Workplace Productivity

IFSM-302 (3)

University of Maryland University College

Electronic Distance Education Heidelberg, Germany
DE Term 4, 2002-2003; Dates: 7 Apr. - 25 Jul. 2003

(3 sem. hours via Electronic Communications)

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Phil's Place

Course Goal: To enable you to:

  • Define and illustrate the shortcomings of working by oneself and the advantages of working in teams and groups
  • Identify the skills required of a team spokesperson
  • Discuss the need for respecting and listening to one's peers
  • Identify techniques for holding an effective meeting
  • Discuss the elements of total quality management
  • Identify and discuss the concepts of "people empowerment", high commitment work systems, and team synergy and brainstorming
  • Identify and discuss work simplification techniques and problem solving techniques

Course Description:  Prerequisite: IFSM 201 or equivalent.

A survey of techniques for improving the productivity of practices and procedures in the workplace. Teaming (e.g., encouraging employees' participation in group activities, brainstorming, and making meetings more effective) and problem solving (e.g., simplifying work; charting workflow processes; diagramming causes and effects; and using Pareto analysis, histograms, and total quality management) are the two major approaches emphasized.

This is a core course option for the Information Systems Management major and a supporting elective for the certificates in Computer Applications and Information Management.

Productivity is one of the hot management topics both in Information Technology and management in general. Companies have spent tens of millions of dollars on IT. But they have questioned how much productivity of their workers has improved. If you look around you, you will see that IT changes the work we have to do each day. In fact it is at times terribly difficult to compare performance pre-IT upgrade and post-upgrade. There are qualitative changes - sometimes dramatic changes - that your managers really like. Such changes may be related to increases in profitable business - or just increases in activity. Managers want to know which one it is. So do we.

Peter Scholtes and Brian Joiner, two of your authors, are among the most respected work improvement "gurus" around. They have added to our understanding not just of team working but also of quality improvement methods. I know you will enjoy working through their book, jointly authored with Barbara Streibel, The Team Handbook.

Want to learn more about how to improve productivity in your workplace?

Then take this course.

This course is composed of four modules: Processes - What are they? ; Meetings; Leadership; and Scientific Techniques. UMUC course developers have provided both reading and exercise assignments in our WebTycho virtual classroom as you will see in due course.

I have included a Group Term Project in your assignments so you can experience (again) reaching a goal through teamwork.

As we are linking via the Internet, you can expect a number of assignments that push you out onto the Internet to compare the views of others with those of your authors.

Required Texts:

Brassard, M., & D. Ritter. The Memory Jogger II, (Goal/QPC), ISBN: 1879364441.

Scholtes, Peter, Brian Joiner and Barbara Streibel. The Team Handbook, 2nd ed., (Oriel), ISBN: 1884731112.

This is a classic in the field of teamwork and productivity improvement.

Assignments/Evaluation/Grades:

We use WebTycho as our virtual classroom. Discussions take place there and documents are posted for exchange there as well. We will use email as our back-up mode of contact send me an email with your current or changed email address. Please place the course designator - ifsm302 - as the first item in the subject line of each email message.

Class Participation: (25% of course grade)

  • individual work including module exercises,
  • a journal in which you reflect on your process of learning and sharing during the course, and
  • small group work

I will look at these three things that I ask you to do on a continual basis.

Each of the course modules has exercises for you to complete and turn in.

You will be graded on your consistent, steady progress through this course.

Course Project: (20%)

In the last half of the course you will apply the techniques you have learned in a practical way.

  • Select an information systems area known to you that needs improvement. Preview this area in Module 4, Exercise 5.
  • Either as part of a group or individually (as approved), amplify your work for Module 4, Exercise 5.
  • Incorporate a wide variety of process improvement analytical techniques.
  • Emphasize decision making based on data collection and analysis.
  • Integrate both qualitative and quantitative techniques.
  • Use team processes and document your methods

Propose your topic and gain approval of it before midterm. Keep it in the information systems arena.

If possible, I would like to see teams from the same service or similar work environments collaborate on a process improvement project. Yes, you would be a real team working in virtual space and that will take more effort on your part to understand and share each other's perspectives. I want to have such teams formed by mid-term as well. You may self-select your teams. They will commonly have 5-9 members. Members may be voted on or off the team, but I must approve all such action.

If your personal circumstances do not facilitate team participation, you may request an individual project. This will, nonetheless, still involve teamwork. Those not participating in group projects will help each other develop a process improvement plan, review implementation, and conduct analysis in advisory teams. You will, however, have individual reports for each project.

Midterm: open-book, take-home (20%). You will have 48 hours for each of these tests.
Final exam: open-book, take-home (35%) .

This is not a correspondence course. Your presence in our virtual classroom is a vital part of the learning experience for everyone in this course. Consequently lack of consistent participation 2-3 times weekly in spite of long hours at work, computer problems, deployments, vacations, business trips, other courses, etc. may earn you a grade of F(n) as such action overrides the grading percentages shown above.


I will try to help every student earn an "A" by demonstrating a mastery of course concepts. I do understand that students have many other responsibilities, but it is your responsibility to your own learning and to assisting the learning of others in this class that I will be most concerned with. I will work with every student within reason to help her or him complete this course successfully. I grade each exam and assignment on a relative scale (A-F; 70-0 points typically). Your final grade is a weighted average of your separate grades in this course with some allowance made for technical problems imposed by the delivery method (WebTycho with email backup). It will come as no surprise that for a variety of reasons a number of students each term choose not to earn an "A". See also my Grading Standards handout.

Policies/Procedures:

Consistent, quality participation and effort are essential if both you and the class as a whole are the reach our goals. You must check your WebTycho virtual classroom and your email account every 48 hours and respond to queries within one day (even if just to say when you will be able to give a more complete answer to the request). Additionally, you need to keep me informed of your primary and alternate email addresses, and any changes that occur. I will try to allow you time to explore the subject both individually and in small groups while giving you feedback on completed assignments.

Students will take turns leading group discussions.

Finally, do not fall behind. Work ahead if possible. Do some work on this course every day or two. Set aside time to do this. If confused, in doubt, or in need of a clarification on any aspect of the course, contact me first.

This then is the plan. Like all plans, it is subject to change as the course develops so stay tuned.


Phil Richardson; prichard@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
Revised 4 Apr. 2003