Syllabus: ORGB-625 Winter 2008-09

At the completion of the course, course participants will be conversant with the established and emerging theories and practices related to leadership and professional development. The readings, self-assessments, and interactions with course colleagues will serve as a catalyst for those who read about, examine, and delve more deeply into leadership thinking, and, to facilitate dialogue about leaders and the leadership process. Course participants will become familiar with:

• the breadth and richness of the study of leaders and the leadership process,
• the complexity associated with organizational leadership,
• some of the pieces that serve to define this complex mosaic called leadership,
• viewing and critiquing the leadership literature - from its earliest days up to the current period,
• the major leadership themes.

These text topics are focused on the scientific literature as opposed to the popular press and are among additional topics, yet to be discovered by the course participants as our term together unfolds. The readings will give course participants a substantive foundation for their further study of and reflections on leadership. Along these lines, course participants will be able to learn a great deal about themselves by keeping a term-long Journal - containing reflections generated as they complete a series of multi-dimensional self-assessment instruments that are aligned with the course readings.

As this course progresses, participants will be able to analyze, select, assemble, and prepare to "take away" useful ideas, observations, insights, and action items that they can then employ in subsequent readings and conversations - and - utilize to inform their leadership decisions.

Throughout Drexel University there are four "key focus areas" to concentrate on in all courses, where applicable. In our course, delving deeply into all of these areas will not present a problem for us, particularly since this is an online course.
These key focus areas that we need to concentrate on, across our learning experience together are:

1. Communication Skills
2. Experiential Learning
3. Global Awareness
4. Problem Identification, Solution Formulation, and Implementation

First, communication skills will be key for us across these days and weeks as we form our learning community and discuss, on an ongoing basis, the course topics.

Second, experiential learning is prevalent with a topic such as ours that cuts across so many disciplines. Sharing our past, present, and anticipated future workplace experiences and expectations will enable collaborative learning to take place as we interact.

Third, global awareness is a thread clearly winding its way through our text. That is one of the reasons that I selected it (and do considerable updating work to maintain a course with the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and meaningful text).

Edition: Fifth
Publisher: Irwin - McGraw-Hill
Authors: Pierce and Newstrom
Copyright: 2008

Our primary textbook, Leaders and the Leadership Process, has two major components, the parts of which we will attempt to enmesh with many of our other course activities - all across the term:

PART-1 Readings: The Conceptual and Empirical Leadership Literature

1. Introduction to Leadership

2. The Leader-Follower Relationship: Fairness, Trust, and Ethical Behavior

3. Leaders and the Role of Personal Traits

4. Leadership and the Role of Gender

5. Leader Emergence: A Dynamic Process

6. Leadership as an Influence Process

7. Leadership and Leader Behaviors

8. Leadership and Situational Differences

9. Leadership in the Cross-cultural Context

10. Followers and the Leadership Process

11. Participative Leadership

12. Substitutes for Leadership

13. Charismatic Leadership

14. Transformational Leadership

15. The Dark Side of Leadership

16. Epilogue

Appendix-A

PART-2 Beyond the Theory and Empiricism and into the Practice of Leadership

Applications: Case Studies and Experiential Exercises

Our ancillary book, The Handbook for Leaders, is a series of what the authors term 24 Lessons for Extraordinary Leadership:

1. Leaders Can Be Made

2. Great Leaders Make a Great Difference

3. Make Good Leaders Great

4. Raise the Leadership "Tent"

5. Character is the Essence of Great Leadership

6. Leaders Need Personal Capability

7. Focus on Results

8. Cultivate Interpersonal Skills

9. Lead Organizational Change

10. Find Your Leadership "Sweet Spot"

11. Focus on Building Strengths

12. Concentrate on Developing Three to Five Strengths

13. Let the Halo Effect Work for You

14. Look for Powerful Combinations of Competencies

15. Fix Fatal Flaws

16. Learn from Mistakes

17. Build Positive Relationships
18. Be Open to New Ideas
19. Be Accountable
20. Take Initiative
21. Learn from Feedback
22. Take a Nonlinear Approach
23. Take Steps to Improve Leadership Skills
24. Develop Your People

Here is the schedule for completing the readings in each book as well as the corresponding Self-Assessments to complete and reflect on in your Journal area.

Beginning

Reading - Pierce and Newstrom

Self-Assessments to Complete - listed by page #s

1

January 5, 2009

The entire Syllabus, the text Prologue, Appendix-A, and all course components in Bb Vista.

xxvi

2

January 12, 2009

Chapters 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 1-94)

31, 32-33, 34, 71, 73

3

January 19, 2009

Chapters 4 and 5 (pp. 95-141)

98-99, 130, 131-132,

4

January 26, 2009

Chapters 6 and 7 (pp. 143-194)

147-148, 149-150, 169, 170

5

February 2, 2009

Chapters 8 and 9 (pp. 195-255)

201, 202, 233-234

6

February 9, 2009

Chapters 10 and 11 (pp. 257-309)

284-285,   482-483, 484

7

February 16, 2009

Chapters 12 and 13 (pp. 311-388)

315, 316, 317, 485

8

February 23, 2009

Chapters 14 and 15 (pp. 389-453)

392-393, 430-431, 486

Reading - Zenger and Folkman

in Pierce and Newstrom

9

March 2, 2009

Pages 1-56

 487, 488-491, 492-493, 494-495

10

496-498, 499, 500, 501

If you are not reading these periodicals already - you need to start.

1. Business 2.0
2. Fast Company
3. Business Week
4. Wall Street Journal
5. Financial Times

We have formed a partnership here and an agreement of sorts.

I agree to be the best facilitator that I can possibly be, across our entire course.

I agree to make myself reasonably available to each of you, both online and via other communication modes.

I agree to tell you when you are communicating too much, and I will attempt to draw you into the conversation when I feel you are communicating too seldom.

I agree to make Leadership and Professional Development as exciting, engaging, and meaningful as possible.

I agree to provide substantive feedback, as appropriate, on your comments and your work, and to submit your grades in a timely manner.

You agree to read both of the assigned books in their entirety, submit the assigned papers, complete the assigned self-assessments and make Journal entries for each after reflecting on them, and read and participate in threaded discussions - all as outlined in this course Syllabus.

You agree that everything that you contribute and submit across this course will be your own work.

You agree to encourage the participation of others, attempting to "level" the amount of contribution, time, and effort that everyone is able to expend and share while participating in our rich interactions during the course.

You agree to always participate in a professional and appropriate manner and to refrain from criticizing others for minor typos and the like, e.g., in threaded discussion postings. After all, we all want to get our ideas out to the group, i.e., not worry about them being "perfect."

You agree to keep confidential anything that others in our course learning community have to share during our time together. This understanding is essential to fostering an environment in which everyone will be encouraged to tell us what they know, share with us what they have experienced, and relate to us how they see things developing in the future as well as how they hope to implement the concepts we learn about here - in their future organizational, personal, and community lives.

“Drexel University, which has traditionally utilized single letter grading (A, B, C, etc.) in the past, moved to plus and minus grading (A-, B+, B-, C+, C-, etc.). This plus and minus grading was implemented, institution wide, in Fall 2006. The College of Business recognizes that your employer uses specific final grade criteria in determining cutoffs at, or below which, tuition and fees will NOT be reimbursed.

Please review your respective employer’s latest criteria for minimum required grades for tuition reimbursement. We further urge all students considering enrollment in this course to be certain that they have the required prerequisites in order to be able to obtain the minimum grade required for reimbursement.”

To facilitate your evaluation, the following grading scale is the one that will be utilized for all courses in the College of Business programs:

NOTE: This graduate course at Drexel has (1) no extra credit component, (2) no make-up credit, and (3) does not allow late submissions of any graded item for any reason.

30% - Threaded Discussion Participation (in Week-2 through Week-10)

Frequency, variety, and substance are the grading criteria; insights and engagement relevant to the week’s topics at hand.

Make (at least) two original postings (in two different topics for the respective week) by 11:00pm (EST) each Tuesday.

Make (at least) two response postings to those of your colleagues by 11:00pm (EST) each Thursday (in two other topics).

To earn full credit - post in at least four different topics each week where Threaded Discussion postings are required.

Late original posts or late response posts earn no credit. There is no make-up or extra credit in this course.

Weeks 2 and 3 = 1% each. Weeks 4 thru 10 = 4% each. Total = 30%.

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30% - Journal Entries for the Self-Assessments (Week 2 through Week-10)

Make a short Journal entry for each self-assessment assigned for that week, reflecting on how you found the self-assessment valuable, what you gained from it, how you plan to utilize what it showed you. A paragraph for each instrument assigned in that week is perfectly sufficient.

Complete each week's entry before 11:00pm (EST) each Thursday.

Late Journal entries earn no credit. There is no make-up or extra credit in this course.

Weeks 2 and 3 = 1% each. Weeks 4 thru 10 = 4% each. Total = 30%.

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40% - Self-Assessment / Action Plan Papers (Week-2, -4, -6, -8, and -10)

• Week-2 (5%) - due at 5:00pm (EDT) on Saturday.
• Week-4 (5%) - due at 5:00pm (EDT) on Saturday.
• Week-6 (10%) - due at 5:00pm (EDT) on Saturday.
• Week-8 (10%) - due at 5:00pm (EDT) on Saturday.
• Week-10 (10%) - due at 5:00pm (EDT) on Saturday.

Late Papers earn no credit. There is no make-up or extra credit in this course.

Weeks 2 and 4 = 5% each. Weeks 6, 8, and 10 = 10% each. Total = 40%.

Threaded Discussions (TDs) are the asynchronous component of our course. However, even though they are not done in real time - the exchanges can (and should) get quite lively. Support your arguments and/or agree with those of others, as you think appropriate. If you disagree with someone's thoughts, or have experienced something in your past or present organization(s) that conflict with what others have related - we want to hear your insights.

I will view all threaded discussions on a daily basis and always by Friday evening. I will respond as required or as I deem appropriate to questions or topics, where necessary, across the entire course timeline.

You will have nine weeks in which you are expected to participate in the TDs, as outlined below. Attempt to participate early. Do not save all of your thoughts until just prior to the due dates/times! Late posts receive no credit whatsoever.

Contributions for each week can begin on each Saturday. Original contributions must be made by 11:00pm (Eastern time) every Tuesday (of those weeks when we have TDs) and response contributions must be made by 11:00pm (Eastern time) every Thursday (of those weeks when we have TDs). You will not earn any credit for contributions made after those times, though you will still be able to exchange thoughts and information.

Some folks find it easier to type their thoughts in MS-Word or some other application first, then copy-and-paste them into the TD. Your choice. This is especially valuable for individuals for whom English is not their first language.

I am NOT looking for page-long offerings here. Give us your thought in a paragraph; a few sentences or so will suffice - as long as you have made your point. However, simply saying that "I agree" or "I think that I disagree with that" is clearly an insufficient contribution. I review all contributions, and will update the Grade Book in a timely manner so you can see how you are doing, as our course goes along.

You cannot earn full credit for posts that are too short (thin) or too long (verbose).

Weekly Threaded Discussion (TD) participation requirement:

a. respond substantively to (at least) two topics on the weekly list, in a timely manner, AND

b. provide responses to (at least) two postings by others in two different topic areas, in a timely manner, each week.

That is, you must contribute (at least) a total of four times, in four different topics, each week that we have TDs. The Open Topic each week is one topic, so, only one of your four (minimum) posts will be graded there.

c. Read the postings of your colleagues  (NOTE: This will be measured up to midnight Friday in each respective week and the grading completed, normally, on Saturday morning.)

The 30% of your grade that threaded discussions represent will break down this way, based on doing a. and b. and c. above:

1. Week-2 and Week-3 participation counts for 1% each week. Total = 2%.

2. Week-4 through -10 participation counts for 4% each week. Total= 28%.

3. You must participate in the Week-1 TDs, but, they will not be graded.

Grading (assuming posts are made on time):

• 100% of the available points - salient original comments, of an appropriate length and depth, in (at least) two different topics in the week and salient responses to the contributions of others in (at least) two different topics in the week.  Reading 80% or more of your colleagues' postings.

• 75% of the available points - participation, as outlined above, in only three different topics - or - participating in the appropriate number of topics but not at the appropriate length or to an appropriate depth.  Reading 60% to 79% of your colleagues' postings.

• 50% of the available points - participation, as outlined above, in only two different topics - or - participating in more topics but not at the appropriate length or to an appropriate depth.  Reading 40% to 59% of your colleagues' postings.

• 25% of the available points - participation, as outlined above, in only one topic - or - participating in more topics but not at the appropriate length or to an appropriate depth.  Reading 20% to 39% of your colleagues' postings.

• 0 points - not contributing at all in a particular week.

Rubrics for Individual Threaded Discussion Posts
- Original and Response Posts -

Full Credit

Message contains clear communication, contributes substantially to discussion, relates to topic of discussion, and provides considerable evidence of higher order thinking, (e.g. explains issues; provides supporting evidence; provides new perspective; elaborates, modifies, or challenges existing comments).

Half Credit

Message is mostly clear, contributes somewhat to discussion, relates in some way to topic of discussion, and provides some evidence of higher order thinking (e.g.explains issues; provides supporting evidence; provides new perspective; elaborates, modifies, or challenges existing comments).

No credit

Message is confusing, disconnected, redundant, and not related to discussion topic; arguments unsupported or supported by hearsay or personal beliefs; little evidence of higher order thinking.

These are to be Self-Assessment / Action Plans Papers that link the text topics to real-world settings and should involve some aspects of:

• the self-assessments,
• the readings, and
• the action plans that you can formulate
  
  (with your professional development in the leadership area as the overarching theme) from all of that.

1. All Writing Assignments are due to me by 5:00pm (Eastern time) on the Saturday of the respective week (Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10). The papers must be submitted via the dropbox for the respective week. They will be accepted via this method only (e.g., do not attach them to emails)! NOTE: I strongly urge you to submit them as early as you can.

2. Late submissions will not be accepted and you will earn no points for a missed deadline. No exceptions. No extensions.
(Whether or not you anticipate any extenuating circumstances at all - turn in your work early.)

3. Papers must be double-spaced using 12 font, Arial or Times New Roman font only, please. Leave the default margins, as they are.

Page requirements:

Write two or three good, solid, rich pages for each Paper. Do not submit fewer than two full pages or more than three pages of actual content, i.e., excluding title and references pages, if any. (Please make sure that your name is in the header or in the footer, if you do not use a title page. A title page is not required. References are not required - unless citing someone else's work/words/thoughts.)

NOTE: In past classes, I limited these Papers to two pages, max. Some students recommended allowing longer papers; hence, in this term, two full pages will suffice, but, if you want to use the third - you have that opportunity because of that input from your predecessors.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT you link your work (in all Papers) to a real-world setting and leader, if applicable. These are experiential papers - not research papers - not term papers. If you simply reiterate text topics (i.e., write a term paper) you will earn no points for your work.

Topics align with the reading assignments:

Select a topic of your choice from the areas covered in our text. Be certain that you base your work on a real workplace, personal, or civic organizational setting.

1. The first paper uses the text through Chapter-3 and the six different self-assessment exercises assigned in Weeks 1 & 2 as a base.

2. The second uses Chapters 4-7 and the seven different self-assessment exercises assigned in Weeks 3 & 4 as a base.

3. The third uses Chapters 8-11 and the six different self-assessment exercises assigned in Weeks 5 & 6 as a base.

4. The fourth uses Chapters 12-15 and the seven different self-assessment exercises assigned in Weeks 7 & 8 as a base.

5. The last paper uses the entire Zenger and Folkman work and the eight different self-assessment exercises assigned in Weeks 9 & 10 as a base.

40% - content focused on leadership and professional development - and - linked to text topics

40% - content related to real workplace, personal, volunteer, or civic organizations and situations (past, present, or future)

10% - reflectiveness

10% - creativity (uniqueness)

The course Web site itself will be our main communication link, naturally. Let's attempt to do all of our communicating via our site, using Mail, etc.

If necessary for other reasons, these are the other ways that you can reach me:

1. My work phone 215-895-0244. 7:30am-4:30pm weekdays
2. My work fax 215-895-6777. Be certain to use a cover sheet
3. My home phone 609-804-8894 (Only until 8:30pm on weeknights, and 8:30am-8:30pm only, on weekends.) Leave a message for me on my
   answering machine if I am not home when you call.

Your first line of support for technical problems is:

1. To go through the entire Check Browser process. This link is at the top right of the Log In page.
2. Go into the Student Resources section to get assistance via Demos, video clips, documents, links, etc.
3. The Online Learning Team. The Team is accessible by e-mail 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You will normally receive a response within one business day. EMail the Team at olt@drexel.edu.

Report a problem to them through this link, CLICK HERE.

To make a suggestion to Blackboard Corporate, CLICK HERE.

Make a short Journal entry for each self-assessment assigned for that week, reflecting on how you found the self-assessment valuable, what you gained from it, how you plan to utilize what it showed you. A paragraph for each instrument assigned in that week is sufficient.

The link to each week's Journal is in the Threaded Discussion area for that week. It is the last listed topic in each week's TD category so that you can locate it easily.

Complete each week's entry before 11:00pm (EST) each Thursday.

Late Journal entries earn no credit. There is no make-up or extra credit in this course.

Week-1 = Optional. Weeks 2 and 3 = 1% each. Weeks 4 thru 10 = 4% each. Total = 30%.