Introduce yourself to the class by sharing your educational and employment background.

Week 1

Question A

Introduce yourself to the class by sharing your educational and employment background. Why will learning about Organizational Behavior help you to get a better job and a better career and be a better manager?

Question B

What roles do changing technologies play in your daily activities?

Read and respond to at least two other learners’ initial posts in a supportive and appreciative manner, using this week’s assigned readings to support your insights.

Week 2

Attitudes

Important: You must watch the W2 Now What? video in the ‘Required Excersises’ folder in order to answer this discussion question.

Imagine meeting with an employee who has been working at Happy Time Toys for a month and cannot yet meet the company’s goals. The employee tried hard to perform well during the training session to look good compared to the other new hires, but the others are doing a lot better on the job. The employee communicates frustration about being unable to learn the new job. 

Watch the Now What? video and discuss the following questions: 

• What attitudes did the employee develop about his performance on the job? How were they formed?
• What role do attributions play in how the employee responded to challenges of learning to do his job? What role do attributions play in how a manager might respond to a subordinate’s performance? 
• In what ways does fairness influence how the subordinate responded to the situations you viewed? 
• What other solutions might you have suggested to address the situation? 

Explain your answers using concepts from this week’s readings, and provide 1-2 examples to support your viewpoints that other learners will be able to assess and debate within our weekly discussion forum.

Week 3

Does Money Increase Your Motivation?

Important: You must watch the W3 Now What? video in the ‘Required Excersises’ folder in order to answer this discussion question.

Imagine that a coworker is complaining to you about being upset after learning that another coworker is being paid more despite the complaining coworker being at the company a year longer. 

Watch the “Now What?” video and discuss the following questions:

• What role do rewards play in this situation? How do the surface and symbolic values of the rewards influence what happens?
• In chapter 5 we discussed equity theory. How do the concepts from equity theory apply to this situation?
• As a manager, what could you have done to better handle the situation? Why would this be a better solution? Please provide 1-2 examples to support your viewpoints that other learners will be able to assess and debate within our weekly discussion forum.

Week 4

Time to Decide

Important: You must watch the W4 Now What? video in the ‘Required Excersises’ folder in order to answer this discussion question.

Imagine being part of a group with three other coworkers trying to make a decision about whether to discontinue funding an underperforming product. The group has been working together on the product line for three years , but the product is clearly a failure. When you start to question where the decision is headed you are called disloyal and told to go with the team and give the product more time . One of the team members calls for a final vote on the group’s decision, which appears to be to continue funding a clearly awful and doomed-to-fail product. Watch the “Now What?” video and discuss the following questions:

• Is this decision a programmed or non-programmed decision and what is the basis for your answer?
• How is groupthink and stereotyping illustrated in these videos?
• Would a rational decision-making approach work? Why or why not
• As a manager, how else might you handle this situation? Please provide 1-2 examples to support your viewpoints that other learners will be able to assess and debate within our weekly discussion forum.

Week 5

Conflict Resolution

Important: You must watch the W5 Now What? video in the ‘Required Excersises’ folder in order to answer this discussion question.

Imagine being part of a team of two other coworkers experiencing negative task conflict as they try to finalize the design of a new toy before an imminent deadline. One team member is focused on making the toy of maximum quality and the other is focused on the conflicting goal of making the toy at the lowest cost. One of the team members is getting frustrated and feels that the team should be making better progress. The coworker asks you if there is anything the team can do to be more effective. Watch the “Now What?” video and answer the following questions:

• What types of conflict is the team experiencing in the challenge video? 
• What aspects of the negotiation process would best resolve the conflict and why would this work?  
• What conflict resolution behaviors would you use as a manager to address this situation? Explain your answers and support your viewpoints based upon your perception of the activity that other learners will be able to assess and debate within our weekly discussion forum.

Week 6

Leadership

Do you believe that men and women differ in how they lead? If so, what are some of the factors that might account for the differences? Please provide 1-2 examples to support your viewpoints that other learners will be able to assess and debate within our weekly discussion forum.

Week 7

What is Your Type of Organizational Structure?

Please answer ALL of the following questions:

• How do you think your career path might differ in a hierarchical versus a flat organization?
• If you started your own company selling iPhone applications, what organizational structure would you create? Why?
• What would you do during a corporate restructuring to ensure that your best employees did not leave? Please provide 1-2 examples to support your viewpoints that other learners will be able to assess and debate within our weekly discussion forum.

Week 8

The Need for Change

Please answer ALL of the following questions:

• When was the last time you decided to change a specific behavior (e.g., started to exercise, started a diet, or changed jobs)? How successful were you in accomplishing the change?
• As a manager, what ethical difficulty might you face when asked to layoff half of your employees in order to increase the organization’s long-term chance of survival?
• Why do organizations use neuroscience to help them with the change process? Please provide 1-2 examples to support your viewpoints that other learners will be able to assess and debate within our weekly discussion forum.