Psychology 3694F-001
Teams and Work Groups in Organizations
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
This course examines and assesses psychological research on workgroups/teams. Particular attention is paid to issues associated with team composition, team processes, individual vs. group performance, and the organizational context in which teams operate. Methodological/statistical issues associated with workgroup/team research are given considerable emphasis.
Antirequisites: The former Psychology 365F if taken in 1998 or between 2002 and 2005; the former Psychology 365G if taken in 2000 or 2007
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810
3 seminar hours, 0.5 course
Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Natalie Allen
Office and Phone Number: Room 8412, Social Science Centre
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: nallen@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Natasha Ouslis
Office: Room 8424C, Social Science Centre
Office Hours: Thursdays 1-3 pm
Email: nouslis@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Monday 9:30 am – 12:20 pm
UCC Room 66If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Package of custom readings for Psychology 3694F available from Western Bookstore.
All other reading materials on OWL.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to provide the student with an opportunity to gain a solid knowledge of psychological issues associated workgroup and team composition, , processes, and outcomes. The student will also become familiar with statistical and methodological issues that are of relevance to the empirical study of teams.
Please note: This course is being held in Western’s Active Learning Space (WALS). The focus in this classroom is on interaction, discussion, working in teams, and creating, presenting, and sharing work with the larger group. Unlike a traditional classroom, students are grouped into collaborative pods of 4-5, and have the capability to connect their own device (phone, tablet, laptop–Mac or PC) to the technology in the space. More information about WALS can be found at www.uwo.ca/WALS. Students are responsible for reading the assigned material prior to class in order to participate in this active learning course.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, the successful student will have demonstrated that s/he can:
- In clear and accessible “lay person” writing, prepare a document that summarizes the hypothesis, procedures, and main findings reported in a published empirical psychological research study that examines some phenomenon associated with team composition/design, team processes, and/or team outcomes
- Correctly identify, proficiently explain. and/or describe, under test conditions:
a) key methodological, statistical, and substantive principles underlying how empirically-oriented psychological researchers assess the constructs they study
b) key concepts and findings from the body of research covered in the course.
- In an essay, accurately describe theory and research findings gleaned from the psychological study of a particular teamwork phenomenon (or hypothesis) and, in so doing, compare the results and design of multiple studies and summarize in both scientific and lay language what has been learned from this body of research
- As part of a small student project group: (a) participate in the planning and delivery of a clear, oral presentation describing a particular psychological phenomenon drawn from psychological research on teams, and, (b) answer questions regarding the presentation that are the posed by the class and instructor during and /or following the presentation.
5.0 EVALUATION
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
Examination 35 %
Class Participation 10 %
Research Translation 12.5 %
Team Project 20%
Research Essay 22.5%
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Research Translation Due October 3
Course Examination November 14
Team Project Presentations November 28 & December 5
Essay Due Friday, December 9
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
September 12 & 19 Introduction to Course / Overview of Team Research
Readings Williams & Allen (2008)
Allen & Hecht (2004a)
West, Brodbeck, & Richter (2004)
Allen & Hecht (2004b)
Richter et al (2011)
Hackman (1998)
September 26 Levels, Emergence, Meta-Analyses & Other Pesky Issues
Readings Klein & Kozlowski (2000)
Allen & O’Neill (2015)
Hughes et al. (2016)
NOTE: For next week (October 3): Skim each meta-analyses on the META LIST and rank your preferences from1 (most interested) to 6 (least interested). Groups will be assigned their meta on the basis of preference and, in the cases of ties, random draw.
October 3 Meta Presentation Demo & Team Project Work
October 17 Team Composition & Selection Issues
Readings Allen & West (2005)
Barrick, Stewart, Neubert & Mount (1998)
Harrison, Price, & Bell (1998)
October 24 Team Design Issues (Goal-setting / Trust)
Haslam, Wegge, & Postmes (2009) (META 1 = Kleingeld et al)
Dirks (2000) (META 2 = Breuer et al., 2016)
October 31 Team Process Issues (Cohesion / Conflict)
Readings Barrick, Stewart, Neubert & Mount (1998) (revisited)
(META 3 = Castano et al, 2013)
Fahr, Lee, & Farh (2010) (META 4 = O’Neill et al., 2013)
November 7 Leading & Rewarding Teams
Readings Boies, Lvina, & Martens (2010) (META 5 = Wang et al., 2014))
Pearsall, Christian & Ellis (2010) (META6 = Garbers & Konradt, 2014)
November 14 Examination
November 21 Team Project Work
November 28
& December 5 Team Meta-Analysis Project Presentations
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/pg117.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2016 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
