MGT6350 Organizational Behavior
Health Information Management
Fall, 2003
Announcements
Please check this postings page both prior to the course as well as during the Summer Session. Changes in schedule, new information, shared resources, and questions/answers will be posted here. 
9-3-03 Good to hear from all of you! We're still working some of the minor bugs out of the online discussion. Here is some useful information if you have problems: To log on to WebCT either use the link from our course website/main menu or enter http://webct.css.edu and click "log on to my WebCT." Login using your username (usually your first initial and last name) and password. WebCT is case sensitive so a capital letter is not the same as a lower case letter-- use all lower case. The Help Desk number is (218)723-5911.

8-30-03 Classes are at hand! We will start next Tuesday, Sept. 2. Please be familiar with the website, syllabus, text, and weekly assignments. If there are any problems with e-mail or other communications, let me know asap. Please begin responding to the discussion questions next week. If we have some glitches in the procedure, we'll work them out. Also feel free to e-mail each other as well as the entire class, use the discussion group, and you can also use the Chat Room (discussions will be erased when you log off) if several of you are on at the same time.

7-30-03 Summer is coming to an end-- I trust you are finding time to relax a bit before courses start! I've added photos to our e-mail directory, but still lack a few. If you have e-photos, please send them-- I can crop them to fit. Although you all have spent some time together, I think it helps to visualize who we are speaking with. You can click on the name next to the photo for e-mail access, or send a global e-mail to everyone in the class

I also had visions of all of us meeting at the same time for online chats or even phone conferencing, but have recently discovered that many of you are from different time zones, have different availability schedules, and technology isn't as flawless and timely in providing smooth communication. So much for good ideas. In light of those limitations, I think we'll reply on the following:

  • our "regular" weekly meeting will consist of bulletin board discussion on WebCT. I will post themes and questions for discussion, and would like to have all of you contribute. Please respond to my questions, other's questions, and comment on related topics as appropriate. Please contribute since I will use frequency and quality of your comments to form an impression of your involvement and preparation.
  • We will also have two papers for this course (see syllabus). I'd like to have you post your initial draft of each paper online, and I'll create a comment area for others to read, provide feedback, and make suggestions. Please provide such constructive feedback to others (and sign your name so I'll see your contribution), and use the feedback for developing your final copy of the paper. This will be a good use of peer feedback.
  • Finally, I'll correspond with each of you to check progress and ways I might help. This kind of course relies heavily on your reading the material, answering the study questions, and asking questions of me and others to clarify concepts and practices. I'm also available by phone as needed. I'll set a couple times when I'm sure to be available.
If there are other things you can think of that will make this a good experience, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll look forward to our "meeting" in another month. Check back here occasionally to see what else has been added. I'd also suggest reading the text (yes-- it all is relevant...), with emphasis on answers to the study questions posed on the schedule webpage.

7-9-03  It was a pleasure to meet everyone during your summer visit to campus. It sounds like the format and content areas we discussed will be a good fit for your interests and needs. Nonetheless, as you become aware of special topics of interest, or needing to spend more time on particular areas, please let me know and I will make adjustments in the schedule as feasible. I can also provide supplementary information on those topics.

I haven't used webCT for a couple years and there are some new developments in its use (making it easier)-- so be patient with me while I update my familiarity with it. We will be using WebCT as the "shell" for the course, and through it have access to a large number of web pages I have developed for the course. In addition, we will use WebCT for our discussion threads and bulletin boards. I'm still exploring how we might also use a conference phone for voice-to-voice conferencing. 

I will continue to fine tune the content. Please feel free to browse the course, read ahead, and most of all start reading your text. Like most grad courses, the book is background for the course, not the focus. We will mostly focus on how such information can be used. So read the book entirely and soon.

I'll post additional announcements here until the course gets started this Fall. Have a great summer (and read the book)