Organizational Behavior

Professional MBA 2-Year Program

Professor:! Jason A. Colquitt

Phone:! 352-846-0507
Fax:! ! 352-392-6020
E-mail:! colquitt@ufl.edu
Office:! 233 Stuzin Hall

Course Overview:

Organizational behavior is a field of study that seeks to understand, explain, and improve
human behavior in organizations. Most organizations focus their efforts on improving two
aspects of human behavior: (1) job performance—the degree to which individuals perform the
behaviors needed for the organization to achieve its goals; and (2) organizational commitment—
the degree to which employees remain loyal to the organization rather than seeking employment
elsewhere. This course will guide you through a model that seeks to explain these two areas of
organizational behavior.

Course Objectives:

The specific objectives for students taking this course are twofold:
1. To develop a working knowledge of OB concepts
2. To develop the ability to apply that knowledge to improve organizational functioning

Course Readings:

Colquitt, J. A., LePine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J. (2009). Organizational behavior: Improving
performance and commitment in the workplace. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
ISBN: 978-0-07-353008-6
Course Grading:

Source Points Explanation

Reading 100 Reading Quizzes will assess the degree to which you have gained a
Quizzes working knowledge of the OB concepts discussed in the readings,
which is key to being able to apply OB models. All two-class weekend
meetings will begin with a quiz over that monthʼs readings. Quizzes
will consist of true-false, matching, multiple choice, and fill-in-the blank
questions. If missed, quizzes can be made up during the following
monthʼs class meeting. Just email me and we can make the
necessary arrangements. The first two quizzes will be worth 33 points
apiece, with the third quiz worth 34 points.

Application 100 The Application Exam will assess your ability to apply course
Exam knowledge to improve organizational functioning. The exam will be
cumulative and integrative, consisting of essay-style questions that
cover topics from all of the chapters in the course. The exam will
occur in the last class period. A “cheat sheet” that includes all of the
relevant terms and jargon will be provided a month before the exam.
This “cheat sheet” is meant to free you from memorizing terms,
allowing you to focus your studying on more “big picture” OB issues.

Group 100 The Group Application Presentation will also assess your ability to
Application apply course knowledge to improve organizational functioning. This
Presentation project requires your group, in conjunction with another group, to
apply a course topic to solve a key problem in one of your
organizations. These presentations will occur during class time,
throughout the term. More details are given later in the syllabus.

Individual 100 The Individual Application Paper will also assess your ability to apply
Application course knowledge to improve organizational functioning. The project
Paper requires you to describe, and attempt to understand, two different
individuals in your current or past organization. One individual should
be a particularly effective employee (i.e., high levels of performance
and commitment) and the other individual should be a particularly
ineffective employee (i.e., low levels of performance and
commitment). Your paper will draw on course topics to explain why
the individuals “are the way they are”, and how the performance and
commitment of the ineffective employee could be improved. More
details are given later in the syllabus.
400 - 368 pts!(100 - 92%)! ! A! 4.0
367 - 352 pts!(91.9 - 88%)! ! A-! 3.67
351 - 340 pts!(87.9 - 85%)! ! B+! 3.33
339 - 328 pts (84.9 - 82%)! ! B! 3.0
327 - 312 pts!(81.9 - 78%)! ! B-! 2.67
311 - 300 pts (77.9 - 75%)! ! C+! 2.33
299 - 288 pts (74.9 - 72%)! ! C! 2.0
287 - 272 pts (71.9 - 68%)! ! C-! 1.67
Course Topics:

The topics for each class are shown below. Note that you are responsible for reading any tables,
figures, or insert boxes that appear in the chapters. However, you do not need to read the end-
of-chapter sections (Takeaways, Key Terms, Discussion Questions, etc.).

Opening Weekend

SU, 1/10 What is Organizational Behavior? Ch. 1

Job Performance Ch. 2
Organizational Commitment Ch. 3

Note: The chapters in this weekend will never be covered on a Reading Quiz. However,
reading these chapters will offer helpful context for the Application Exam.

Second Weekend

SA, 2/6 Job Satisfaction Ch. 4

SU, 2/7 Stress Ch. 5

Note: Reading Quiz 1 will occur at the beginning of the weekend-opening class and cover all
of the readings for this particular weekend.

Third Weekend

SA, 3/6 Motivation Ch. 6

SU, 3/7 Trust, Justice, and Ethics Ch. 7

Note: Reading Quiz 2 will occur at the beginning of the weekend-opening class and cover all
of the readings for this particular weekend.

Fourth Weekend

SA, 3/27 Personality & Cultural Values Ch. 9 (pp. 291-305, 311-320 only)
Ability Ch. 10 (pp. 335-350, 354-359 only)

SU, 3/28 Leadership: Power & Influence Ch. 13 (pp. 441-446 only)
Leadership: Styles & Behaviors Ch. 14

Note: Reading Quiz 3 will occur at the beginning of the weekend-opening class and cover all
of the readings for this particular weekend.

Closing Weekend

SA, 5/1 Application Exam

Note: The Application Exam is cumulative, covering all of the readings for the entire term, with
an emphasis on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weekends. A “cheat sheet” will be provided in class.
Group Application Presentation:

The Group Application Presentation will involve two groups who will work in tandem, receiving
one common grade for the presentation. The presentation is focused on how to use a particular
class topic to help solve a problem that an organization is experiencing. One group will be the
Internal Group--an in-house team that has been charged with tackling the problem. The other
group will be the External Group--an external consulting team that has been asked to evaluate
and improve the internal groupʼs recommendations. Groups will be paired, and topics will be
chosen, in the opening class. The Internal Groupʼs portion of the presentation must revolve
around one of the specific topics shown in the parentheses below.

Date Topics Groups

SA, 2/6 Job Satisfaction (The Internal Group should focus on one, and only one, of
these topics: Value-percept theory or Job characteristics model)

SU, 2/7 Stress (The Internal Group should focus on one, and only one, of these topics:
Challenge stressors, Hindrance stressors, or Type A Behavior Pattern)

SA, 3/6 Motivation (The Internal Group should focus on one, and only one, of these
topics: Expectancy theory, Goal setting theory, Equity theory, or Psychological
empowerment)

SU, 3/7 Trust, Justice, & Ethics (The Internal Group should focus on one, and
only one, of these topics: The three types of trust, The four dimensions of justice,
or The four component model of ethical decision making)

SA, 3/27 Personality, Cultural Values, & Ability (The Internal Group should
focus on one, and only one, of these topics: The Big Five, Cognitive ability, or
Emotional ability)

SU, 3/28 Leadership (The Internal Group should focus on one, and only one, of these
topics: Power, Leader decision-making styles, Day-to-day leadership behaviors,
or Transformational leadership)

The Internal Group will choose one of their group memberʼs employers to focus their
presentation on (note: the project must deal with one, and only one organization). They will then
open the presentation with a 10 minute talk, with all group members speaking at least briefly.
That talk should include the following sections (please indicate the sections in your Powerpoint
slide headings):

1. The Organization - Provide just enough details on the company for the class to understand
the problem, and for the External Group to see the merits of the choices made in the project.
Resist the urge to provide irrelevant details (and feel free to omit or disguise any details that
make the relevant student uncomfortable).
2. The Problem - Describe, specifically, one problem that the company is struggling with that
will serve as the focus of the presentation. Resist the urge to discuss multiple problems--
focus on one specific issue with which the organization is struggling. Be sure to focus on a
problem that can be impacted by the relevant topic.
3. The Topic - Note the topic that youʼve chosen from the table above, and apply that topic to
the problem. Resist the urge to “lecture on” or “teach” the relevant topic to the class
(typically, I will have just covered the content before turning it over to the presentation).
Instead, describe very specifically, how you will apply the topic to tackle the issue at hand. In
thinking about how to apply the topic to the problem, the group should strike a balance
between being practical and being bold. Every organization has key constraints that need to
be taken into account when designing interventions. Still, the group should resist the urge to
“play it safe”, as that tendency often leads to interventions that are ultimately ineffective.
4. The Recommendations - Conclude by providing a list of very specific recommendations/
action steps that flow out of the discussion of the topic and that can help solve the problem.

The External Group will then continue the presentation by having a dialogue with the Internal
Group about its choices. The External Group should provide two categories of comments to the
Internal Group, as shown below. Each member of the External Group should present one slide
with one comment, making sure that both categories of comments are covered at some point
across the group. These slides should be placed into the Internal Groupʼs slides so that the
transition between groups is seamless. The two categories of comments include:

1. Would The Recommendations Work? - Are there reasons to doubt the effectiveness of the
recommendations offered by the Internal Group? If so, why (and which ones)? Do the
recommendations strike the right balance of practicality and boldness?
2. How Could They Be Improved? - What new and improved recommendations could be
offered to solve the problem? Are there recommendations that are perhaps even more bold
and effective, without sacrificing practicality?

The most effective presentation will include a clear and insightful presentation by the Internal
Group that ends with some “good” recommendations, followed by a contribution from the
External Group that raises the discourse to a whole other level by making “good”
recommendations into “great” ones. It often takes an external team to come up with “great”
recommendations because they are not bound by the cultures and institutions within the
particular organization. That level of effectiveness will require some exchange and two-way
conversation between the groups as the project takes shape.

A member of one of the two groups should email me the completed Powerpoint file by 5:00pm
Eastern time on the Tuesday before the class meeting. Iʼll then decide exactly where to place
the presentation within the flow of the lecture. I will pass out my lecture notes to begin class, and
the lecture notes will specify where exactly the presentation will fall in the flow of the class (look
for the Stop Sign). When that part of the lecture arrives the groups will come forward and
present. Iʼll have the Powerpoint file cued and loaded. Please include names and .ufl email
addresses for both groups on the opening slide(s). Please also avoid the use of handouts--all of
your content should be on the slides themselves. Project grading will be broken down into 70
points on content and 30 points on style (see the scale at the end of the syllabus for more
details).
Individual Application Paper:

This paper asks you to use the course topics to understand why some of your coworkers have
higher or lower levels of performance and commitment. You will focus your paper on two
different coworkers from your current job or from a past job. They can be coworkers of yours or
subordinates of yours (try to refrain from focusing on supervisors of yours, as that will hinder
your ability to effect change in the situation). The paper should be double-spaced with one-inch
margins and should be 2000 words in length (irrespective of any figures, charts, tables, clip art,
photos, or graphics), with a margin of error of plus or minus 200 words (please include a word
count on your title page). The paper is required to have the following five sections:

1. The Effective Employee: Some Background - Describe an employee with high levels of both
job performance and organizational commitment (the readings will describe this person as a
“Star” employee). Give enough detail that itʼs clear why you feel the way you do about this
employee, with enough richness that this section “brings the person to life” for the reader.
2. The Effective Employee: An Explanation - Drawing on the specific terms introduced in the
second, third, and fourth weekends of the course, provide an explanation of why, in your
estimation, this employee has high levels of job performance and organizational
commitment. Youʼll need to strike a balance between breadth of coverage (i.e., the number
of topics discussed) and depth of coverage (i.e., how detailed your use of a given topic is in
explaining the employeeʼs attitudes and behaviors).
3. The Ineffective Employee: Some Background - Describe an employee with low levels of both
job performance and organizational commitment (the readings will describe this person as
an “Apathetic” employee). Give enough detail that itʼs clear why you feel the way you do
about this employee, with enough richness that this section “brings the person to life” for the
reader.
4. The Ineffective Employee: An Explanation - Drawing on the specific terms introduced in the
second, third, and fourth weekends of the course, provide an explanation of why, in your
estimation, this employee has low levels of job performance and organizational commitment.
Again, youʼll need to strike a balance between breadth of coverage (i.e., the number of topics
discussed) and depth of coverage (i.e., how detailed your use of a given topic is in explaining
the employeeʼs attitudes and behaviors)
5. The Ineffective Employee: Some Recommendations - Flowing out of the terms discussed in
the previous section, describe what the top managers or leaders in the company could do,
very specifically, to improve the performance and commitment of this specific employee.
Then describe what you, personally, could do to make this employee more effective. Finally,
answer the following questions: Is this employee a “problem that cannot be fixed” to some
extent? If so, describe what the top managers or leaders in the company should do to avoid
similar problems in the future.

Beyond the parameters above, please bring your own self-expression and creativity to the
creation of the paper. For example, you might conduct some interviews of the relevant
coworkers (or the coworkersʼ coworkers), or collect survey data. As another example, you might
conduct some independent research on the practices of other companies to inform your
recommendations. You will email the paper to my research assistant, David Long, at
david.long@cba.ufl.edu, by 5:00pm Eastern time on Friday, 4/23. Project grading will be broken
down into 70 points on content and 30 points on style (see the scale at the end of the syllabus
for more details).
Grading Scale:

Both the Group Application Presentation and the Individual Application Paper will be graded
using the following content and style grading scales.

Content Grading

The project contains some

shallow or inaccurate
interpretations of the relevant
topic(s) from the chapter, and the
application is a bit too safe or
uninspired.

The project contains some

shallow or inaccurate
interpretations of the relevant
topic(s) from the chapter, or the
application is a bit too safe or
uninspired.

55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

The project does an excellent job

of fulfilling the requirements
described in the syllabus, though
nothing is unusual or “extra mile”
about the effort.

The project does an excellent job

of fulfilling the requirements
described in the syllabus, but
also includes a level of creativity
and insight that really shows an
unusual “extra mile” sort of effort.
 Style Grading

The project is rather

unprofessional, with style that
actually distracts from the
content.

The project is not necessarily

professional, with style that
neither complements nor
distracts from the content.

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

The project is extremely

professional, with style that nicely
complements the content.

The project is extremely

professional, with style that nicely
complements the content, but
also includes a level of creativity
and self-expression that really
shows an unusual “extra mile”
sort of effort.