Please note this course is cross listed with the Full Time MBA Program.

COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA257.2B

COURSE TITLE: Power and Politics in Organizations (Online Delivered Course)

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2 Units

INSTRUCTOR: Cameron Anderson

E-MAIL ADDRESS: anderson@haas.berkeley.edu

CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: https://bspace.berkeley.edu/portal

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: This is a 100% online delivered course. There will be “live” online sessions with Professor Anderson, mixing cases and lecture, on Tuesdays, which will take place in the 6-9:30pm time slot 10/16-11/27.

PREREQUISITE(S): EWMBA205

CLASS FORMAT: Online activities, group discussions, exercises, “live” cases and lectures, guest speakers, videos, game-based simulations, polls and surveys. Online group video conferencing will be used for live sessions and group collaboration.

REQUIRED READINGS: Course reader and Robert Cialdini's INFLUENCE: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSUASION

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: There are smaller assignments throughout the course, one short (2-page) paper, and a final (10-page) paper. Participation is also a component of the grade.

System Requirements for Students: This class requires students to have access to reliable broadband access and a modern browser. The supported browsers are: Internet Explorer 7 or above, Safari 4 or above, Firefox 4 or above, Chrome 5 or above. You'll l also need JavaScript and cookies enabled. A student’s computer should also have a webcam. We have tested and recommended: Logitech C910.

Headset Requirements:
The audio part of the live lectures is conducted via a regular phone - not via computer.
To ensure optimal audio quality and a convenient listening experience we suggest using a headset with microphone boom to be used with your landline phone.  A mobile phone can also be used but you carrier might charge you for minutes.
The following web-sites offer a compatibility guide to search for a headset to match your phone:
http://www.headsetsasap.com/
http://www.jabra.com/headsets-and-speakerphones/compatibilityguide

INSTRUCTOR STREAMING VIDEO: 

http://video.haas.berkeley.edu:24874/ramgen/media-services/professors/anderson.rm

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:

This course is about the art and science of influence in organizations. Many people are ambivalent, if not disdainful, of those who seek to wield power and influence at work. But organizations are fundamentally political entities, and power and influence are key mechanisms by which things get done. For those considering careers in management, it is important to be able to diagnose organizational politics in order to form and implement new strategies. The other side of the coin is that managers are usually on the receiving end of these processes as well. An astute manager knows how to anticipate moves that others will make, how to block or avoid them when they have consequences that are undesirable, and how to help these moves succeed when their consequences are beneficial. After taking this course, you will be able to: (1) diagnose the distribution of power in organizations, (2) identify strategies for building sources of power, (3) develop techniques for influencing others, and (4) understand the role of power in building cooperation and leading change in an organization. These skills will be invaluable to you throughout your career.

This session of Professor Anderson’s “Power & Politics” course is the first fully online delivered course at Haas. The content and objectives will be very similar to the “in-person” version of the course, but this course will present information through multiple media and provide students more flexibility in when and how they learn the material. Much of the course will be accessible “anytime” from “anywhere” (known as asynchronous learning). There will also be “live” online session with Professor Anderson and smaller, group sessions, both over video conference (known as synchronous learning).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: 

Cameron Anderson received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. Before coming to Haas, he taught at Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University) and at the Stern School of Business (New York University). He was voted Professor of the Year by the MBA students at the Stern School in 2005 and received the Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award at Haas in 2008. His primary research interests involve power and status in organizations, teams, and negotiations. His research has been published in journals such as Psychological Review, Academy of Management Journal, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and the European Journal of Social Psychology.