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II. Organizational Behavior |
I. Introduction
The following information is posted with the permission of the Network for Dissemination of Curriculum Infusion (NDCI).
Introduction
Course Modules for Business and Management -
BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT by Hamid Akbari
The
competition for write ups produced no applicants in the area of Business and
Management. We are including a module I developed for a Management course as
an example of what faculty in this area have done (can do) to integrate prevention
into their courses. My prevention module in a class on Organizational Behavior
presents one of the many possible approaches to bringing prevention into courses
of Business and Management. In this overview, I will give you a brief summary
of my module and provide examples of ways in which modules can be designed for
other business and management courses.
My organization behavior module is a comprehensive prevention unit aimed at
providing "future managers" with a general awareness and some specific skills
in recognizing signs and dangers of alcohol and drug dependency and in preventing
dependency. In order to bring about a natural infusion of the prevention materials
into this course, the module introduces substance abuse as a real problem afflicting
the workplace. As the students learn how to manage and prevent drug problems
in organizations, they also learn how to recognize similar tendencies in themselves
and in other organizations, including their college.
In my module, I utilize a variety of activities which provide students with
many opportunities for active learning. Group discussion, role playing, and
interview are few of the activities that I utilize. There are many other activities
and methods that are implemented by other business and management faculty that
I know of The instructor of a Business Law course gives a five minute anecdotal
example of legal business cases involving alcohol and drug use in the beginning
of each class session. A marketing instructor uses debates between for-profit
alcohol firms and non-profit organizations working against alcohol advertising
as an activity. A module in a course on Management Information Systems asks
students to computerize data with regard to alcohol and drug use and prevention
in organizations and develop an information based decision making software related
to the problem.
In fact, opportunities for developing prevention modules for business and management
courses abound. There is abnost no course that is not amenable to a prevention
module. The main reason is that alcoholism and drug use/abuse are facts of life
in many organizations. Furthermore, management is always concerned about sagging
productivity in relation to which drug dependence is a detrimental condition.
Also, the topic of stress management which is covered in organizational behavior
and human resource management courses is very relevant to a module in prevention.
Another relevant topic to human resource management and/or
career development is drug testing.
From my experience, finding a relevant theme for a business and management course
is the crux of originating the prevention module. In my entrepreneurship course,
I developed the general theme of "entrepreneurs as creators of value in society
vs. entrepreneurs as creators of misery and death." Then, I asked my students
to identify who are the entrepreneurs of misery and death. And they did, including
identifying "drug dealers on our campus! " or "liquor store owners in the
inner city areas." In my International business course, I developed the theme
of "sources and uses of international drug trafficking," and then asked my students
to identify those sources and uses. From their general knowledge which is not
necessarily right all the time students, generally, identified some countries
as the primary sources of the drug trafficking and some others, including the
U.S. as the primary users. They also identified college campuses as one of the
end destinations of drugs. As a final example, a finance instructor has introduced
a prevention module around the theme of illegal drug related bank accounts and
how IRS monitors them and the reporting role of banks.
As the above examples indicate, business and management instructors at any university
can readily join the faculty of other disciplines in seamiessly and creatively
infusing prevention content into their courses.
II. Organizational Behavior
A COURSE MODULE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Developed by: Hamid Akbari
Associate
Professor
Business and Management
Northeastern Illinois University
Introduction | Prevention rationale | Learning Objectives | Instructional Activities | Methods of Evaluation | BACK TO TOP
INTRODUCTION
The students in my organizational behavior class are primarily business administration majors. They take my course in order to learn about management of organizational behavior. As a general approach, I intend to teach the module from an organizational and managerial perspective. In other words, I would ask the students to think of themselves as "future managers" in organizational settings who are expected to be knowledgeable about issues of, and relatively competent in recognizing and preventing, alcohol and drug use and dependency in individuals. Thus, I would pursue an indirect approach in teaching the students to be aware of the likelihood of their own addiction to alcohol and drugs, and how to prevent their own dependency problems.
PREVENTION RATIONALE
The
module is expected to encourage drug prevention in and by the students through
one or more of the following ways and methods.
a)
by making the students aware of the detrimental consequences of drug/alcohol
dependence.
b) by exposing the students to the problems, damage, and self destruction inflicted
upon the fives of those individuals and their families with drug dependency.
c) by helping them to become assertive in rejecting and/or preventing drug dependency
in themselves and others,
d) by showing them the difference in one's life before, during, and after drug
dependency.
e) by showing them the negative impact of drug dependency on productivity in
organizations.
f) by showing them how drug and substance abuse results in catastrophic events
in organizations (e.g., the case of derailing of Amtrack's trains, and the alcohol/drug
use by the track attendants).
BACK to Organizational Behavior
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the semester the students are expected to:
a) become knowledgeable about the important issues in alcohol/drug use by individuals
in organizations and in society.
b) learn about and become relatively competent in recognizing and preventing
alcohot/drug dependency by individuals in organizations and society.
c) learn some specific techniques in helping drug/alcohol users to overcome
their dependence.
BACK to Organizational Behavior
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES ACTIVITIES
Week
# |
Description... |
| I (session one) | Pre-testing: a)Standardized(program's instrument.) b)Module's specific passage underlffiffig method (see below, section V) |
| I (session two) | Pre-testing
(continued): c) Module's specific verbal discussion and analysis method (see below, section V).An introductory lecture by the instructor on the relevance and significance of the topic of drug use and dependency to the management of organizational behavior. |
| 2 (two sessions) | Dramatization: Showing students the deaimental and damaging effects and consequences of drugs and substance abuse on the user's physical and mental health, family, and organization. Teaching tools: slides, film, live appearance of former drug users. |
| 3 (two sessions) | There's
Hope: a) Showing students that drug dependency is not insurmount- able, and it can be prevented. b) Showing students the positive effects that follow the drug prevention cases at individual organizational and societal levels. c) Dividing the class into small groups to discuss how they can prevent drug dependency by their future employees in organizations. |
| 4 (two sessions) | Discussion
of Assignments: a) Readings will be assigned from a list. b) As a term project, each student will be asked to interview both a real world manager, and an employee (worker),abouttheirknowledge, awareness, experience and competence in confronting the individual (including seft) cases of drug dependency and prevention. c) As a class project, the entire class will be asked to prepare andeodectcartoondrawingsthat illustrate the problems of drug use in society and organizations. Students will be presenting these cartoons to other university students and officials in a special exibit during week 11. |
| 4 & 5 (four sessions) | Knowledge
Generation: Specific information oriented lecturing with regard to types of drug dependency, its causes and effects. Teaching tools: slides, films, and transparencies. |
| 6 (two sessions) | Discussion,
Catch-Up, Clarification etc...: |
| 7 (one session) | Field
Trip: To relevant organizations and/or government agencies (e.g., state agencies involved in drug prevention programs). (this may occur after weeks 8 & 9) |
| 8 & 9 (four sessions) | Prevention
Information and Skills: Lectures on drug prevention methods, strategies, and programs. Teaching tools: slides, films, role playing, in-class practices, speakers. |
| 10 (two sessions) | Discussion,
catch-Up, clariti-eadon, etc.. |
| I I (one session) | Cartoon Exibit Day |
| 12 (two sessions) | Individual
Interviews: Instructor will interview each class student about the drug use and prevention issues. |
| 13 (two sessions) | Student
Presentations: Students will present the results of their interviews to the class. To enjance the significance of the occasion, real world managers, along with some university officials will be asked to attend student presentations. |
| 14 (two sessions) | Post-Testing: The methods and procedures used in pre-testing will be repeated in post-testing.
|
BACK to Organizational Behavior
METHODS OF EVALUATION
Evaluation methods for this module will be comprised of the following approaches:
a) Standardized method for all modules Questionnaire method).
b) Verbal Analysis Method: Students will be asked to discuss issues of drug dependency and prevention in small groups (3-5) for 30-45 minutes. Their conversations and discussions will be tape recorded and will be transcribed. The transcripts wfli be content analyzed, the degree of the students' knowledge and competence with regard to substance abuse will be determined through this analysis. The same procedure will be repeated for the post-test evaluation. The results of pre-test and post-test evaluations will be compared and conclusions will be drawn accordingly.
c) Underlining Method: Students will be asked to read and underline a passage which would include critical issues regarding drug dependency and prevention. The passage will be designed so that the underlining can show a student knowledge and competence regarding substance use and prevention.
BACK to Organizational Behavior
