Professor:  Lowell Lamberton, Central Oregon Community College
Professor of Business/Management
           
Textbook:  Lamberton-MinorEvans. Human Relations: Strategies for Success (McGraw-Hill, 2007).  It is very important that all text readings and other assignments be completed by the date assigned in order to be able to actively participate in discussions and assignments. Please don't assume that you can get by without reading the textbook.

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES:

Management of Human Relations emphasizes many practical aspects of social psychology as they affect the individual and the group in the workplace.  The approach to material will be as realistic and as directly job related as possible in a college classroom setting.

This is also a management course that emphasizes the human relations factors within the organization in terms of management principles.  Although a course such as BUS 301, The Management Process, serves as an excellent background for the material covered here, such background is not a formal prerequisite. 

PERFORMANCE-BASED LEARNER OUTCOMES:
 
Upon satisfactory completion of this course, students will be able to:

•  Demonstrate practical knowledge of the function of self-esteem as the beginning point of good human relations.

•  Demonstrate judgment skills in terms of appropriate self-disclosure, and in the process achieve a high degree of self-awareness in relationships with others.

•  Be able to explain the importance of positive attitudes to the success of projects, especially those involving group efforts.

•   Demonstrate applied knowledge of the nature and function of values in the establishment and maintenance of a positive corporate culture.  This skill area must also be applied to personal values in the workplace, including ethical values.

•   Demonstrate ability to use motivation in the workplace, including the ability to use specific motivational procedures to effect changes in subordinate behavior.

•   Demonstrate the specific skills of effective listening and feedback provision in the communication process.

•   Demonstrate the specific skill of speaking clearly and effectively, especially in workplace settings.

•   Demonstrate the skills of successful team building, both as a team leader and as an effective member.

•   Demonstrate a practical working knowledge of corporate culture, especially in terms of change to a more human and humane workplace.

•   Demonstrate the skill of positive workplace environment creation.

•   Show through practical day-to-day cases, the successful mastery of the psychological school known as Transactional Analysis.  This mastery must include the following at the very least:  mastery of the three types of transactions, the six ego states, games, scripts, and life positions.

•   Demonstrate a practical knowledge of the steps of personal change so that such knowledge can be applied to the workplace in a realistic manner.

•   Demonstrate a practical knowledge of the steps of organizational change in a manner that will facilitate change during turbulent times.

•   Demonstrate a practical knowledge of the tools of creativity enhancement, especially as those tools apply to workplace innovations.

•   Demonstrate a working knowledge of conflict recognition and management, especially with the steps to achieve a win-win solution.

•   Demonstrate a personalized system for reducing personal workplace stress--both for others and for oneself.

•   Enact a specific set of skills for effective customer relations in both service- and product-based enterprises.

•   Demonstrate an up-to-date knowledge of the laws and issues involving workforce diversity.

•   Demonstrate a basic knowledge of procedures to be used with employees who exhibit alcohol, drug, or emotional problems.

•   Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the psychology of fear as a destroyer of human relations progress.

THESE OUTCOMES WILL BE ASSESSED BY:
Three written exams, weekly quizzes, four case write-ups, and a term paper.

EXAMS:

This course will contain two preliminary exams and a final exam.  These exams will be a combination of objective and subjective elements.  They will contain approximately 60 multiple-choice questions and three essay questions.  The first examination will cover Chapters 1 - 7; the second, Chapters 8 - 12.  The final exam will be comprehensive, but will cover mostly material from the remaining chapters--13 - 19.

CASE WRITE-UPS:

You will be assigned to a small group for case study and analysis.  Cases are very important in a course such as this, because they are as close as we can get to applying the principles of the course in real-life situations. I will assign a group leader (possibly after asking for volunteers) for each of the four cases we write up. After the group has finished its discussion, the group leader will post the final case analysis under "Case Study Summaries," discussion section.

The cases from which your group can choose are listed in the class schedule along with chapter material and due dates.

Examinations will constitute approximately 65% of the final course grade, broken down as follows:  preliminary exams (two of them), 20% each; final exam, 25%.  The remaining 35% of the grade will be based on the term project, Web exercises and class participation in group activities.  Because of the unique nature of the course, regular attendance will be very important, especially on days when participative exercises are scheduled.

Grades in this class are not based solely on exams designed to test what specific facts you don't know.  I am more interested in your ability to exhibit your understanding of terms and concepts--and their application to your work life.  It is our joint responsibility through reading assignments and class lecture and discussion to develop an appreciation of the terms and concepts sufficient to respond to the issues in the course in a logical and business-like manner.  It is your responsibility to raise questions related to the class material that help you feel confident that you can respond to the issues found in the course.

Participation.  Regular participation in this course is important in terms of both the course format and grading method applied.  Please think of your participation as akin to class attendance AND class participation in a traditional classroom.  

Assignments.  Keeping up with assigned reading and out-of-class exercises is critical to your reaching the learning outcomes for this course.  All weekly quizzes must be completed by the due date assigned.  Late work, while it retains some of its original learning value, loses much of this value as it relates to course-specific objectives.  The further value lost is in the development and exercise of effective self-management skills. For these reasons, late work (defined as work received within one week of its original final due date but not received at the time and place prescribed in the syllabus) will automatically lose 10% of its grade potential. All such student work will be graded as time becomes available--but no later than finals week--in an effort to provide a final grade that is reflective of all assignments.  Those of you who took my BA 301 fall term know that I was quite lenient with late assignments.  I will be quite a bit stricter this term in this course.

Communications.   I am available for either e-mail or phone communications at virtually any time. Although I don't encourage it from my community college students, I have no problem with Linfield students who call me at home.   

The most dependable way to communicate with me out of class is by WebCT e-mail. This way we don't get into a "telephone tag" situation.   However, I do enjoy hearing your voices, talking to a "real" person, and putting a voice with the name.  I am an extremely busy person--much busier that I ever wanted to be.  So, please be patient; I promise to get back to you as soon as I possibly can.  If you are in Central Oregon, feel free to visit me in person.  I'm at Central Oregon Community College in #119 Grandview.  I'd love to meet you face-to-face.

Special Needs. While this is normally not an issue with on-line courses, students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements, should contact the instructor as early as possible, no later than the first week of the term.

Requirements for Term Paper:

Part of the requirements of this course will be to write a medium-length personal essay (1000 words minimum) on at least one of the major topics covered in this course.  The essay should show how you have been able to apply the material to your personal life, your life at work, or both.

You may use outside sources if you wish, but their use is not required.  We are mostly interested in the transfer of the knowledge and skills gained in this course to your own set of realities.

If you choose to do so, you may write two shorter essays (each 500 words minimum) on any TWO topics listed below, developing your ideas and applications somewhat less thoroughly.

The essay must be typed or printed and double-spaced with your name clearly on top of the paper.  A title page is unnecessary.  Spelling, grammar, and usage will be considered in computing your grade.

This assignment will be due on or before May 3, 2008.

Suggested topics:

* Historical findings in human relations               * Conflict management

* Self-esteem                                                        * Creativity
                                                           
* Self-awareness                                                   * Stress management
                                               
* Self-disclosure                                                    * Customer service

* Communication (general issues)                        * Diversity issues
                                   
* Listening                                                            * Social responsibility 
                                
* Non-verbal communication                                * Substance abuse

* Group dynamics                                                 * Personal problems at work

* Team building                                                     * Success psychology

* Transactional analysis                                         * Total Quality Management

* Individual or group change                                 *Positive Psychology

CASE WRITE-UPS:

You will be assigned to a group for case study and analysis. I consider cases extremely important to your learning process because they are as close as we can get to real-life application of  human relations concepts. I will assign a group leader for each of the four cases we write up who will manage the case study discussion. At the end of the week the group leader will post a summary in the "Case Study Summaries" Discussion section. The schedule for case write-ups is as follows:

Under some circumstances, I will allow you to work alone. However, the sharing of ideas in a group is a valuable learning tool, one I would rather see you exercise if at all possible.


PRIMARY TEACHING METHOD AND COURSE ACTIVITIES:

• Web based introductions and lecture notes provided by your professor.
• Thorough textbook reading. (The book costs a lot; get your money's worth.)
• On-line articles and Web pages related to this course.
• Questions, comments and discussions shared with class members and instructor.

A. A careful reading of the assigned materials by the due date is required in order to participate in on-line courses. This course is intended to stimulate thought and discussion as well as providing a body of management knowledge. We will be holding voluntary, un-graded, weekly on-line discussions to allow you to ask and respond to questions.

B.  Rules of discussion: The classroom and forum should be a safe haven within which individuals can discuss the widest possible range of topics without fearing retribution, ridicule, or attack. In order for this to happen, we must assume that we are all persons of intelligence and good will who may ultimately disagree, sometimes totally. We all need to assume as well that nobody's character will be impugned or intelligence disparaged because of this level of disagreement. These discussions are not a forum for proselytizing, nor are they a soapbox for diatribes by either students or faculty. For the academic endeavor to succeed, we must treat each other with civility, courtesy, and respect. All perspectives and questions are welcome, as long as they are motivated by a genuine desire for knowledge, can be articulated thoughtfully, and are supported by at least an honest attempt at sound reasoning.

C. On-line education is still a new form of learning for many of us, including your instructor. Our primary purpose is to learn the course material. Computers, the web based technology and WebCT software are tools, and the better we understand and utilize our tools, the more we will get out of the process. However, do not lose sight of the primary objective of learning the course material. Please don't let any potential frustrations with technology issues prevent your successful completion of this course. Talk to your classmates and professor if you are having problems.

CLASS POLICIES:

A. Contacting Your Professor: The best way to contact me is either by-mail through Web CT.  Normally I will get back to you on the same day. However, I am a very busy person and not always on-line or at home. There may be times when you will not get a timely response. I will, however, try to let you know in advance if I will not be available for a few days. Also please e-mail (or phone) me if you are going to be unavailable. If this is a planned absence, try to get ahead and submit your work early.

B. Completing Assignments:  Though we can be somewhat flexible, please strive to meet the required assignment due dates. You will be penalized for late work unless you contact me before the due date and an extension is granted. One of the major reasons that students do poorly or do not complete on-line courses is that they get too far behind. Remember that this is not a "work-at-your-own-pace" course.

C.  Academic Honesty:  Plagiarism is the use of the ideas and words of others in your writing and/or the failure to give credit to others when quoting from their work. A simple restating of the ideas of others using different words may not be adequate to prevent plagiarism. Remember that plagiarism includes "ideas and words." When in doubt, use quotation marks and give appropriate credit in your footnotes. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. It is the policy of Linfield College and my policy to penalize plagiarism.

D. Incompletes: A grade of Incomplete (I) is given only in emergency situations. The student must request an incomplete in writing and must obtain instructor permission. All uncompleted work must be completed within the time limits set. If you do not complete the missing work, your grade will be based on the work turned in with all missing work receiving no credit.

COURSE GRADING:

COURSE ASSIGNMENT AND READING SCHEDULE