Course Syllabus

Course Description

Presents the importance of organizational leadership in conjunction with various leadership traits, styles, and characteristics. Enhances the importance of having a vision and aligning strategy, the motivation to lead, social motives in the workplace, ethics, and the significance of empowerment for effective leadership. Topics include situational leadership, organizational climate and culture, moral dilemmas, personal integrity, servant leadership, participative management, human relationships, high-performance teams, diversity, cultural and interpersonal differences, workplace stress, performance management, and organizational change.

Course Textbook(s)

No physical textbook is required; resources are integrated within the course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Compare leadership styles. 2. Explain the importance of vision to organizational leadership. 3. Differentiate between effective leaderships and followership. 4. Describe the role of ethics in guiding leadership behavior. 5. Examine the role of leadership in organizational performance. 6. Analyze methods to lead teams effectively.

Academic Integrity

Honesty and integrity are taken very seriously at Waldorf University. All students should be familiar with the Waldorf University Academic Integrity Policy (found in the current Student Handbook) and the consequences that will result from breaches of this policy.

Credits

Upon completion of this course, the students will earn 3.00 hours of college credit.

Course Structure

1. Study Guide: Course units contain a Study Guide that provides students with the learning outcomes, unit lesson,

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required unit resources, assignments, and supplemental resources. 2. Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning Outcomes that specify the measurable skills and knowledge

students should gain upon completion of the unit. 3. Unit Lesson: Unit Lessons, which are located in the Study Guide, discuss lesson material. 4. Required Unit Resources: Units contain Required Unit Resources from one or more chapters from the textbook

and/or outside resources. 5. Learning Activities (Nongraded): Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of

study. 6. Discussion Boards: Students are required to submit Discussion Board posts in Units I-VIII. Discussion Boards

provide students the opportunity for student-to-student and professor-to-student interaction based on relevant course concepts and ideas. Specific information about accessing the Discussion Board rubric is provided below.

7. Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for grading Unit Assignments. Specific information and instructions regarding these assignments are provided below. Grading rubrics are included with each assignment. Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided below.

8. Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides students with an opportunity to ask their professor general questions or questions related to course content.

9. Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for casual conversation with other classmates.

Unit Assignments

Unit I Essay

In this unit, you were introduced to various leadership traits, behaviors, and styles. For the Unit I Essay, you will select one of the following leadership theories, research your selected theory further, and consider your own leadership style.

Select one of the following leadership theories:

authentic leadership theory, leader-member exchange theory, path-goal theory, servant leadership theory, situational leadership theory, transformational leadership theory, or transactional leadership theory.

Discuss a situation where you experienced the leadership theory you selected. Respond to the following questions and statements:

1. Explain the selected theory (author, year, and the overall focus of the theory). 2. Describe a situation you experienced when this leadership style was practiced by you or another person. 3. In your analysis, answer these questions. How does the selected leadership theory apply to the situation? What

characteristics described by the theory can be applied to the situation and the individuals involved who contribute to leadership effectiveness?

4. Discuss how you can develop your leadership and improve performance of followers.

Your essay should be at least two pages in length in APA Style. Include at least one outside resource. The title and reference pages do not count toward the minimum page length. Your essay should include an introduction, conclusion, and headings to delineate transitions.

Unit II Case Study

Identify a TV series or movie you have watched recently, preferably in a business setting. Consider the show and respond to each of the following prompts.

1. Describe the situation of a scene when a character displayed leadership behaviors. Include descriptive words that communicate the environment (sight), relationship, moods, tone of voice, feelings, motives, and so forth.

2. Explain the type or types of power observed in the show or movie and how power influences a leader’s behavior. 3. Explain how ethics, morals, and values may have influenced the behavior described above. Describe whether the

character illustrated good or bad ethical/moral behavior. Explain the ethical or moral dilemma.

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4. Explain whether the character was motivated to achieve a goal, objective, or task. Was the character intrinsically or extrinsically motivated? Explain.

5. Discuss why the character depicted good or bad ethical behavior and what you would recommend to this character if they were a co-worker.

6. What leadership style do you identify within the Path-Goal Theory: directive, achievement-oriented, participative, or supportive? Why?

7. How can you apply your new knowledge to a current or future situation?

Your submission should be at least two pages in essay format with an introduction and conclusion. Headings and subheadings are encouraged. You must include at least one outside source. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Be sure to use APA Style for citations and references.

Unit III Essay

Consider an organization for which you have worked in the past or one in which you currently work or have observed in a movie or series. Write an essay responding to the following prompts:

1. Explain organizational culture, and describe your experience or observation of an organizational culture. 2. How did shared values, beliefs, assumptions, and behaviors influence the culture? 3. Explain your experience or observation of group development referring to Tuckman’s model. 4. Compare a homogeneous and heterogeneous culture, and describe how either relates to your experience. 5. Explain how a diverse culture contributes to organizational performance. 6. Explain how leadership affects a diverse culture within a global organization.

Your submission should be at least two pages in essay format with an introduction and conclusion. Headings and subheadings are encouraged. You must include at least one outside source. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Be sure to use APA Style for citations and references.

Unit IV PowerPoint Presentation

Put yourself in the position of an instructor. Develop a presentation that teaches the audience about high-performance teams and leading a global team. Answer the following questions:

How do a leader’s ethics affect the relationship with followers? How are high-performance teams developed? How does a high-performance team establish a strategy, goals, and tasks? What are the traits, characteristics, and dynamics of a high-performance team? How does communication with a global team affect team dynamics?

You may present using your choice of presentation applications. This could include PowerPoint, Prezi, Visme, Canva, or YouTube—just be sure it is accessible by your instructor. Consider a new platform with which you are unfamiliar. You may record yourself presenting or include an audio of your presentation. Create a compelling message. Use correct punctuation and grammar throughout your presentation. A good rule of thumb for presentations is less is more. Paragraphs on slides is not good practice-consider using 10 words or less on your slides. An audio presentation should be the message and the slides only used to reinforce your message. Be creative and share a story.

Your presentation should include content to cover all questions and topics listed above. As a guide, the expectation for a traditional presentation in PowerPoint would include information in the speaker notes section with a minimum of eight slides. If you choose a different presentation application and are unsure what the minimum requirements would be, reach out to your instructor for guidance.

You must use at least two outside sources, one of which must come from the Waldorf Online Library. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Be sure to use APA Style for citations and references.

Unit V Scholarly Activity

Review the unit lesson, and write a reflection paper by responding to the following prompts:

1. Compare leadership and followership in a paragraph or two. 2. Create a table with two columns comparing leadership and followership with at least five characteristics for each. 3. Explain the formal and informal roles of leadership and followership. Discuss behaviors of each. 4. Discuss a situation when your behavior depicted that of either a charismatic, transformational, transactional, or

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laissez-faire leader. 5. Discuss a situation when your behavior depicted that of one of the five follower types: alienated follower, passive

follower, conformist follower, pragmatic follower, or effective follower.

Your submission should be at least two pages. Headings and subheadings are encouraged. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Include at least one outside resource. Be sure to use APA Style for citations and references.

Unit VI Essay

Research an organization you would like to work for in the future. Respond to the following prompts in an essay format.

1. Identify the organization, and describe the organization’s vision, mission, and values. 2. Explain the purpose of strategic planning and why it is necessary. 3. Discuss the importance of vision and leadership in the pursuit of organizational success. 4. Discuss how the strategic planning of your selected organization aligns with its organizational vision. 5. Discuss the difference between organizational climate and culture. 6. Explain why aligning the vision, leadership, climate, and culture contributes to organizational success. 7. Explain the role of an organizational leader during organizational change. 8. Discuss your preferred leadership style and how you as a leader would assist in transitioning this organization to the

desired state.

Your submission should be at least two pages in length. Headings and subheadings are encouraged. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. You must include at least one outside resource. Be sure to use APA Style for citations and references.

Unit VII Project

Part 1 of 2

Select two U.S. presidents and two leadership theories to compare, and respond to the following prompts in an essay format.

1. Describe the two presidents and the two leadership theories you selected for this assignment. 2. Discuss the characteristics and behaviors of the selected presidents as they relate to the leadership theories. 3. Explain why one U.S. president may have been more effective as a leader than the other. This may be based on

characteristics, decisions, leadership style, achievements, or other reasons. 4. Identify an important decision made by each president, and discuss a different cognitive bias for each that may have

influenced the decision. Explain why you came to that conclusion.

Your submission should be at least two pages. Headings and subheadings are encouraged. Include an introduction to your submission. You must include at least one outside source. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. You must have at least one outside source. Be sure to use APA Style for citations and references.

Unit VIII Project

Part 2 of 2

This is the second part of your project from Unit VII. Refer to the two presidents you selected, and respond to the following prompts in an essay format.

1. Refer to the Unit VIII Lesson, and discuss three self-leadership approaches your selected president may need to improve or whose behavior shows mastery. Explain why you came to this conclusion for each of the three selected self-leadership approaches.

2. Describe a scenario when one of the presidents selected depicted good or bad emotional intelligence. You may review public videos of the president or read articles to evaluate behaviors. Include a reference of each source evaluated. Explain how this good or bad behavior would weaken or strengthen your motivation to work for this president.

3. Discuss a decision this president made that indicates either strong or weak decision-making, and explain how emotional intelligence may have contributed.

Your submission should be at least two pages. Headings and subheadings are encouraged. Include an introduction to your

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submission. You must include at least one outside source. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Be sure to use APA Style for citations and references.

Submitting Course Papers/Projects

Once you have completed your papers/projects, submit your completed papers/projects by uploading through the Assignment tab in each unit. Do not e-mail your paper directly to your professor. By using the Assignment tab, your record will automatically be updated to indicate you have submitted your papers/projects, and the assignment will be provided to your professor for grading. Instructions for submitting your assignment can be found under the Assignment tab in each unit.

APA Guidelines

Waldorf University requires that students use the APA style for papers and projects. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. Information about using APA style can be found in APA Style Help in the Course Menu. This area provides links to Internet sites, tutorials, and guides that provide comprehensive information on APA formatting, including examples and sample papers.

Grading Rubrics

This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of the learning activity and describes the criteria for each level of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts to meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is imperative for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics because these are the primary tools your professor uses for assessing learning activities.

Rubric categories include (1) Discussion Board, (2) Assessment (Written Response), and (3) Assignment. However, it is possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a single course (e.g., some courses may not have Assessments).

The Discussion Board rubric can be found within Unit I’s Discussion Board submission instructions.

The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when written-response questions appear within the Assessment.

Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study, research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment rubrics are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the course menu by selecting the “Grades” link.

Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with these rubrics because their application to your Discussion Boards, Assessments, and Assignments is the method by which your instructor assigns all grades.

Communication Forums

These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to communicate with your professor and other students. Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged, but not required. You can access these forums with the buttons in the Course Menu. Instructions for subscribing/unsubscribing to these forums are provided below.

Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and post to the Communication Forums.

Ask the Professor

This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content questions. Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course components, textbook or course content elaboration, additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general advice from other students.

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Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding assessment/assignment grades or personal accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If you have questions, comments, or concerns of a non- public nature, please feel free to email your professor. Responses to your post will be addressed or emailed by the professor within 48 hours.

Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant course documentation, including the syllabus, assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other important information.

Student Break Room

This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. Communication on this forum should always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to share assessment answers.

Schedule/Grading

The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted.

Unit I Leaders and Leadership [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit I Study Guide Unit Resources (2 videos, 3 articles): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit I Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit I Essay 10%

Unit II The Influence of Leaders [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit II Study Guide Unit Resources (1 video, 4 articles): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit II Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit II Case Study 10%

Unit III Understanding Culture, Groups, and a Leader’s Influence [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit III Study Guide Unit Resources (2 videos, 5 articles): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit III Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit III Essay 10%

Unit IV Who You Lead [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit IV Study Guide Unit Resources (3 articles): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit IV Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit IV PowerPoint Presentation 10%

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Unit V How You Lead and Follow [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit V Study Guide Unit Resources (1 video, 3 articles): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit V Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit V Scholarly Activity 10%

Unit VI Where You Lead? Leadership Vision and Global Environments [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit VI Study Guide Unit Resources (2 videos, 2 articles): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit VI Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VI Essay 10%

Unit VII Leadership and Biases [ Weight: 14% ]

Read/View: Unit VII Study Guide Unit Resources (3 videos, 1 article): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit VII Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VII Project 12%

Unit VIII Lead Thyself Leader [ Weight: 14% ]

Read/View: Unit VIII Study Guide Unit Resources (4 articles, 1 video): See Study Guide

Discuss: Unit VIII Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VIII Project 12%

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