Faculty
Professor Adam M. Kleinbaum
Objectives
Organizational success depends on people interacting to achieve common goals. This course will provide you with conceptual frameworks for increasing individual and team performance in service of organizational goals. More specific learning goals include: a) to increase your conceptual knowledge about individual, interpersonal and small group behavior in complex organizations; b) to increase your awareness of your own and others' assumptions, motivations, attitudes, values, emotions and behavior in human interaction; and c) to increase your skill in diagnosing the structural and behavioral antecedents of behavior problems in organizations, and prescribing effective action to remedy those problems. We will address these goals by learning about the underlying psychological and sociological foundations of human behavior, and will engage in case study discussions and interactive exercises to help you build effective individual and managerial skills.
Apply theories about managing people to achieve productive and satisfied organizational members and improved organizational performance.
Understand the dynamics that affect team performance.
Develop knowledge and skills to manage your career more effectively.
Requirements
This is a discussion class that depends upon your active engagement and participation for your learning and for that of your peers. A substantial part of your grade will therefore be based on your class participation. Class participation will include the following pieces.
• Quality contributions in class – Your contributions should be clear, concise, and offer ideas that will further our conversations. Class contribution requires that you are prepared for class, having read and thought about the material and the case in advance, and are prepared to challenge the material, apply the material to your own experiences, and to add to the discussion each day. If you are unprepared for class, it will severely impact your class participation grade.
• Class attendance – Because class participation is so important to the discussions, class attendance is critical for your own learning and the learning of your classmates. Unexcused absences will severely impact your class participation grade.
Materials
Grading
Class participation 50%
Final written exam 50%
The final exam will be a self-timed, take-home case analysis. The exam will be distributed electronically on the afternoon of October 2nd (the last day of classes for the Fall A term). Your answers should be typed, printed, and turned in as a hard copy to the drop box at Deb Gibbs’ office (Chase 310) by 5pm on Tuesday, October 6th. You may take the exam at any time during that period. You will have four hours to read the case and answer a series of brief essay questions about it. Consistent with the Tuck Honor Code, you may not consult with anyone else, nor use the internet, the library or any other source to gather additional information, nor may you exceed the four-hour time limit.
Schedule
Session 1 - September 8 & 9
Motivating People in Organizations
LEADING INDIVIDUALS (Sessions 1-2-3)
Case: Hausser Food Products (A)
Why is the Florida sales team withholding information?
What plan of action would you recommend to Brenda Cooper?
On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B (Kerr, 1975)
Corporate Budgeting is Broken: Let's Fix It (Jensen, 2001)
Session 2 - September 10 & 11
Managing Interpersonal Relationships
Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley (A)
What is your assessment of Rob Parson's performance? Should he be promoted?
What is your assessment of Paul Nasr's management of Rob?
Please come to class prepared to role-play the performance appraisal conversation as either Nasr or Parson.
Competent Jerks, Lovable Fools and the Formation of Social Networks, (Casciaro & Lobo, 2005)
Session 3 - September 14 & 15
Decision-Making
The Collapse of Barings (A)
What caused the collapse of Barings?
Understanding Behavior in Escalation Situations (Staw & Ross, 1989)
Judgment in Managerial Decision Making (7th edition), Chapter 1 (Bazerman & Moore, 2008)
Session 4 - September 16 & 17
Group Process
LEADING TEAMS - Sessions 4-5-6
Case: Carter Racing
• Read the case and check TuckStreams for your group and role assignments.
• Come to class prepared to role-play a meeting with Fred Carter, John Carter, Tom Burns and Paul Edwards (one of them played by you) in which you will decide together whether to race or not.
• Please fill out a brief poll on TuckStreams prior to class and bring your laptop to class.
Groupthink: The Desperate Drive for Consensus at any Cost (Janus, 1971)
Social Psychology (5th edition), Chapter 9: "Group Influence" (Myers, 1999)
Session 5 - September 21 & 22
5. Designing and Managing Your Team
Case: David Fletcher
Fletcher's first attempt to build a research team did not work out as intended. Why? What, if anything, should he have done differently?
How would you characterize Fletcher's approach to leadership?
What should he do this time around?
What advice would you give Mary Robinson?
Managing Your Team, (Hill, 1995)
New Rules for Team Building, (Hackman, 2002)
Session 6 - September 23 & 24
Managing Conflict in Teams
Coast News (in-class)
How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight, (Eisenhardt, Kahwajy & Bourgeois, 1997)
Session 7 - September 29 & 30
Building and Leveraging Social Capital
Managing Your Career (Session 7-8)
Analysis of Your Communication Network (in class)
Note on Social Networks and Network Structure (Pfeffer, 2008)
Managing Corporate Social Networks (Kleinbaum and Tushman, 2008)
NodeXL Tutorial (optional)
Session 8 - October 1 & 2
Managing Upwards
Case: Lisa Benton
How did Lisa Benton get into this mess?
Could she have done anything differently?
What should she do now?
Managing Your Boss (Gabarro & Kotter, 2005)
