discussion
In both the academic (student) and professional (career)
domains, critical thinking is a valued skill. Your professors assess the depth
of critical thinking and might urge you to consider concepts more deeply.
Similarly, hiring managers might ask about your critical thinking skill and ask
you to provide examples of how you have demonstrated such skill.
Select any one of the following starter bullet point
sections. Review the important themes within the sub questions of each bullet
point. The sub questions are designed to get you thinking about some of the
important issues. Your response should provide a succinct synthesis of the key
themes in a way that articulates a clear point, position, or conclusion
supported by research. Select a different bullet point section than what your
classmates have already posted so that we can engage several discussions on
relevant topics. If all of the bullet points have been addressed, then you may
begin to re-use the bullet points with the expectation that varied responses
continue.
What does it mean to think critically? What are the various
dimensions of critical thinking? That is, what do critical thinkers do or how
do we assess the quality of critical thinking? Analyze one of the critical
thinking dimensions. How does critical thinking apply to leaders? Managers?
Organizations?
Review the material you’ve read in course lectures and the
assigned textbook selections. What is a unique and challenging critical
question you would like to raise about this material? (Your question may be
about something controversial, about which you have your doubts. It may suggest
that a theory or a model has weaknesses, challenge the truth of proposed
relationships between variables, or assess the value of a suggested practice.)
Defend your perspective.
South University has four specific objectives called Student
Learning Outcomes (SLOs). SLOs include: Specialization expertise (content and
competency), critical thinking, information literacy, and communication.
Briefly define each of those objectives and assess how they might interact with
or influence one other. Summarize a development plan you might use for yourself
to enhance your skill for each objective. How might mastery of the objectives
enhance your career path?
The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your
initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in
your initial response.
Your posting should be the equivalent of 1- to 2-
single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length.
Week 2
discussion
In the digital age, new channels of communication have
developed that simply did not exist a few decades ago. Cell phones, e-mail,
text messaging, Facebook, Twitter… who knows what might develop next? However,
not every channel of communication is right for different types of messages or
communication needs.
Select any one of the following starter bullet point
sections. Review the important themes within the sub questions of each bullet
point. The sub questions are designed to get you thinking about some of the
important issues. Your response should provide a succinct synthesis of the key
themes in a way that articulates a clear point, position, or conclusion
supported by research. Select a different bullet point section than what your
classmates have already posted so that we can engage several discussions on
relevant topics. If all of the bullet points have been addressed, then you may
begin to re-use the bullet points with the expectation that varied responses
continue.
Given that employees are essentially accessible 24/7,
organizations should create some best practices for using the variety of
digital communications available for business. Research tips and advice on how
to best use channels of electronic communication. Justify your own list of
three best practice recommendations.
You have carefully drafted a message to inform employees of
a change to the attendance tracking system in your organization that will
launch next week. The change only pertains to some technical matters, but may
be misunderstood by the workforce. A virus threat shuts down internal e-mail
just before your message is ready. You now have a choice of communicating with
employees through Facebook or postponing the communication. Justify your
choice.
Two employees of your organization took their work-related
disagreements to Twitter, and disciplinary action has been taken against both
according to company policy. However, their public quarrel was seen by
employees and customers. Should the company respond? If yes, through which
channel of digital communication should it respond? Defend your choice.
Create an annotated reference list of three sources that
provide tips and advice on how to best use channels of electronic
communication. An annotated reference page means that each reference is
followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative
paragraph to inform the reader of key points, relevance, accuracy, and quality
of the cited source.
The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your
initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in
your initial response.
Your posting should be the equivalent of 1- to 2-
single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length.
Week 3
discussion
Although studying theory might seem to be an effort separate
from practice (e.g., professional activities), good theories emerge from
assessing practice. Accordingly, theories can possess some usefulness in
prescribing positive actions for leaders and organizations.
Assume you are the manager of a department in an
organization. Select two of the theories you learned about this week that you
believe will be most useful in managing your staff. (Be sure to review the
supplemental readings as well). Select different theories or different
combinations of theories than your classmates select. Address the following:
Assess why you find the two theories you selected most
practical or helpful.
Evaluate how the two theories might interact with each
other.
Analyze whether you anticipate needing different motivational
methods applying your selected theories according to the ages, races, national
origins, cultures, genders, and educational backgrounds of your subordinates.
Provide appropriate citations to support your conclusions.
Justify three best practices that emerge from your selected
theories (three best practices total. You do not need three best practices for
each theory).
The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your
initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in
your initial response.
Your posting should be the equivalent of 1- to 2-
single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length.
Week 4
discussion
You have been asked to lead a ten-person team within your
department. You know that several of these team members have not worked well
together on previous group projects, so you have decided to put the team
through a series of team-building activities.
Select any one of the following starter bullet point
sections. Review the important themes within the sub questions of each bullet
point. The sub questions are designed to get you thinking about some of the
important issues. Your response should provide a succinct synthesis of the key
themes in a way that articulates a clear point, position, or conclusion
supported by research. Select a different bullet point section than what your
classmates have already posted so that we can engage several discussions on
relevant topics. If all of the bullet points have been addressed, then you may
begin to re-use the bullet points with the expectation that varied responses
continue.
Define your top three goals or objectives for the
team-building activities for the scenario. Defend why those goals are
appropriate. Also assess at least two other possible goals and justify why they
did not make your top-three list.
Select two articles that discuss whether team-building
activities really help. Briefly note what you learned from the articles. Did
they guide you to select the best activities, or did they warn you away from
certain activities? Justify three best practices for team building activities
that emerge from the articles.
Team dynamics include both productivity (task) and
cohesiveness (relationship) components. Identify three team building activities
and assess the extent each influences on productivity and cohesion. Evaluate
how cohesion and productivity are linked.
The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your
initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in
your initial response.
Your posting should be the equivalent of 1 to 2
single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length.
Week 5
discussion
Assume you are the manager of the department where you
currently work. If you are not currently working, use a past situation or a
hypothetical situation; be sure to describe it. Select two leadership theories
that you believe will be most useful in managing your staff. Select different
theories or different combinations of theories than your classmates select.
Respond to the following
Assess why you think these theories will be most practical
or helpful.
Evaluate how the two theories might interact with one
another.
Analyze whether you anticipate needing different leadership
methods (based on your two selected theories) according to the ages, races,
national origins, cultures, genders, educational backgrounds, or job types of
your subordinates. Provide necessary illustrations and citations to justify
your conclusions.
Justify three best practices that emerge from your selected
leadership theories (three best practices total. You do not need three best
practices for each theory).
The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your
initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in
your initial response.
Your posting should be the equivalent of 1- to
2-single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length.
Week 1
Project
Course Project: Organizational Behavior Perspectives
The course project has major assignments that will be due in
Weeks 3 and 5. It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately complete
them. Plan time to start the research and other work for those assignments
earlier than the week in which they are due.
Course Project Scenario
Your course project is to identify potential organizational
behavior problems and recommend solutions for an organization with which you
are familiar. All your weekly, written papers will be course project tasks.
Early in Week 1, identify an organization you would be
interested in studying. You will investigate the organizational behavior in
this organization and research best practice solutions for any problems you
observe. You may select your own organization, the organization of a family
member, or an organization that interests you. Be sure to review each week’s
assignments before selecting the organization to make sure you can locate
necessary information. Contact your instructor early in the week if you need
advice on your organizational selection. As much as possible, you should
utilize actual research and real data for your project. Occasionally, you may
fill in some details with hypothetical information. However, you are expected
to provide documentation (e.g., citations) throughout your work.
Each week, you will write on the topics identified in that
week’s reading, so note any information you find related to any of the
following topics:
Systems theory
Individual behavior
Communication
Change
Conflict
Motivation
Groups and teams
Making decisions
Organizational culture
Leadership
Week 1
Assume that the human resources department of your selected
organization has received disappointing results on a job motivation survey
administered to all employees at all levels. The results indicate that
employees reported lower-than-industry-average job motivation, and management
is concerned. Employee comments on the survey included the following:
My job is so boring!
My boss micromanages me but never tells me how I’m doing.
I’ve been in my position for fifteen years, but I am never
allowed to provide any input about making the work better.
You have been tasked with writing a paper that reviews the
theoretical perspectives relevant to the situation in your organization. In
particular, you are interested in systems theory and job motivation for this
week’s analysis.
Tasks:
Write a paper addressing the following:
Summary: Identify the organization you select and provide a
summary of it. What is it? What does it do? Cite research from a variety of
sources, including the company’s website, social media sites, company blogs,
industry and trade sources, and other sources. The summary should include the
organization’s products or services, customer or client base, areas of
operation or distribution, history, main competition, and current situation
(whether it is an industry leader, a start-up, or a well-established
corporation).
Analysis: Analyze the factors that affect job motivation and
the internal and external consequences of low job motivation. At this time, you
do not need to propose any solutions. Rather, you are using scholarly
literature and data (e.g., observations, discussions, events, outcomes,
reports, etc.) from your organization to analyze factors and consequences
related to job motivation.
Week 2
Project
Course Project: Change Management
The course project has major assignments that will be due in
Weeks 3 and 5. It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately complete
them. Plan time to start the research and other work for those assignments
earlier than the week in which they are due.
Change Management
Using the same organization that you selected in Week 1,
propose a change that your organization could implement that would aid it
strategically. The proposed change might relate to some area of need,
performance deficiency, or other opportunity that you observe in the
organization. Note: You will be proposing a change initiative related to
motivation in next week’s assignment. Accordingly, focus your change project
for this week’s paper in a direction other than motivation.
Write a paper addressing the following:
Describe the change that you propose and defend its benefits
to the organization.
Evaluate how the proposed change may affect various groups
of employees.
Assess the conflicts that might occur before, during, and
after the change, including why you anticipate these conflicts.
Defend at least three best practices to prevent or resolve
those conflicts.
Justify the channels of communication the organization
should use in implementing this change.
Week 3
Project
Course Project: Change for Motivation
The course project has major assignments that will be due in
Weeks 3 and 5. It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately complete
them. Plan time to start the research and other work for those assignments
earlier than the week in which they are due.
Use the same organization that you selected in Week 1.
Scenario:
Management has reviewed your work from two weeks ago about
how the employees’ low job motivation may affect the company internally and
externally and determined that there is sufficient evidence to support an
organizational change. It has asked you to recommend changes that will help to
boost employee job motivation.
Recall that a survey showed job motivation among employees
was lower than average, with complaints such as:
My job is so boring!
My boss micromanages me but never tells me how I’m doing.
I’ve been in my position for seven to fifteen years, but I
am never allowed to provide any input about making the work better.
Write a paper in which you:
Defend at least two organizational changes and explain how
these changes will improve job motivation in the workforce. Support your
recommendations by citing the theories covered in the readings or your own
research.
Assess potential conflicts that may arise due to the
changes, including why you anticipate these conflicts.
Justify a change implementation plan for leading the change
initiatives and helping the organization overcome any resistance to the
changes.
Justify an appropriate communication plan that announces the
changes and continues through the change management process.
Week 4
Project
Course Project: Team Building
The course project has major assignments that will be due in
Weeks 3 and 5. It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately complete
them. Plan time to start the research and other work for those assignments
earlier than the week in which they are due.
Continue to use the organization you selected for your final
project in Week 1. This week, you are being placed on a ten-person virtual
team. You decide that prior to the team getting started on the project, you
want to do some research that will help you identify ways to make your virtual
team most effective. You may need to create hypothetical details about the team
and its purpose on the basis of what you know of the organization you selected
for the final project.
On the basis of your research, write a paper addressing the
following:
Assess the purpose of the team (i.e., what is the project it
has been assigned?) and the contribution of key members to team purpose.
Analyze four to six potential problems that virtual teams
typically face. Is the hypothetical team you described susceptible to these
problems? What specific problems might it develop?
Justify four to six viable solutions to make your team
effective, including why these solutions will work.
Week 5
Project
Course Project: Leadership Training
It will take more than a week’s effort to adequately
complete this major assignment. Plan time to start the research and other work
for this assignment earlier than the week in which it is due.
The organization you selected in Week 1 is designing
training for all the managers at all levels. It wants to base the training on
one leadership theory.
Tasks:
Write a paper recommending a leadership theory. Address the
following:
Summarize key details about the organization and two or
three of the most important insights you have developed so far about the
organization during your course project. This one paragraph summary should
provide just enough information that someone who has not ready any of your
papers so far would have a brief background for understanding your project
organization.
Why do you believe your chosen leadership theory is the best
for your organization? What is your rationale? What research can you cite to
support your choice? What are the factors in your organization that make your
selected leadership theory the best choice?
How will using this theory positively impact the following
variables?
Managers’ behavior toward subordinates and its effect on
subordinates
Communication
Motivation of subordinates
Group and team behavior
Decision making
Culture
Be sure that you conduct the research necessary to support
your conclusions and cite your sources appropriately.
Week 1
Knowledge Check
An open system receives input from its environment,
transforms it, and produces output
Question 1 options:
True
False
Question 2
Humans are an important part of the transformation process
(input à output) in an organizational systems model.
Question 2 options:
True
False
Question 3
A systems view of organizations suggests that each person is
a self-contained unit unaffected by others in the organization.
Question 3 options:
True
False
Question 4
Individuals, teams, and organizations can all be considered
systems.
Question 4 options:
True
False
Question 5
Job satisfaction does not affect how a person performs on a
job.
True
False
Week 2
Knowledge Check
Question 1
Because change is pervasive, one of an organization’s
primary objectives is to prevent all change.
Question 1 options:
True
False
Question 2
Change drivers often trigger a sequence of changes with one
change leading to the next change.
Question 2 options:
True
False
Question 3
Diversity, technology, globalization, and economic
uncertainty are among key change trends affecting organizations.
Question 3 options:
True
False
Question 4
The rate of change doubles every year.
Question 4 options:
True
False
Question 5
Job performance emerges from capacity, opportunity, and
willingness to perform the job.
Question 5 options:
True
False
Week 3
Knowledge Check
Question 1
An individual’s motivation starts with a perceived
physiological or psychological need.
Question 1 options:
True
False
Question 2
Needs are energizers or triggers that create a behavioral
response.
Question 2 options:
True
False
Question 3
Needs activate behaviors or drives to achieve a goal or
incentive.
Question 3 options:
True
False
Question 4
Externally motivated individuals seek fulfillment in doing a
job because they see their efforts making a difference.
Question 4 options:
True
False
Question 5
Internally motivated individuals seek physical rewards.
Question 5 options:
True
False
Week 4
Knowledge Check
Question 1
The team development stages are forming, performing, and
norming.
Question 1 options:
True
False
Question 2
All groups are teams.
Question 2 options:
True
False
Question 3
Teams function best when members remain independent instead
of functioning as a unit.
Question 3 options:
True
False
Question 4
Teams should generally be kept as small as possible to
complete team tasks.
Question 4 options:
True
False
Question 5
Team members have a mutually interdependent purpose where
the success of each is dependent on the others.
Question 5 options:
True
False
Week 5
Knowledge Check
Question 1
Leadership and management are the same thing.
Question 1 options:
True
False
Question 2
Both leadership and management involve influence.
Question 2 options:
True
False
Question 3
The primary functions of management are planning,
organizing, staffing, and controlling.
Question 3 options:
True
False
Question 4
The primary functions of leadership are producing change and
movement toward achieving goals.
Question 4 options:
True
False
Question 5
Leadership can be conceived as a trait, ability, skill,
behavior, and relationship.
Question 5 options:
True
False
