INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Transcription

1 INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Psychology 375 Pre-session Summer 2011 Location: McClelland, Rm 122 M-F 1-3:50PM Instructor: Beatriz Alvarado, M.A. Office: Psychology, Rm.??? Hours: M-Th, 4-5 PM Textbook: Psychology & Work Today (10 th Edition) by Duane Schultz and Sydney Ellen Schultz (9 th edition will also be acceptable; see instructor for page adjustments) Major Educational Goals Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology applies psychological principles to the workplace. The student should understand that the application of psychological research methods and theory is what distinguishes I/O psychology from related fields typically taught in business colleges. For example, this class will cover how principles of learning are used to develop training programs and incentive plans, how principles of social psychology are used to motivate work groups and understand employee conflicts, and how principles of emotion and drives are used in the recruitment and retention of employees. During the course of the semester, students will use the textbook to better understand the theory and major principles of I/O psychology. Additionally, this course will feature an experiential learning group project. This project will offer students the opportunity to investigate a real-world organization, to examine its function, explain how it has faced challenges in meeting its goals, and discuss how I/O psychology is implemented in the real world. Students will experience the challenges of meeting goals in an organizational environment of their own. They will be asked to create a term paper and presentation while simultaneously examining the successful or unsuccessful functioning of their group. Course Structure Each meeting of this class will be divided into two distinct sections. The first section will consist of classroom discussion or activities with instructor comments and insights into the course material. The second part of the class will consist of small group meetings designed to help each group research, investigate, and prepare for their final group projects. Some key features of this course: Lectures. Approximately 90 minutes of each class meeting will be devoted to the objectives outlined in the textbook. We will learn about psychological principles in the workplace, and focus on I/O themes, vocabulary, and scientific studies. Students

2 should use this time to ask questions about course content, make comments and observations, and prepare for exams. Following the formal lecture, students will break out into their assigned groups to receive their project assignments and journal topics for that day and address the goals of their final projects with the instructor. (More information to follow) Website. You will be able to download the materials you need from the class D2L site. Materials include the syllabus, study guides for exams, practice tests, weekly goals for your group projects, weekly journal topics, grades, the dropbox for electronic assignments, and discussion areas for the whole class, and chat rooms for your assigned group. Grade Posting. All grades will be posted confidentially on the course Web site. Only you can access your grades and you can do so by clicking on the Grades link from the course home page on D2L. Deadlines. Due to the daily nature of the course, and the group efforts involved in the term paper and presentations, this course has very strict deadlines to which you must adhere. There will be no opportunity for make-ups of term papers or presentations. There are no makeup exams except in the event of an extreme and verifiable emergency. Contacting the Instructor. If you have questions about the class (e.g., deadlines, exams, grading), please or talk to me during office hours, or before or after class. You can send private questions to me by directly ing from your U of A or D2L account. I strive to answer all questions within 24 hours. Course Assignments Assigned Readings. Below, under Course Schedule, you will see a listing of the textbook sections that will be covered each class day. Make sure to keep up with the class pace by reading each chapter by the date listed in the schedule in order to be ready for in-class activities, discussions, assignments, exams. Additional reading may be assigned and will be found on the class D2L site under Contents. Exams. You will take two multiple-choice exams; a midterm and a final. The midterm will cover information from the first half of the course, and the final will cover information from the second half of the course. The midterm will be taken during class time in lieu of group time. Scantrons will be provided, but you will need to bring a Number 2 pencil. Your final exam will be taken electronically via the D2L website, during regular class hours. (More information to follow.) The instructor will

3 provide a study guide and practice exams to assist you through the text material. The exams for this class will be held on the following dates: Midterm: May 24 Regular Class Time & Location Final Exam: June 3 Regular Class Time on D2L Attendance and punctuality are absolutely required for exams. If you miss an exam or attempt to take an exam late you will receive an automatic score of zero. There are no makeup exams except in the event of an extreme and verifiable emergency. Group Term Paper. A major component of this class is the experience that comes from working in a group setting to reach a common goal. As such, you will be required to work within assigned groups to research and investigate I/O concepts in the real world. The term paper will be a collaborative work based upon a successful company of your groups choosing (e.g. Wal-Mart, IBM, Starbucks, etc.). You will work with your group to find out how this organization selects and manages its employees, deals with workplace issues, and its effectiveness as an industry. Your group will integrate themes from the class into a 10 page term paper. A more detailed description of the term paper will be provided at a later date. Each member of group will receive the same grade on the term paper. Group Presentation. In addition to the term paper, the assigned groups will provide a 15-minute presentation to the class based upon their findings from the term paper. A more detailed description of the class presentation will be provided at a later date. All members of the group must participate in the presentation, and each member of the group will receive the same grade on the presentation. Journal. Unlike other courses that assign group projects, this course is also designed to provide insight on the functioning of an organization. Therefore, you will complete journal assignments that will ask you to evaluate the functioning of your group. Each day, you will be asked different questions to assess your group and individual performance. These journals will be kept completely confidential, but your insights will be factored into the participation scores of each group member. Again, this is meant to create incentive for each group member to participate fully. Class participation. Because the class is so focused on group work, it is imperative that you participate both in class and with your group. In-class participation will be evaluated by the instructor, and, as stated above, the insights of your fellow group members will influence the remainder of the class participation score. Grading Policy There are a total of 400 points for this course, which are distributed as follows:

4 Midterm: Final exam: Class Participation: Personal journal: Group Term Paper: Group Presentation: TOTAL 100 points 100 points 400 points Your grade will be based on the grade cutoffs shown below: Grade Score A 360+ B C D F 239 or below There will be no curve for this course. Your grade will depend on how well you meet the requirements for each assignment. Extra credit opportunities will appear occasionally during the semester, but please do not depend on extra credit to raise your grade dramatically. Inevitably, at the end of a course, after grades have been calculated, one or two students find themselves within a few points of the next grade level. The question then becomes whether I will raise the grade of these individuals to the next level. The answer is no. If you should find yourself with a final score of 319, your grade will be a C, and I will not raise it to a B simply because it is close. The rationale behind this decision is that fairness would dictate that I raise everyone s grade, which could put other people on the bubble. I would then have to raise their grades because they are close, and so on. Therefore, it is in your best interest to keep close track of your assignments and grades on D2L and motivate everyone in your work group to produce the best possible paper and presentation. Please note: Because half of your grade will be dependent on group work, no grade of "incomplete" will be awarded. Academic Integrity: This class will be taught with the assumption that everyone will act with integrity. Cheating on an exam or plagiarizing on the group paper or presentation will result in a failing grade for that particular assignment or test. Please do not risk it, it isn t worth it. Expected Classroom Behavior: I do not anticipate any problems with classroom behavior in a class of this size, however, I would like to point out that all cell phone, pagers, Ipods, text messaging devices, etc. should be turned off while you are in class. Use of any electronic devices that can disrupt your fellow students will not be allowed during class time.

5 I also expect that each of you will be respectful of other students and their ideas. I expect this class to be a place where ideas and opinions can be shared in a safe and respectful academic environment. Please refer to the following websites within the Student Code of Academic Integrity for policies on: Prohibited Conduct: Threatening behavior by students: Plagiarism: Cheating: