BA 420 Organizational Behavior { BA420 Entire Course }

BA 420 Week 1 Assignment Employee Motivation and Organizational Behavior

BA/420 Week 2 Assignment Internet Postings about Whole Foods and Wild Oats

BA420 Week 3 Assignment Nordstrom’s Performance Goals 

BA-420 Week 4 Assignment Six Basic Steps to Decision Making

BA - 420 Week 5 Assignment Disney Animation – John Lasseter

BA 420 Week 6: Alternate Work Arrangements

BA 420 Week 7 Assignment “Corporate Culture”

BA 420 Week 8 Assignment “Interview”

Week 1 Assignment Employee Motivation And Organizational Behavior

Option 1: Get Creative

Create a 6 – 8 slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation  analyze and interpret how employee motivation affects organizational  behavior as well as three strategies an organization can do to increase  employee motivation. Please include a properly formatted references page  citing your sources.

Please cite your sources in the presentation on the last slide. Use APA for the citations. A detailed explanation of how to cite a source using APA can be found here (link). 

Option 2: News Flash

Choose a learning objective from Week 1 and research an  article on the Internet that relates to it.  Write a summary of the  article discussing it as well as what it means to you.  Your summary  should be a minimum of 1 – 2 pages in length and must be in your own  words. Please include a properly formatted references page citing your  sources.

Please cite your sources in the paper. A detailed explanation of how to cite a course using APA can be found here (link).

Option 3: Traditional Paper

Research, analyze and interpret how employee motivation  affects organizational behavior as well as three strategies an  organization can do to increase employee motivation. Your paper should  be a minimum of 2 pages in length and should include a properly  formatted references page citing your sources.


Week 2 Assignment “Internet Postings about Whole Foods and Wild Oats”

Write a 2-3 page paper.  In your paper answer the following questions:

1.    Using the ABC model of an attitude, discuss what you think John Mackey’s online comments about Wild Oats reveal about his attitudes.

2.    In your opinion, did John Mackey act in an ethical or unethical manner? Why or why not?

3.    As an ethical, responsible leader, discuss the cognitive moral development level that John Mackey’s behavior should fit.

4.    According to Mr. Mackey, some of the statements attributed to Rahodeb did not match his personal beliefs. Why do you think there is this conflict between attitude and behavior?



Week 3 Assignment “Nordstrom’s Performance Goals”

Nordstrom’s Performance Goals
 

This case focuses on the issue of performance. As discussed in the text, clear and effective goals help improve employee performance, reduce role stress conflict and ambiguity, and improve the evaluation of employees’ performance. The text also discusses the various elements that are involved in managing performance. These include defining performance, measuring it, providing feedback, rewarding poor performance, and correcting poor performance.

 

At Nordstrom, employee performance is directed towards a single goal – extraordinary service that produces extraordinary sales volumes. Every measure by which an employee is evaluated and rewarded is based on this goal. This is evident in Nordstrom’s training programs and its reward and incentive structure. A central way in which Nordstrom tries to improve employees’ performance is by fostering an open, competitive environment in which employees are a part of teams, but also pursue individual achievements. The company encourages creative tension among associates by making the performance information of every employee available to every other employee.


Case Study: Nordstrom: Performance Goals


The sales staff at Nordstrom is motivated to give extraordinary service, because extraordinary service produces extraordinary sales volumes and extraordinary profits. Like competitive athletes, these employees are highly focused, eye-on-the-prize individuals who pay full and careful attention to the individual customer.

 

Nordstrom regularly distributes videotaped interviews with top salespeople who share advice to fellow employees. Staff meetings become workshops in which associates compare, examine, and discuss sales techniques. Nordstrom also employs STEP (Sales Training Education Program), developed by the Washington region’s personnel department which enables associates to share information with other salespeople and department managers.

Like competitive athletes, Nordstrom associates are a part of teams, but also pursue individual achievements. The company insists that all associates beam team players who work together while at the same time encouraging everyone to become a star performer.

Star performers among team players? Herein lies the creative paradox that energizes the Nordstrom culture. The company encourages creative tension among associates by making available information about the performance of all other associates. Any associate can know where they stand and how their performance compares with anyone else in the company. Twice a month, every associate’s sales-per-hour numbers are posted for all to see. In this open environment, rewards follow performance. There are cash prizes, trips, and awards given for outstanding sales-per-hour and sales-per-month performances. Associates earn rewards the old-fashioned way; they earn them.

In this kind of atmosphere, Nordstrom must manage inter-group competition well so that associates do not destroy each other in the competitive process. From its earliest days, Nordstrom has aimed to create creative, rather than destructive, tension. The competitive environment is also disciplined by goal-setting. Nordstrom is organized as an inverted pyramid, with sales associates at the top, the buyers in the middle and the managers at the bottom. What binds the three tiers together is goal-setting. Each member of each tier strives to meet personal, departmental, store, and regional goals. This leads to a disciplined, well ordered, and competitive structure within which performance expectations are clear, feedback lucent, and results understandable.

 

Write 2-3 page paper.  In your paper answer the following:

 

1.    Nordstrom creates an open atmosphere, in which every associate’s sales figures are made available to everyone else. Explain the positive impacts.

2.    Twice a month, Nordstrom releases sales figures and rewards top-performing employees. In your opinion, is this the best type of reinforcement schedule for everyone, or would you take a different approach?

3.    Give an example of a reinforcement schedule you have experienced or seen. Explain the effort, the reinforcement schedule, and the motivation to succeed. Was the outcome positive motivation or were their negative impacts?

Include a title page and 3-5 references.  Only one reference may be from the internet (not Wikipedia).


Week 4 Assignment: Six Basic Steps to Decision Making

Research, analyze and interpret the six basic steps to organizational decision making and describe each one and its importance. Your paper should be a minimum of 2 pages in length and should include a properly formatted references page citing your sources.


Week 5 Assignment Disney Animation – John Lasseter
 
Disney Animation – John Lasseter


Answer the following questions with concepts from the reading.

1. What forms of interpersonal power are evident in the case? Provide evidence to support your answer.

2. In what ways do the two faces of power appear in this case?

3. Does the firing of John Lasseter from Disney Studios and the events leading up to his firing demonstrate the ethical use of power? Explain your answer.

4. Did the firing of John Lasseter indicate the existence of political behavior in the Disney organization?

5. Describe a situation, from your experience, where political behavior in an organization contributed to benefit or detriment to you or someone else.

Disney Animation – John Lasseter

The case focuses on John Lasseter, who currently is the creative head of Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, both of which are owned by The Walt Disney Company. The case chronicles Lasseter’s interests in animation from a young age, the relationship he developed with the Disney organization, his developing interest in computer-animation and consequent demise at Disney Studios, his subsequent award-winning success with computer animation at Pixar Studios, and his recent ascension to creative head of Disney’s Animation Studio as part of the Pixar-Disney merger.

What a professional journey. Being fired by Disney Animation Studios for trying to be too creative, then ultimately becoming the chief creative animation genius for both Disney and Pixar!

 

This case was written by Michael K. McCuddy, The Louis S. and Mary L. Morgal Chair of Christian Business Ethics and Professor of Management, College of Business Administration, Valparaiso University.

Answer the following questions with concepts from the reading.

1. What forms of interpersonal power are evident in the case? Provide evidence to support your answer.

2. In what ways do the two faces of power appear in this case?

3. Does the firing of John Lasseter from Disney Studios and the events leading up to his firing demonstrate the ethical use of power? Explain your answer.

4. Did the firing of John Lasseter indicate the existence of political behavior in the Disney organization?

5. Describe a situation, from your experience, where political behavior in an organization contributed to benefit or detriment to you or someone else.


Week 6 Assignment Alternate Work Arrangements

Various alternative work arrangements exist for use in businesses and other types of organizations; included among the options are compressed work weeks, flexible work schedules, telecommuting, and job sharing. This case focuses on alternative work arrangements in general rather than on a particular one exclusively; however, telecommuting does receive additional attention.

The case revolves around the potential advantages and disadvantages that are associated with alternative work arrangements, and the factors that are contributing to an increased use of various alternative work arrangements by employers.

Write a 2- 3 page paper.  In your paper discuss the following questions with concepts from the course:

1.    How can employees benefit from alternative work arrangements?  Why?

2.    What are some of the possible negative outcomes for employers and/or employees regarding alternative work arrangements? Please explain your answer.

3.    What types of factors are influencing organizations to consider using alternative work arrangements? Explain how alternative work arrangements can address the problems/issues that are raised by these factors.

4.    Should the availability of alternative work arrangements to employees in the United States be mandated by law? Why or why not?


Week 7 Assignment “Corporate Culture”

Research, analyze and defend why it is essential for an organization to have a positive corporate culture. In addition, discuss ways that an organization can improve a negative culture.  Your paper should be a minimum of 2 pages in length and should include a properly formatted references page citing your sources


Week 8 Assignment “Interview”

Conduct an interview and document it.

During this course we have learned about organizational culture and structure, we have spoken of feedback and job types. As project that pulls together all concepts from this course you will conduct an interview. Document the interview and draw a conclusion in a short four to five sentence summary of the experience.

1.    create 8 to 10 professional and quality interview questions

2.    decide how you are going to document the interview (audio, video or type)

3.    conduct the interview

4.    confirm that the interview was documented

5.    write the summary paragraph

Course: BA 420 Organizational Behavior