[BUSI 3010] Managing Human Behavior in the Organization

To use a phrase that is a little overplayed on CULPA, this is one of the best classes I've taken at Columbia. Prof.
Kopelman makes the two-and-a-half hours go by very quickly, showing a lot of entertaining British videos and getting the class involved in some fun and pretty informative exercises. He practices what he preaches: the grading is scientific and fair. The 50-page term paper isn't as bad as it sounds, because you do it with a group of four or five classmates, but it'll be easier if you get a fairly early start. There's not a great deal of other work for the class, just reading (never more than a few dozen pages) and some written homeworks early in the semester.

On word on the exams: they can get kind specific (some would say nitpicky), so take advantage of the fact that he lets you bring in a cheat sheet. That won't do you much good if you don't go to class though. You MIGHT be able to do well if you skip all the reading and go to all the classes, but you WILL do poorly if you miss more than a class or two. My advice is to go to all the classes, and if you don't want to do all the reading, focus your attention on the readings and cases in the coursepack rather than the textbook. If you do that (and take really good notes), you'll be fine.

You will learn an unbelievable amount, especially if you're interested in business or, even more broadly, human behavior. I've found myself applying course concepts on an almost daily basis, and it's easy to see parallels between what you're learning and the real world. This is a great, great class.

A wonderful professor. Professor Kopelman teaches some of the most useful and interesting concepts on organizational behavior (working effectively in groups, being a good manager, measuring performance, etc ...). These concepts sound abstract and stupid, and they can be if taught poorly (such as in Gateway with "Jack"), but this man knows his stuff and the learning is non-stop. This class, in many ways, is a portrayal of what Gateway should be. By far, one of the best classes at Columbia. If you can get into this class, it will change your life.

This Professor would be proud to know that he teaches one of the only useful classes at Columbia. Great, great stuff. Lectures are long, but immensly interactive and entertaining. Ever wonder what John Kleese did before he became famous? Well, he made management videos, and Professor Kopelman is a big fan. Incredibly informative reading list and well structured. Should be taken by anyone looking to exercise the non liberal arts portion of your brain.

This is an interesting class, but you need to take extremely good notes if you want to do well. Even random obscure references from class can appear on the midterm. You get a 2-sided cheat sheet, but I recommend putting a lot of time into it (he'll give you a list of terms).

Great Class!!! But the catch is that if you want to do well, you have to go to the lectures or get notes from someone who takes great notes. The 2 1/2 hour class goes by really quickly. He knows how hard it is to keep up for such a long time so often he shows movies that are pretty funny and in-class demonstrations. Highly recommended even if you're not majoring in Engineering Management Systems. If you like psychology, you'll like this class.