COURSE OUTLINE
Organizational Psychology PSYC 3570 3.0 A
York University
Fall 2009
Prerequisites: AK/AS/SC/PSYC 1010 6.00 or AK/PSYC 2410 6.00, with a minimum grade of C; AK/AS/SC/PSYC 2120 3.00 or AK/PSYC 3210 3.00. Note: If the class is not full, students who have not taken social psychology may be permitted to take this course but will be at a disadvantage unless they independently review topics normally covered in social psychology.
Last date to drop courses without receiving a grade Nov 6, 2009
COURSE WEBSITE: www.yorku.ca/gegold/psyc3570 (Check here for updates to outline.)
TIME: Thursday 8:30- 11:30
ROOM: CLH E
COURSE DIRECTOR: Gerry Goldberg, Ph.D., C. Psych. email:
OFFICE HOURS: Thursdays 1:15-2:15 by appointment. Contact through email to secure appointment or to ask questions. Office: BSB 277
TA: Amrita Ghai email:
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment Thursday s 1:30-2:30pm . Use email to secure appointment or to ask questions
Room: BSB 046
SECRETARY: Agnes Levstik ()
ROOM: BSB 281
Tel: 416 736-5125
REQUIRED TEXT: Organizational Behaviour, Seventh Edition (2008) by Johns and Saks (publisher: Pearson Education Canada) (NOTE: Previous editions will fail to provide you with all the information offered and will likely result in a reduced grade.)
EVALUATION: (Refer to this section to identify what chapters the exams will cover)
Oct 8 Project proposal (optional and not graded) Last day to submit.
Oct 22 Midterm (25%) Ch.1, 2, 3, 5, 6, pgs 456-472 of Ch.13, appendix plus all lectures and in class materials to date
Nov 19 Term Project (25%) Due at the beginning of class.
Nov 26 Team attitude project (10%) See details below
Dec 3 Team presentation (10%) See details below
Exam period (Final) (30%) Ch.4, 7-12, pgs 442-455 of Ch. 13 and all lectures/class materials following the midterm to present.
READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLYThe text covers a wide range of general topics in Organizational Psychology. The lectures reflect the academic and applied interests of the course director. Lecture materials are not intended to follow the text but there is overlap.
The first lecture 1 is an basic introduction to the area. Lecture 2, on stress, will be aimed at assisting you with your term project. Lectures 3 to 5 cover traditional concepts in organizational psych, however, lectures 6 to 9 on leadership and influence will give extra meaning and demonstrate the value of the topics covered in lectures 3 to 5.
The chapters indicated below are closest to the lecture material. You are responsible for the chapters indicated above. Not all these chapters are covered in lectures. This course demonstrates how theories and research in Organizational Psychology (OP) are applied to real life workplace issues. The term project is designed to give you the fundamental skills to solve Organizational Psychology problems.
DATE TENATIVE SCHEDULE OF TOPICS
1. Sep 10 Introduction and history of OP, the need for systematic methodology.
How we get beyond "common sense" (Ch 1, Appendix)
2. Sep 17 Occupational stress (pgs. 456-472 of Ch 13)
3. Sep 24 Personality and learning (Ch 2) Applying behaviour modification to the workplace (Ch 2)
4. Oct 1 Person Perception, attribution and judgment of others (Ch.3)
5. Oct 8 Motivation and Modern approaches to motivating (Ch.5, 6)
Performance Evaluation (Ch.6)
Oct 15 READING WEEK NO CLASSES
6. Oct 22 MID-TERM (see above for details) A LECTURE TO FOLLOW:
Attitudes in the workplace (Ch.4) The lectures on attitudes are intended to provide you with guidance in conducting the team attitude project.
7. Oct 29 Attitudes continued.
Leadership: Liars and leaders (Ch 9, 10)
8. Nov 5 Leadership: communication, leadership skills (Ch. 8, 10)
9. Nov 12 Leadership: approaches to leadership, ineffective leaders, conformity (Ch 11, 12)
10. Nov 19 TERM PROJECT DUE
.Motivating helping behaviour within the workplace (Ch. 8)
11. Nov 26 Groups and teamwork (Ch.7, 11)
TEAM ATTITUDE PROJECT DUE (at beginning of class)
Presentation teams will meet in the latter half of the class to discuss Dec 3rd presentations.
12. Dec 3 TEAM PRESENTATIONS (see below for details)
MISSED TESTS: Students are expected to write midterm test and the final exam on the dates specified. If you have a legitimate excuse (e.g., death in the family, severe illness, etc.) for being excused from an exam, you may take a make-up exam in lieu of the exam missed. Contact me within 48 hours of missing the midterm. Documentation is required in order to be permitted to take a make-up exam. Should you miss an exam due to a medical reason, you must have your attending physician complete the “Attending Physician’s Statement”. This form can be obtained from the from the announcement page of the course website. If you miss an exam with no legitimate excuse, you will receive a grade of zero. SHOULD WEATHER OR OTHER PROBLEMS MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLD THE MIDTERMS ON THE DATE SCHEDULED, THEY WILL BE HELD THE NEXT LECTURE PERIOD.
TERM PROJECT: "DEALING WITH AN OCCUPATIONAL STRESSOR/PROBLEM"
This will consist of a proposal which is optional and a final paper. See above for due dates
Overview: You will select an occupational stressor and using up-to-date scientific literature and guidance from experts in the field develop a comprehensive plan to reduce or eliminate the problem. This is a chance for independent research on a course-related area of interest. It is an opportunity for you to familiarize yourself with an issue in a career field you are considering and offers a chance to meet individuals in that field.
In doing the project, you must find the most recent scholarly work specific to the stressor you have selected. Finding such scholarly work in requires using library tools such as data bases like ABI/INFORM (Note: select refereed journals), The Web of Science (formerly known as the Social Sciences Citation Index), PSYCINFO/PSYCHLIT). Start looking for information in organizational Psychology textbooks on your topic. Then look at the bibliographies for the key names and journals that deal with the stressor you selected. You may also start by using popular sources of information (e.g. The Globe and Mail, Canadian Business, Worldwide Web etc.) but remember such popular publications will not earn you credit.
You will also need to obtain applied work. This will require you to contact relevant experts or practitioners. By experts I do not mean managers who have experienced the stressor and tried things out. I mean people who have specialized training in dealing with the problem or have a program to deal with the problem. You will need to use tact and interviewing skills, over the telephone or in person, to get individuals to give you their valuable time. Asking these people for opinions, suggestions, leads and information will make your task easier and add to the quality of the paper. The earlier you contact agencies/experts the more time they have to send information to you and arrange interview times. They may also save you time and energy by helping direct your literature search. You will find that it is not always easy to get these people to help you. Your job is to find strategies that work to get their help. For example, are you putting your best foot forward by the way you describe yourself and what your request is about. Have you gathered some literature to may yourself appear knowledgeable? Have you learned a bit of what a particular expert has done or written so that you can impress them with your knowledge?
THE PROPOSAL (This is optional but the information below is important for your final project.)
Standards for the Proposal
The Proposal will not count towards the course grade. It is intended to provide feedback.
The proposal must:
1. be one page, double spaced. The bibliography can be on a second page. STAPLE PAGES.
2. clearly and briefly identify and explain the specific stressor/problem, its causes and consequences and indicate specific approaches to dealing with the stressor.
3. integrate the main ideas of at least five current peer reviewed scientific journal articles into one to three paragraphs. Do NOT do an annotated bibliography or summarize each article. Select only information relevant to your topic and relate this information to the other articles in a concise manner. Five articles is considered a minimum, it is expected that you will continue to seek out relevant articles and present a thorough literature search in your final bibliography.
4. list relevant resource agencies/individuals you will or have already contacted.
5. provide a bibliography (use APA style). This includes proper within text referencing (e.g. Smith (1999) argues. ... or It has been found that fear of job loss causes anxiety (Green and Brown, 1998). Do not use footnotes or endnotes. There are many student guides to APA style including several websites. The following websites are some such guides:
http://www.psychwww.com/resource/apacrib.htm
http://www.wooster.edu/psychology/apa-crib.html
http://www.wcu.edu/library/research/general/howtoguide/apastyle_how.html
http://www.bridgew.edu/Library/apa.htm
http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/apa_index.htm
http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/guides/apa.html
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm
APA style requires concise writing in the third person. \
The proposal is not graded but you will be shown a grade out of 5. This is for the purpose of providing you feedback and will not count towards your course grade.1 clear identification of an organizational stressor
1.5 bibliography
1.5 integration of literature to into paragraph(s) which suggest the dimensions and/or how to deal with the stressor
.5 identifying agencies
.5 spelling, grammar, clear communication
COMPLETED TERM PROJECT (25%)
(A late penalty of 1/2 marks out of 25 marks per day)
The completed assignment should be 6 pages (not including the bibliography). They must be typed, double spaced and in 12-point type. Make a second copy of your paper for your files before submitting. Properly reference others’ work. Do not include quotations. While the proposal is optional, make sure to read the above section regarding the proposal for important information as to what is expected on the completed term project.
Specifications:
1. Identify a specific occupational stressor (see Ch 13, pgs. 456-472 and lecture 2). It must be one that can be mitigated by the application of OP theories and research. Examples of a stressor are fear of job loss, role ambiguity, poor relations with ones boss, etc. Define your terms and the parameters or limits to which your paper will cover (e.g., kind of jobs, workplaces, specific situations). If you are unable to find relevant research articles you must modify or change your topic.
2. Find current research and theories to explain the stressor, its causes and consequences in a concise manner. What are the key issues related to your stressor? Explain in detail how to DEAL with the stressor. Focus on stressor specific approaches-- not “generic” stress management information. For example, for job relocation or role conflict you will get little credit for suggesting relaxation exercises, meditation, etc. Focus on solving the specific problem from an organizational approach e.g. job design, shift schedules, training, and leadership style.
3. Find agencies, organizations, individuals who have formal or specialized training or expertise dealing with the stressor or have a program to deal with the stressor. (Not just managers who have experienced the stressor and tried things out.) It is expected that you will interview three such experts. Two will be considered mediocre. While interviews with the experts are best, other information from such persons or agencies is acceptable (e.g. brochures, Internet sites, e-mails, etc). If you use an Internet site, you must reference it and provide an explanation within the bibliography as to why this is an authoritative source. Make sure you can describe the specific approaches used and/or how these approaches are applied. Information from these organizations/individuals will enable you to evaluate their efforts in terms of the literature.
4.* Describe how scientific literature and research might be of assistance to these specialists.
(a) How would the literature be of use to them? (b) What research do you suggest stress researchers do to help these specialists toward their/your goals? (c) Can you provide new or modified solutions?
5. Indicate the specialists you contacted at the bottom of the bibliography. Include name, job title and organization.
6. Use APA style. (See specifications for proposal.) APA style requires concise writing in the third person.
7. Staple the paper and please, no binders or attachments.
* Emphasis will be put on #4 in grading.
IF YOU WISH TO HAVE YOUR PROJECT BACK CONTACT THE TA AFTER THE GRADES ARE POSTED OR ATTACH A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.
See the website’s announcement page for more guidance on writing the term project.
Term Project GradeThe following grading scheme will be followed for those projects that have followed the basic guidelines set out in the outline. This means, if you have not really done the assignment as per the outline you will not be credited grades for following APA style, using up-to-date peer-reviewed journal etc.
Your grade on the project will be determined as follows:
/1 Chose an organizational stressor that can be mitigated by the application of OP theories and research.
/2 Used current research and theories to introduce and explain the stressor its causes and consequences in a concise manner.
/2 Found agencies, organizations, individuals who have formal or specialized training or expertise dealing with the stressor or have a program to deal with the stressor from an organizational approach.
/2 Focused on solving the specific problem from an organizational approach.
/2 Described how specific findings in the scientific literature may be of assistance to these specialists.
/2 Suggested what research stress researchers could do to help these specialists toward their/your goals.
/2 Provided new or modified solutions.
/2 Evaluated what the specialists recommended in terms of the latest research findings.
/1 Used sufficient up-to-date peer-reviewed journals.
/1 Indicated the specialists contacted at the bottom of the Reference page. Included name, job title, and organization. (If your sources wish to remain anonymous, indicate the general job title and type of organization such as large manufacturer.)
/3 Used APA style in text and reference page.
/1 Six pages, used 12 point font, double spaced, and 1 inch margins. Paraphrased instead of over-relying on quotes.
/3 Spelling and grammar and using proper sentence structure
/1 Discretion of grader.
/25 Total
Team Attitude Survey Paper (10%)