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Graduate School of Management Fall 2005 University of California, Davis Professor Palmer POWER AND INFLUENCE (MGT/MGP 223) The course examines the bases of power in organizations and the ways in which power can be built and used effectively. It also explores the positive and negative effects that power-oriented behavior can have on organizations. The ethics of power will be of recurrent concern throughout the course. Class sessions will be devoted to discussing “case” materials in light of theoretical arguments advanced in “readings.” Case materials include standard Harvard Business School cases, book chapters about individuals (Lyndon Johnson, Robert Moses, and Henry Kissinger), corporations (Lehman Brothers), and industries (e.g., auto), and in-class videos (e.g., a “Bill Moyer’s Journal” segment on David Rockefeller). COURSE REQUIREMENTS Final course grades will be based on student performance on one written assignment and on student participation in class discussions. Students have two written assignment options to choose from: a final examination or a final term paper. Final Examination Option. The final examination will be a take home case analysis. The final exam and associated case will be distributed at the end of Session #8 and analyses must be returned by the beginning of session 9. Final Term Paper Option. The preferred final paper topic will be a case study of a real organization. The research for this case study can be carried out using primary sources (e.g., participation observation and/or interviews) or secondary sources (e.g., books, articles, or prepared cases about a target organization). Thus, a student need not have worked in an organization to use it as the subject of his/her final paper. Other paper topics may also be acceptable. Students selecting the final paper option must follow the guidelines stipulated below. 1. Students must speak with me regarding the topic of his/her final paper sometime during the week of the 5th session. Failure to discuss your final paper topic with me by the end of this week will result in a one-half grade point deduction from your final course grade (e.g., from A to B+). 2. Students should obtain approval from me for their final paper topic by the 7th session. Failure to obtain approval for a final paper topic by this time will result in a one-half grade point deduction from your final grade. Students may change their final paper topic after this time, but should notify me of any such change as soon as possible. The submission of a final paper on an unproved topic will result in a one grade point deduction from your final course grade (e.g., from A to B). 3. Final papers must be submitted to me at the beginning of session # 10. The final paper will be worth 80% of the final grade.Class Participation. The material covered in this course will be largely learned through in-class discussion. For this reason, it is absolutely imperative that all students complete all of the assigned reading before coming to class. Likely discussion questions have been provided for each class session (with the exception of the first session) that can help you prepare for class discussion. The Professor’s evaluation of the quantity and quality of students whose performance on the final exam or final paper places them on the borderline between two letter grades (e.g., a student who received an A-for his /her work on the final exam or final paper could receive an A or B+ for the course, depending on the character of his/her contribution to class discussions). COURSE READINGS Managing with Power (MWP), by Jeffrey Pfeffer, Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Anthology of case materials and other readings. SESSION OUTLINE SESSION #1: INTRODUCTION TOPIC 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE TOPIC 2. WHY POWER IS IMPORTANT: ANALYSIS, DECISION-MAKING, AND IMPLEMENTATION Readings: Managign with Power (MWP), Ch.1, “Decisions and Implementation” MWP, Ch. 13, “The Politics of Information and Analysis.” Case: Donna Dubinsky and Apple computer (A through E) HBS cases 9-486-083 through 9-486-087. SESSION#2: HOW TO ASSESS THE POLITICAL TERRAIN TOPIC 1. DETERMINING WHEN POWER WILL BE IMPORTANT Readings: MWP, Ch.2. “When is Power Used?” Case: Textile Corporation of America. HBS case 470-044 Video: Textile Corporation of America: Part Two. HBS case 882-002 TOPIC 2. DETERMINING WHO HAS POWER Readings: MWP, Ch. 3, “Diagnosing Power and Dependence.” Case: Markham Instrument Company (A). HBS case 9-409-083SESSION #3: HOW TO DEVELOP POWER-PART 1 TOPIC 1. WHERE DOES POWER COME FROM: PERSONS, SITUATIONS OR WHAT? Readings: MWP, Ch. 4, “Where Does Power Come From?” Case: Robert A. Caro, The Path to Power, New York: Knopf, 1982, Ch. 13, “On His Way,” Ch. 16, “in Tune.” Video: “The World of David Rockefeller,” Bill Moyer’s Journal (1980). TOPIC 2. THE CONTROL OF RESOURCES Readings: MWP, Ch. 5, “Resources, Allies and the New Golden Rule.” Case: Robert A Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, New York: Vintage Books, 1975. Ch. 10, “The Best Bill Drafter in Albany,” Ch. 11, “The Majesty of the Law,” and Ch. 12, “Robert Moses and the Creature of the Machine.” SESSION #4: HOW TO DEVELOP POWER-PART 2 TOPIC 1. ADVANTAGEOUS COMMUNICATION NETWORK POSITION Readings: MWP, Ch. 6, “Location in the Communication Network.” Case: Robert A. Caro, Means of Ascent. New York: Knopf, 1990. Ch. 5, “Marking Time,” Ch. 6, “Buying and Selling.” TOPIC 2. PERSONAL REPUTATION AND PERFORMANCE Readings: MWP, Ch. 7, “Formal Authority, Reputation, and Performance.” Case: Seymour Hersh, The Price of Power: Kissinger In the Nixon White House, New York: Summit, 1983. Ch. 1, “The Job Seeker,” Ch.2, “A New NSC System,” Ch. 3, “Consolidating Authority.” SESSION #5: HOW TO DEVELOP POWER: PART 3 TOPIC 1. SUBUNIT CHARACTERISTICS Readings: MWP, Ch. 8, “The Importance of Being in the Right Unit.” MWP, Ch. 14, “Changing the Structure to Consolidate Power Case: David Halberstam, The Reckoning, NY: William Morrow, 1986. Ch. 11, “The Wiz Kids,” and Ch. 13 “The Quiet Man.” TOPIC 2. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS Readings: MWP, Ch. 9, “Individual Attributes as Sources of Power.” Case: Mike Rose (A and B). HBS case 0-482-007. Video: “Captain Rose vs. The


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UCD MGT 223 - MGT 223 SYLLABUS

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