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  • 1.  MBA Class on Job Satisfaction, Motivation and Performance ('JSP')

    Posted 02-27-2008 21:46
    Hello all,
     
    I teach OB/HRM at a graduate school of business administration where I need to update the content of the small-sized class (10 students), 'Job Saisfaction and Performance (JSP)', by 90 minutes/13 sesstions.  Even though the class name shows that it covers job satisfaction and performance only, I was keen to include motivation and compensation programmes just to meet the students' needs, so the content of the class, as reflected, should be 'Job Satisfaction, Motivation, Performance and Compensation' (SMPC).
     
    The first year of teaching of the class, I mostly depended on motivation books and articles Maslow's hierarchy theory of motivation and Luthans' goal setting theory with some practical examples both in Japanese and U.S. companies, and to highlight why job satisfaction is important in management practices, I assigned the students interview and questionnaire survey tasks using JDI, MSQ (20-item version), and a few Japan-made scales by which later I chose some case study materials on compensation program and performance, satisfaction on salary/wage, and motivating effects of each compensation programmes.  My data collected from a Japanese company (supermarket chain headquarter) was given to the students for feasibility testing.  At least I was confident I could give them basic knowlsdge and theory-in-use by which practical (case) analyses would be firmly grounded.
     
    However, I was quite a bit shocked by the primary feedback from the class participants (three of them), saying, "This class was out-of-focus -- you took a lot of examples and a bunch of theories, but that's all what we have.  The relationship among job satisfaction, motivation and compensation is still unclear to me."  Putting aside my teaching skills (as my class-evaluation points for other classes were evaluated on top 10 per cent amongst all classes), I strongly felt I need to restructure this class -- unfortunately, however, I have little example of the class(es) that is identical or similar to my one when I re-investigated.
     
    I am very much grateful if you give me comments or suggestions on the structure, contents, methods, and no matter what I have gone wrong with this class.
     
    Best wishes,
     
    Koji Takahashi
    Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management
    Graduate School of Business, Nanzan University


  • 2.  MBA Class on Job Satisfaction, Motivation and Performance ('JSP')

    Posted 02-28-2008 09:09

    Dear Koji,

     

    I resonated reading your letter.  Having lived in Japan for four years and experienced similar things in other courses, I'm sympathetic.  This is why I wrote Level Three Leadership.  In my experience, business students around the world (I've taught in Tokyo, Kobe, Bangkok, Sydney, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Cairo, Istanbul, London, Toronto, San Jose, etc.) want much more than a survey of theory, especially on leadership and human behavior.  I think it's very valuable to have those theory summaries available to us, and for me they didn't work in teaching people how to lead.  I invite you to consider Level Three Leadership for your next course.  The third edition has a photo of Mt Fuji on the cover.  The fourth edition is off to the publishers and should be out in April with eight new chapters including one on global leadership.  I encourage you to find ways to get beyond the theory survey approach and move toward helping students find their best possible leadership model inside.  I'm happy to correspond with you as you wish about this. 

     

    Koji-sensei, Jibun no hon wo teian suru koto wa warui kamoshiremasen kedo, mattaku onaji mondai ga arimashita node henji shinakereba narimasen deshita.  L3L ni tsuite nani ka kyomi ga arimashitara, oshiete kudasai.    Shita no URL de watakushi wa doko kara kite iru no ka, manabu koto ga dekimasu.

     

    Yoroshiku onegai shimasu,

       Jim

    James G. S. Clawson

    Johnson & Higgins Professor of Business Administration

    Darden GSB, University of Virginia

    Box 6550, Charlottesville, VA 22906  

    100 Darden Boulevard, Charlottesville, VA 22903  USA

    Tel:  434 924 7488              Fax:  434 243 7680

    Web:  http://faculty.darden.virginia.edu/clawsonj

     

    From: Organizational Behavior Division Listserv [mailto:OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu] On Behalf Of Koji Takahashi
    Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 9:46 PM
    To: OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
    Subject: MBA Class on Job Satisfaction, Motivation and Performance ('JSP')

     

    Hello all,

     

    I teach OB/HRM at a graduate school of business administration where I need to update the content of the small-sized class (10 students), 'Job Saisfaction and Performance (JSP)', by 90 minutes/13 sesstions.  Even though the class name shows that it covers job satisfaction and performance only, I was keen to include motivation and compensation programmes just to meet the students' needs, so the content of the class, as reflected, should be 'Job Satisfaction, Motivation, Performance and Compensation' (SMPC).

     

    The first year of teaching of the class, I mostly depended on motivation books and articles Maslow's hierarchy theory of motivation and Luthans' goal setting theory with some practical examples both in Japanese and U.S. companies, and to highlight why job satisfaction is important in management practices, I assigned the students interview and questionnaire survey tasks using JDI, MSQ (20-item version), and a few Japan-made scales by which later I chose some case study materials on compensation program and performance, satisfaction on salary/wage, and motivating effects of each compensation programmes.  My data collected from a Japanese company (supermarket chain headquarter) was given to the students for feasibility testing.  At least I was confident I could give them basic knowlsdge and theory-in-use by which practical (case) analyses would be firmly grounded.

     

    However, I was quite a bit shocked by the primary feedback from the class participants (three of them), saying, "This class was out-of-focus -- you took a lot of examples and a bunch of theories, but that's all what we have.  The relationship among job satisfaction, motivation and compensation is still unclear to me."  Putting aside my teaching skills (as my class-evaluation points for other classes were evaluated on top 10 per cent amongst all classes), I strongly felt I need to restructure this class -- unfortunately, however, I have little example of the class(es) that is identical or similar to my one when I re-investigated.

     

    I am very much grateful if you give me comments or suggestions on the structure, contents, methods, and no matter what I have gone wrong with this class.

     

    Best wishes,

     

    Koji Takahashi

    Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management

    Graduate School of Business, Nanzan University