THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW
HAMPSHIRE
WHITTEMORE SCHOOL OF
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
INSTRUCTOR: Meera Venkatachalam, PhD
Office: 425
McConnell
Office Hours: Tuesday:
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. and by appointment
E-mail: mv@christa.unh.edu
Voice-Mail: 862-0872
Required
Materials:
Robbins, and Hunsaker, Training in Interpersonal
Skills, Saddle River, NJ:Prentice-Hall, 1996.
Izumo, Bishop, and Cole, Keys to Workplace Skills,
Saddle River, NJ:Prentice-Hall, 1999.
COURSE MISSION
The mission of this course is to identify the primary
managerial skills essential in the workplace, to determine your competency in
each of the skills and develop a strategy for self-improvement and personal
growth.
You will assess your own level of competence in the various skill areas and
practice the skills to improve your interpersonal and overall managerial effectiveness.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this course are:
1) To map out the most important skills required to succeed as a manager.
2) To determine personal strengths and weaknesses and use the analysis to develop a personal mission statement and a strategy for personal growth.
3) To evaluate individual competency levels with respect to the identified skills.
4) To practice the skills, critique the skill levels and use the critique to enhance the skill levels.
5) To utilize the feedback from the role playing and the skill practice to develop a revised, structured personal growth plan.
Teaching Methodology
and Structure
This course is structured around the major assumption that each and every student in the class is oriented towards honing their own managerial skills to
achieve their career and life goals. The teacher will play the role of a facilitator. Consequently, there will only be a small amount of the traditional lecture format. The class will spend time on discussions, role plays, writing memos, and developing personal growth plans. The role of the teacher is to help the group and individuals to learn from the experiences.
Each individual is therefore responsible for his/her own learning. What each specific person learns depends on his or her own base skills, needs, readiness and the working relationships developed with other members of the class. Students must read the assigned material in preparation and should come prepared to participate in the role plays and other exercises in class. Learning potential is maximized when all the participants communicate their perceptions and feelings honestly and directly. It is very important that participants should use language and tone that is respectful to others to maximize the learning process.
Assignments and
Grading
Role plays - 50%
Students will form groups of three and participate in role plays to work on their interpersonal skills.
Written assignments - 40%
Students will develop and revise a personal growth plan, write a book critique, develop and maintain an industry/company folder, write memos and other written assignments as assigned.
Class Participation - 10%
Class participation grades will be based on student’s frequency and quality of participation in class discussions, volunteering for role
plays, providing feedback to other classmates, and class attendance.
Class Requirements
Attend class each session. Arrive in class ready and prepared. Participate in
class/group discussions and volunteer for role plays and other exercises.
Students will form groups and participate in the role plays. This will be done outside the class. Students will have to organize and participate in video-taping team sessions on a weekly basis. The anticipated time for these taping sessions is around 2 hours with students taking on the main role, the ancillary role and the role of the observer alternately. Each student will have to obtain a VHS tape for this purpose, record the role play and share it with the class on the prescribed date. Camcorders are available at audio-visual services and should be reserved at least 2 days in advance by contacting Kellee Ward at 2-4211.
Students will complete 3 important writing assignments. They are:
1) Personal growth plan: Based on personal aspirations, feedback from self-assessment quizzes, role play videos and experiences from the semester to develop a growth plan for the next three years. Details of this assignment will be provided later.
2) An industry/company folder: Students will choose an industry and a major company in that industry and will scan business journals and newspapers like the Wall Street Journal to track major events/changes that are shaping the industry/company. Students will maintain the newspaper clippings/articles and write a trends report based on the knowledge gleaned. Students will also share their experiences with the class.
3) Book critique: Students will select a contemporary book, biography, or autobiography that is relevant to the course, approved by the instructor and write a 3-5 page book critique with special focus on the skills or techniques derived from the book.
Assignments must be completed effectively and on time. Students should schedule and keep two appointments with the instructor to discuss their learning goals and personal growth plans – 1) at the beginning of the semester and prior to writing personal growth plans at the end of the semester.
This course will be administered through Blackboard. Students who are unfamiliar with Blackboard can access the website http://www.unh.edu/blackboard/gettingstarted.html for more details on using Blackboard.
The course schedule is listed below. The instructor reserves the right to make changes in the schedule as needed with due notice.
COURSE SCHEDULE FOR SPRING 2002
* TIPS –Training in Interpersonal Skills
** WS - Keys to Workplace Skills
Meeting # Date Assignment
1 Jan 22 Introduction to Management Skills Course
2 Jan 24 How to succeed in business?
Chapter 1 (TIPS*) and Chapter 1(WS**)
3 Jan 29 Who am I? S elf-awareness.
Chapter 2 (TIPS)
4 Jan 31 Where am I going? What do I want to be?
Chapter 2 (WS)
Article - Managing Oneself
5 Feb 5 Creating a personal growth plan
6 Feb 7 How to become a life-long learner?
Creating an industry/company folder
Chapter 3 & 6 (WS)
Draft Personal Growth Plan Due
7 Feb 12 Conferences
8 Feb 14 Conferences
9 Feb 19 Learning to communicate effectively
Chapter 5 (WS)
10 Feb 21 Listening for better communication
Chapter 3 (TIPS)
11 Feb 26 Goal setting
Chapter 4 (TIPS)
12 Feb 28 Writing to communicate – Memos & Reports
Chapter 7 (WS)
13 Mar 5 Providing Feedback
Chapter 5 (TIPS)
14 Mar 7 Goal setting Videos
15 Mar 12 Discussion – Book Critique
Book Critique Due
16 Mar 14 Interviewing
Chapter 14 (TIPS)
17 Mar 19 SPRING BREAK
18 Mar 21 SPRING BREAK
19 Mar 26 Feedback Videos
20 Mar 28 Persuading
Chapter 7 (TIPS)
21 Apr 2 Interviewing Videos
22 Apr 4 Resolving Conflicts
Chapter 12 (TIPS)
23 Apr 9 Persuasion Videos
24 Apr 11 Running Meetings
Chapter 10 (TIPS) and Chapter 8 (WS)
25 Apr 16 Art of Negotiating
Chapter 13 (TIPS)
26 Apr 18 Conflict Resolution Videos
27 Apr 23 Conferences
28 Apr 25 Conferences
29 Apr 30 Discussion – Industry/Company Folder
Industry/Company Folder Due
30 May 2 Negotiations Videos
31 May 7 Discussion-Personal Growth Plans
Personal Growth Plans Due
32 May 9 Last
class - Wrap-up
PERSONAL DATA SHEET
NAME (Print)
CLASS STANDING
CONCENTRATION
LOCAL ADDRESS
TELEPHONE
JOB EXPERIENCE AND/OR OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERIENCES:
(Specify the name of the organization, title, responsibility and accomplishments.)
SELF DESCRIPTION:(Describe your self in terms of personal characteristics, skills, values and interests)
DESCRIBE YOUR FUTURE PLANS (NEXT FIVE YEARS):
I have fully read and understand the course requirements and policies (including grading) put forth in this syllabus and agree to abide by them.
Student Signature:_____________________________________