INLS 131:  Management of Information Professionals

Weeks 1 and 2: January 8-21, 2002
Introduction to the Course, Each Other, and the Instructor;
Skills of a Good Manager; The Psychological Contract

Welcome

I am pleased you are joining me in this online educational experience. As this is my fourth time teaching this course in this format, I can now share some observations with you from my earlier experiences. An online class is both similar to and different from a face-to-face (FTF) class, and there are some definite advantages to the online format.

First, the similarities. We'll cover similiar material to that which we do in the on-campus version. We'll follow a similar weekly schedule of topics and assignments. Just as in an on-campus course, it will be important to keep up. We will get to know one another as well as (and, in some ways, better than) you do your classmates in an on-campus course. Your instructor is just as available ("a click away").

In terms of differences, you'll have more control over when you spend time on the course. You will probably spend more time than you would for an on-campus course since you won't have the "luxury" of sitting back and listening to a lecture or to your classmates contributing to a discussion. You will have to take a much more active part in your learning, drawing the main points from the readings and contributing each week to the discussion forum. An online course has the disadvantage of your not being able to interact FTF with one another, but it has the advantage of not contributing to any prejudgement (from which the word "prejudice" comes) of one another on the basis of personal appearance. You are perceived entirely as you present yourself through the discussion forum.

You will usually have an option of submitting your weekly task assignments directly to me via e-mail if you prefer not to share what you have to say with classmates, although I will encourage you to communicate fully and openly with one another. This means I will want you to post your assignments on the discussion forums. The best workplaces are characterized by an open and honest communication climate. A strong learning community is also marked in the same way.

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Textbook

In these introductory weeks, take time to understand how your textbook works. It's organized a little differently from most textbooks and may be confusing at first. Once you understand it, I think you will find it a good learning tool for you. In each chapter, the order is as follows:

• a set of objectives
• an introductory case, a news item, or vignette of some kind. This acts as an "advance organizer" to prepare you for the topic.
• a short set of "getting ready" suggestions and often an exercise (called "premeeting preparation")
• the content part of the chapter ("topic introduction") -- where the theoretical material is presented
• an exercise so that you can apply the learning
• some brief follow-up remarks to the exercise
• a list of numbered "Learning Points"
• a list of "Tips for Managers"
• a personal application assignment (occasionally I will draw from these or from exercises in the chapter in fashioning your assignments)
• endnotes (bibliographic citations to readings referred to in the content).

We will not do all of the exercises and assignments suggested in the text, but we will do many -- generally from one to three tasks each week. We will use the four-step learning model emphasized in the book (and evident in the list above). The model is best described in Chapter 3. As I believe that repetition helps learning, I'll summarize it here. After reading the textual material, you are to:

1. Describe a personal concrete experience relevant to the topic both objectively and subjectively.
2. Step back and reflect on the perspectives of key actors (including yourself) and consider why they behaved as they did.
3. Relate the concepts and theories from the assigned readings to the experience in a conscious attempt to build a theoretical framework to better understand what took place (abstract conceptualization).
4. Consider what you learned about yourself and make a plan to act in a way that will be more effective in the future (active experimentation).

These four steps comprise a surprisingly powerful learning model.

So with this background in mind, here we go!

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Assignments

In our first week or two, we need to initiate conversations on four topics in order to:

• learn a little about our class community
• reflect on the concept of psychological "contracts" and how our expectations are shaped by them
• consider the skills a manager needs and the roles he/she plays in the organization
• apply the learning model.

Please do the four short assignments described below to accomplish these objectives.

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Task 1: Getting to Know You

Take a moment to introduce yourself to other members of the class. This will require acquainting yourself with the Discussion Forum for the course, a major tool that you will see much of before the semester is over. It may take a minute or two of your time to explore how it works unless you're already familiar with the concept. Please see Discussion Forums: Instructions for Forum Participants for more information. You will not need a separate id and password to access the discussion forums for this class; you can simply click on the discussion forum link at the top of each of your course pages. If you still have questions, send me a quick e-mail at daniel@ils.unc.edu.

For your introduction and first posting, tell me and your classmates:

• who you are
• where you are and what your e-mail address is (if you have more than one, indicate which you prefer us to use)
• if you are working, what you do and where you do it
• what prior experience you may have had that is relevant to this class (parenting counts as do volunteer experiences and observations of various bosses!)
• whether you are matriculated in a degree program or not and, if so, what the program is
• what your current plans are for a career (including your degree of uncertainty)
• what some of your personal interests are
• why you're taking this course.

Let a little of your personality show through so we get not only the facts but a sense of the kind of person you are.

Post your responses to Getting to Know You.  Please do this by or before January 21.

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Task 2: Shaping Mutual Expectations and Developing a Psychological Contract

Read the preface, the introduction, and the first chapter in your textbook. The first exercise on page 10 provides an experience in developing an explicit psychological contract between the instructor (me) and the student (you). It allows you to take a more active part in shaping your learning environment and is intended to simulate what should happen in a work environment if folks are explicit in articulating their expectations and desires. This approach will produce greater role clarity and perhaps reduce the "pinches."

Write a paragraph or two about your expectations for this class. The questions on pages 10-11 can be a guide for what you write. I am particularly interested in your response to question 5 about the best and worst things that might happen (in any course). I would also appreciate your suggestions for "ground rules" (question 7) for an online course like this one.

You may want to go back to the course home page and re-read the list of objectives for the class, my introductory comments above, and other material that describes how the course will be conducted and what expectations I have for you. After reading this, what concerns do you have about the course?  As your teacher, how can I facilitate your learning process? Do you see any possible "pinches"? Are there points you would like me to clarify (or change)? Please post your comments and questions to Expectations and Contract on or before January 21.

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Task 3: Managerial Skills and Roles

Read Chapter 2 about the different ideas people have had about the best way to manage people. Take the leadership style test, score it, and, if you wish, send your results to the Getting to Know You forum to tell me and your classmates what you found out and whether you think it's accurate in terms of how you really are. For your assignment, think about the roles and skills that a manager needs. Do you think it varies depending on the kind of organization the person is in? For an organizational setting of your choice (please describe it briefly) and a managerial position within that organization (identify it), state which skills and roles seem to you to be the most important. Adding your reasons would be useful.

Post your entry to Managerial Skills and Roles by or before January 21.

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Task 4: Learning Style Differences

Read Chapter 3. The authors of the textbook use the four-stage cycle, described above, of:

1. doing and describing
2. reflecting
3. generalizing
4. planning future actions.

In studying learning styles we know that some people learn best by doing (doers), some by observing and reflecting (watchers), some by building conceptual models (thinkers), and some by planning and problem-solving (planners). In this class we will tap into all of the different learning styles. You will be more comfortable doing some activities than others, but it's good to try all the learning modes and to add to your learning repertoire. It's also good to recognize the individual differences that people express in terms of their choice of favorite learning style--the first of many such individual differences I'll call to your attention in this class.

Take the Learning Style Inventory and look at the chart on page 54 that describes the characteristics of the different learning styles. Do the results of your Inventory agree with your own perceptions? Perhaps you've taken the Myers-Briggs or another personality or learning style test. These instruments are intended to help individuals gain greater self-knowledge and to help them appreciate the differences in co-workers. Do you think tests like these are useful for managing? Do you think they have predictive power for the kind of job an individual is best suited for? Describe your experiences and opinions on the Getting to Know You forum by or before January 28. Label your entry "Learning Style" in the subject line.

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Week 3