ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS
(AS) {DYNM}  

501. Foundations of Organizational Dynamics. (C) Barstow.

This is a foundations course intended for undergraduates, non-MSOD students and MSOD students in their first year of study.  The course serves to introduce the new student to the central themes and requirements of the Program, the five concentrations of study, and a cross section of the faculty. Lectures, discussions, simulations, and experiential learning are used to build an informed grounding in the philosophy, theory and practice of Organizational Dynamics.  The course also includes a writing workshop built around the written assignments of the course.

542. Theories & Model That Inform Coaching. Orenstein.

This course will discuss the importance of theory in guiding the practice of coaching.  Students will be introduced to a theory/model that explores a multiple-discipline approach to coaching in an organizational setting.  With this framework as a basis, and a subsequent review of an array of theoretical orientations, students will select, research, apply and present a theoretical model of their own choosing.  Their moedel will provide the framework that informs their coaching and/or use their thought and practice in their roles at work.

SM 600. Managing Diversity in the Workplace. (C) Anderson.

This seminar will focus on the social nature of race, ethnicity, and lifestyle relations in the workplace, assessing implications for the resulting organizational culture and management issues.  The workplace is the intersection of many individual experiences and biases, particularly those surrounding the personal issues of race, ethnicity and lifestyle.  One's capability for managing and being managed are profoundly affected by how clearly one is able to understand one's own biases as well as those of others. A main objective of the seminar will be to increase one's ability to understand and manage diversity in the workplace by investigating: (1) how distinctions manifest themselves in organizations; (2) how the same behavior can be viewed differently, depending on experience and culture; (3) the meaning of dominant and minority groups; (4) the workplace as the same or different from society in general; (5) risks of assuming that differences are being understood, when they are not; (6) the nature of stigma and its implications for the workplace.

SM 601. Gender Issues in Organizational Leadership. (C) Vanderslice.

This seminar will explore the intersection of gender and organizational behavior as it has evolved and in the current social and economic context in this country.  We will examine the social, cultural and structural dynamics within organizations that differentially affect women and men, as well as the gender-linked resources each brings to organizations.  Discussion will also focus on how gender-linked resources can be better used and responded to in organizations.  Topics that will be addressed include gender and power, gender and class, gender and leadership, the social construction of organizational structure and restructuring organizations to better meet the needs of women and men in today's culture.  We will also examine phenomena such as the "glass ceiling," the "Mommy track," organizational responses to parenting needs, the flight of executive women from large organizations and the "pink collar" ghetto.

SM 602. Leader-Manager as Coach. (M) Russo.

New work technologies, increased competition and employees' desire for more involvement in their work are changing the traditional role of the manager. Rather than directing, planning and controlling the work, managers and leaders are facilitating processes and coaching and developing their employees.  Team based organizations are built on coaching as a core requirement of the team leader role.  This course explores the theory and practices of individual coaching as leadership behavior.  The focus is on helping managers develop their skills and improve their performances as coaches.  We will examine the need to provide others with successful performance strategies, timely feedback on strengths and on development needs and growth opportunities in order to challenge others to reach their potential.  We will explore workplace environments that foster the growth and achievement of those we lead.

SM 603. Administrative Decision Making and Problem Solving. (C) Starr.

How do you make important decisions when confronted with organizational, socialor personal problems?  Is your primary approach to use a strategic process?  How many strategies do you know and use?  In this course we will review and discuss research and descriptions about how "normal" people solve problems and make administrative, ethical, and social decisions.  We will evaluate situations and problems where quantitative methods can be applied in order to improve both the process and outcome of complex problems.  Using readins and classroom case exercises, we will consider cognitive erros or biases, as well as personality and group dynamics forces that influence making choices.  We will also consider how psychological stress, gender, and leadership apply to decision-making and problem solving in organizations. Most research reasings and methods of analysis and evaluation are based on assumptions, theories, modes, and research conducted by psychologists and published in psychology journals.  The underlying assumptions of the psychological approach to the topic will be presented and discussed.

        Participants will learn to: understand and apply normative ("ideal") strategies for decision making/problem solving; understand and use descriptive ("everyday") and prescriptive ("improved") strategies and processes for decision making/problem solving; understand the differences between individual and group decision making/problem solving; understand how conflict, leadership, and gender influence decision making/problem solving; write papers that demonstrate understanding and application of decision making and problem solving strategies.

SM 604. Organizational Risk Management. (L) Combrinck-Graham.

We will examine our involvement in risk management in our organizations and discuss whether our organizations manage risk as they manage opportunity.  The first half of the course will focus on risk management's decisional and managerial aspects.  During the second half of the course, we will apply these concepts to case studies as preparation for your presentation on managing risk in your particular organization.  This course should provide you with a framework for addressing risk in your organization and perhaps in your personal life.  You will also strengthen your understanding of your appetite for risk and that of your organization under different circumstances.

        Risk management is a function rather than a specific position.  It should be practiced by many levels of management, with coordination and guidance from a senior level.  Risk management is a planning and strategic function, not solely an assessment, financial or safety function.  Risk management prepares for an uncertain tomorrow, just as long-range planning deals with the futurity of present decisions.

SM 605. Assessing and Managing Project Risk. (C) Adler.

This seminar will focus on the six stages of project risk management articulated in the best practices standard developed by the Project Management Institute.  These include: (1) Risk Management Planning; (2) Risk Identification; (3) Qualitative Risk Analysis; (4) Quantitative Risk Analysis; (5) Risk Response Planning and (6) Risk Monitoring and Control.  Although the management processes involved in some stages may appear easy to understand, their implementation always requires appreciation of and commitment to the complexities of risk management by the leadership of the organization.  Stages 2 and 4 concern qualitative assessment; Stages 4 and 6 are more analytic in nature and involve discussion and review of quantitative techniques.  Class participants will be asked to find past or current projects in their own organizations that could have or currently can benefit from early identification of risk.  Students will work in teams to identify the benefits of, and more importantly, the challenges and barriers to, establishing risk management processes in their enterprises.

SM 606. The Individual and the Corporation: Ethnographic Methods Focused on the Individual. (C) Anderson.

This course introduces ethnography and its uses for understanding everyday life within organizations.  Attention is focused on the roles individuals play in the development, elaboration, and interpretation of organizational culture. Qualitative methods including interviewing, observing, listening, writing field notes, and interpreting data for organizational analysis are emphasized. Aspects of everyday life, as well as formal organizational activities, are examined and analyzed from an ethnographic perspective.

SM 607. Psychodynamics of Organizations. (M) Hirschhorn.

SM 608. Organizational Dynamics of Working in a Global Marketplace. (M) Tschoegl.

This course examines some of the sources of confusion, conflict, misperception and error that arise when representatives of U.S. organizations interact and work in the global marketplace.The aim is to heighten awareness, help avoid personal or professional pitfalls, and to more effectively manage some of the organizational and business challenges that arise when operating across dissimilar environments.  We will focus on areas including: ethics, culture, language, ethnicity, religion, gender, the political and legal systems, labor, corruption, and corporate organization.  Each class session will begin with a short, interactive introductory lecture, followed by discussion around assigned readings and mini-cases.

SM 609. Organizational Effects of Religion in the Workplace. (M) Dunning.

This is a new seminar on an emerging organizational challenge: as America moves beyond the situation famously labeled by Will Herberg as a society of "Protestant, Catholic, Jew:" how should organizations adapt to the new religious diversity?  Should firms attempt to have a "religion-free" workplace?  Should they embrace some form of religion or spirituality and put it in the service of the organizational mission?  Or is there perhaps a third way that respects the religious practices of employees without favoring any one of them?  A related challenge faces leaders themselves: how can faith and religious practice influence leadership?  Finally, how do these challenges reflect broader historical patterns in Aamerican society and history?  These questions will be explored with selections from the following books: A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America; Religion and the Workplace; Faith in Leadership; A New Religious America, and Religious Outsiders and the Making of Americans.

SM 610. Knowing Yourself: The Coach as an Instrument of Change. (M) Napier.

Similar to most traditional programs where the focus is on the mangement of change, the course is organized in relation to (1) A diagnostic phase in which the values, history, assumptions, and behaviors of the client will be assessed.  In this case, the client will be the student/coach.  (2) The applied phase in which analysis, interpretation, and formal learning will be the central focus.  (3) The end result will be individuals with a deep and abiding understanding of their own psychodynamics and their personal impact. (4) By modeling many of the tools and strategies useful in any effective coaching effort and practicing them on themselves and their student peers, it is hoped that the experiential nature of the course will allow maximum transference to the real work of coaching.

SM 611. Strategic Perspectives on Coaching. (M) Wilkinsky.

This course will examine coaching in the organizational setting from the perspective of significant stakeholders in the coaching process.  Coaching from the perspective of the client will explore the goals, issues, concerns, and outcome measures that are in the domain of the clients.  Why do they want coaching to take place?  How can they maximize return on their time and energy investments?  Coaching from the perspective of HR within the sponsoring organization considers HR goals and needs, and attaining "success" through coaching.  Also examined are confidentiality, the responsibilities of HR (finding coaching and approving coaches), and how the investment is defined and measured.Coaching from the perspective of the coach addresses metrics and evaluation by the coach.  Determining excellence is no simple task.  The issues problems, barriers to success, and tools of the trade will be addressed.

        Coaching from the perspective of the high impact group outside the organization acknowledges the systems perspective that people are connected to multiple organizations and that bahavior, knowledge, and/or competency are interactive and co-producing.

SM 612. Mastering Organizational Politics and Power. (C) Eldred.

The purpose of this course is to explore, enhance, and expand the participants' competence in organizational politics.  Students will observe political dynamics as they occur in their own organizations and will interview senior managers in other organizations to learn how political realities vary from one organization to another.  Theoretical ideas about a dimension of organizational politics of particular interest to each individual participant will be analyzed in a term paper.  In addition, each participant will keep a personal diary of political dynamics in his or her own workplace.  The course will also explore ways to master the political skills of networking, negotiating, influencing, leading, and following, as well as developing a political strategy.

SM 613. Is Bigger - Inevitable, Better or Worse in Organizations?. (C) Licht.

Is the modern large corporation alienating, inflexible, unproductive?  Is the small organization or work team engaging, innovative or creative, productive? Has it always been this way in the U.S.?  Is change possible?  In this unique, informal, "turbo" seminar, we will examine the large corporation in terms of history, governance and control, and delivery of (office) work.  We will consider whether "bigness" and bureaucracy are inevitable, and how organizations of the present, and probably the future, are affected by those of the past.

SM 615. Staying Competitive: The U.S., China and You. (M) Bauer.

This seminar both examines and practices staying competitive at five levels: the individual participant, the organization or employer, the industry, and the nation (where being American makes a difference), and the globalized world economy.  As a result of this semester's work, all participants will have evaluated their own situation and organization and developed a practical plan for their next step.  Visitors who have chosen particular ways of staying competitive will be invited to class to discuss what happened and why.

        Among the strategies we will weigh against both the historical record and current facts: How does an organization restructure for new development while measuring and being measured for growth?  Do economies of scale still apply when the technology changes every 18 months?  What technological, financial, and organizational missions can support internal strategies for personnel development?  What are the specific trade-offs of looking outside for additional strength?  Participants build case studies of their own organ izations and analyze them for evidence of strength to the merger consultant, the CEO, the stock analyst, the business media, the venture capitalist and their own career paths.

SM 616. Globalization: World Politics, Social Order and Economic Impacts. (C) Teune.

The purpose of this seminar is to provide analytical frameworks for understanding change in the world seen as a total system.  The challenging question of our time is whether this and the next decades will be dominated by a backlash against globalization, including new forms of global war and local closure to trade and exchange, or if the world, despite setbacks, will continueto develop a new political, social and economic world order radically different from the traditional one of relations among nations.  In either case, turbulence and volatility from the forces and counter-forces of globalization can be expected.

        The contradictions of our era of globalization (beginning around 1975) are that while globalization appears to lead to uniformities everywhere (McDonaldization)nevertheless old and new differences and identities intensify.Also, globalization makes it nearly impossible to explain a particular change, for example, decline in voting in elections in the U.S., in American political terms, when the same phenomenon happens in all established democracies.  Regions separate, Europe and NAFTA, among them, while at the same time globalization proceeds to include all markets everywhere.  Topics that will be covered, after discussions of the main issues of globalization and its consequences, include: economic integration, the future of the nation-state, a New Europe, a world of regions, global democracy, doing business globally, nationalism and religious fundamentalism, the global environment, global security, and human rights in a global society.

SM 617. Economics of Human Behavior and Organizational Life. (M) Handy.

The primary goal of this course is an examination of the various aspects of human behavior in the context of organizational and institutional life from an economic perspective.  We begin with an examination of how micro economists view the world, discussing concepts such as: efficiency; opportunity cost/marginalism; externalities; incentives; free-riding; rent-seeking; and transaction costs.  We then focus on a rational choice analysis of family, the oldest and most fundamental institution in society.  We examine marriage and divorce and the consequences from an economic standpoint for individuals and society.  We then examine religious organizations and religion in terms of choices individuals make given costs and benefits of their actions while "producers" of religion compete for adherents.  Before concluding the course with an economic analysis of democratic government, we will look at several topics such as: human capital and investment in education; law and enforcement; bribes and gifts, economics of information; property rights and externalities; and free-riding.

SM 619. Organizational Project Management. (M) Choukroun.

This seminar presents and critically examines the components of a project life cycle.  We examine how to identify and manage time, cost, quality, use of human resources, communications, risk, procurement, scope, and project integration tools.  We acknowledge that project management is a formal synthesis of quantitative and qualitative components such that effective project management must include competencies of leadership and communication that support the people directly and indirectly associated with the project and its implementation with an organization.

SM 620. The Coach: Applying Tools and Skills in the Field. (M) Napier.

What makes this particular coaching course unique is that it affords students the opportunity to experience a full range of caoching practices in a relatively short amount of time.  The expectation is that the students will have identified a potential client that will be discussed during the first class (although no firm agreement would have to be reached prior to that time).The criteria of a good client would be: 1) that the individual is the leader of a team or a dedicated group of individuals and has at least 6 direct reports.  2) In addition to a span of control of 6 or more, the individual responsibility involving multiple consistencies such as clients, boards, volunteers, task forces, or others that add breadth of his or her responsibilities.  3) The client must be willing to take a hard look at their own role, authority and most particularly6 their behavior as a leader.

        The student/coach will be guided each step of the way through the coaching process which will include a) contracting with the client; b) engaging in a thorough diagnostic exercise for the client including interviews, observations and a complete 360 feedback cycle, c) analyzing the data, d) feeding the results back to the client, e) engaging the client in problem solving and an action plan designed to help increase the client's effectiveness.

SM 622. Building Effective Organizational Structures: Getting Things Done. (C) Barstow.

This seminar attempts to penetrate many of the formal models of organizational planning, decision making and action to ask how things actually get done. Popular concepts such as participative management, teamwork and networking are often not practiced effectively.  Attempts to bring about such political change in organizations often ignore the fluid, informal structures already in place.  This seminar will explore structures and processes for redesigning an organization and empowering its members to work and manage effectively.  This seminar is built around change projects designed and carried out by each participant over the term.  Each participant will present and lead a discussion of their project during the course.

SM 624. Program Leadership Skills. (M) Staff.

Good program management requires leaders with vision, self-motivation, and an entrepreneurial spirit grounded in sound managements processes.  Program management processes are primarily integrative in that they coordinate the outputs of various projects to derive the desired program outcomes.  A guiding rule for applying program management processes is to ensure that the program manager effectively delegates authority, autonomy, and responsibility for day-to-day management of the projects to the designated project managers, thereby leaving time and energy for stakeholder management in a broader context and at higher, more strategic levels of the enterprise.

        Tools and techniques needed for program management will be reviewed including (1) the assembling of expert judgements from a variety of sources; (2) conducting meetings with stakeholders to prepare for decisions and to develop synergies; (3) using and maintaining organizational process assets such as policies and procedure guidelines and shared knowledge bases; and (4) conducting project reviews at key go/no-go decision points.  Students will be asked to learn about program management activities within their own organizations and to assess their level of productivity and effectiveness. Students from different industries and functions will work in teams to compare and contrast the program management environments they have encountered.

SM 626. Leading the Professional Service Organization. (M) Eldred.

The purpose of this seminar is to (1) Identify the key dilemmas involved in this kind of leadership role; (2) Differentiate between leadership and management in these settings; (3) Explore what different professional backgrounds have in common in these leadership roles; and (4) Develop a data base of common leadership practices in professional service firms, especially as they exemplify the new emphasis of positive psychology.

SM 627. Classics of Organizational Behavior. (C) Barstow.

The purpose of this seminar is to critique the thought and practice of several "big names" in organizational behavior, while establishing the continuing relevance of their work to today's organizations.  Federick Taylor (Scientific Management), The Hawthorne Studies (Human Relations), Kurt Lewin (group Dynamics), Eric Trist (Socio-Technical Systems) and others will be read in their primary sources, giving participants the opportunity to form their own opinion of these classic field studies.

        Participants will read primary sources in the field as well as more recent critical scholarship.  They will then present short papers to the class in the model of an academic conference, followed by discussion.  Participants will debate their own views in this conference atmosphere as if both the founders and their critics were present.  In addition to the readings and discussion, participants will view a taped oral-history interview with Eric Trist and a film of Kurt Lewin's famous experiment on leadership styles.  Each participant will present two brief papers to the class and will submit a longer final paper.

SM 628. Organizational Diagnosis: Diagnostic Strategies for Enhancing Organizational Effectiveness. (C) Kaminstein.

This seminar is designed to help participants learn multiple approaches to diagnosing the complex ways in which issues and/or problems manifest themselves in organizations.  Frequently, when organizations find themselves introuble, i.e., there are rumblings in the system about such things as lack of leadership, poor communication, diminished productivity, low morale, etc., there is a tendency to frame the problem(s) simplistically and/or locate blame in a few difficult individuals or groups.  However, upon closer examination, problematic issues are often found to be symptomatic and/or symbolic of multiple issues within the organization.  This course will help students understand how problems which appear at one level of the system (for example, at the personal or interpersonal level) often represent problems at other levels of the system (e.g., at the group and/or institutional level) or signify a range of inter-related issues.  It will provide students with the theoretical constructs and application skills necessary for identifying and framing problem areas, collecting data, and organizing feedback to client systems.  Real-time examples will inform our discussions as we consider the relationships between diagnosis, organizational reflection and appropriate action.

        Subjects for exploration include differences between high tech and other industry, intellectual property, know how and expertise.

SM 629. Organizational Consulting: Proseminar in Organizational Development. (C) Starr.

This course describes and examines progessional Organization Development (OD) competencies identified by the Academy of Management and professional OD societies.  OD practitioners, theorists, and corporate officers visit class to describe - for example - establishing and managing organizational coaching programs; applying different models in large-scale organization change initiatives; managing change in virtual and global teams; and using change methodologies such as Appreciative Inquiry (a blend of positive psychology and systems thinking) to create idealized development and growth.  MSOD or MPhil students interested in organization consulting and coaching should consider this course as a first step.  Most research, readings and methods of analysis and evaluation are based on assumptions, theories, models and research conducted by psychologists and social scientists from the human relations tradition.

SM 630. Business Process Excellence - From Vision to Reality. (M) Kirchmer.

In the 1990s, organizations started to move from function to process- oriented organizational structures.  The primary goals were to increase customer and market orientation as well as flexibility of enterprises.  Since 2000, an increasing number of organizations have extended their focus from intra-enterprise processes to inter-enterprise business processes.  This shift was considered essential to achieve business process excellence, and to keep and improve competitive advantages.  Indeed, Dell, the computer giant, succeeded because of their process innovation--not because of new or revolutionary products.  Using real-life examples and case studies, this course will describe and discuss ways of moving from function to process oriented organizations.  Change management will be a key topic.  Participants will learn what it means to structure an organization in a process-oriented way, what challenges the realization of such a structure creates, and how challenges can be mastered.  Each participant will write a paper about a potential business process improvement intiative related to their professional experience and will present their initiative case to the class.

SM 631. Strategic Planning and the Process of Implementation and Success. (C) Tomazinis.

Entrepreneurship engenders the notions of innovation, organization, planning ahead, and above all, a determination to do something that has not been done before.  Every successful entrepreneurial enterprise is a realization of strategy and planning.  Participants in this seminar will discuss the techniques necessary to lead an entrepreneurial venture in the public and private sectors and within large and small organizations.

SM 634. Process Improvement Tools and Strategies. (C) Stankard.

This class emphasizes development of hand-on skills for coaching process improvement teams including using the tools of process improvement.  A simulated process improvement project will be run in class that will give students an opportunity to use all of the most common process improvement tools.  Remaining meetings will compare and contrast currently popular process models such as Lean production, Six Sigma,and Just-in-Time production and how they apply in services and the service side of manufacturing.  The deliverableswill be (1) Know-how in the use of process improvement tools, (2) An understanding of the roles of team leaders, team coach, and various team membership roles, and (3) an opportunity to evaluate currently popular methods of process improvement either through readings and field interviews at firms using one or more process improvement methodologies or by picking a process improvement episode within the student's home organization and evaluating it to obtain lessons learned.

SM 635. Organizational Essentials for Leadership. (M) vanMerkensteijn/Choukroun.

Through presentations by expert speakers, case dicussions, and participation in team projects, students will review and evaluate critical issues from across the frames of business, including general; human resource; marketing; information and stakeholder management; leadership; corporate culture; communications; organizational behavior; sales, marketing and public relations; finance and financial reporting; ethics and social responsibility; unions and government relations; and business law.  Each of these elements will be studied in light of changing environmental conditions, including the economy; society; consumer behavior; market trends; regulation; politics, unpredictable events such as 9/11; organizational change; history; and internationalism.

SM 636. 21st Century Leadership Development: Integrating Cultural Influences into Coaching Practice. (C) Reyes.

Coaching has been used to support high-level leadership,to develop high potential talent, to overcome or remediate deficiencies or unproductive behaviors, and to support or manage performance during periods of change.  As the use of organizational coaching has grown over the last decade, globalization of the economy has transformed organizational markets, operations, and workforces so that "culture" routinely influences interpersonalgroup and organizational interfaces.  In this context, leadership requires an ability to recognize and leverage the "cultural diversity" inherent in tamwork, communication, collaboration, conflict and change. Coaching, as a leadership development practice, must help leaders grow in their ability to recognize and leverage the national, professional, functional and organizational cultures that influence workforce engagement, productivity, and satisfaction and innovation.

        This course is intended for students with an interest in culturally complex leadership and organizational development.  This course had a dual purpose. First, through reading, class discussion and written reflection, the course will enhance student understanding of coaching models, methods, and cases informed by cross-cultural psychology, intercultural communication, anthropology and international business disciplines.  Secondly, through guided practice, students will develop their skills in coaching across cultural differences.  Studnets will coach one another through a self- assessment, development planning process and initial movement toward their objectives using a global scorecard using Rosinski's global coaching process as one illustrative example of this kind of coaching.

SM 637. Coaching and Facilitating Teams. (C) Wilkinsky.

Highly productive teams plan well and execute against that plan.  These teams have effective leadership which recognizes and fosters the development of the skills of the team's members.  Tasks are accomplished in a cooperative and participative environment.  Accomplishments are recognized and, as appropriate, celebrated.  Failures and disappointments are explored so that the lessons can be used to succeed in the future.  Sadly, not all teams and work groups fit the above description.  Too often goals are not met, participation is uneven, finger-pointing, CYA, and lack of motivation permeate the team.

        In this course, we will explore the roles and functions of the coach and facilitator of organizational teams.  This highly participative course will use both theory and practice to determine how to help teams avoid limiting pitfalls and increase their opportunity to become highly productive in the accomplishment of tasks and the professional and personal development of people.

SM 638. Evaluation of Plans and Programs of Organizations. (M) Tomazinis.

The purpose of this seminar is to introduce, explore and analyze the process of evaluation of plans, projects, programs, and the operations of organizations in the private and the public sectors.  Evaluation as an activity has been ackowledged in the field as both vital in the decision making process and as an effort that comes usually too late in the course of routine operations.  (What is the truth?) Evaluators have also been confronted with an increased array of questions and responsibilities.  In the 1980s and 1990s, the task of evaluation took added significance when foreign competition entered the private sector in large scale and new, threatening trends developed.  (What was the cause of the recent economic recession?) The evaluators of many projects and programs have also been confronted by managers and decision makers who have already committed themselves to certain courses of action.

        The seminar will explore situational variations, methodological tools available in each case, procedural courses of action, the responsbilities that confront the various actors, as well as the need to make certain that the results of evaluation are being properly incorporated in the executive decisions in both private and public sector organizations.

SM 639. Project Team Strategy. (M) Adler.

This final course in the concentration offers the students the opportunity to synthesize the knowledge, skill and creativity from the other courses.  Class meetings are not scheduled; however, a faculty advisor will be assigned to each student and team.  Temas or 4 or 5 students from the same industry will integrate competencies learned to creat a written plan/proposal to (1) restructure an existing activity within one of their companies or (2) propose a major new project activity within one of their companies or (3) propose a new venture within their industry.

        The final product will be presented to the class with the sponsor in attendance.  The final grade will reflect an assessment of overall quality by the faculty advisor, value evaluated by the sponsor, and team performance evaluated by each member of the project team.

SM 640. Virtual Forms of Collaboration. (M) Reyes.

In many of today's organizations, the process of improving productivity and performance has become a big business.  Quite apart from the myriad internal studies, task forces, reorganization efforts, re-engineering projects, and the like, there are countless external vendors and consultants who provide productivity and performance products and services to organizations of all types.  Perhaps the best known are Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) and Business Process Engineering (BPE) which have been developed to tackle the needs for broader-scale improvements.  The adoption of Enterprise-wide Resource Planning (ERP) systems based on BPE has been a significant development.  Not only does ERP ordinarly constitute a major investment of resources, it requires the adoption of a reconfigured view of the organization and the processes used in its design, structure, and operations.  In this seminar, the rationale for ERP will be discussed in terms of its effects and impacts on productivity and performance in organizations.  In order to illustrate the factors and considerations used in developing ERP systems, examples will be presented which employ SAP's R/3 system and the R/3 "Business Process Reference Models." In order to facilitate the review, additional examples will be presented.

SM 641. The Art and Science of Organizational Coaching. (C) Wilkinsky.

Coaching has become a primary tool for consultants, human resources professionals and administrators interested in promoting and sustaining leadership and executive development, behavioral change, and role transition. This course explores the theory and practices associated with organizational coaching.  We examine and practice the steps of the normative coaching process,the issues and boundaries that affect coaching, and pitfalls to avoid.

        Throughout the course, we will contrast what the theory says and what practitioners in the field have actually experienced.  Major foci include the critical nature of gathering and using data, observation tools, internal versus external coaching, informal versus formal programs, and coaching for development versus for corrective action.  Participants will engage in coaching processes in the classroom and in their own organizations.

SM 642. Allocating Resources: Economic, Technological & Human. (L) Gale.

Setting, monitoring, and controlling organizational plans and their implementation has become increasingly complex in modern organizations. Simple measures of bottom-line profitability by divisions, for example, often mask the processes required for intra-and inter-organizational coordination and effectiveness.  Similarly, standard organization charts depict reporting responsibilities and authorities without tracing either the flow of communications or the financial impacts of change.  As a means for illustrating alternative approaches to the management of organizations, selected models, methods and examples of organizational resource allocation and control will be reviewed, discussed and analyzed.  In addition to the seminar discussions, participants in the course will also be expected to identify, develop, and analyze a resource allocation problem associated with an organziation.  (Typically, the organization selected is one with which the participant is familiar or is interested in creating.) Selected examples of resource allocation strategies will be discussed during the first seminar. Each participant will be expected to prepare a paper on their problem and to make a brief presentation on the methods of analysis employed and the means for implementing the results.

        The seminar will involve working both on individual projects and discussions of approaches and methods for the conceptualization and analysis of resource allocation problems.  As such, the course will combine elements of a seminar and a workshop.  Following the first session (which will cover introductions of the participants, a presentation of the objectives and design of the course,and a review of selected cases), each seminar will be devoted to a review of methods and discussions of the participants' cases.

SM 643. Overcoming Organizational Barriers to Success. (M) Bayney.

This course examines the fundamental raison d'etre of Project Portfolio Management and its relationships with other organizational disciplines.  It is not a course designed to teach individuals how to practice Project, Program or Portfolio Management.  Rather, it is a course designed to place Project Portfolio Management front and center of organizational survival and to educate practitioners on how to create strategies for its long-term survival and institutionalization.  In today's cost cutting and outsourcing environment, organizations are struggling to continue to grow and create value from declining resource constraints, whether human or budgetary in origin. This places a greater level of importance and burden on Project Portfolio Management but, in so doing, serves to threaten the traditional domans of more established functions that have carefully protected their influential territory for countless decades.

SM 644. Srategic Outsourcing. (M) vanMerkensteijn.

This course examines outsourcing from the perspective of corporate effectiveness, staff development, and socio-politics.  We will discuss how to use outsourcing as a strategic and competitive advantage; appropriate planning, implementing and managing a successful outsourcing program; and using outsourcing for downsizing and re-engineering.  We will also consider how to "sell" outsourcing to corporate staff and the external community, and how to survive your own organization's outsourcing decision.  Students will complete projects that will shape future information provided in this course.

SM 647. The Psychology of Conflict and its Resolution. (C) Seltzer.

"What is life like without a good fight?" Conflict (expressed or unexpressed) is a fact of organizational life.  It ocurs between individuals and within and between groups and departments.  It has both positive and negative purposes and ramifications.  It can stimulate development and progress or retard it. This seminar examines psychological and social dynamics which are connected to conflict: e.g., power, leadership, personal needs, role, communication, etc., and looks at the situations and personalities involved.  Readings also include theories of conflict and approaches to conflict resolution.  Examples will be drawn from actual participant experience in a workshop experience.  A background in psychology is not a requirement.

SM 648. Ethics and Leadership. (C) Fielder.

While Hitler and Gandhi were both successful leaders, Gandhi was a good leader,working for ethical goals and using ethical means.  As we know from recent corporate scandals, leaders in contemporary organizations often encounter serious conflicts between their ethical responsibilities and the demands and culture of their organization.  How these conflicts are resolved defines who we are, what we stand for, and what we won't stand for, so it is important to deal with them effectively.

        This course will examine significant questions of organization ethics and leadership.  To clarify these questions and to seek appropriate solutions, we will use readings and case studies.  The readings will analyze the major issues in ethical leadership, with particular attention paid to the organizational dynamics that shape the opportunities and constraints of the decision makers.  They are drawn from sociology, history, health care, and contemporary accounts of ethical problems in organizations.  The case studies, which apply to a wide range of organizations, issues and circumstances, will emphasize class discussion so that individual expertise and experience can deepen participants' understanding.

SM 651. Group and Team Dynamics. (M) Kamenstein.

SM 652. Impact of Chess, Literature and Film on Organizational Dynamics. (M) Zubarev.

In this course we present pragmatic reasons that support greater understanding and use of literature and art in organizational decision making and problem solving.  We examine how styles and methods of decision making,as represented in the game of chess and as presented in selected works of literature and cinema,can be applied to help solve complicated organizational problems and to improve management interactions.  Our analysis will be informed by the contemporary theoretical tools elaborated by the late Dr.  Aron Katsenelinboigen, Professor or Operations and Information Management in the Wharton School.

SM 653. Coaching Others to Manage Conflict. (C) Napier.

Not a day goes by when you or I or a person we are coaching is not faced with some tantalizing, challenging conflict.  It may be with someone we love, a conflict in a team, a struggle between two direct reports, a difference with out boss or the challenge of a difficult, perhaps aggresive person in a meeting we facilitate.  The problem is not that there is a conflict.  The problem is that most of us have a very thin, often inadequate repertoire of responses to the conflicts that engage us on a daily basis.  The result is that all too often we are predictable in our responses.  Thus, if we take these same limited skills and attempt to provide them to a client in our role as a coach, the consequences will more than likely be similar.

        This course is about expanding your repertoire of responses to a wide array of conflict situations.  In the process, you will increase your understanding of the theoretical constructs that underlie successful conflict management.  Not only will your strategies for managing a variety of conflicts expand, but you will be better able to design unique responses that relate to the particular situation with which your client is faced.  How you translate these ideas to your clients and, in the process, provide them the confidence to use them, willbe a central theme throughout the course.  There is an attempt to provide a balance between intellectual theory and the skills and strategies necessary for application.

SM 654. Business Growth Strategies and Successful Implementation. (C) vanMerkensteijn.

What is your company's strategy for growth?  This seminar is a chance to examine and critique your organization's plans to grow as well as the opportunity to develop a business growth strategy and a plan for implementation.  For more than a decade, American organizations have heralded the strategies of downsizing, reengineering, and reorganization.  There have been countless articles, wrokshops and seminars which have both championed and challenged the use of these "cost-side" strategies.  Now it is time to look at the revenue side to grow the business.  Why grow the business?  How can these strategies be developed, and most importantly, how can these strategies be implemented to increase the potential for success?  How should companies organize given the strategies selected?  Should consultants be used in any of these areas?  If so, what criteria should be used to select the consultant and how can success be measured?  This seminar will also include an analysis of the potential value--and the pitfalls--of strategic alliances as a strategy for strengthening and growing the business.  Participants will develop an understanding of what types of strategic alliances exist, the organizational issues related to each type, and when each would be an appropriate choice given the organization's stage of development and culture.

        Factors affecting the implementation of the growth strategy will be considered.These include core competencies, culture, and structure.

SM 655. Using the Political Process to Effect Organizational Change. (C) Gale.

At one time or another, each of us has said something like, "I know what to do to make some really effective changes in this organization, but the politics make it almost impossible to get anything done." The sense is that although there are changes that should be made to improve organizational performance, politics (internal, external, or governmental) simply obstructs our ability to make a difference.  Frustrations notwithstanding, politics is anything but an impediment; it is the art and science of coordinating individuals, departments, management, markets - the entire organizational environment - to effect a balance of objectives and methods.  This seminar will discuss the use of politics to promote effective change within organizations.  After reviewing the theory or organizations and the roles that political processes play in communications and decision-making, a series of cases will be presented that illustrate the contexts and conditions for effective political coordination. Both private and public sector examples will be employed.  Seminar participants will be required to present a case study of organizational politics and demonstrate ways in which it can be used as an effective agent of change.

SM 657. Understanding and Preventing Organizational Deviance. (C) Dunning.

September 11, 2001, has made us all more aware of the many ways in which organizations can manipulate the behavior of their members.  Some of them are commonplace, such as the Dynamics briefcases we give you to carry or the hats we hope you wear, as a way of building spirit and loyalty.  Some of these practices, however, put people in uncomfortable positions: ethical questions are raised and difficult decision must be made.  This seminar will explore the sorts of organizational practices that encourage members and employees to engage in unethical, unprofessional, or even violent behavior.  Studies of religious cults and terrorist organizations will be utilized to forge an understanding of when the use of symbols and their meanings to shape behavior becomes invasive and unethical.  The objective of the course is to enable participants to understand and to prevent deviant behavior in organizations.

SM 660. Mistakes and Errors, Accidents and Disasters. (C) Bosk.

The purpose of DYNM 660 is to provide a basic understanding of some rather ubiquitous social phenomena: mistakes, errors, accidents, and disasters.  We will look at these misfirings across a number of institutional domains: aviation, nuclear power plants, and medicine.  Our goal is to understand how organizations "think" about these phenomena, how they develop strategies of prevention, how these strategies of prevention create new vulnerabilities to different sorts of mishaps, how organizations respond when things do go awry, and how they plan for disasters.

        At the same time we will be concerned with certain tensions in the sociological view of accidents, errors, mistakes and disasters at the organizational level and at the level of the individual.  Errors, accidents, mistakes and disasters are embedded in organizational complexities; as such, they are no one's fault.  At the same time, as we seek explanations for these adverse events, we seek out whom to blame and whom to punish.  We will explore throughout the semester the tension between a view that sees adverse events as the result of flawed organizational processes versus a view that sees these events as a result of flawed individuals.

SM 661. Organizational Culture Change: Theory and Practice. (C) Vanderslice.

The importance of organizational culture in defining organizations, and, often, in creating a competitive edge, has been regaining attention during the past few years.  One of the central questions in the organizational culture debate is whether a culture, particularly of a large organization, really can be changed significantly.  This course will begin by engaging the debate about how to define organizational culture and what key factors determine culture. We will explore different models of categorizing cultures and discuss the extent to which culture is really related to performance and what factors may modify the culture/performance relationship.  We will also examine different methods of diagnosing cultures.  During this section of the course we will describe, compare and contrast the cultures of different organizations-both those of the class participants and those of other organizations.  We will begin the second section of the course by examining both the theoretical and applied literature on organizational culture change.

        After developing a generic framework for the culture change process, we will read cases describing culture change efforts and hear from guest speakers who will discuss specific culture change efforts, successful and not.  This section of the course will introduce students to specific organizational intervention strategies that can be used to facilitate culture change.  In particular, we will discuss traditional top-down change strategies, Real Time Strategic Change, Appreciative Inquiry, and a customized approach to culture change in mergers and acquisitions.  During the last section of the course, the class will discuss individual, personal change management as a major factor in successful organizational change; other factors that are essential in most successful culture change efforts; barriers that can be expected; predictable but unintended side-effects of culture change efforts; and strategies for overcoming barriers and managing side effects.  Finally, students in this class will apply what they have learned about organizational culture change to their own organizations.

SM 662. Effective Leadership and Effective Entrepreneurship. (C) Keech.

This course is designed to provide an understanding of the nature of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial organizations in today's economy with emphasis on issues related to the management , strategies for, and financing of entrepreneurial ventures.  While attention will be focused on problems related to early-stage ventures, the course will also consider the issue of entrepreneurship in the management of larger, established companies.  We will examine the role of the chief executive and the board of directors in providing and directing entrepreneurship in large organizations and will emphasize issues such as strategy development and crisis management as part of the entrepreneurial management process.

SM 663. Psychology of Identity. (M) Seltzer.

What relevance does a positive sense of identity have to workplace productivity, comfort, retention, promotion, effectiveness, power, cooperation and competition?  This seminar will examine the "who" in "who am I?" in the workplace and the "who" in "who are the others?" as well as the context of "work" and "workplace" as it affects a positive sense of identity and the relationship to success in the workplace.  Readings will explore the theoretical origins of identity as well as the controversy of whether identity is stable and consistent, or whether the "situation" or the role one occupies at the workplace alters identity.  Among topics studied through class readings and individual interest assignments will be basic attributes such as gender, age, and race.  The class will consider how these attributes impact one's own sense of identity as well as how well the identities of co-workers, subordinates, superiors and others are understood.  During the course of the semester, questions like "are identity and personality one and the same thing?" and "what is the relationship between identity and character?" will be explored.  Individual and small-group projects and papers of interest to the class will be assigned.

SM 664. Organizational Culture and Learning. (C) Barstow.

What is organizational culture?  What is organizational learning?  How do organizations learn effectively and change their culture?  A learning organization is skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge (Garvin, 1993). According to Ray Stata, Chairman of Analog Devices, "The rate at which individuals and organizations learn may become the only sustainable competitive advantage." However we define and prioritize organizational learning, we must still struggle with how to do it.  This is a tougher question.  The thesis of this seminar is that an enriched understanding of culture can enhance organizational learning.  Participants will explore the concept of culture, study the work of Chris Argyris, and discover practices and behaviors that promote organizational learning and culture change.  The objective of this seminar is to help participants get beyond highly abstract philosophy and develop a deeper understanding and useful skills based on these concepts.

SM 667. Complexity, Sustainability and Systems Thinking. (C) Barstow.

This course focuses on an understanding of complexity, sustainability, and systems thinking and explores how these concepts and principles apply to organizations.

SM 668. Organizational Ethics and Integrity. (C) Fielder.

Recent scandals in business organizations have focused on individuals who made unethical and unlawful decisions.  Equally, if not more important, is the role of ethically dysfunctional organizations which encourage unethical behavior. Integrity, not just in the narrow sense of being honest, but in the broader sense of adhering to ethical principles and seeking socially responsible goals, applies to organizations as well as individuals.  Creating and sustaining organizational integrity is essential for both organizations and the people who work there to flourish and reach their full potential. Research has confirmed that people do their best work in an atmosphere of trust, responsibility and worthy organizational goals.

        In this course we will examine cases and causes of failures of organizational integrity; study examples of how organizations create and sustain integrity; and apply these approcahes to a range of actual case studies taken from health care, commerce, and non-profit organizations.  The course will emphasize class discussion so that contributions from the individual expertise and experience of the participants can deepen our understanding of these complex ethical and organizational issues.

SM 669. Leadership in Organizations: Private and Public, Personal and Professional. (C) Larkin.

The most valuable resource of any organization is the people who work there; the human capital, if you will.  This seminar will explore the issues of the leadership of this human capital to meet the goals of the organization and the personal and professional goals of the people in the organization.  We will read about and discuss issues such as: Crisis Periods of Leadership, Enhancing One's Leadership Capability, Conflicts Between the Organization's Leadership and One's Personal Leadership, and Strategies for Success in Leadership Positions.  Additional themes of power, authority and control will be examined in terms of the organization and the individual.

        The seminar requires a considerable degree of participation from the students. Our explorations of leadership both begin and end with each of us individually.  Therefore, the seminar will reflect both our common readings and our mutually uncommon (individual) lives as we all negotiate this interesting and challenging personal and professional journey.