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 requisites 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:  Rm 8412, Social Science Centre
(519) 661-3013    
Office Hours: By appointment  
Email: nallen@uwo.ca 
        
Teaching Assistant:  Helen Lee, MSc.
Office: Room 8404, Social Science Centre
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: hlee539@uwo.ca

Time and Location of Lectures: Monday, 9:30 – 12:30
Room 66 University Community Centre

If 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.

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 behaviour, team dynamics, and processes. 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.

5.0     EVALUATION

Examination                           35 %
Class Participation                   10 %                   
Research Translation               12.5 %                
Team Project                          20%
Research Essay                       22.5%

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/handbook/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

6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

Research Translation Due      October 5  
Course Examination             November 16
Team Project Presentations  November 30 & December 7
Essay Due                           Friday, December 11

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

September 14 & 21       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 28     Basic Concepts, Levels, Emergence  & Other Pesky Issues

Readings
Klein & Kozlowski (2000)
Allen & O’Neill (2015)
O’Neill, Allen, & Hastings (2013)  (Time 1: skim)

October 5   Team Project  Work

October 19 & 26  Team Composition & Selection Issues

Readings           
Allen & West ( 2005)
Barrick, Stewart, Neubert & Mount (1998)
* Watson, Kumar & Michaelsen (1993)
* Harrison, Price & Bell (1998)
Mannix & Neale (2005)  

NOTE:   The 2 bolded & starred articles are not in your package; access online.
                                                                   
November 2    Selected Team Process Issues
 
Readings  
McIntrye & Foti (2013)
Bradley, Postlethwaite, Klotz, Hamdani  & Brown (2012)
Bradley, Klotz, Postlethwaite, & Brown (2013)
O’Neill, Allen, & Hastings (2013)  (Revisited)                             

November 9    Developing & Rewarding Teams

Readings 
Klein et al. (2009)                                                     
Pearsall, Christian & Ellis (2010)                                                                                           

November 16   Examination           

November 23  Team Project Work  

November 30 & December 7   Team 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

The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/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
- 2015 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.