Leadership is about creating change. The dynamic nature of the business environment today renders organizational change a necessity, whether it is a Fortune 500 or 100 employee company, a for-profit or a not for profit organization. Hence, the ability to deal with change, whether planned or unplanned, is paramount to an organization’s success. The goal of this class is to provide you with the skills and personal insight to lead any type of organization.
II. Course Description, Purpose, Student Learning
Outcomes & Assessment
A. COURSE DESCRIPTION
From the catalog: Leadership, communicating vision, initiating changes and innovation, and developing leadership competencies through self-assessment.
B. Purpose of Course
This course focuses on skills related to leadership, communication skills related to casting a vision, methods for creating change while minimizing resistance, and assessments to gain personal insight and leadership qualities. Theories, methods and findings relevant to changing individuals and groups in organizations and changing organizations will be covered.
C. Specific Learning Outcomes
The program goals of the College of Business Administration are that graduates will be:
• Effective communicators
• Critical Thinkers
• Able to analyze Ethical Problems
• Global in their perspective
• Knowledgeable about the essentials of business
This course aligns with these goals through specific learning outcomes. By the end of this course, students will be expected to:
• Discuss the role of individual difference characteristics in leadership.
• Compare and contrast leadership and management.
• Define power sources in an organization and its key role in leadership.
• Identify ways to motivate, empower, and inspire others.
• Describe different models and theories of leadership.
• Explain the leadership practices necessary to implement change, including overcoming resistance to change and the importance of vision.
• Describe the role culture, diversity and gender can play in leadership.
• Demonstrate skills in communication, negotiation and problem solving in a group environment.
• Have a greater self-knowledge so that you can create a personal mission statement which will help you lead others.
The specific learning outcomes from the different assignments are:
• The presentations on the chapters from different books help you to learn to extract the main and essential information from the chapters, and integrate and synthesize them into one short presentation. The presentations also provide you with the opportunities to speak in public, facilitate a class, and serve as “judges” during presentations.
• In the individual literature review paper, you learn how to carry out research by identifying a topic of interest; searching for and identifying sources for the relevant articles; organizing and structuring the articles; and writing a short research-styled paper according to APA Guidelines (5th ed.).
• The group project is applied research as compared to the literature review, which is theoretical research. Through this group project, you learn to work in a team; carry out applied research such as searching for and identifying sources of information on companies, industry, political environment, etc.; write a research paper and two memos; and make presentations to the companies.
• The case analyses permit you to apply your theoretical knowledge to a “quasi-real” situation.
• The interview with an organizational leader will provide a second person view of diagnosing, initiating and sustaining change initiatives.
D. Instructional Strategies
This is an experiential, dynamic and interactive course. You will learn how to work alone as well as in teams. Class learning activities include class discussion; preparing presentation slides and making group presentations; individual and group research; and writing individual and group papers.
E. Instructional Philosophy
The instructional strategy for this course is based on the premise that students require a broad range of activities and full involvement in the learning process. Students may expect the learning experiences to include lecture, group discussion, readings from texts as well as current literature, oral presentation, discussion of current research and group learning projects. Students are expected to read and understand the reading material in advance of class.
III. Course Readings and Materials
A. REQUIRED READINGS
a) The following text was selected for their relevance, fundamental content and readability.
b) Leading Organizations. Prepared for Mark E. Nicholson, PsyD. Leadership in Organizations MGT 475. Pearson Custom Publishing ISBN 13: 978-1-269-77992-0.
c) Optional reading: No material from these sources will occur on class exams.
(1) Maxwell, J. (1993). Developing the Leader Within You. Thomas Nelson, Nashville. ISBN 978-0-7852-8112-2
(2) Blanchard, K. (2007) Leading at a Higher Level. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. ISBN 0-13-234772-5
IV. GRADING POLICY
A. Class Guidelines and Rules
a. Class Attendance is required. About 10% of your grade will be based on in class activities, including quizzes on the reading material.
b. There will be no opportunity for make-up assignments, exercises or quizzes without prior arrangements.
c. Any form of cheating will result in a Failing grade for the class. Cell phones will be turned off during lectures and held in check during all Exams and quizzes.
d. Respectful behavior during lectures and student presentations is expected and consists of eye contact and refraining from conversation with neighbors. Participation in class is encouraged and is to be signaled by raising a hand. Disruptive behavior is determined by the instructor and will result in a request to leave the classroom, with no credit received for any assignment due that day.
e. Late papers will be penalized 10 points per day.
B. Premise of course evaluation methods
a. Students of the course will be evaluated through a variety of evidence and artifacts.
b. The variation of approaches and types of assignments is provided to reach a diverse range of student learning styles.
C. GRADE BREAKDOWN
Midterm Exam 100 points
Final Exam 100 points
Servant Leadership Individual Paper 100 points
Servant Leadership Group Presentation 100 points
Class Participation: Autobio-5pts; Project Proposal-5pts; Project description-5pts; MBTI Assessment- 5pts; FIRO-B Assessment-5pts; Strong Assessment-10pts; Group Mission Statement-15pts; 50 points
Team Participation Reports (10 x 5pts each) 50 points
Personal Vision Oral Presentation 20 points
Attendance 30 points
Total 550 points
D. GRADING SCALE: Grades will be based on the following scale. The instructor reserves the right to lower the percentages needed for any particular grade. Under no circumstances will the grading scale be increased.
Percent of Points Earned Final Grade
93% – 100% A
90%-92% A-
87%-89% B+
83%-86% B
80%-82% B-
77%-79% C+
73%-76% C
70%-72% C-
63%-69% D
Less than 63% F
E. CLASS PARTICIPATION
a. Class participation includes attendance and your active participation in class discussion as a class member throughout the course.
b. Much of the important learning in this class comes from our interaction with each other. You are required to be prepared and contribute regularly to the classroom discussion.
F. Class Attendance:
As previously stated, attendance is expected at all class sessions. Additionally, part of your responsibility in class during a presentation is to give feedback to your peers. Hence, missing a presentation, even when you are not presenting, seriously detracts from your experience as well as that of your fellow students. Therefore, any absence without a legitimate reason as determined by the instructor will automatically result in your final grade being downgraded by half a letter grade. Attendance reports are submitted to the university system of attendance accountability.
F. ASSIGNMENTS
a. Class participation in miscellaneous in class activities will be worth 50 points, or 10% of your grade.
b. “Personal Vision” Oral Presentation: you are required to give a 3 to 4 minute oral presentation discussing your personal mission in life. In other words, you are required to articulate your personal mission. In general, you should cover the following areas:
1. What do you want to be known for (what is your purpose in life) and why do you feel that way?
2. How would you like to be remembered in the community and by your family?
3. At the end of your life, what would you like your proudest accomplishment to be?
These three areas overlap so you may you use any approach with which you are comfortable. Your presentation will be evaluated based upon your clarity of thought, your passion and rapport with the audience, the organization (including your ability to keep the presentation to 3 to 4 minutes), voice quality and pace, and mannerisms and body language. The presentation is worth 20 points.
c. Servant leadership project: the class will be formed into groups of 3 to 5 individuals. The objective for this project will be to “make the world a better place” through your efforts. You may choose a project to serve University community or the broader community either locally or nationally or internationally. The project’s budget should be a minimum of $100 per group maximum or $20 per individual (although this requirement is flexible based on upon your project). You can either self-fund ($20 per individual) the project or you can raise the money from others to come up with the $100. Further, there should be a minimum of 100 hours devoted to the project collectively. With respect to the 100 hours, you can either devote the time yourself or you can engage others to help you with your project. Ideally, your project will be transformative, sustainable, involve other people and have a lasting impact. You will need to provide me with an accounting of your time and money. You will be evaluated on how well you planned and executed your project, how well you work to the team, the level of impact you had in the community and on what you learned about leadership from the experience. This will be discussed further in class.
If you have someone in your group who is not performing up to the other members’ expectations, you may terminate that person from your group. If you decide to terminate that person you’ll need to let me know in writing the reason why you are doing so. You may fire someone up until Session 8: 10/22/2018. If you terminate someone, that student will receive a zero for the project. Points earned by that person cannot be used by your group. See the next page.
In your final paper, your group will have the opportunity to reward the student or students who contributed more to your project and penalize the students who contributed less to the project. The possible range of weighting is from 80% to 120% of the points received on your final paper. If one or more people are rewarded with an additional percentage of the grade, one or more people will need to receive a lower percentage of the grade. For example, if your group earns an average of 50 on the final paper, it is possible for one person to earn 60 points (50 x 120%) and another person to earn 40 points (80% of the grade) or two members could receive a 45 (90% of the grade). Any combination is possible assuming any percentage increases are equaled by percentage decreases.
G. Instructions For Assignments
a. Oral presentation requirement (100 points possible) Due Sessions 12 or 13
Your presentation needs to be 15 to 20 minutes as we need to complete six presentations in one class. (See the grading rubric attached).
1. Begin your presentation by introducing the members of your team.
2. Describe exactly what you did or what you accomplished. How did your results compare to your initial mission or vision statement?
3. State approximately how many hours your team devoted to the project and how much money you raised and or spent.
4. Describe what factors contributed to your success or failure. How well did you work as a team? Did everyone contribute equally to the project? If not why did some people contribute more than others?
5. Describe how you feel about the results. Are you satisfied with what you accomplished? Why or why not? (Each member of your team should comment individually).
6. Each member of your team will need to describe what they learned about leadership in general and servant leadership in particular through the completion of this project.
b. Servant Leadership Project Assignments Mission Statement (15 points) Due Session 4
1. A mission statement or purpose statement represents the fundamental reason for your group’s existence.
a. What is your mission or purpose for being (other than a requirement for this course)? In other words, what social problem do you want to address or whom would you like to help/serve?
b. Why is the issue you are addressing important to your group?
c. What organization, if any, are you working with? Who at the organization is your main contact person?
d. Why did you decide to work with them?
2. A vision is a picture of the future you seek to create. Your vision should represent a specific destination. Your vision statement should describe where you want to go and what it will feel like when you get there.
a. Specifically what is your vision? In other words, if you are successful what results do you envision?
b. If you are going to be working with/for an organization, briefly describe your initial meetings with them. How did that meeting shape your “shared vision?”
c. How do you think you will feel if you are successful fulfilling your vision?
3. Goals (or action items) are more specific. Goals represent what people commit themselves to do in order to achieve their vision. Goal setting or strategic planning is a process intended to increase efficiency and effectiveness by specifying what needs to be done and by whom.
a. Specifically, describe your “action plan” or step-by-step strategic plan in order to fulfill your vision. In other words, describe in chronological order, what needed/needs to be done in order for you to be successful and who in your group is going to be responsible for what.
b. How do you plan to communicate with one another throughout the project? How often do you envision meeting face-to-face versus utilizing email or other forms of electronic communication?
c. What support what you need from the organization or from people outside your group?
4. What possible issues/challenges do you anticipate? How do you intend to deal with those challenges?
c. Servant Leadership Individual Paper. Due Session 14
Address the following using a third person narrative in paragraph form (APA Style) not short answer. Papers should be completed in at least three pages but never more than five pages, double spaced, Times Roman size 12 font. Below is an example of referencing your own experiences when writing in third person:
As an international student of the business course MGT 475 (Leadership in Organizations), this author was assigned to a group. Consisting of four students, this group created a website for incoming students who attend the course program at .
The step of submitting to group desires was quite hard for the author of this paper because of the desire to reach the self-set goals and did not want to give up the invested time and money. However, all team members decided to invest more effort and more activity to get a satisfactory result.
Remember that the paper should not present the questions then answer them, as in a short answer format. It should be written as a narrative, a story where each paragraph should be description of the topics addressed by the questions.
1. Most importantly, explain what you learned about leadership in general (creating change) and servant leadership in particular from this project.
2. Specifically describe what you accomplished. If applicable, should address the following questions: how much money did you raise? How many people did you serve? What sort of feedback did you receive from those you serve? Is your projects sustainable or was it a one-time effort?
3. How do you feel about what you accomplished?
4. How did your actual results compare to your mission or vision statement you prepared at the beginning of the semester? If they differed, what factors affected your end result?
5. Specifically, describe the process you used to complete your project. Include the number of meetings you had, how you organized yourselves (divided the work), the number and types of interactions you had with the group you were serving, etc.
6. How might you have improved the process so that you were more efficient and effective? As part of your answer, you should discuss what were your biggest obstacles? What could you have improved upon?
7. What roles did your team members take on during your project? Please be very specific and described who performed what roles. Explain why you believe your team members played the roles that they did.
8. Describe the norms of your group? How did they get established? Did anyone violate any of the norms? If so, what were the consequences?
9. In your opinion, did everyone contribute equally to your project? If not who contributed more to your project and who contributed less? Explain why you believe certain people contributed more or less. In addition, as part of your answer you should specify how you would like to allocate the points earned on this paper. See the guidelines included in this syllabus.
10. Provide a brief summary of your project.
V. Relevant University Policies and Procedures: Behavioral Expectations
A. Active Course Participation
Active course participation includes being present at all classes and team meetings, being prepared on all new reading assignments, and being knowledgeable on all topics previously discussed in class. It also includes participation in class activities, assignments, and group discussions . It is a good strategy to review your notes from the previous weeks before coming to class.
B. Class Attendance, Lateness, Missed Exams/Assignments
Class Attendance. The University expects regular class attendance by all students. Each student is responsible for all academic work missed during absences and must check for new assignments, announcements, and returned quizzes/exams. When an absence is necessary, students should contact the instructor as courtesy. See the University Catalog for the complete policy on attendance.
It is critical for this course to attend all classes. Therefore, class attendance will form part of your course evaluation. The second and all following absences from any class or team-instructor meeting will lower your grade in this evaluation component by half a letter grade.
Timely submission of Assignments. All required work must be submitted in a timely manner. Your course evaluation will reflect both the timeliness and quality of all deliverables. At his sole discretion, the instructor reserves the right to determine the final grade of the course based in part on timely submission of course requirements.
C. Instructor Assumptions
Independence. Although your instructor and your classmates will be resources to assist you and your project teammates in producing high quality submissions, each student will be expected to show a large degree of independence and self-reliance.
Readings. You are expected to actively read the required readings before they are discussed in class. It is also a good strategy to review your notes from the previous class before coming to class.
Announcements. I will use the e-mail address in your Blackboard profile to send you information regarding announcements, required readings, and other events.
Getting Help. You are encouraged to ask questions in class. If you have any questions or problems that cannot be solved in class or that you do not want to discuss in class, you are encouraged to contact the instructor via email, regular office hours or by appointment.
Document Preparation Standards. Students are expected to prepare documents that are well written, adhere closely to appropriate standards of grammar, and are free of spelling and syntax errors. The student should carefully proofread and correct all drafts before submitting it. The instructor is not responsible for correcting spelling, syntax, errors of grammar, and poor writing.
D. Responsibility to keep copies
It is the students’ responsibility to keep copies of all submitted assignments/papers and of all returned quizzes/tests. It is good practice to keep electronic backups from all drafts of assignments/papers as well as hard copies of all final versions that you turn in. On rare occasions, work may be lost because of computer failure or other mishaps. Students are responsible for timely submission of all course requirements.
E. Respectful Speech
San Diego State University, and the American Language Institute, by mission and practice, is committed to fair and respectful consideration of all members of our community, and the greater communities surrounding us. All members of the University must treat one another as they would wish to be treated themselves, with dignity and concern.
As an institution of higher education,University has the obligation to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias and to provide an equal educational opportunity. Professional codes of ethics and the Academic Code shall be the guiding principles in dealing with speech or actions that, when considered objectively, are abusive and insulting.
F. Academic Code of Conduct and Ethics
The University is committed to principles of scholastic honesty. Its members are expected to abide by ethical standards both in their conduct and in their exercise of responsibility towards other members of the community. Each student’s conduct is expected to be in accordance with the standards of the University. The complete Academic Code, which covers acts of misconduct including assistance during examination, fabrication of data, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, and assisting other students in acts of misconduct, among others, may be found in the University Catalog.
Plagiarism. Any act of plagiarism including “any passing off of another’s ideas, words, or work as one’s own” will be dealt with pursuant to University’s Academic Code of Conduct and Ethics. Penalties for plagiarism can be severe, up to and including expulsion from the University.
Screening for Plagiarism. As a guideline, no more than three consecutive words should be used from the work of another author without proper citation. The instructor reserves the right to use computerized detection systems to help prevent plagiarism. By enrolling in this course, students agree that all assignments are subject to submission for textual similarity. Please note that any assignments or course documents submitted to this service may be included as source documents for the restricted access plagiarism detection software systems. You may indicate in writing to the instructor by the end of the add/drop deadline for this course that you refuse to participate in the plagiarism detection software systems, in which case the instructor will use other means to verify the originality of your work.
H. Policies on course requirements during religious holidays
San Diego State University does not officially observe any religious holidays. However, in keeping with the institution’s commitment to issues of cultural diversity as well as humanitarian considerations, faculty tries to be sensitive to these matters and not to penalize students when they are absent from classes on holy days for religious observances. Please discuss any needs in this respect with me at your earliest opportunity.
V. Course Schedule
The following is the general structure and content of the course. Students should remember that the exact content and schedule of the syllabus is subject to change without prior notice to meet student, university, or other needs. We may spend more time on some topics as needed, and conversely, may move more quickly over other topics.
8/27/2018 Session 1: Course Introduction/Overview- Discussion of Syllabus and Class Project
The Learning Organization. Leadership and Servant Leadership
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 1: What is Leadership?
9/3/2018 Labor Day Holiday- NO CLASS
9/10/2018 Session 2: Formation of Servant Leadership Teams. Team building (failure to attend this class will require your withdrawal from the course.)
Written assignment #1: you will need to describe a possible servant leadership project. In your typed, one half page paper, you should describe who you want to help or what cause you want to promote, why you want to help that organization/group/cause and what you envision accomplishing over the course of the semester. (5 points)
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 2: Selections 2 (Individual Differences and Traits) and 3 (Self Awareness: A Point of Departure).
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 8: Selection 13 (Building Effective Teams and Teamwork).
9/17/2018 Session 3: Individual Differences and Self-Discovery. Guest Speaker: Mike Adams, Living My Purpose
During the first half of class, you will be examining your values, skills and personality. You will have the last half of class to work on your service project.
Written assignment #2: Write a one to two page autobiography. Describe your background, how that has impacted your character, and aspirations the future. Make sure the content is both interesting and factual.
1. You need to have taken your Strong Assessment test by today. The assessment must be taken in Career Services and costs $10.
2. Complete personality test prior to class.
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 3: Selection 5 (Self Leadership).
9/24/2018 Session 4: Group Mission Statement due: please review the specific requirements. (15 points)
Written Assignment #3: Describe your leadership project. In one page, identify who will benefit from your project, your purpose for engaging with the organization or cause and your vision of significant accomplishment for the semester.
Personal leadership, individual differences. Complete self-assessment exercises 2– 2 and 2 – 5 (pages 63 through 65) and FIRO assessment on pages 70 to 72. (Please allow around an hour to complete these assessments). Record your assessment results on a separate sheet of paper which you must turn in at the beginning of class for participation points.
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 3: Selections 6 (Resonance, Leadership, and the Purpose of Life) and 7 (Six Steps to Effective Leadership).
10/1/2018 Session 5: Creative Problem Solving
8 Oral presentations: Personal Vision Statement. _______________
Be prepared to discuss the progress of your service project
Read: Chapter 4: Selection 8 (Solving Problems Analytically and Creatively).
10/8/2018 Session 6: Cultural Values: Guest Speaker: Alejandro Rodriguez, Career Services, SDSU
Mr. Rodriguez will be presenting information on interpreting the Strong Assessment results.
8 Oral presentations: Personal Vision Statement. _______________
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 3: Selection 4 (The Global and Cultural Contexts)
10/15/2018 Session 7: 8 Oral presentations: Personal Vision Statement. _______________
Midterm Exam: Chapters 1,2,3, and 4: Leadership, Individual Differences, Personal Leadership and Solving Problems.
10/22/2018 Session 8: Empowering and Delegating
8 Oral presentations: Personal Vision Statement. _______________
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 5: Selection 9 (Empowering and Delegating).
10/29/2018 Session 9: Communication Skills: nonverbal and cross-cultural communication.
8 Oral presentations: Personal Vision Statement. _______________
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 6: Selections 10 (Self Building Relationships by Communicating Supportively) and 11 (Primary Communications).
11/5/2018 Session 10: Power, Politics and Leadership.
8 Oral presentations: Personal Vision Statement. _______________
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 7: Selection 12 (Power).
Session 11: Team Building, Change Management
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 8: Selection 13 (Conflict and Negotiation).
Session 12: 6 Service Project presentations Groups 1- 5; Groups 1-6
Session 13: 6 Service Project presentations Groups 6-10; Groups 7-12
Session 14: Managing Conflict and Negotiation. Individual Paper due
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 9: Selections 14 (Conflict and Negotiation).
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 10: Selections 15 (Leading Change) and 16 (The Fifth Discipline).
Read: Leading Organizations. Chapter 11: Selection 17 (Leading Positive Change).
Session 15: Final Exam: Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, & 11. Empowering Others, Communication Skills, Using Power and Negotiation, Team Building, and Managing Change and Systems
Team Participation Report
Name of Project _______________________ Date of Report ______________________
Group Members _______________________ _____________________
_______________________ _____________________
Time:
Date Name Task Funds Meeting Duration Signature