Assignment # 1 - Psychological Contracts & Learning Styles

Assignment formatting instructions:

Please respond to each of the prompts / questions.

IMPORTANT: Be sure to include each of the specific prompts / questions before your responses (you can copy and paste these prompts from this document into your paper). Type your responses to each of the prompts where you see "(type your response here)" - following each of the prompts / questions.

• Also, and this is important, use Georgia 11 point font (or Arial will do, if you don't have Georgia), and 1.5 line spacing, and 1 inch margins.

You may be wondering "how long should this be?" In general, when responding to prompts or discussion questions, try to remember the "Goldilocks rule" - which is not too long, not too short but "just right." That means answering the questions succinctly (not rambling) but thoroughly (that is, with sufficient content to demonstrate thoughtful engagement of the material). Generally, that means a couple of well constructed paragraphs in response to each of the prompts. Generally, two or three sentence responses are NOT acceptable.

• You can also demonstrate your engagement with the readings by citing (in text) your source. For example, "I noticed that our team wasn't communicating effectively seemed stalled out. After analyzing the Pinch Model (Osland, p. 14), I realized that the stability of the team was compromised by the fact that we had yet to agree on role clarity and commitment." This sentence clearly demonstrates a connection between a theory from the textbook and a real life situation. ** (hint, hint) I like to see connections like this. It's one of the best ways for you to show me that you are engaged with the readings!

• Concepts & Theories - Generally your connections to the weekly readings will relate to specific concepts and/or theories you are reading about. What's a concept? What's a theory? From this week's readings, some concepts might include terms like organizational behavior, psychological contract, productivity, commitment, and decision to join/participate to name a few. Concepts are just ideas - defined in some specific manner. From the readings, an example of a theory would be "self-fulfilling prophecy" - it's a theory because it explains a process. Theories generally relate more than one concept to each other to explain something. You do not need to use these specific examples, but simply consider them a starter to help you pick out various concepts and theories from the readings.)

Preparation:
From the Readings content area, actively read the following:

1) Chapter 1 - Osland, Kolb, and Rubin's Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach

2) Chapter 3 - Osland, Kolb, and Rubin's Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach
Follow the directions for the "class preparation" questions in each chapter to improve your understanding of the materials, and complete the Learning Style Inventory in Chapter 3.

Part I - Group Experiences and the Psychological Contract

Set up:
As you go into this assignment, you will ideally choose a social group or teamwork-related experience from your past - something that you're motivated to reflect on and analyze. Perhaps there is something about the experience that you do not totally understand, or that intrigues you, or that makes you realize you may have lacked certain skills, knowledge, or perspective. Perhaps it is an experience that has proven problematic or very significant for you. As long as the experience involves working with others, or trying to get along with others (in some sort of organizational, group, or team manner), then you're on track. The experience you reflect on could have taken place at school, in a work relationship or a social one (with a club or group), or within a personal relationship.

The deeper you "dig" for a meaningful experience, the more you'll get from thinking it through and doing this assignment.

For Part I of the assignment, you can copy / paste the following content / prompts ("A" through "D") into your paper, then respond accordingly:
A. Concrete Experience
Think back on a time when a social / group / team experience did not work out as well as you thought it would (or hoped it would).

Objectively describe the experience (who, what, when, where, how)

Subjectively describe your feelings, perceptions, and thoughts that occurred during (not after) the experience. What did others seem to be feeling?

B. Reflective Observation
Looking back at the experience, what were the perspectives of the key actors (including you?)

C. Abstract Conceptualization
Relate concepts/theories from the assigned readings and, if helpful, from other readings you've done for other classes, to the experience. Please apply at least two concepts (and/or theories) and cite them properly.

D. Active Experimentation

Part II - Looking forward & developing a psychological contract for this class.
Set-up:
Be sure you've reviewed the syllabus, success tips, and overviewed the course. These should make clear what my general goals for the course are and the expectations I'll have for you.

The expectations are high and I expect you to do well. Why? Because I prefer to have the power of a self-fulfilling prophecy work in a positive way - I expect and hope you'll meet a HIGH expectation, rather than a LOW one. I believe in you and hope you will bring your best self to the table in attitude and work ethic for this course.

While this isn't a workplace, per se, it is a microcosm of one as there are expectations of you (by a professor instead of a boss) and you will be evaluated. The reward is not a paycheck but the sort of grades you get. In reality, the reward is what you learn and carry with you as you go forward but grades happen to be a necessity of the situation. They may not always reflect your personal learning increases but they do indicate how well you meet the expectations of assignments in spirit and in detail.

So what about your side of the contract?

For Part II of the assignment, you can copy / paste the following content / prompts ("A" and "B") into your paper, then respond accordingly:

A. What was your Learning Style Type? Were you generally balanced or was there a general dominant style? Given that this course focuses on the nature of teams in the contemporary workplace, comment on your strengths and weaknesses with respect to working effectively in an organizational team environment (see Exhibit 3.4, etc., in chapter 3). Tell a story or two from your life that illustrates some connections between your learning style type and some of your past or current behaviors when working with others in an organizational or social context.

B. Think about what you just learned from the reading and reflect back on a significant social learning experience from your past (an experience that involved working with others in some sort of organizational, group, or team manner). Think about what you can apply to set yourself up for success in this class as you reply to these items:

1. What are your personal goals for the course? To increase self-awareness? To learn theories and concepts? To fulfill a requirement? To get a grade? To apply learning in your job or life? Some or all of these or something else?

2. How will what you have learned from your previous experiences with team projects (at work or school) help (or hinder) your effectiveness? What are your resources / support mechanisms for this course? What experiences, in or out of school, will help you perform well?

3. As you go through the course, what strategies can you use to help facilitate and enhance your own learning process (see Exhibit 3.4, etc., in chapter 3)? Be sure to consider all four of the different learning styles, and suggest some approaches / strategies you could use to further enhance your level of success and/or bring balance to your experience?

4. What norms of behavior or ground rules do you set for yourself (and hope to hold your team members accountable for) to ensure a successful experience? What level of commitment do you carry as you enter into this experience? (Also, be sure to share these insights with your team when the time comes!)

5. You've already made a series of life decisions that led you to join this class. Now, based on your thought processes associated with these prompts (and the nature of this course), craft a personal contract statement that includes your decision to participate in the course. Just a sentence or two capturing your intention of committing to full participation (hopefully!) and/or anything you'd like to state succinctly that serves as your personal intention as you embark on this new adventure in BIS 343.