosophy of organizational behavior that would encompass concepts, theory, practice, and standards;
• to develop an understanding of the universal application of organizational behavior techniques through identification of managerial practices in diverse types of organizations;
• to improve your analytic and communicative skills;
• to develop an appreciation for understanding the behavior of people in organizational situations.

Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can

Course Schedule

Preparing your lesson assignments:

Each lesson contains an assignment that requires you to apply the concepts and theories you have learned in each lesson. Lesson assignments are to be submitted via the course Web site. These assignments are developed to help you identify main concepts and encourage thought about topics relevant to this course. Each assignment will either be graded or given a pass/fail mark. ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO BE SUBMITTED EVEN THOUGH SIX OF THEM ARE DESIGNATED PASS/FAIL. You may view graded assignments in the online ANGEL gradebook. Each graded lesson is worth 10 points. Collectively, graded lessons account for 60% of your final grade.

Prepare your assignment responses carefully. Achieving competence in the use of the English language is one of the objectives of your general education at Penn State. Use proper English in all written work. Organize your responses into coherent paragraphs. Your grades may be affected by errors in English usage and/or poor organization.

For each lesson, always be sure to thoroughly explain yourself, define the concepts and theories you are discussing, and give examples from your experiences to support your answer even if the question does not ask you to do so. This is a good writing practice for all writing, not just for this class. It will also let your instructor know if you understand the material and can apply the concepts.

Each essay response will be evaluated based on:

• How well you present the concepts and theories in such a way that demonstrates sufficient understanding of the material;
• Examples that demonstrate your ability to apply the material to real situations (whether the question asks you to or not);
• How thoroughly and concisely you answer the question;
• How well you demonstrate your ability to write well and to clearly state your ideas, backed by evidence and not mere opinion.

It is important to remember that organizational behavior is not confined to the boundaries of a business. Everyone has organizational experiences that can be related to the topics in this course. These experiences can be from organizations such as community groups, school projects, volunteer organizations, family, friendship groups, and so on.

Please use your own words when preparing your assignments. DO NOT COPY THE BOOK.

Reading your assignments out loud may help alert you to grammatical errors.

No make-up lessons will be permitted. Also, no "extra-credit" will be available.

EXAMS: Lessons 8 and 15 are exams. Each exam contains 75 - 80 multiple-choice questions. The exams will cover the material presented in the textbook, course commentary, assigned readings and/or videos.

Some of the questions will be factual (i.e., The definition of leadership is a.) a person who thinks of himself as a leader; b.) a person who uses power to influence the behavior of others.)

Some questions will be applied (i.e., President Reagan ordered the air traffic controllers to return to their jobs. This is an example of the use of which type(s) of power? a.) referent; b.) coercive; c.) legitimate; d.) leadership; e.) none of the above.)

The assignments only cover a sampling of the material for which you are responsible; it is up to you to study all of the material in the assigned readings.

Exams are not cumulative. You will have 2 hours to complete each one.

Each exam counts for 20% of your final grade (20% for the mid-course and 20% for the final), so together your exams make up 40% of your final grade and the assignments 60%. Your instructor has the option of assigning a failing grade if you do not pass your exams or if you pass your exams but do not pass the lesson portion of the course.

No make-up lessons or exams will be given.

For each response, you need to provide an introduction to set the stage. Your introduction should let the reader know what you are talking about and how you are defining the key concepts that you are discussing. This should be provided in your introduction for each response.

For example, in Lesson #2, you are asked to prepare a written response to: How are attitudes different from personality? Select a strong attitude that you hold and describe it in terms of the three components of an attitude.

You should begin by providing a definition of an attitude and a definition of personality.

Example: Attitudes and personality play a big part in shaping an individual's behavior. Although people often use the terms 'attitude' and 'personality' interchangeably, they are not the same concept. Attitudes are [define attitudes]. [Your definition should include the three components of an attitude.] Personality is [define personality.]

Once the stage has been set, you should then provide a clear and concise discussion that addresses the assignment.

For the question presented above, your second paragraph should explain the differences. You will have to think beyond the definitions. For example, recalling the equation: Behavior = f(attitudes, personality, values, etc.), you might discuss how and why it is easier to change behavior than to change personality or attitudes, and why it is easier to change attitudes than personality. Your discussion should clearly explain these differences.

Your last paragraph should discuss an attitude that you hold. Be sure that you are discussing an attitude, not a personality trait. You should clearly discuss each attitudinal component relative to the attitude that you hold.

Remember, proper referencing must be used in your written assignments when you use or paraphrase the words, thoughts, or ideas of others.