Syllabus: Principles of Management

Transcription

1 Purpose and goal of this class: Prof. Heike Nolte, School of Business & Leadership, Management Syllabus: Principles of Management BUS 305A, Spring 2011, M/W/F 09:00 09:50, MC 303 BUS 305B, Spring 2011, M/W/F 10:00 10:50, MC 303 This class aims to give a basic idea what "management means. For this purpose it provides an idea about problems management has to cope with and how to address them. We will approach the field of management from a behavioral point of view, meaning that psychological and sociological aspects are stressed more than legal or quantitative ones. We will focus more on providing a "feeling for the field instead of factual knowledge: an overview that tells us when it is necessary to look up specific facts or tools and makes it easier to acquire this knowledge. The class' most important objective is to help students develop a sense of where a firm (or a unit) might encounter risks (or opportunities) and how to address them. As a result, this class is developed through work on small case studies, which will provide a red thread throughout the semester. Managerial issues concerning the firms presented in the cases will be explored in a creative and open-ended way: there are not necessarily correct answers. The assigned readings and class discussions, however, will help us cope with these managerial challenges. Since integrating expertise from different specializations in order to arrive at appropriate solutions is part of everyday management, a lot of the tasks will be performed in teams. Moreover, mangerial work often takes the form of projects, so the principles of project management will also be applied. We will take part in frequent small team exercises in order to improve these kinds of skills. Depending on student interest, there is scope for BUS 305A and BUS 305B to focus on different topics and move at a different pace. For this reason it will not be possible to switch from one to the other after they begin. 1

2 Availability: Prof. Heike Nolte, School of Business & Leadership, Management My office hours are Wednesday, 3:30 until 4:30 p.m. and Friday, 11:00 until 12:00 a.m., room MC 111A, Tel.: x3499. Many questions can be solved by , too: If necessary, we can schedule individual meetings. Attendance and active participation: Discussions in class and in teams with other students is extremely important for learning this material. This means that everybody is required to participate actively in class and in teamwork. You are encouraged to bring in your personal experience from outside school, especially from work. All contributions should be considered in the context of relevant managerial theory, which means that it is obligatory to come to class having read the readings assigned for that day. Since much of the content of this course will take place in the classroom, as we discover how to transfer book-knowledge to real life situations, it is very difficult to catch up again after missing classes. And because of the emphasis on team-based learning, it is not only the individual student who suffers from missing classes, but also the rest of the group. So please try to show up prepared to each class! Missing more than three meetings will result in loss of credit. If you miss class due to an illness, please provide a doctor's letter and we will find a solution. (For instance, you might be asked to provide an extra paper.) Active participation is also a prerequisite for acquiring credits: no credits without it. It contributes to 20% to the grade. In addition, of course, the general rules of the university regarding academic responsibilities apply. Presentations: Giving presentations is an everyday activity for a manager, so they are also an important part of this class. You individually and in teams will give several of them. Some will be very short, others longer. Do not hesitate to contact me if you encounter any difficulties in preparing them or foresee problems in giving a presentation. Please be realistic about the time you need: Typically presentations last longer than expected. I reserve the right to cut you off if you exceed the scheduled time! 2

3 Prof. Heike Nolte, School of Business & Leadership, Management Incidentally, giving a good presentation does not mean that one has PowerPoint slides with all the gimmicks PowerPoint provides; above all, the content matters and slides are only supposed to support it. (See Doug Zongker (2007): Chicken Chicken Chicken, Presented at the AAAS humor session, February 16, 2007, Please make sure, that each presentation has a message and gets to the point. I will also ask for some presentations that do not entail using PowerPoint or similar software. Finally, I am prepared to give feedback to your presentations, but only if you ask for it. Since most of the presentations will be based upon papers pertaining to case studies, they will be graded together with these papers. Papers: In this class you will be asked to write both very short papers and also longer ones, but academic standards apply equally: So please present a clear argument and give reasons for it. Give sources. Be careful not to plagiarize by accident. You are welcome to ask me whenever you are unsure about these criteria. It is desirable to provide more than the basic sources mentioned in the syllabus for a paper, but the latter are obligatory. Regarding length, it is the same as for the presentations: more is not necessarily better the content matters, not the number of words. If you exceed the indicated length by more than 20% it will have negative impact on the grade: one of the goals of this class is to get acquainted with managerial tools, and short documents, which get to the point, are one of them. Beside these assignments, there will be some occasions when I ask you to write reflection papers, usually based on your experience during a game or exercise. These reflection papers are of a completely different nature. Here your personal impressions and reflections matter, not academic knowledge per se. You can depend on their confidentiality. They will be graded according to the depth of their reflection, but not their conclusions, so it does not matter if you say that you did not like a game or other class activity. What matters is that you explore how and why you were affected by it. The quality of the reflection papers will be considered in conjunction with active participation as part of the final grade. 3

4 Prof. Heike Nolte, School of Business & Leadership, Management In general, the indicated length of the papers (see Agenda) is based upon a font like Times New Roman 12 pt or Arial 11 pt, 1½ spaced. Always submit the papers by Moodle no later than 6:00 a.m. of the day given on which they are assigned. I do not accept any late papers unless accompanied by a doctor s letter, nor anything handwritten. In case you have written the paper as a team, indicate who is responsible for which part. Please provide not only your name but also your -address at the beginning of the paper. The papers and presentations regarding the cases will be graded together. They will count for 50% of the total grade. Teamwork: Organizations can only succeed if the units collaborate without frictions on shared objectives and manage to create synergy. On a smaller scale, this is applies to teamwork. Moreover, in most work situations, goals are rarely achieved individually but in teams. Thus, teamwork is an essential part of this class. Each member is responsible for achieving the team's goal and is accountable for it. The team's success will have impact on the individual grade. In case problems occur within a team which is normal I expect you to first try to solve the issues internally. But if this does not work, please do not hesitate to involve me. In spite of the fact that the entire team is responsible for accomplishing its task, team members will be graded individually but individual efforts to achieve a better team result will also be taken into account. Grading and feedback: In general, I give feedback by . In case you want to have additional explanation, I will be happy to provide it during office hours. If, for a university-approved reason, you cannot submit a paper or give a presentation at the scheduled time, contact me as soon as possible. Make-up exams, papers or presentation opportunities for non-university-approved reasons are not guaranteed. Failure to give a presentation or to submit a paper at the scheduled time will result in a score of zero for that assignment. The final grade is based on: class participation and reflection papers: 20% case study (teamwork):papers and presentations: 50% quizzes: 30% 4

5 Prof. Heike Nolte, School of Business & Leadership, Management In general, my approach to grading follows Bloom's taxonomy: For a medium grade (C) it is required that you document your understanding of the relevant literature. In order to get a better grade you need to not only to restate the concepts, but also discuss them. For a high grade you have to restate, discuss and apply these concepts, typically bringing theory to bear in an empirical context, such as an actual case. 5

6 Week 1 Jan,19 Topic Introduction Explanation of the questions regarding the cases Basics of Project Management: Time-lines work package Comments and Assignments (in bold) Bingo Readings Jan, 21 Week 2 01/24/10 Jan, 26 Jan, 28 Week 3 Jan, 31 Feb., 2 Decisions about cases and teams Basics of Project Management: Time-lines work packages Laura Schick (Library): Where to find sources Management : What does this mean? Functions of project management, Basics of management theory Julie Neff (Writing Center): Writing a longer paper Basics of Project Management: Behavioral aspects of working in projects Basics of Business Ethics Organizational and national culture Organizational Purpose: Stakeholder, Environment 1 st draft of Plan of Approach is due Final draft of Plan of Approach is due Case Mannesmann Introductory articles on project management, at least: Burde 2008; Abudi 2010; Westland (n.d.) Kinicki & Kreitner 2003: 2 21; Hofstede 1993 Keuning 2007: (Chapter 1) Cummings 1993; Mason & Mitroff 1981 Kinicki & Kreitner 2003: Kinicki & Kreitner 2003: De Wit & Meyer 2010: ; Rappaport 1986; Freeman & Reed 1982; Yoshimori 1995; Keuning 2007: 85-6

7 103 Feb., 4 Organizational structure Keuning 2007: ; Kinicki & Kreitner 2003: Week 4 Feb., 7 Quiz Quiz Feb., 9 Organizational Development Keuning 2007: Feb., 11 Concept of Corporate Strategy Andrews 1987 Week 5 Feb., 14 ca. week 6 Feb., 16. Examples of organizational development Examples of organizational development Paper by each team about the "History and present of your firm Presentation of the firms' history and present Student presentations and discussion (continued) Feb., 18 Decision Making and Negotiation Role play: The Pirates and the Treasure Optional: Blue-White Game Optional: Reflection paper about the Prisoner s Dilemma (5 pages) Kinicki & Kreitner 2003: , Week 6 Feb., 21 Decision Making Mintzberg & Westley 2001; Keuning 2007: Feb., 23 Decision-Defect The Deutsche Bank Case Feb., 25 Quiz Quiz Week 7 02/28/10 Business Level Strategy De Wit & Meyer 2010: Mar., 2 Outside-In Perspective Porter 1998; Miller et al Mar., 4 Inside-Out Perspective I Day 1994; Barney 1991 Week 8 Mar., 07 Inside-Out Perspective II Prahalad & Hamel 1990 Mar., 09 Examples of firms' strategies (I) Paper by each team about the "strategy of your firm Student presentations 7

8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Mar., 11 Examples of firms' firms' strategies (II) Student presentations, (continued) Spring Break Mar., 21 Case: Motivation of Business The SAP Case Nolte 2007; Kinicki & Kreitner 2003: Consultants Mar., 23 Human Resource practices Keuning 2007: Mar., 25 Human resource management Optional: Nolte 2010b (in German) or the sources listed in and organizational performance that bibliography Mar., 28 Quiz Quiz Mar., 30 Apr., 1st Apr., 4 Apr., 6 Leadership, motivation and outcome Leadership, Motivation and Work Organization High Performance Work Systems versus traditional work organization Examples of firms' policies regarding human resources Individual reflection paper about the team work on the case study (max 3 pages) Tower-Building Paper by each team about the "HR policies and practices of the firm Student presentations Student presentations (continued) Kinicki & Kreitner 2003: Cyert 1990 Keuning 2007: Nolte & Haschen 2010 Apr., 8 Examples of firms' policies regarding human resources Apr., 11 Organizational Change I De Wit & Meyer 2010: ; Hammer 1990: ; Kinicki & Kreitner 2003: Apr., 13t Organizational Change II and Tushman & O'Reilly III 1996; Imai 1986; Krueger 1996; the Learning Organization Senge 1990; Pfeffer & Sutton /15/10 Aspects of Process Keuning 2007: , ,

9 Management; IT Apr. 18 Lean Management Womack et al /20/10 Quiz Quiz Apr., 22 Lean Management & High Performance Production blended The Volkswagen Case Apr., 25 Examples of firms' "Process Paper by each team about Management or "Impact of IT "Process Management or (I) "Impact of IT of the firm 04/27/10 Examples of firms' "Process Management or "Impact of IT (II) Apr., 29t Stability Adaptability Student presentations Student presentations (continued)) May, 2 nd Conclusion I Student presentations about the conclusions May, 4 th Conclusion II Student presentations (continued) May, 6 th The four separate papers about the firm (Structure, Strategy, HR, IT/Process Management) plus an additional conclusion are supposed to be integrated into one book May, 8th Individual reflection paper about the team work on the case study (max 3 pages) Nolte 2010a no separate paper due 9

10 Reading Assignments: (most of these assignments consist of a few pages taken from the book by de Wit & Meyer 2010) Abudi, Gina The Five Stages of Project Team Development (May 8, 2010). Available at: Andrews, Kenneth The Concept of Corporate Strategy. Excerpt from Andrews 1987: The Concept of Corporate Strategy. McGraw-Hill,, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Barney, Jay Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, Vol. 17 (1): , reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Boselie, Paul, Hesselink, Martijn, Paauwe, Jaap & Van der Wiele, Ton Employee Perception on Commitment Oriented Work Systems ( , 01). ERIM Report Series Reference No. ERS ORG. Available at SSRN: Burde, Durgesh B Project Management Process (October 14, 2008). Available at SSRN: Cummings, Stephen The First Strategists. Long Range Planning, Vol. 26 (3): , reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Cyert, Richard M Defining Leadership and Explicating the Process. Excerpt from Cyert 1990: Defining Leadership and Explicating the Process. Jossey-Bass Inc. Publishers, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010:

11 Day, George The Capabilities of Market-Driven Organizations. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58 (4): 37 52, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: De Wit, Bob & Meyer, Ron Strategy. Process, Content, Context. An International Perspective. 4th Edition. Andover,Hampshire: Cengage Learning EMEA, ISBN Freeman, Edward & Reed, David Stockholders and Stakeholders: A New Perspective on Corporate Governance. California Management Review, Vol. 25 (3), reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Hammer, Michael Reengineering Work: Don t Automate, Obliterate. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Hofstede, Geert Cultural constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 7 (1): 8-21, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Imai, Masaaki Kaizen. Excerpt from Imai 1986: Kaizen: The Key to Japan s Competitive Success, McGraw-Hill, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Keuning, Doede Management: A European Perspective (2 nd edition), Routledge (ISBN ) Kinicki, Angelo & Kreitner, Bob Organizational Behavior. Key concepts, skills & best practices. New York: McGraw- Hill, ISBN

12 Krueger, Wilfried Implementation: The Core Task of Change Management. CEMS Business Review, Vol. 1 reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Mason, Richard & Mitroff, Ian Complexity: The nature of real world problems. Challenging Strategic Plannning Assumptions, John Wiley & Sons, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Miller, Danny; Eisenstat, Russell & Foote, Nathaniel Strategy from the inside out: Building Capability-Creating Organizations. California Management Review, Vol. 33 (3), reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Mintzberg, Henry & Westley, Frances Decision-Making: It s not what you think. Sloan Management Review. Vol. 42 (3): 89-93, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Nolte, Heike The Flow of Information: Case of a Knowledge Based Organization. Revue Gestion N Bimestriel 5. Septembre-Octobre 2007, pp Nolte, Heike 2010a. Work Organization and Problem Solving. In: Labor Employment and Relations Association (Edt.). 21st Century Employment Systems: Innovation in an Era of Accelerating Change, Champaign, Il. (forthcoming) Nolte, Heike 2010b. Human Resource Management of the Best-Fit and its Implications (December 5, 2010). Available at SSRN: Nolte, Heike & Haschen, Silke High Performance Work Systems and the End of Fun: Do High Performance Work Systems Provide a More Human Work Environment? (December 3, 2010). Available at SSRN: 12

13 Pfeffer, Jeffrey & Sutton, Robert I The Knowing-Doing Gap. Reprinted from Pfeffer & Sutton 1999: The Knowing-Doing Gap, Barvard Business School Publishing Corporation, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Porter, Michael Competitive Strategy. Excerpt from Porter, M. 1985, 1998: Competitive Advantage. Free Press, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Prahalad, C.K. & Hamel, Gary The Core Competence of the Corporation. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Rappaport, Alfred Shareholder Value and Corporate Purpose. Excerpt from Creating Shareholder Value, The Free Press, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Senge, Peter Building Learning Organizations. Sloan Management Review, Fall 1990, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Tushman, Michael L. & O Reilly III, Charles A Ambidextrous Organizations: Managing Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change. California Management Review, Vol. 38 (4): 8 30, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: Westland, Jason (n.d.). The Five Goals of a Project Manager. (retrieved August, 12 th, 2010) Womack, James P.; Jones, Daniel T. & Roos, Daniel 2007: The machine that changed the world. New York: Free Press 13

14 Yoshimori, Masaru Whose Company is it? The concept of the corporation in Japan and the West. Long Range Planning, Vol. 28 (4): 33 45, reprinted in De Wit & Meyer 2010: