BUS 262 - Leadership - MBA-ONE

Spring 2006
 

Course Description :   This course explores the classic and contemporary models of leaders and leadership in an effort to describe the phenomenon of leadership.   Applications of leadership practices are explored.

Course Textbooks/Materials :

•  James G. Clawson, Level Three Leadership , 3rd edition (Prentice Hall, 2006).

•  James Kouzes and Barry Posner , The Leadership Challenge, 3rd edition (Jossey-Bass, 2002) (hardcover or paperback)

•  Anne Lawrence & Ann Svendsen, The Clayoquot Controversy (CD-Rom simulation to be purchased from the professor by each team) $15.99 per CD-Rom

“ Possunt quia posse videntur.”   (They can because it seems to them they can.)

                                                                                                             --Virgil

Course Objectives:

•  Increase your self-awareness with regard to your own leadership qualities

•  Understand and apply leadership theories

•  Assess and analyze leadership behaviors in others and yourself

•  Recognize and practice effective leadership behaviors

Course Format

The primary teaching methodology will be experiential learning, which means we will turn the classroom into a laboratory and create conditions for understanding concepts through experience as well as readings.   We will use role-plays, cases, exercises, and simulations so that you can pull out your own learning points from these experiences.   Ropes course activities will be used to teach teambuilding.   This type of course requires students to take responsibility for their own learning and do all the reading and homework preparation beforehand.   It also requires active participation in the classroom so attendance is mandatory.   If you have an emergency and cannot attend class, please call me beforehand so we can make special arrangements.

Personal Application Assignment (PAA)

This is a 5-page paper in which the students take a personal leadership experience and analyze it using the framework of the learning cycle.   On the web page, you can find the instructions and a grading sheet showing the grading criteria.

Clayoquot Controversy Simulation

This is a team-based simulation of a complex situation that can only be resolved through dialogue.   In the first half of the session, stakeholder groups will make a presentation stating their positions.  Please dress as your stakeholders and present as they would. In the second half of the session, heterogeneous groups of stakeholders will engage in dialogue to find an acceptable solution.   This simulation provides an opportunity to practice many skills needed by effective leaders.   Teams will be graded on their level of preparation in the first session and individual team members will be graded on their ability to engage in productive dialogue in the second session. There is a slacker penalty on this project; team members will evaluate whether or not all members deserve the same project grade.   If, for example, a member only did half of what they were assigned, they should receive only 50% of the team's final grade.

Team Training Project

Each team will be responsible for designing and implementing an interactive, creative 40-minute training session on one of the five leader practices in the Kouzes & Posner book.   Their task is to transmit the key points of the chapters and develop their classmates' ability to use this behavior effectively. The grading criteria for the presentations are: how informative, well organized, interactive and engaging, creative, and effective in developing students' skill in using this leadership practice was the training session? There is also a slacker penalty on this project, which means that each team member has to evaluate the performance of other members.

Leadership Project

To work on the practical aspect of your personal development as a leader, each student will be involved in a leadership project of his or her choice.  Remember that leadership is about making a difference and standing up to accomplish a task or make a change. The context of the project is up to you.  You may work with other students, but if you do so, make sure that each and every one of you has an opportunity to practice leadership skills (and not followership skills).  Choose a project that can be completed before the end of the course.  Hand in a pre-project plan to be approved by the professor that contains these components:

1.    What you are planning to accomplish and why? Be as specific as possible

2.    How will you accomplish your goal?  What steps will be involved?  How will you know if you have succeeded?

3.    What are your strengths as a leader?  How will you use them in this project?

4.    What are your weaknesses as a leader?  How will you develop them more in this project?

At the end of the course, you will hand in a project report that answers these questions:

1.     What did you accomplish as a leader?

2.     Did it work out as you had planned?

3.    How would you evaluate your leadership performance?  What went well and what could have been done more  effectively?

4.    What did you learn about yourself as a leader? What would you do differently if you could repeat the experience with respect to your leadership performance?

This project will be graded on the accomplishment or effort expended in the project and on the insight demonstrated in the pre-project and final project reports and the thoroughness with which you answer the questions.  

You can take advantage of one of the following extra credit opportunities if you wish.

1) Leadership Journal – Extra Credit Opportunity (4 points)

Write about the significant points in the assigned reading every week and how they relate to you and your own leadership style.  Write about every leadership attempt you make, the results, and your plans for being more effective in the future.  Write about every self-awareness exercise or instrument we use in class, explaining what you learned about yourself and how you will use this self-knowledge to improve your leadership.

2) Leadership Interview and Personal Plan – Extra Credit Opportunity (4 points)

The goal of this assignment is to provide you with the opportunity to listen to an accomplished leader discuss his or her views on leadership and to consolidate, think through and apply the material of BUS 262 to your future. Please see the web page for instructions on completing this assignment.  Be sure to choose an excellent leader to maximize your learning.

Class Contribution and Homework

Your participation in the course will be graded according to the BARS guidelines located at the end of the syllabus, as evaluated by your classmates and me.  You have to be present, of course, to make a contribution.  

Grading Scale

Writing :  Good concise writing is a skill all MBAs should possess. Most people need to have others check and edit their writing, so please seek help if necessary. (See “Writing Help” on the web page). Make sure you do not make the Common Writing Errors posted on the web page.  Points will be subtracted for poorly written work.  All papers should be typed and double-spaced.

If you need a good writing tutor, contact:

Louise Wood, Phone: 408- 298-4295, E-mail: wood.louise@gmail.com

($15-$20/hr depending on travel distance).

Hemanshu Bhusnurmath, Cell Phone:(408) 421 6297, E-mail: hemanshub@yahoo.com

($13/hr)

Late Work:   Assignments cannot be late unless the instructor has given permission for special exceptions ahead of time.

Academic Dishonesty :   I want to be sure you get your money's worth out of this course and that you will be able to put what you have learned into practice; that can only happen if you do the work yourself.   Plagiarism is a form of cheating, which consists of taking the ideas, writing, etc. from another and passing them off as one's own (Webster's New World dictionary). Any form of academic dishonesty will result in a course grade of F for ALL parties involved. If you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, go to the SJSU web page and read the Academic Honesty Policy and see the interactive explanation of plagiarism on the SJSU Library Web page.

Course Outline

Behavioral Anchor Rating Scale - Classroom Participation

Name: ________________________________________
 

Outstanding Performance (9-10 points)

• initiates information relative to topics discussed
• brings up questions that need to be explored further
• clarifies points that others may not understand
• draws upon personal experience or personal opinion
• demonstrates ability to apply, analyze and synthesize course material
• consistently demonstrates willingness to take risk in attempting to answer unpopular questions

Very Good Performance (8 points)

• regularly participates in class discussions
• consistently demonstrates knowledge of reading assignments
• demonstrates ability to analyze/apply course material
• demonstrates willingness to attempt to answer questions 

Good/Average Performance (6-7 points)

• participates in group discussion
• offers useful input in class or group
• attends class regularly

Low Performance (1-5 points)

• little or no input to large class discussion
• not following flow of ideas 

Unacceptable Performance (0 points)

• drains energy from class goals
• classroom distraction

1.   PLEASE CIRCLE THE SECTION THAT BEST REFLECTS YOUR PARTICIPATION.

2.   PLEASE WRITE THE NAMES OF 1 or 2 PEOPLE WHO CONSISTENTLY DEMONSTRATE "OUTSTANDING" LEVEL PARTICIPATION.