SYLLABUS: M&IS 34165

SECTION 001, CRN 16100

DYNAMICS OF LEADERSHIP

FALL 2015

PROFESSOR: JIM SMAS

ROOM: BSA 206

MEETING TIMES: MW 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM

HOURS  MW   9:4-10:45 AM

E-MAIL:  mjsmas@kent.edu

PHONE: 330-672-1155

NOTE: The material in this syllabus should be considered nominal and is subject to change by the instructor at any given time due to various constraints on the class, such as weather, illness of the instructor, or other such issues.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This is an upper level course designed to give the student practical experience in Leadership Principles. A prerequisite for this course is the Principles of Management course.

The principal method of instruction is casework with minimal lecture.     We will also show several movies related to the material throughout the semester.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

At this level of your college career, there should be no prodding by professors to get you to do the work on a daily basis. I will run this class much like a graduate class.  This is a great class when everyone is prepared and contributes to knowledge. That is what we are after, knowledge, for you and for me. We have to see to it that knowledge is shared among all in the class. Be prepared!

REQUIRED TEXTS:

1. Leadership: Theory and Practice, 7e, Peter G. Northouse, Sage Publishing, 2013.

ISBN:  1-978-1-4833-1753-3

2. Cases in Leadership, 4e, W. Glenn Rowe AND Laura Guerrero, Sage Publishing, 2013.

ISBN: 978-1-4833-8326-2

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE: This course is specifically intended to:

1.    Help you develop skills in influencing others whether or not you have positional authority

2.    Introduce you to the case method of studying leadership principles.

3.    Cause you to reflect on and anticipate places in which and ways in which you will develop and extend your leadership during your career and lifetime.

4.    Learn practical skills about leadership through role plays.

5.    Learn about the various leadership styles by observing behavior in main stream movies.

TESTS:

There are TWO exams during the semester, a mid-term and a final. Exams may be any combination of essay, multiple choice or T/F type questions and will encompass all materials covered in the interval from the prior exam or the start of the semester.

ASSIGNMENTS, PROJECTS, AND EXAMS

I have given you on the following spreadsheet, a complete listing of the topics and chapters to be covered in each session.  This is a breakdown of how these will work.

1.    Movie Reviews:  You will present as a team, one movie review following the format given in class and on the website. Each review has a 100 point value. You need to research the movie on Wikipedia and give the class a hand-out containing the background of the movies, the case and the characters in the movie. You must then relate how the movie relates to the topic discussed that week. You must provide handouts to the class following the format as described.

2.    Exams:  There will be two exams throughout the semester, worth 100 points each

3.    Project: You will do a project due Friday, December 11, 2015, based on the criteria listed below. This should be not less than five and no more than 10 typewritten pages. This will be submitted via Black Board Learn. Neither hard copy nor e-mail submissions will be allowed. This is worth 200 points towards your grade. This is an individual project. You may not collaborate with your team mates on this project.

4.    Journal: You will complete all the assessments and the mini-cases in the Northouse book as assigned on the schedule and add the results to an on- line journal, which will be reviewed four times during the semester. I am particularly concerned with your insights and observations of the assessments, and the observations during case reviews. Tell me what you have you learned during the semester. This is worth 200 points.

5. Participation in In-class case discussions: There are two parts to this, the first being a submittal on-line of the major short and long term issues of the case by the Tuesday of the week of the case. We will discuss the case on Thursdays of the week in which the case is to be discussed. The second part is the participation grade during the in-class discussion. For this you will provide me with a 3 by 5 index card with your name and your picture on it by the second class meeting. No card, no grade, simple as that. The latter part of the grade will be fairly subjective, and lack of attendance will greatly affect this part.

6. PROJECT TOPICS:

You have a choice among topics for your final paper:

1.    Shadow a leader you have personal knowledge of and write about his/hers leadership qualities as espoused in the course. This works well in Not-for-profit organizations that require a lot of volunteer workers.

2.    Pick a military leader and do the same as above. Some examples include George S. Patton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Field Marshal Erwin Montgomery, or Joshua Chamberlain of Gettysburg fame.

3.    Pick a tribal leader from American Indian lore or a tribal African leader

and do the same as above. Some examples might include Tecumseh, Crazy Horse, Cochise, or modern day people like Russell Means or Wes Studi. For African leaders some examples might be Shaka Zulu, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. Some of these were not so kind and gentle.

GRADING:

There are a total of 1000 points available to determine your grade. The criteria for grading is divided as follows

1. Exams 2 @ 150 ea                                                                      300 points

2. Journal                                                                                          200

4. Final Project                                                                                 200

5. Movie Reviews                                                                             100

6. Participation                                                                                 200

Total Points                                                                                     1000  points

            .

I will use plus / minus grading this semester. Thus the grading for the course is as follows: These are on percentages

92.5 – 100 %  POINTS                                            A

89.1 – 92.4                                                                A –

86.0 – 89.0                                                                B+

82.5 – 85.9                                                                B

79.1 – 82.4                                                                B-

76.0 – 79.0                                                                C+

72.5 – 75.9                                                                C

69.1 – 72.4                                                                C-

<69.0                                                                          D

<59.0                                                                          F         

According to new University Guidelines the grades are converted to your grade point average by the following rules:

A   = 4.0

A-  = 3.7

B+ = 3.3

B   = 3.0

B-  = 2.7

C+ = 2.3

C   =  2.0

C-  =  1.7

D+  = 1.3

D    = 1.0.

F    =  0.0