Course Syllabus

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Please View and Read the Full version of the syllabus.

Instructor Information

Instructor Name:

Dr. Scott Boyar

Office Location:

CSB 385 (virtual or by appointment)

Office Hours:

Virtual, by appointment

Office Phone:

205-975-5490—Always follow-up with an chat msg

Chat:

MS Teams chat

Course schedule

MG 302 Course Schedule

 

Teaching Assistant:

Ceralyn Staples

Chat:

MS Teams chat

Copyright notice. "Course lectures and materials, including power point presentations, tests, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own use. You may not allow others to reproduce or distribute lecture notes and course materials publicly whether or not a fee is charged without my express written consent.” Uploading material to Course Hero or any other website is a violation of the copyright.

Communication

  • MS Teams General Channels: There are various channels within our MS Teams Class. Please post questions to the appropriate channel. However, please review current threads to be sure your question hasn’t been asked and answered.
  • Instructor: For questions or comments that need to be directed to the instructor, contact the instructor using MS Teams Chat (if appropriate, cc the TA).
  • Teaching Assistant: For questions regarding grades, Canvas, or assignments contact the TA using MS Teams Chat.
  • Please expect a response from us within 24 hours on weekdays.
  • If you want us to respond to a specific conversation in MS Teams, please tag us.
  • Note: All assignments are submitted through Canvas and not through email.

Course Clock: The class will use central standard time for all scheduled due dates.

Course Purpose

This is an introductory management course examining the theories of organizational structures, practices, and behaviors, and the effective leadership and management of organizations. Emphasis on management principles including leadership, traditional and virtual teams, and strategies of organization management in a dynamic environment; and, as affected by the interaction of environmental factors and human resources using the technique of applied social and management sciences. Students complete individual written assignments and work in teams to complete team assignments encouraging collaboration. Team assignments will also be used to foster development.

Course Objectives

Upon the completion of this course, you will be able to:

  1. Identify management principles that include interrelationship between management roles and skills across the core functions of management.
  2. Identify the interactions between the environment, technology, legal-political, socio-cultural, economic, and task environments in which organizations operate in order to achieve high performance.
  3. Identify the approaches by which people are developed through human resource management, leadership, motivation, and teamwork theories and how individual differences may influence various approaches.
  4. Identify the ethical dilemmas faced by managers and the social responsibilities of businesses.
  5. Identify and discuss managerial decision making, organizational strategies, and strategic planning along with their relationship to environmental and innovation.
  6. Apply effective communication and teamwork to achieve team goals.

Prerequisites and Corequisites: None.

Required Texts or Materials

  1. Internet Access/Technology: You should have a reliable Internet access. All course material will be posted on-line and all assignments, quizzes, and exams will be administered on-line. Student need access to a reliable and up-to-date computer, webcam, and microphone. 
  2. Required text/bundle: Understanding Management, 12th Edition with Mindtap Code by Richard Daft and Dorothy Marcic (2023). Cengage Publishing: 1 term Instant Access ISBN: 9780357716915

To enhance your learning experience and provide affordable access to the right course material, this course is part of an inclusive access model called First Day. You can easily access the required materials for this course at a discounted price and benefit from single sign-on access with no codes required in Canvas.

  • UAB will bill you at the discounted price as a course charge for this course. The charge should show as Book Charges First Dayon the student’s account in Banner. 
  • It is NOT recommended that students Opt-Out,as these materials are required to complete the course. You can choose to Opt-Out on the first day of class, but you will be responsible for purchasing your course materials at the full retail price.

Customer Care Contact Information

Course Presentation

Most materials are provided in Canvas. It is organized into 12 learning modules, and each focusing on a topic(s). Each module in Canvas will include a Learning Overview (to orient you to the topic under investigation), Learning Objectives (to describe what you will be able to do after successfully completing the module), and various activities to learn the material and assessments to demonstrate your mastery of the learning objectives.

Assessment and Grading

Assessment

Percentage

Exam 1 (proctored)

15%

Exam 2 (proctored)

20%

Exam 3 (proctored)

20%

Team-related Assignments*

10%

Team Written Report

5%

Team Presentations

5%

Quizzes (Lecture and MindTap)

15%

Participation in MS Teams (online class)

10%

Participation in MS Teams (face-to-face class)

5%

Class Attendance (face-to-face class)

5%

Total

100%

* Includes team info sharing activity using GoReact (worth 50 points), team charter, peer presentation feedback using GoReact (individually and worth 50 points), and peer-evaluations (one for team charter and one for team written report/presentation (worth 50 points each)).

Note 1. We will work to provide grades and feedback as quickly as possible. For most assignments, the grades/feedback will be posted within 3-5 days. However, the larger team assignments may take about a week for us to grade. All quizzes and exam grades will be immediately available in the gradebook.

Note 2. MS Teams polls will have varying opening and closing dates each week to keep the discussion moving. Answers to the knowledge check polls will be posted once they close. Most other polls will have the class summary information provided immediately.

Grading Scale: A = 89.45-100%; B = 79.45-89.44%; C = 69.45-79.44%; D = 59.45-69.44%; F = 0-59.44%

Expectation

Expect to dedicate at least 12 hours weekly. If you do not have this amount of time available in your schedule, we would highly recommend taking it during another term. To be successful, we recommend the following:

  1. Treat the lecture videos like a traditional lecture and take notes. You will need to review these notes before quizzes and exams.
  2. Read the chapters carefully; they are well-written and up-to-day. Take notes while you read each chapter. The chapter PowerPoint are provided to aid with note taking.
  3. Work on this class daily. Do not wait until the due date to complete assignments. If you wait until the last minute, you will be focused on completing the assignment on time and not on learning and understanding. You should watch the lectures and complete quizzes in an environment where you are not rushed. You may need time to re-watch videos before taking the quiz.
  4. Always complete old material before starting new material.
  5. Work ahead. Try to get a few days ahead early on in the course. Doing this will give you some flexibility if something comes up and you can't complete an assignment/activity. It also will provide a few extra days to study before the exam.
  6. Actively engage in MS Teams.
    • Students are expected to log in regularly to view/acknowledge announcements (this is an easy way to earn points). This is required.
    • Students are expected to engage in some of the polls, debates, discussions, and so forth in MS Teams. While students are not expected to participate in every activity posted, students can choose the ones that they find most interesting. There will be enough options to ensure students can earn points throughout the term.
    • Students are not expected to complete every activity or read every post (Except those from the instructor or TA, but we will tag everyone if you need to see it). So, if you are tagged, please check those posts for important information.
    • Please note that participation grades are calculated four times during the term, so be sure to purchase these by their due dates. And, be sure to complete some of the MS Teams activities regularly to have enough points to purchase MS Teams participation points (grades). It is very easy to earn the 5 points to purchase these (e.g., acknowledge announcements, complete a couple of polls). 
    • Special note. The course is designed to allow students to participate at different levels of engagement in MS Teams. Some will engage at a high level and participate in most MS Teams activities and, as a result, earn the most ClassCred points. Others may only want to participate at the required minimum level (earn enough points to purchase the participation grade. However, if you engage at a moderate level throughout the term (not just at the end of the semester), then you will likely have ample extra points to purchase bonus points when they are released throughout the semester. 
  7. Attend class regularly (face-to-face sections only)—see attendance policy below.

MS Teams

MS Teams is the primary means of communication in this course. You must use it. However, you can choose the amount of time you engage in MS Teams and in the gamification of the class. The more engaged, the more extra points you can earn; and the more rewarding the experience can be from the various meaningful interactions that will occur throughout the semester. 

To get started with Teams:

  1. View this introduction to MS Teams video (See Canvas Syllabus).
  2. Click on the Microsoft Teams classes page in Canvas course menu.
  3. Sign in using your @uab.edu email 
  4. Download the Teams app on your mobile phone and sign in with your @uab.edu email
  5. Adjust notifications to fit your schedule and desired level of engagement. See optional resources in Start Module for a video showing you how to adjust notification to fit your needs.

Teams is used to facilitate course discussion. If you have a question about an assignment or course topic, post it to Teams in the appropriate channel. Either one of your classmates or one of your professors/TA will answer. Have fun with Teams by encouraging your classmates with emojis and fire (see below). If you have questions about exam questions, please contact the instructor or chat with them in Teams. DO NOT POST ABOUT THE EXAM IN TEAMS, with the exception of due dates or other non-(exam)content related questions.

When you join the MS Teams workspace you will see the following public channels:

Channel

Purpose

Announcements

Class announcements. Only instructors can post but you can reply to messages. Please read and acknowledge all announcements.

General

Ask/discuss general course questions, including questions about assignments, exams, and so forth.

Student Introductions

A place to introduce yourself to the class. Do this during week 1 only; we will close it to new conversations in week 2.

Random

Discuss topics not related to the course. Do not award fire in this channel.

Polls and Debates

We will post polls, discussion questions, and so forth to help create an engaging dialogue throughout the semester.

Module 1 -4, Module 5-8, and Module 9-12.

Ask/discuss videos, quizzes, and other module content.

Points in MS Teams

You can earn bonus points for giving and receiving fire emojis 🔥. If someone asks a great question or answers your question, reward them with a 🔥emoji. To make it count, you must give a fire emoji by typing the following in Teams: @nameofperson (fire). It is best to give the fire emojis in a thread so that we keep the channel cleaner. You can award up to 5 fire emojis a day.  Giving fire does not impact your point total. In rare cases, students may want to award a Dragon, 🐉 to a student who made a substantial contribution to the class. Dragons are worth 3 points. These should be used sparingly and only one is allowed to per week. They will be available later in the semester. See Course Overview instructional material for a list of ways to earn points, levels, and badges.

Beware of taxes. If you try to game the system by only giving fire to your friends, a gift tax will be applied. For example, if you give more than 6 fires to the same person in a given week a 50% gift tax will be applied. If you give more than 10, the gift tax rate will be 90%. So give 🔥 to people who are adding value to the course.

You can also earn points by acknowledging announcements, posting (and responding to) a question), participating in polls and debates. Debates are friendly competitions about a current topic. You will see them pop up in the module channels. You can earn additional points and a badge by placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a debate competition. Top debate posts are determined by the number of 👍 votes by your peers.

Points earned in Teams are only redeemable for items in the ClassCred store. Bonus points on an exam is an example of an item that will be available to purchase but there will be others 😀 (e.g., purchasing study guides and dropping a low quiz grade). As a bonus, if 70% of the class acknowledges an announcement, everyone will earn an additional 3 point (totaling 4 pts for the announcements). But please read them too!

There are likely to be a lot of messages in Teams. You don't have to read everything (Except announcements and messages from the professor/TA). Remember that Teams is a place where we can connect and learn from one another. Don't let it stress you out. Have fun engaging with each other.

Class Participation

Participating in MS Teams primarily affects your participation grade (10% of your grade for online and 5% for face-to-face). You can buy your participation points in the ClassCred store (it does take a lot of engagement to earn points). Participation points can be purchased 4 times during the semester (25% of the grade each at a cost of points each). Therefore, students will need to purchase all of the participation points. These will be released throughout the term. They must be purchased during the window that they are open. This is to encourage continuous participation throughout the term.

10 percent of your grade is based on participation in MS Teams (online sections) (20 ClassCred points).

5 percent of your grade is based on participation in MS Teams (face-to-face classes) (20 ClassCred points).

Bonus Opportunities

There are two additional bonus opportunities in the class:

  1. Purchasing bonus points in the ClassCred store in MS Teams.
  2. Earn bonus points by being engaged in MS Teams. 
  3. If class participation on the IDEA evaluation is 60-69%, then .5 points will be added toward everyone's final course grade. However, if 70% or greater completes it, then everyone in the class will receive 1 point toward their final course grade. In that situation, if you have an 89.44 (a B) for your final grade in the course, then you would have a 90.44 (an A) after the bonus.

MG 302 Attendance Policies

  • Beginning of the Semester Policy: An instructor has the prerogative to drop a student from a course if the student is absent without prior notification from the first class of a term. Such action is at the discretion of the instructor, and absence from the first class does not automatically drop the student from the course. If a student wishes to drop or withdraw from the course, the student must follow official drop or withdrawal procedures. A student who misses the first class (or 4 days for online classes) of a term is responsible for determining his/her status in the class.
  • Students should study all assigned chapters and readings, view the narrated lectures, and reflect on module topics prior to class.
  • Students are expected to be prepared to engage in detailed conversations in MS Teams regarding module content.

For in-person classes:

  • Students are expected to attend class regularly and be prepared to engage in detailed conversations regarding module content during class.
  • Unexcused Absences: Arriving to class late or leaving early (80% attendance grade for that day) or missing class entirely (zero for that day) will lower your attendance grade.
  • Excused Absences: UAB allows for excused absences, and these will not impact your attendance grade (see UAB attendance policy link below). Please notify the instructor or TA if you need to be absent; we will adjust your attendance grade and work with you to complete missed work.
  • UAB Policy: http://catalog.uab.edu/undergraduate/progresstowardadegree/#enrollmenttext

*********** See the Full version of the syllabus for information on assignments, assessments, and policies.

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due