Department or Program: Administrative Information Systems Department

Course Number: 360

Semester Hours: 3

Frequency of Offering: Yearly

Course Title: Interpersonal Business Relations

Catalog Description: For all students. Confronting and coping with interpersonal problems specific to the business environment. Focus is on strategies for managing productive work relationships. Includes leadership styles, power and authority, listening and feedback skills, conflict resolution, relating to minority groups, and multi-cultural business relationships.

This is an existing course previously approved by A2C2: Yes

This is a new course proposal: No

Department Contact

University Studies Approval is requested in: Unity and Diversity—4. Contemporary Citizenship

Attachment: Although each faculty member is responsible for his or her course syllabus, an attached syllabus includes an outline of the course content and requirements. Items meeting the Contemporary Citizenship requirements are identified by corresponding letters matching the listed outcomes--a, b, d, e, and/or f.

Below each of the five outcomes under the "Contemporary Citizenship" requirement are listed the course
requirements, content, learning activities, and documentation relevant to the outcomes that promote
students’ abilities to:

1. Use critical thinking to analyze contemporary issues. The Interpersonal Business Relations

course focuses on interpersonal business relations issues that individuals encounter in the workplace.

Students study the concepts and theories of human relations toward developing their human relations skills for their personal and professional lives. They develop their abilities to apply interpersonal business relations concepts through critical thinking. Analysis of concepts is enhanced through applications involving real-life, objective cases described in the textbook and handouts or videotape. Internet exercises and work applications emphasize personal application of concepts.

2. Demonstrate effective oral and/or written communication of ideas, informed opinions, and/or

values. Students work collaboratively on certain projects and in discussion- and case-based groups during class. Students present keyboarded as well as oral reports about topics that enhance the development of interpersonal business relations skills in their personal and professional lives. Through discussions concerning application and skill-building exercises and cases, students have opportunities to develop their abilities to apply human relations concepts and theories through critical thinking. Skill-building occurs through self-assessment exercises, SCANS-based applications, and behavior models for solving video-based exercises.

 

3. Identify, find, and use tools of information science related to contemporary issues. Students address the issues of personal, civic, and/or economic responsibility throughout the course. They have access to information sources through the library as well as web sites and guest presenters. Students have the opportunity to practice competencies effective citizens and business people can use productively:

1. Interpersonal Skills—working on teams, teaching others, serving customers, leading, negotiating,

and working well with people from culturally diverse backgrounds.

2. Basic Skills—reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Communicating with peers provides

opportunities for improving speaking and listening skills.

3. Thinking Skills—thinking creatively, making decisions, solving problems, seeing things in the

mind’s eye, knowing how to learn, and reasoning.

4. Personal Qualities—individual responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management and

integrity.

2. Demonstrate the ability to work effectively independently and/or in collaborative problem-solving groups. Students participate actively within in-class discussion and problem-solving groups as well as on collaborative groups that research information for projects. Students use decision making steps and other frameworks and models for preparing research reports.
3. Identify principles and applications of personal, civic, and/or economic responsibility; understand personal responsibility for lifestyle choices. Students address the issues of

personal, civic, and/or economic responsibility throughout the course. They have access to inform-ation sources through the library, web sites, and resource people. Students have opportunities to learn about interpersonal business relation concepts. Personal qualities account for 85 percent of the factors contributing to job success; technical knowledge accounts for 15 percent. Of the employees fired from jobs, 66 percent were fired because they failed to get along with people and only 34 percent lost jobs because they lacked technical knowledge. (The Harvard Bureau of Vocational Guidance.) As global competition increases, so does the pressure to increase productivity; poor interpersonal business relation skills can be detrimental to productivity. The SCANS competencies, work teams, organization learning, conflict management, motivation, culture building, quality of life, change-agent skills, and ethics require emphasis. Within our technological society, students need to learn techniques for coping with the resulting workplace issues. Identifying interpersonal business relation skills and techniques related to workplace issues allows for making responsible human relations choices that have a positive impact on personal, civic, and the national economics. Discussing and analyzing such topics as team dynamics, team building, quality of life, leadership strategies, and self-directed work teams, students have opportunities for understanding the importance of taking personal responsibility for the outcomes of interpersonal business relations choices. The syllabus outlines numerous application opportunities for students.

4. Participate actively (e.g., class discussion, volunteerism, etc.) in issues significant to

Department: Administrative Information Systems Revision Date: August 2001

(Business Education)

Course Title: Interpersonal Business

Course Number: AIS 360 Relations

Credits: 3 Semester Hours Frequency of Offering: Yearly

Prerequisites: None Grading: Grade Only

1. COURSE DESCRIPTION

1. Catalog Description and Focus

Confronting and coping with interpersonal problems specific to the business environment. Focus is on strategies for managing productive work relationship. Includes leadership styles, power and authority, listening and feedback skills, conflict resolution, relating to minority groups, and multi-cultural business relationships.

2. University Studies Course

The AIS 360 Interpersonal Business Relations course will satisfy three semester hours of the Unity and Diversity—Contemporary Citizenship category in the University Studies Program. The course will provide students an opportunity to achieve the following outcomes:

a. Use critical thinking to analyze contemporary issues.

1. Demonstrate effective oral and/or written communication of ideas, informed opinions, and/or values.

c. Identify, find, and use tools of information science related to contemporary issues.

d. Demonstrate the ability to work effectively independently and/or in collaborative problem-

solving groups.

1. Identify principles and applications of personal, civic, and/or economic responsibility; understand personal responsibility for lifestyle choices.
2. Participate actively (e.g., class discussion, volunteerism, etc.) in issues significant to

citizenship in contemporary society.

1. Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, each student will

1. Understand the dynamics of working human relationships in the business administrative

support environment. (c, d, e)

1. Command a knowledge of the basic foundations of human relations.

2. Command knowledge to Transactional Analysis as a basic conceptual model and analytical tool for examining human interactions in organizations.

2. Learn to use verbal and nonverbal communications skills that will produce an atmosphere of

trust, mutual respect, openness, and mutual cooperation. (b, c)

1. Attain an understanding of the importance of good listening skills in the work

environment.

1. Understand some key processes of human relations such as persuasion, influence, power, leadership, coordination, cooperation, competition, and conflict resolution.

1. Learn about special challenges of human relations such as stress, burnout, attitudes, and coping with change. (b, c, d, e)

1. Demonstrate collaboration and group process skills, including the ability to understand a

holistic perspective.

1. Develop and communicate group goals, understand the role of the individual in groups,

and interpret and process feedback within groups.

1. Apply the acquired understanding of interpersonal relations to business problems and case studies. (c, e, f)

1. Demonstrate communication and interpersonal skills including the ability to understand

how to approach communication from a systems perspective including cultural, organiza-

tional, technological, and interpersonal perspectives and how to use the system perspec-

tive to analyze and direct the choice of communication strategies and forms.

2. Communicate in a clear, courteous, concise, and correct manner using oral

communication skills, informational reading skills, written communication skills, and effective listening skills.

3. Apply effective human relations and interpersonal skills.

1. Learn about human relations in the international arena. (a, c)

1. Understand international business fundamentals.

1. Understand the social, cultural, political, legal, and economic factors that shape and have

an impact the international business environment.

4. Course Outline

1. Behavior, Human Relations, and Performance (a, b, c, d, e, f)

1. Understanding behavior, human relations, and performance—importance, assessment,

and development of human relations skills

2. Diversity in personality, intelligence, and perception—stress, learning styles, first

impressions

3. Diversity in attitudes, self-concept, and values—job satisfaction

b. Communication Skills—The Foundation of Human Relations (a, b, c, d, e, f)

1. Motivation—importance; content, process, and reinforcement theories, techniques, and

considerations for global application

2. Leadership—trait, behavioral, and contingency theories, situational supervision,

substitutes, and diversity of global leadership

3. Transactional analysis, assertiveness, and conflict resolution—conflict management

styles, resolving conflicts through collaborating conflict style, interpersonal dynamics

d. Team Behavior, Human Relations, and Performance (a, b, c, d, e, f)

1. Power, politics, and ethics—business ethics and politics, vertical and horizontal politics

2. Teams and creative problem solving and decision making—groups and teams, types of groups, when to use group problem solving and decision making

3. Team dynamics and leadership—team performance model, development stages, leading teams as a situational supervisor, meeting leadership skills

1. Organizational Challenges (a, b, c, d, e, f)

1. Change: managing culture, diversity, quality, and climate—importance, over-coming resistance; relationship among organizational culture, climate, and development

2. Valuing diversity globally—prejudice and discrimination, equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, legally protected and sexual harassment, sexism in organizations, global diversity, and handling complaints

3. Productivity, quality, and participative management--techniques

4. Labor unions, labor relations, membership rationale, legislation, collective bargaining, complaints versus grievances, trends

2. Personal Development (a, b, c, d, e, f)

1. Time and career management—analyzing time usage, priority determination, time management system and techniques, career stages, career planning and development, job search, and getting raises and promotions

2. Applying human relations skills—review of human relations concepts, assessing

human relations abilities and skills, human relations planning, handling human

relations problems, changing one’s behavior, human relations plans

 

1. APPLICATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. Work Applications – Submit keyboarded Work Applications as indicated in the textbook or an assignment sheet. Describe the work situations without identifying the workplace or its employees by name. (a, b, c, d, e, f)
2. Application and Objective, Textbook and Video Cases – Critique application and objective cases as presented in the text or handout or on a video tape. Prepare to discuss the cases within in-class groups. (a, b, c, d, e, f)
3. Skill-building Exercises – Role-play workplace situations presented in the textbook or on a handout. The situations for each unit within the course emphasize selected SCANS competencies, skills and personal qualities. (a, b, c, d, e, f)
4. Collaborative Project – Form a study group of three to five individuals. Select an interpersonal business relations study and research project based upon course readings, class discussion, and instructor assistance. Prepare a keyboarded report and present an oral report in class. (a, b, c, d, e, f)

5. In-class Discussion Groups about Educational Videos, Textbook Cases and Problems,

and ideas presented by resource people – Present information discussed within

assigned, in-class discussion groups. (a, b, c, d, e, f)

 

1. EVALUATION

Course evaluation will be based on the following: Weight (%) Evaluation

Textbook

Lussier, Robert N., HUMAN RELATIONS IN ORGANIZATIONS, 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2002.

Other Books

Berne, Eric, GAMES PEOPLE PLAY, Grove Press, 1964.

Chapman, Elwood N. and Sharon Lund O’Neill, YOUR ATTITUDE IS SHOWING—THE POWER OF

HUMAN RELATIONS, 10^TH Edition, Prentice Hall, 2001.

DeCenzo, David A. and Beth Silhanek, HUMAN RELATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT, 2^nd Edition, Prentice Hall, 2002.

Dubrin, Andrew J., HUMAN RELATIONS FOR CAREER AND PERSONAL SUCCESS, 6^th Edition,

Prentice Hall, 2001.

Journals

Academy of Management Executive Academy of Management Journal

Academy of Management Review

Administration & Society

CMA Magazine

Compensation and Benefits Management

HR Focus

HR Magazine

International Business

Human Resource Development Quarterly

Journal of Applied Psychology

Journal of Business Communication (The)

Journal of Information Management

Journal of Organizational Behavior

Leadership and Organization Development

Manage

Management Review

Mid-American Journal of Business

Personnel Journal

Personnel Review

Quality

Supervision

Supervisory Management

Training

U.S. News & World Report

Wall Street Journal (The)

Business Ethics

Career Planning (Occupational Outlook Handbook--OOH)

Center for Study of Ethics in the Professions

Change-Agent Skills

Creativity Techniques

Culture Building/Quality of Life

HR Positive Employee Relations Council

Intellifact International ("business research tutorial")

Interpersonal Communications Skills

Leadership Strategies

Learning to Learn—Resources (Tests and Learning Styles Inventories)

Management General (MG) ("fiscal fairy tales")

Participative Management

Recognition/Motivation

SCANS Competencies

Search Engine Watch ("web searching tips")

Self-directed Work Teams

Society for Organization Learning

Team Dynamics/Building

Work911 (Conflict Management/Difficult Employees)