Management & Organizations

Sections 007, 008 & 009

Spring 2023
NYU Stern School of Business

Professor Julianna Pillemer

Email: jp3532@stern.nyu.edu (NOTE: please use my Stern email address, not @nyu)
Office hours: Tuesdays, 5-6:30 PM, KMC 7-59 (7th Floor, MGMT department); Thursdays 5-6:30 by appointment

Section Times and Teaching Fellows:

Section 007 (TuTh 11:00am - 12:15pm): Abhishek Gupte (agg7631@stern.nyu.edu)
Section 008 (TuTh 2:00pm - 3:15pm): Angela Shakeri (as10349@stern.nyu.edu)
Section 009 (TuTh 3:30pm - 4:45pm): Sam Li (sam.li@stern.nyu.edu)

Course location: Tisch 201 (007), Tisch UC 24 (008, 009)

Course website: https://brightspace.nyu.edu/

 Slides, announcements, calendar, and some course materials will be posted on Brightspace.
 You are expected to check the site regularly for announcements and upload assignments to the site.
 Be sure your email settings are set to receive announcements at the email you check most often.

Syllabus (standardized across M&O sections, and in accordance with Stern policy):

Why do some organizations succeed while others flounder? Why do some people love their jobs while for
others work is sheer misery? Why do some rise in the ranks and others stagnate (or fall)? It is critically
important for you to have an understanding of the key factors that contribute to both organizational success and
the role that managers play in helping their organizations succeed and employees thrive.

The primary objective of the course is to help students understand the elements that contribute to organizational
and employee success, as well as some of the common impediments to high performance. We will focus on how
organizations position themselves for success within their external environment, and how they organize and
motivate their people. More specifically, the course will explore how organizational leaders develop winning
strategies, and then design their organization in a way that aligns structures, social relationships, tasks, and
people to achieve those strategies. In exploring these issues, we will identify the challenges that organizational
leaders and managers face as they try to make good decisions in the face of a constantly evolving industry
environment, competing goals and agendas, and an increasingly diverse and global workforce.

A second objective of the course is to strengthen students’ managerial and leadership potential. Regardless of
your major or your future career plans, such an understanding will enable you to work more effectively within
an organizational context, whether that context is a small start-up company, a family business, a not-for-profit
organization, or a large financial institution. In other words, the course will provide you with tools and skills that
you can use to increase your own personal career success.

The structure of the course encourages learning in multiple ways: through lecture, readings, in-class discussions,
exercises, case analyses, and a team project. These approaches provide opportunities for students to enhance
their analytic and interpersonal skills, both of which are essential to effective management and to success in the
workplace (and life).
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REQUIRED READINGS
Course calendar indicates where to find readings and when to read them:
 The online course packet (OCP) for purchase (you may also buy cases or readings individually, or coordinate
otherwise to obtain them): https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/1011294
 Brightspace website

REQUIRMENTS AND GRADING

Individual Work (75%) Team Work (25%)

Exam I (20%) Final Project Paper (10%)
Exam II (20%) Final Project Presentation (10%)
Case Analysis (20%) Contribution (Teammate Evaluation) (5%)
Participation (15%)

Communication is key. If you have questions or concerns, and have thoroughly checked the course materials &
syllabus, then please email to discuss before the deadline, conflicts, and/or difficulties arise. There is very little
(if anything) to be done about issues raised after the deadlines, and especially after the course is over.

INDIVIDUAL WORK

Late assignments. Late assignments – no matter how soon after the deadline they are uploaded – will be marked
as late and will receive a 25% grade reduction for the assignment. Each subsequent 24 hours that passes after the
assignment is due will result in an additional 25% reduction.
Academic integrity. I trust that each student will author her or his own work. Papers that closely resemble each
other will be cause for suspicion. If a student has any concern about whether a certain action might violate the
Stern Code of Conduct, ask your professor. It is better to ask than to assume. Papers will be run through TurnItIn.
This software will compare each assignment to all other assignments from this class and previous classes as well
as with any other online content.
Two Exams (Cumulatively 40% of final grade; Exam I and II are 20% each)
Exam I will be held on Thursday, February 28, 2023, covering content from sessions 1-10.
Exam II will be held on Thursday, April 20, 2023, covering content from sessions 12-22.
Individual Case Analysis Paper (20% of final grade)
You are required to complete one full case analysis. For full details about the individual case analysis, please see
the handout "Individual Case Analysis."
For this assignment you may choose one of two possible cases to analyze: Big Spaceship from the “Organizations”
portion or Heidi Roizen from the “Groups” portion. Please review both the overall case analysis instructions and the
specific assignment question when crafting your response.

Case Analysis Options Due Date (11:59 PM)

#1 Big Spaceship (content from “Organizations” sessions) Friday, February 24
#2 Heidi Roizen (content from “Groups” sessions) Friday, April 7
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Class Participation (15% of final grade)
In-class Engagement and Participation OR Asynchronous Reflection (10%). Participation in the classroom
is an essential part of the course and is important for your own learning experience and the learning experience
of your classmates. Class participation will be evaluated based on your fulfillment of the three ideals below:
1) prepare for class; 2) come to class; 3) be engaged, respectful, and courageous in class.

Prepare for class. You will be a valuable contributor to class only if you come prepared. You are expected
to complete all of the readings and come to class with insights and questions for the in-class discussion. We
will engage in several case analyses as a class, and it is important to everyone’s learning experience that
you read the case thoroughly and think about the events critically before we discuss the case in class.

Come to class. You cannot participate if you don’t attend class – your participation grade reflects
attendance. This entails: arriving on time and being engaged (e.g. not on phone or distracted). The TFs
and I will be taking note of this and you will lose attendance points if any of these are not fulfilled. If you
need to take a call or do other things on your phone, please leave the classroom as to not distract your
classmates.

If you need to miss class for any reason and would like to make up participation points, please view the
class recording (provided on Brightspace) and write a 2-paragraph reflection on 1) your answer to a question
or comment posed during class and 2) a thought-provoking question the material raised for you. You must
email this to me and your TF within 48 hours of class for full credit.

Be engaged, courageous, and respectful in class. I care a great deal about fostering honest in-class
discussion and aim to make the class atmosphere as relaxed and psychologically safe as possible. See below
for some basic guidelines for how to be a good class member and participate in the discussion:
● Be engaged. Do your best to be present for all 75 minutes of class – put away distractions, listen attentively,
and participate when appropriate.
● Be courageous. It is important that everyone contributes to class discussion – this takes courage, but is a
critical component of your learning in this class. This will help foster healthy debate and an optimal learning
environment.
● Be respectful. It is healthy and useful to disagree and debate. However, please critique ideas, not people.
Short Assignments (3%): You also are expected to complete a few pre-class assignments during the semester.
Completion of these will result in all points, not completing will result in no points. These must be on time
since they will be used in class to illustrate key points or shared in Zoom polls or breakouts.

Organizational Research Assignment (2%): You can obtain credit by choosing one of two options
designed to enrich your understanding of the value of research to the formulation of sound management
practice. Information on the assignment is provided at the end of the syllabus.

TEAMWORK/FINAL GROUP PROJECT AND PRESENTATION

Working in teams is an important part of this course. Although some class time may be devoted to working
in teams, most teamwork will be completed outside of class. Students with serious time constraints are
advised to register for this course in a semester when their schedule is more conducive to team meetings.

Four to six member teams will be determined by either request or random assignment – this will allow for
you to meet new people and to avoid relational challenges around picking teams. You may, however, email
with any major concerns and constraints, and we will do our best to take these into account.
 Final Project (Cumulatively 25% of final grade: 10% paper; 10% presentation; 5% teammate eval.) PA
Your team is required to complete a final team research project. For full details about the final group project,
please see the later handout "Final group project and presentation." See below for project timeline:
1) March 31st – Executive Summary: One group member should upload a (no more than) 1-page executive
summary of the project (PDF) with each team member's name on it to Brightspace (assignments tab).

2) May 2nd or 4th – Presentations: Your team will prepare an 8-10 minute presentation to be done during one of the
last two classes of the course. The number of teams will determine the exact time each team has to present.

3) May 9th – Final Paper: Upload one PDF per team with each team member's name on it to Brightspace (guidelines
for paper are in the assignment document).

4) May 10th – Teammate Evaluation: An online survey will be distributed via email, and the evaluation must be
completed by 5:00pm. Each student will be required to evaluate the contributions of their fellow teammates on
the final presentation and paper.

COURSE CALENDAR
Below are the planned topics and readings for each class. These are subject to change, based on what we
accomplish in each class. I will also email relevant readings and podcasts throughout the semester as they arise.

C
l Case
Area Topic a Date Other readings and assignments (due by FIRST date)
s (to prep by this date)
s
Course Intro 1 Tu 1/24 None Read syllabus
Frameworks for The Congruence Model (BRIGHTSPACE)
Understanding 2 Th 1/26 Mt. Everest (OCP)
Organizations Creating psychological safety in the workplace (podcast)

3
Tu 1/31 None The five competitive forces that shape strategy (OCP)
Strategy
What is strategy (OCP)
Netflix Inc (OCP)
4 Th 2/2
Guest Speaker
5 Tu 2/7 None Do you have a well-designed organization? (OCP)
Organizations

Zappos: A Workplace Where No One And Everyone Is The

Structure Boss
6 Th 2/9 Big Spaceship (OCP)
A World Without Bosses (podcast)
We Like You So Much (BRIGHTSPACE)
7 Tu 2/14 None
Culture Culture Chapters 1-2 (BRIGHTSPACE)
IDEO’s Culture
8 Th 2/16 of Helping (OCP) The People Make The Place (BRIGHTSPACE)
What Leaders Really Do (OCP)
9 Tu 2/21 In-class exercise
Harnessing the Science of Persuasion (OCP)
Leadership **OPTION 1 CASE DUE (Big Spaceship) – 2/24 by
10 Thu 2/23 None
11:59PM**

11 Tu 2/28 EXAM 1 – IN CLASS

Group project work None

GP WORK DAY 12 Th 3/2
day – outside of class!
The great conundrum (BRIGHTSPACE)
I vs. We 13 Tu 3/7 None
Groups

The unselfish gene (OCP)

Groups

14 Th 3/9 None Are you a giver or a taker? (TED TALK VIDEO)

 3/13 –3/17 NO CLASS (Spring Break!)
PA
Delusions of Success (OCP)
Decision-Making Tu 3/21 None
15 Cognitive Biases and Heuristics (BRIGHTSPACE)

16 Thu 3/23 Heidi Roizen (OCP) How leaders create and use networks (OCP)
Relationships
How to build your network (OCP)
17 Tu 3/28 None

How to give and receive feedback about creative work

Creativity and Feedback Thu 3/30 None Creativity and innovation in organizations
18
GROUP PROJECT EXEC SUMMARY DUE 3/31

Managing conflict Tu 4/4 Guest Speaker How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight (OCP)
19

Negotiating with Emotion HBR (OCP)

Thu
Negotiation 4/6 None The Science of the Deal (Podcast)
20
**OPTION 2 CASE DUE (Heidi Roizen)- April 7 by 11:59PM**
Tu
21 4/11 None On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B
Motivation & (BRIGHTSPACE)
Individuals

Incentives Thu
22 4/13 Values survey (email) Motivating Employees (BRIGHTSPACE)
Ind

Authenticity and Tu The authenticity paradox (OCP)

Diversity 23 4/18 Guest speaker
Diversity and authenticity (OCP)
Thu
24 4/20 EXAM 2 - IN CLASS

Tu Turn the job you have into the job you want (OCP)
25 4/25 Career Panel
Finding the job of your life
Managing Yourself
Th Growth Mindset at Work (BRIGHTSPACE)
26 4/27 None
Happiness Hypothesis Ch. 7 (BRIGHTSPACE)

27 Tu 5/2
Final Group
FINAL GROUP PRESENTATIONS
Presentations Thu
28 5/4

IMPORTANT DUE DATES (NOT ON CALENDARS ABOVE)

Monday 3/27/23 Organizational Research Participation Opportunity: If choosing Option 1 for the Org. Research
- Friday 4/7/23 Requirement. Remember to sign-up beforehand.
Final Group Paper: Due by 5:00pm. One person from the group should upload one PDF with first and
Tuesday 5/9/23
last name of each group member to Brightspace (Assignments).
Organizational Research Assignment: (Option 2 for Org. Research Requirement). Due by 5:00pm.
Tuesday 5/9/23
Upload PDF to Brightspace (Assignments). **only for those who did not do Option 1**

Wednesday Team Member Contribution Survey: Due by 11:59pm.

5/10/23

STERN GRADING POLICY

At NYU Stern, we strive to create courses that challenge students intellectually and that meet the Stern standards
of academic excellence. To ensure fairness and clarity of grading, the Stern faculty have adopted a grading
guideline for core courses with enrollments of more than 25 students in which approximately 35% of students
will receive an “A” or “A-” grade. In core classes of less than 25 students, the instructor is at liberty to give
whatever grades they think the students deserve, while maintaining rigorous academic standards. PA

In line with Grading Guidelines for the NYU Stern Undergraduate College, the process of assigning grades is
based upon detailed, consistent, and fair criteria, and great efforts are made to ensure that grades are accurate,
unbiased, and error-free. All graded materials will be reviewed before a final grade is given. This means that
students are encouraged to respect the integrity and authority of the professor’s grading system and
discouraged from pursuing arbitrary challenges to it.

Typically, therefore, regrades are not provided. If a student can document that an inadvertent error has been
made in the grading of an individual assignment or in assessing an overall course grade, a request to have that
grade re-evaluated may be submitted. Students must submit such requests in writing to the professor within 7
days of receiving the grade, including a written statement of why he or she believes that an error in grading has
been made. In order to appeal a grade, students must write a memo describing the perceived error and submit it
within one week of receiving the grade. The professor will then review the entire assignment, meaning that
your grade may decrease or increase. These policies exist to make grading as fair as possible across all
students.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Integrity is critical to the learning process and to all that we do here at NYU Stern. As members of our community,
all students agree to abide by the NYU Stern Student Code of Conduct, which includes a commitment to:
o Exercise integrity in all aspects of one's academic work including, but not limited to, the preparation and
completion of exams, papers and all other course requirements by not engaging in any method or means
that provide an unfair advantage.
o Clearly acknowledge the work and efforts of others when submitting written work as one’s own. Ideas,
data, direct quotations (which should be designated with quotation marks), paraphrasing, creative
expression, or any other incorporation of the work of others should be fully referenced.
o Refrain from behaving in ways that knowingly support, assist, or in any way attempt to enable another
person to engage in any violation of the Code of Conduct. Our support also includes reporting any
observed violations of this Code of Conduct or other School and University policies that are deemed to
adversely affect the NYU Stern community.

The entire Stern Student Code of Conduct applies to all students enrolled in Stern courses and can be found
here: www.stern.nyu.edu/uc/codeofconduct.

To help ensure the integrity of our learning community, prose assignments you submit to Brightspace will be
submitted to Turnitin, which will compare your submission to a database of prior submissions to Turnitin,
current and archived Web pages and publications. Additionally, your document will become part of the Turnitin
database.

CONDUCT AND BEHAVIOR

Students are also expected to maintain and abide by the highest standards of professional conduct and behavior.
Please familiarize yourself with the following:
o Stern's Policy in Regard to In-Class Behavior & Expectations (http://www.stern.nyu.edu/portal-
partners/current-students/undergraduate/resources-policies/academic-policies/)
o The NYU Disruptive Behavior
Policy(https://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-compliance/policies-and-guidelines/university-
student-conduct-policy.html)

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

If you have a qualified disability and require academic accommodation of any kind during this course, you PA
must notify me at the beginning of the course and provide a letter from the Moses Center for Students with
Disabilities (CSD, 998-4980, www.nyu.edu/csd) verifying your registration and outlining the accommodations
they recommend. If you need to take an exam at the CSD, you must submit a completed Exam
Accommodations Form to them at least one week prior to the scheduled exam time to be guaranteed
accommodation.

ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT

The Organizational Research Requirement is worth 2% of your final grade for the course (see Participation
section). Sound management practice is informed by academic research, where studies are conducted to
examine basic psychological processes that play out in the workplace. In class we will discuss the research
process in management and organizational science. You can obtain credit for the Organizational Research
Assignment through either of the following two options (you choose either Option 1 or Option 2 – you will
not get credit for doing both), and it is designed to enrich your understanding of the value of research to the
formulation of sound management practice.
Option 1: Subject Pool Lab Participation: The first option is participation in the Management Department
Subject Pool. This gives you an opportunity to be part of management research in action and later evaluate it
with the advantage of firsthand experience. With this option, you will be a participant in a 90 minute session
of research experiment(s) currently being conducted by Management Department faculty. (Note that while the
people running the studies are usually Ph.D. students or other research assistants, they are conducting the
research for or with members of the Management Department faculty, who supervise them closely). When you
show up for a study, someone at the lab will seat you and record your attendance in the sign-up system so that
you receive credit for this assignment, but note that your responses in the experiment cannot be connected to
your identity in any way. Once these studies are finished, you will receive written educational debriefings.

Participation in the Subject Pool is easy and should be enjoyable for most students. It only requires signing
up for a session and following instructions. However, while the experiments are usually fun, you should take
them seriously and provide honest and careful responses to all questions you are comfortable answering. Sign-
ups will occur on-line several days before the scheduled experiments – which will run Monday, March 27 –
Friday, April 7, 2023. Please note that the web-based sign-up sheets do not reveal the identity of yourself or
anyone else who will be participating in the experiment. Any questions about availability, scheduling,
participation, or being credited for participation in the subject pool should be directed to:
behavior.lab@stern.nyu.edu.
During the experimental session, you will be informed of what the study is about, what your rights are as a
participant in the study, and any risks or benefits of participation in the experiment. You will be asked to read
and indicate consent on a consent form, stating that you agree to participate in the experiment. If you prefer not
to participate, you may complete the research proposal assignment described below (“Option 2”) and receive
the same credit.

For students who are under 18 years of age who want to do Option 1: It is a Federal law and University
requirement that you provide a signed consent form from your parent or legal guardian before you can be a
research participant. Please see me if you are under 18 and would like to participate in the lab research
(“Option 1”) for your class requirement. I will provide a copy of the parental consent form for each
experiment, which must be read and signed by your parent or legal guardian. The form must then be returned
to me prior to your participating in the experiment. (Note that you do not need parental consent if you choose
the Research Proposal “Option 2” assignment described below).
Option 2: Research Proposal Report: The other option is to write a two-page research proposal.
The assignment is due Tuesday, May 9th by 5:00 p.m. No exceptions will be made, so plan ahead.
 To complete this assignment, refer to the article “Theory and research: Tools for learning about behavior in PA
organizations” posted on Brightspace. Based on the material covered in class and that reading, this assignment
involves developing a research question and designing a study (either an experiment or a survey) to test that
research question. Your research question should draw on class material, current events, or personal
experience. Any topic that is relevant to Management and Organizations is fine. Your question should also
define the focus of the study you design and the report you write. Prepare a two-page report (double-spaced)
that clearly describes your research question and the proposed study you would design in order to test your
hypothesis, addressing the following questions:
1. What is your proposed question / hypothesis?
2. Why is it interesting and important for management practice?
3. How will you test your question (including the sample, research approach and design, data collection
and measurement)?
4. What are the strengths/weaknesses of this method for answering your question/ testing your hypothesis?

**Congratulations on making it through the syllabus. For extra participation credit, complete the “Syllabus EC” quiz on
Brightspace Quizzes by including 1) your favorite show, movie, or book you’ve seen/read in the last month; 2) your happy place,
and; 3) a song you’d like to add to the class playlist **