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MANA 4330

TEAM MANAGEMENT

MANA 4330, Section 003

Monday and Wednesday 5:30-6:50 PM

Fall, 2009

Instructor:Dr. Kenneth H. Price

Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday By Appointment Before or After Class

Office:226 Business Building

Phone: 817- 272-3863(office)

817-45l-2693(home)

E-Mail:

Web Page:

CourseContent

All organizations depend on people to carry out their tasks and work toward common goals, whether you work for a large or small corporation, a federal or state agency, or own your own business. Much of the time we spend working in organizations we spend working in teams. This course is designed to familiarize you with the dynamics of working in teams, to become more effective team members, and to lead teams. To accomplish this, we will examine a number of factors that influence team member interaction and ultimately team performance through lectures, slides, films, demonstrations, cases, and student class presentations.

Learning Objectives

  1. Students will be able to discuss the reasons that organizations incorporate work teams in their organizational structure.
  2. Students will be able to describe the role team member compositional variables play in team member behavior.
  3. Students will be able to identify factors that inhibit and maximize team member motivation.
  4. Students will be able to identify and describe how structural factors of teams influence team member behavior as it unfolds in a team.
  5. Students will be able to identify team processes that inhibit and facilitate effective problem solving.
  6. Students will we able to design/present exercises to demonstrate specific aspects of team functioning.

Course Components

Experiential Exercises: In class, at times, exercises will be used to illustrate different aspects of working in teams. This is an important aspect of the course. Exercises will be completed independently, with members of your project team, or with members of other teams. Materials completed during these exercises will be included on the examinations and comprise part of your class participation grade.

Team Projects: You will work in anintact team during the course of the semester. There are six team assignments, including, a team charter, four case analyses and one class facilitation exercise. Each of these is described in following sections and handouts posted on my web page.

Lectures: Class sessions will also include lectures describing current thinking on teams. Class lecture material is an integral part of the course. You are responsible for lectures that you miss. Every effort will be made to utilize PowerPoint for class lectures, but not all material will be on slides.

Examinations

There are two tests during the semester: a midterm examination and a final examination.

You must take both examinations. Each examination will be in essay format. Questions will measure your understanding of the factual material of the course as well as your ability to apply the material. The two examinations will be equivalent in weight. Examination dates are listed on page 4. I will provide study questions to help guide your preparation for the examinations.

If you miss an examination, you will receive a zero. Make-up examinations are given only at the discretion of the instructor. Not knowing the date of an examination, a heavy work schedule, or more than one examination on a single day are not valid reasons for missing the examination.

To determine if it is possible for you to take the makeup,you must notify the instructor that you will miss (or have missed) the examination, within 24 hours of the scheduled examination. This means that you must contact the instructor at UTA or at home and explain the reason for missing the examination. Missing the examination and failure to contact the instructor, within the 24-hour period, will result in a zero. Make-up examinations are usually given at 1:00 pm on Friday.

Assigned Readings

The assigned readings can be downloaded to your printer and are free. The name and due date for each assigned reading is reviewed in the section of this handout titled “OUTLINE (MANA 4330 002).

Direct links to these readings can be obtained by following the instruction on the web page listing the Assigned Readings

Cases

The cases must be ordered from Harvard Business Publishing. The link to HBP is:

Course link: . When you click on this link you will be asked to register and purchase the course materials. A credit card will be needed to purchase the materials online. You may be asked to download a plug-in to decode the materials. Contact me if you have problems with downloading the materials.

Any changes in assignments or test requirements will be announced in class and posted on my website. If you miss a class, always check with me for missed assignments.You are responsible for any changes in the test dates or test materials that are announced in class or posted on my web page.

Class Materials

My web page is Class materials, slides of the lecture material,and other handouts, as available, will be posted on my web page in Word files. You can access this web page from your home computer or from any computer in one of the labs on campus. Each lab will have a printer. Download, print, and bring the slides with you to class. There is space next to the slides for note taking, which is necessary. Study questions will also be posted to guide your test preparation. You should write out detailed answers to the study questions to make sure you understand the material. You can bring your study questions to me before the exam, and I will review them with you in my office to see if you are on track.

Points and Grades

There are a total of 380points that you can earn in class, divided in the following manner. The percentage value for each of the assignments is also indicated.

Midterm Examination100pts

Final Examination100pts

Class Participation 50pts

Team Projects130pts

Total380pts

Earning 90%-100% of the total available points assures you of an A, earning 80%-89% of the available points assures you of a B, earning 70%-79% of the available points assures you of a C, earning 60%-69% of the available points assures you of a D, and earning 59% or less of the available points assures you of an F.

Class Seating

You will be able to choose your seat in class. Name cards will be distributed to students the first day of class. Students will be expected to bring these name cards with them each day of class.

Important Dates

The last day to drop a class is October 30. Once you are enrolled in class, the instructor will not drop you from this class. Each student needs to complete the appropriate forms in the office of the Department of Management to drop the class.

The final examination is Final Examination is Tuesday, December 8, 5:30 – 8:00P.M.

Team Projects

There are three team projects, briefly described below and to be discussed in more detail in class.

  1. Team Charter (10points). Based on exercises started in class and completed outside of class, your team will submit a document entitled “Team Charter.” The elements of the charter are described in a handout attached to the course outline.
  2. Case Analysis (25 points). Each team will submit a detailed case analysis for each case based on the questions provided by the instructor. The case analysis should be at least five single-spaced pages. The elements of a case analysis are described in a handout attached to this outline.The case analysis is due the date that the case is discussed in class. No exceptions.
  3. Team Facilitation (20 points). Each team will develop an experiential exercise to illustrate some aspect of team behavior. You will be given about 20minutes to run your simulation (depending on the number of teams in class) during the team presentation times at the end of the semester. Dates for the presentation will be assigned in class. Your report on the facilitation exercise is due the day of your presentation. This project is described in more detail in class.

I am the project manager for each team. If there are difficulties with team members you need to let me know. Difficulties can include missing team meetings, being late with or not completing assignments, not responding to phone calls or e-mails from team members, doing inadequate work on their part of the assignment etc. If problems arise let me know. If team members agree, an individual can lose up to the full amount of points that can was awarded for any assignment. I will circulate an evaluation form to check on how each group is doing and to determine if team members should receive less than the amount of points that were earned for that project. If conflict can not be resolved a team member can be asked to leave the team with my approval. All case assignment will be completed individually by that team member.

Class Participation Grade

Your course grade has a class participation component that is worth 50 points. During the course of the semester we will discuss each of the cases in class and do a number of exercises. Some of the exerciseswill be competed outside of class and others will be completed in class. Being in class for case discussions and for these exercises will count towards your class participation grade. Individuals who make solid contributions to class discussions can have additional points awarded for the participation component. By the same token individuals who do not participate and/or are disruptive will have points subtracted from the class participation component and if necessary from the total number of points they earn in class. This means:

No cell phones in class

Laptops in class-only used for taking notes on slide pages

No exit and return to class unless it is an emergency. If you need to leave early—let me know before class.

OUTLINE (MANA 4330 002)

Week / Date / Topic
1 / August / 24 / Orientation, Ice Breakers, Group Formation, Basic Constructs
2 / August / 31 / Team Charter: Basic Constructs Teams Reading: Five Challenges To Virtual Team Success: Lessons From Sabre, Inc. ( Assigned Reading Link)
3 / September / 7 / Being Group Minded: Individualism and Collectivism
4 / September / 14 / Case 1 DueTuesday: Henry Tam and the MGI Team (HBS Case)
5 / September / 21 / Whistleblowing---Enron
6 / September / 28 / Being Group Minded: Team Social Identity
7 / October / 5 / Case 2 DueTuesday: The Army Crew Team (HBS Case)
8 / October / 12 / Tuesday Examination; Team Problem Solving and Decision Making, Reading: When Teammates Raise AWhite Flag (Assigned ReadingLink)
9 / October / 19 / Team Problem Solving and Decision Making
10 / October / 26 / Case 3, Due Tuesday: Mount Everest – 1996 (HBS Case); Reading: Improving the Creativity Of Organizational Work Groups (Assigned ReadingsLink)
11 / November / 2 / Team Conflict
12 / November / 9 / Leading Teams Case 4; Columbia’s Final Mission: A Multimedia Case (HBS Case)
13 / November / 16 / Leading Teams
14 / November / 23 / Team Facilitations
15 / November / 30 / Presentations: Team Facilitations
16 / December / 8 / Final Examination is Tuesday, December 8, 5:30 – 8:00P.M.

Self-Management Strategie:

  1. Set a goal-aspecific hard goal.
  2. Develop a strategy to achieve your goal. Think of the different behaviors that are related to goal achievement, e.g., classroom behavior, studying behavior, integrating school and work, etc. Develop a strategy in each of these areas.
  3. Monitor your progress. For example, test the accuracy of what you know and assess the breadth of what you know before the exam or before you hand in case assignments. For example, use the study questions as a guide to the test questions, and other people or the instructor to evaluate your thinking about the cases. I will be happy to help you during my office hours or by appointment. Use me for a resource.
  4. Adjust strategy to fit the situation. As you monitor your progress and receive feedback, adjust your strategy as needed.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 92-112 - The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens. As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide “reasonable accommodations” to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty of their need for accommodation and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels. Information regarding specific diagnostic criteria and policies for obtaining academic accommodations can be found at you may visit the Office for Students with Disabilities in room 102 of University Hall or call them at 817-272-3364.

Academic Dishonesty Policy: It is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Arlington that academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University. “Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.” (Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Series 50101, Section 2.2)

Student Support Services: The University of Texas at Arlington supports a variety of student success programs to help you connect with the University and achieve academic success. These programs include learning assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and appropriate referrals.

Librarians to Contact:

SeeRuthie Brock (, 817-272-7152) or Carol Byrne (, 817-272-7437) in the Electronic Business Library in room 136 of the BusinessBuilding.

E-Culture Policy: UT-Arlington has adopted the University email address as an official means of communication with students. Through the use of email, UT-Arlington is able to provide students with relevant and timely information, designed to facilitate student success. In particular, important information concerning registration, financial aid, payment of bills, and graduation may be sent to students through email. All students are assigned an email account and information about activating and using it is available at New students (first semester at UTA) are able to activate their email account 24 hours after registering for courses. There is no additional charge to students for using this account, and it remains active as long as a student is enrolled at UT-Arlington. Students are responsible for checking their email regularly.

Evacuation Procedures: In the event of an evacuation of the College of Business building, when the fire alarm sounds, everyone must leave the building by the stairs. With the fire alarm system we now have, the elevators will all go to the first floor and stay there until the system is turned off. All those in the North tower side of the building should proceed to the fire escape stairs located on the East and West sides of that wing.

FOR DISABLED PERSONS…please go to the Northeast fire stairs. We have an Evacutrack chair located on the 6th floor stairwell. We have people trained in the use of this chair and there will be someone that will go to the 6th floor to get the chair and bring it to any lower floor stairwell to assist disabled persons. Should this be a real emergency, the Arlington Fire Department and UTA Police will also be here to help.

Biographical Information

Name: ______Concentration: ______

Phone: ______E-mail: ______

HomeWork

  1. List other management courses you have taken.
  1. What are your expectations for this course?
  1. Current employer and job title
  1. Membership in current work teams, social groups, athletic teams, etc.