Technology policy organizations

Lectures: 2 sessions / week

Lecture 1: 2 hours / session

Lecture 2: 1 hours / session

Most of the readings come from a "modular" textbook entitled: Ancona, Deborah, Thomas Kochan, Maureen Scully, Eleanor Westney, and John VanMaanen (a team of Sloan School faculty members). Managing for the Future: Organizational Behavior and Processes. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: South-Western College Pub, March 15, 2004. ISBN: 0324055757.

Each "module" includes an introductory note that synthesizes material from the research literature as well as the business press, drawing on the research of the authors and contributors. Following the introductory note, there are cases for students to prepare and/or selected readings from the business press to help students assess critically the emerging patterns.

Learning in this class requires personal participation and involvement. Sharing perceptions and ideas with each other is crucial for learning and for understanding how the diverse opinions that you are likely to encounter in an organization get articulated and debated. You will find yourself presenting and testing out new ideas that are not wholly formulated and assisting others to shape their ideas. You should be prepared to take some risks and be supportive of the efforts of others.

For two major class projects and certain other activities, you will be organized into teams. This is a functional way to accomplish the tasks and it is also part of the class learning. To help you become an effective work team, our Team Handbook is included in Module 3 of the course readings. This handbook is a resource for you and your team to use in managing relationships and productivity of your team.

Some of our classes will conclude with a 20-30 minute interactive skill module. These cover a wide range of skills relevant to being effective in organizational settings. Each is taught in a "train-the-trainer" format so that you can help build these skills in organizations, as well as utilize them yourself.

The grade is based on two assignments and class participation. All papers are to be double spaced.

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