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Argosy University COURSE SYLLABUS MGT401 Management Skills and Practice

Faculty Information Faculty Name: Marla V. Brady Campus: Chicago Contact Information: 312-305-4524 Office Hours: Call for appointment Short Faculty Bio: B.A. Economics, Northwestern University; MBA Management, Loyola University Chicago: Financial Advisor with experience in Human Resources, Consulting and Management

Course description: Current and significant issues in management are examined. Students will examine the formal and informal functions of organizations, as well as basic management theories and principles associated with current business practices.

Course Pre-requisites: None

Required Textbook:

Daft, Richard L. & Marcic, Dorothy. (2008). Understanding management (6/ed.). South- Western Educational Publishing. ISBN: 9780324568387

Course length: 7.5 Weeks

Contact Hours: 45 Hours

Credit Value: 3.0

Program Outcomes:

1. Communication 1.1 Communicate business concepts effectively, both written and orally appropriate to the audience 2. Team 2.1 Define the attributes of an effective team member and leader and the characteristics of an effective team in reaching specific business goals 3. Cognitive 3.1 Problem Solving – Given a business problem, select and defend a business solution chosen from specific alternatives 3.2 Information Literacy – Given a business research question, access information from a variety of sources, select appropriate sources to respond to a business question 4. Analysis/Application 4.1 Integration – Describe the interrelationship of the functional business areas of statistics, accounting, operations, finance, marketing, and strategy 5. Ethics/Diversity

5.1 Diversity – Identify the issues and challenges related to diversity in current business organizations 5.2 Ethics – Identify the issues and challenges related to ethics in current business organizations

Course Objectives:

1. Change: Work individually and in teams to gather information to manage organizational change in today’s global environment. (Program Outcomes 2, 3, 4 & 7)

a) Describe & understand the transition to the new workplace and the competencies needed to deal with diversity, globalization and rapid change. b) Identify & interpret the different types of change and the change process associated with each type. c) Identify external and internal forces for change, and the role of change agents. d) Understand resistance to change and utilize techniques to overcome it.

2. Organizational behavior and communication: Work individually and in teams to gather information to apply organizational behavior principles and techniques to communicate effectively. (Program Outcomes 1, 2 & 4)

a) Define corporate culture and understand how it relates to the environment. b) Explain the role of human resource management and describe how organizations develop an effective workforce through training and development. c) Identify the need for, and methods of achieving changes in corporate culture. d) Recognize the difference between formal and informal organizational communication and the importance of each in effective management. e) Demonstrate the communication process and methods; understand barriers to effective communication and the techniques to overcome these barriers.

3. Leading: Work individually and in teams to gather information to manage using an effective and ethical leadership style. (Program Outcomes 2, 3, 4 & 6)

a) Define ethics and describe how individual and organizational factors shape ethical decision-making. b) Describe corporate social responsibility and how to evaluate it. c) Classify the five components of emotional intelligence and explain why they are important for managers. d) Analyze leadership and identify personal characteristics associated with effective leaders. e) Identify the sources of power and how each causes different subordinate behavior. f) Demonstrate an understanding of motivation and of the difference between current approaches and traditional approaches.

4. Planning: Work individually and in teams to gather information to conduct a SWOT analysis to determine appropriate mission and goals for the organization. (Program Outcomes 2, 3, 4 & 5)

a) Define organizational mission and demonstrate how it influences goal setting and planning. b) Describe the characteristics of effective goals. c) Explain the importance of the three stages of crisis management planning. d) Discuss strategic planning and employ SWOT analysis. e) Identify the six steps used in managerial decision-making. f) Distinguish between the four personal decision-making styles used by managers. g) Define techniques for improving decision-making in the current work environment. h) Summarize the importance of using information technology in business and the need for quality information.

5. Organizing: Work individually and in teams to gather information to participate in organizational design and restructuring. (Program Outcomes 2, 3, 4, 7 & 5)

a) Manipulate components of organizational structure such as specialization, chain of command, centralization and decentralization, span of control, and line and staff functions. b) Describe the mechanisms for achieving coordination. c) Identify the different types of teams and the roles within teams. d) Discuss how teams facilitate employee involvement. e) Recognize the stages of team development. f) Explain the relationship between team cohesiveness, norms, and performance. g) Recognize causes of conflict and ways to reduce it.

6. Controlling: Work individually and in teams to gather information to implement control systems that will support organizational goals. (Program Outcomes 2, 3 & 4) a) Describe the four step control process and its importance to an organization. b) Identify the qualities of an effective control system and identify contingency factors. c) Define productivity and discuss the reasons for, and the methods of, productivity improvement. d) Describe the concept of quality management and the techniques used to achieve it.

7. Solutions Focused Plan: Work individually and in teams to develop a solutions focused plan to manage the timely and effective implementation of problem solutions. (Program Outcomes 1-7) a) Systematically evaluate solutions for relevancy to all stakeholders. b) Apply methods to compare actual outcome with desired outcome. c) Develop method to monitor and adjust solutions to ensure their effectiveness over time.

Assignment Table

Topics Readings Assignments 1  The Chapters 1 & 7 You are the office manager in a busy managerial role branch of a marketing research firm  Diff for the last three years. Over the erent functions years as the company has in management successfully grown; your customer service department has taken on many other responsibilities such as consumer surveying, phone sales, publications, and billing.

You have just completed your BA degree and are ready for new challenges. You have an idea about how to reorganize the office functions into two departments, and you would like to manage the functions that are phone-based.

Write a two- to three-page Microsoft Word document to the area manager explaining your proposal. Discuss the structure you will choose, the specialization, the chain of command, and other relevant features of the proposed change. Explain the benefits and the costs of hiring, training, and any other features associated with the implementation of your proposal.

Name your file: AU_MGT401_M6_A2_LastName_Fi rstInitial.doc

2 Decision Making Chapter 6 Compare the classical,  Manager administrative, and political models of decision making managerial decision making. Which  Group decision is more relevant for today’s business making environment? Why? Support your  Ethics in answer with reasons and examples. business 3  Env Chapters 3 & 5 You are a part of the planning team ironmental for Sweet Things Candy Company. scanning From its inception five years earlier,  Env this company has grown into a well-

ironmental recognized regional brand. The planning president has a vision of expanding throughout the Western United States and to quadruple sales within five years.

The president has asked you to draft a new mission statement and identify specific goals to execute the new corporate vision. Create your plans in a two- page Microsoft Word document. In addition include the reasons and impact of your plans.

4  The Chapters 5, 6, 7 & 15 A regional communications company controlling is expanding quickly and, therefore, functions of an needs new first-line managers. The organization company would like to fill some of  The these positions from within. The organizing and challenge is that many entry-level planning employees do not have the functions of an necessary business background to organization handle the management responsibilities.

As the assistant director of training and development, it is your job to design a training segment to be presented at each weekly meeting. The first topic is Budgeting.

Prepare a five- to six-slide PowerPoint presentation on “Budgetary Control.” Start by explaining what is budgeting. Explain the differences between expense, revenue, cash, and capital budgets. The training that you develop should be made keeping in mind that some newly hired employees may not be familiar with management jargon.

Name your file: AU_MGT401_M7_A3_LastName_Fi

rstInitial.doc

5 Communication Chapters 9 & 10 You assist the National Sales  Co Manager in the Communications mmunication Office of a within medium-sized retail chain. A new organizations sales commission plan is going to be  Obs launched soon. It is expected that tacles this new plan will be well received  Co after it is understood by the sales mmunication associates. The senior sales Optimization manager has asked you to develop a communication strategy to deliver the message. The complete details have not yet been finalized. The new plan, however, eliminates the flat 7 percent commission on all sales and replaces it with a three-tiered plan of 5 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent commission based on yet-to-be- determined sales levels. The overall potential in the new plan is greater than that of the old plan, particularly for ambitious salespersons.

Write a one-page e-mail message in Microsoft Word to the senior manager on what you think should be the formal and informal channels employed to disseminate the information. In addition, write a circular to the field announcing that a new plan will be unveiled in a month. The purpose of the circular is to generate interest and a positive reaction.

6 "What motivates Chapters 12 & 14 You have been hired by the owner of people to a chain of fast food restaurants to accomplish tasks develop a new reward program for effectively and the employees. The owner is efficiently in an particularly concerned about the organization?" performance of the employees during

the lunch and dinner hours. Customers have complained that the service is too slow. The employees have been trained, and they perform their jobs competently. They, however, do not increase their productivity to meet the demands of peak business.

The owner asks you to create a reward system, which will motivate the employees to change their behavior and reinforce the new behavior. Write a one- to two-page recommendation in Microsoft Word to the owner. Include a rationale for your recommendation.

7  Lea Chapters 10, 13 , 14 You are the area manager of a soft dership & 15 drinks distribution company. One of  The your trainees confides in you that a culture of an senior salesperson has been offering organization monetary gifts to his customers.  Cult Such behavior is in violation of the ure and company policy. You take disciplinary Communication action against the salesperson, but you realize that there is a need to remind all employees of the standards.

Compose a one- to two-page memo in Microsoft Word to be sent as an e- mail to all sales personnel restating the company policy.

In addition write a one- to two-page e-mail message in Microsoft Word to the area HR head describing:

 The event  The actions that you took

8 Human Resources Chapters 8 & 9 Assignment: Management You are a human resources (HR) manager in a large accounting firm. The vice president (VP) of HR has asked you to look into the idea of implementing a 360-degree feedback program for all executives. The VP is a strong advocate of this review process.

When you informally talk to a few employees about the feedback program, you receive mixed reactions. Of the people you talk to 15 percent seem excited about the idea while 70 percent are indifferent to it. The remaining 15 percent are averse to the idea. They feel that:

1. Giving negative feedback to their supervisors would negatively impact their performance reviews.

2. Employees would never give a “true feedback.”

3. Supervisors would not positively receive the feedback given to them by their subordinates.

In the next meeting you are scheduled to give a presentation to the VP of HR. The presentation will include the preliminary analysis and the action plan to effectively implement the feedback program. Create the presentation of five to six slides in Microsoft PowerPoint. Cover the following points:

 Why is the change needed in the first place?  What factors would affect this change?  Who would be the change agents?  Who would resist the change and why?

 What are the action points to overcome the resistance?

Create your presentation of five-six- slides in Microsoft PowerPoint

Course Project

Scenario Description Atlanta Pharmaceutical Company started 15 years ago in Atlanta, Georgia. A small company, it specialized in the manufacture of products in the field of cardiac medicine. Over the next 10 years the company purchased three additional pharmaceutical manufacturers, one each in the cities of Chicago (Chicago Pharmaceutical – generic drugs), Boston (Boston Pharmaceutical- (OTC over the counter drugs)), and Los Angeles (Los Angeles Pharmaceutical- cancer treatments). A holding company called U.S. Pharmaceuticals was created to oversee the operations. The name was selected to reflect the company’s growing national orientation.

Each subsidiary runs completely autonomously, having its own sales and marketing, operations, finance, research and development, and human resources departments. The president of each division is also a corporate Vice President in U.S. Pharmaceuticals.

Currently, U.S. Pharmaceuticals is in the final stages of purchasing a pharmaceutical distribution company located in London with branches in Hong Kong and Buenos Aires. Once the purchase is finalized, the goal is to restructure the four subsidiaries and the newly acquired company into one organization in order to create efficiencies. It has not been decided what the new structure is but it must eliminate redundancies in operations and reduce operational expenses while allowing for greater market penetration in the United States and abroad.

Corporate headquarters is optimistic about the new opportunities resulting from this latest purchase and the pending reorganization. However, they are aware that the changes may face negative reactions from field employees and managers, especially in light of the potential downsizing that may occur. It is imperative that the reorganization be well planned and executed. Communication is a key in the successful development and implementation of the reorganization plan.

Role of Student in Scenario This reorganization is expected to create new leadership opportunities for talented employees. A select group of employees from across the organization has been identified for career development. These individuals will play an integral role in the redesign of the organization. They have been selected to participate in an innovative “mentor led development project”.

Students will be assigned to the Development Team and they will work with these team members throughout the course on tasks that are presented weekly as issues/problems that the organization needs their input on. The problems/issues will relate directly to the course material they will be studying each week.

The project will enable them to capitalize on existing skills while learning new ones and to practice these skills by addressing issues and problems that arise during the restructuring. Students will “problem solve” issues that arise in the organization’s reorganization and will conclude their Team work with a plan for implementing solutions to the problems they encounter during the project. The tasks this “Development Team” will be responsible for are:

1. Creating a new mission statement. 2. Determining how to keep communication channels open during the restructuring. 3. Identifying and applying appropriate leadership styles for the transition. 4. Addressing human resource issues that arise during the transition. 5. Identifying change factors and the techniques needed to overcome resistance to change. 6. Identifying the areas of greatest opportunity and identifying areas/departments to eliminate in the newly restructured organization. 7. Developing guidelines for new compensation package. 8. Developing a plan for implementing the solutions to the problems.

Note: The attached document contains profiles of the various U.S. Pharmaceutical companies.

Scenario MGT401.doc

Grading Criteria

Grading Scale Grading requirements

A 100 – 93 Attendance/participation 25% A- 92 – 90 Weekly Assignments 20% Final paper 35% B+ 89 – 88 Optional 10% B 87 – 83 Optional 10% B- 82 – 80 100% C+ 79 – 78 C 77 – 73 C- 72 – 70 D+ 69 – 68 D 67 – 63 D- 62 – 60 F 59 and below

Library All resources in Argosy University’s online collection are available through the Internet. The campus librarian will provide students with links, user IDs, and passwords.

Library Resources: Argosy University’s core online collection features nearly 21,000 full- text journals and 23,000 electronic books and other content covering all academic subject areas including Business & Economics, Career & General Education, Computers, Engineering & Applied Science, Humanities, Science, Medicine & Allied Health, and Social & Behavior Sciences. Many titles are directly accessible through the Online Public Access Catalog at http://library.argosy.edu. Detailed descriptions of online resources are located at http://library.argosy.edu/libweb/resources/

In addition to online resources, Argosy University’s onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials searchable in the Online Public Access Catalog. Catalog searching is easily limited to individual campus collections. Alternatively, students can search combined collections of all Argosy University Libraries. Students are encouraged to seek research and reference assistance from campus librarians.

Information Literacy: Argosy University’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach students fundamental and transferable research skills. The tutorial consists of five modules where students learn to select sources appropriate for academic-level research, search periodical indexes and search engines, and evaluate and cite information. In the tutorial, students study concepts and practice them through interactions. At the conclusion of each module, they can test their comprehension and receive immediate feedback. Each module takes less than 20 minutes to complete. Please view the tutorial at http://library.argosy.edu/infolit/

Academic Policies

Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: In an effort to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity during the learning process, Argosy University requires that the submission of all course assignments represent the original work produced by that student. All sources must be documented through normal scholarly references/citations and all work must be submitted using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition (2001). Washington DC: American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please refer to Appendix A in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition for thesis and paper format. Students are encouraged to purchase this manual (required in some courses) and become familiar with its content as well as consult the Argosy University catalog for further information regarding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

Scholarly writing: The faculty at Argosy University is dedicated to providing a learning environment that supports scholarly and ethical writing, free from academic dishonesty and plagiarism. This includes the proper and appropriate referencing of all sources. You may be asked to submit your course assignments through “Turnitin,” (www.turnitin.com), an online resource established to help educators develop writing/research skills and detect potential cases of academic dishonesty. Turnitin compares submitted papers to billions of pages of content and provides a comparison report to your instructor. This comparison detects papers that share common information and duplicative language.

Americans with Disabilities Act Policy

It is the policy of Argosy University to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student with disabilities needs accommodations, the student must notify the Director of Student Services. Procedures for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodations will be provided to the student upon request.

Students will be notified by the Director of Student Services when each request for accommodation is approved or denied in writing via a designated form. To receive accommodation in class, it is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her discretion) to the instructor. In an effort to protect student privacy, the Department of Student Services will not discuss the accommodation needs of any student with instructors. Faculty may not make accommodations for individuals who have not been approved in this manner.

The Argosy University Statement Regarding Diversity

Argosy University prepares students to serve populations with diverse social, ethnic, economic, and educational experiences. Both the academic and training curricula are designed to provide an environment in which students can develop the skills and attitudes essential to working with people from a wide range of backgrounds.