MIS 34165-002 Spring 2011 Stevens
Dynamics of Leadership Section 02
M&IS 34165-002 CRN #13573
Spring Semester 2011
Mondays 5:30 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
Room 115 Business Administration Building
Instructor: Dr. George E. Stevens
Office: A421 Business Administration Building
Department: Management & Information Systems
Telephone: 330-672-1100
Email: gstevens@kent.edu
Office Hours: M 3:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. and by appointment
Required Text: Loose Leaf version of text (less expensive for student) Gary Yukl, Leadership in Organizations, seventh edition – (Pearson-Prentice-Hall, 2010) – Loose Leaf - ISBN: 055-894893-6
Suggested Reading: Business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, the New York Times, BusinessWeek and other sources of current Business news.
Other Sources: Radio reports, television presentations, documentaries and other media sources of information on the state of world business affairs.
Student Practice As a student, you can visit the site mentioned below and do some practice tests before exams: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/yukl/. You may need to click on the 7th edition Companion Website link. Choose a chapter in the top banner. (See separate email message.)
Course Withdrawal Deadline:
For spring 2011, the course withdrawal deadline March 20, 2010.
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 Objectives: Welcome to M&IS 34165, Dynamics of Leadership! This is a course that discusses leadership and management concepts and theory. It is a course that will allow us to blend theory and practice to help everyone better understand how management and leadership are different but may go hand-in-hand. These are not synonymous terms. Although textbooks tend to focus more on theory, I hope that we will be able to apply some of what we learn to the so-called “real world”. The course is built on an introductory part, a part that defines leadership, identifies indicators of leadership effectiveness, and discusses the conceptualization of leadership theories. Early on the student is introduced to the nature of managerial work. Throughout the sixteen-week course we will discuss management, organizational behavior, and leadership concepts as well as a variety of issues such as delegation, empowerment, power and influence, managerial traits and skills, contingency theories, leadership types such as charismatic and transformational leadership, team and decision group approaches, and how to lead change in organizations. Among other topics are ethics and leadership, strategic leadership, gender, diversity, and cross-cultural leadership, and how one develops leadership skills.
Today, leadership can be discussed in a more global context. We live in ‘global village where technological innovations such as smart phones, videoconferencing tools, and Skype have shrunk our world. Think of monetary changes, economic events and natural disasters that occur in particular countries (for example Ireland’s near financial collapse, Greece’s total economy in chaos, the United Arab Emirates’ near bankruptcy of Dubai, Haiti’s natural disasters, and the United States with its Gulf oil spill). As we look across our own country do we know what it takes to be a successful leader? We will discuss the causes and consequences of current events – economic crises, financial bailouts, wars, etc. – that impact us as a society and specifically impact the business environment as well.
I look forward to exploring these issues and concerns with you, sharing my experiences, having us learn from each other, and discussing the many difficult issues that may have multiple “right answers” or perhaps none at all. By the end of this spring term, I hope that you acquire a set of tools that allow you to analyze management issues both in your personal and professional life, as well as the enthusiasm and desire to use them.
Common Courtesy:
As a faculty member I am here to serve our students, faculty, staff, and alumni among others. Within the classroom I will be respectful to each of you and I want you to be respectful to your fellow students. Here is a partial list of behaviors that will lead to repercussions should you be guilty of exhibiting these behaviors:
1. Side conversations during lecture
2. Eating in class
3. Taking or receiving cell phone calls
4. Reading a newspaper or other publication
5. Disrespectful behavior towards the instructor or another student in class.
6. Side conversations is No. #1 for a reason. It is my top pet peeve: it distracts me and other students especially those with learning disabilities.
I do allow drinking non-alcoholic beverages in class. I may need a non-alcoholic beverage (typically water) as my voice can become hoarse after hours of talking.
I will ask you to stop any of the above behaviors and upon persistent demonstrated behavior, may ask you to leave the class. You will be issued a verbal warning on the first offence, a written warning on the second offence with a copy to the Dean of Students, and the Dean of the College of Business Administration. A third offense will result in my request that you be deregistered from this course, with a potential grade of WF! If you don’t want to be embarrassed, then follow these rules.
The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course
A. Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.
B. Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you need to correct the error with your advising office no later than Sunday, March 20 for spring 2011. If registration errors are not corrected by the stated date of March 20 for spring 2011 and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.
Class Format: Class will consist mostly of lectures, discussions and use of video or other supplements. We will discuss some of the end-of-chapter cases. We should learn from students what they have seen, learned, read about, or experienced on the job as these experiences relate to the topic under discussion.
In each session we will have lectures, discussion, and power point slides on a given topic or topics indicated in the class schedule. If we are unable to complete all that we need to do in a given session, we will carry it over to the next session or you will be expected to complete the reading assignment on your own. There may at times be changes to the schedule of the course. For this reason, should you miss a session, it will be useful for you to keep in touch with a classmate who attends class and/or the instructor.
Each class session that is scheduled will last approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. If possible, I will do my best to add additional material and multimedia including music, videos, and internet news sites as needed to liven up the course. You can assist by engaging in discussion when those opportunities present themselves and in thinking about the issues we talk about in class.
Examinations: There will be four non-cumulative examinations in this course. Each exam will cover the material since the previous one. Keep in mind, however, that prior knowledge will be important for understanding future material. Material for the exams will come from the following sources: 1) class lectures, 2) readings from the textbook, 3) class discussion, 4) videos, news articles, other in-class materials, and 5) guest lecturers. Each exam will be worth 25% of your final grade. Exam grades will not be curved. The exam questions will consist of true-false and multiple choice questions. If examinations can be given electronically through the computer lab, I will likely do so. I will explore this option. If exams are administered in class, the comments below apply – On exam days:
· Please bring two #2 pencils to complete the exam.
· Please bring your student ID.
· NO electronic devices (including electronic dictionaries, headphones, and cell phones) are permitted. If you are unsure as to the meaning of a word or phrase, ask the instructor or proctors
· Please turn your cell phones off or to silent mode. Even in “vibrate” mode, this is a distraction to your fellow classmates.
· Write the version of the exam you are taking on the top of your scantron sheet.
Makeup exams will be given only when absolutely necessary. In order to take a makeup exam you must present the instructor with written documentation for the reason a makeup exam is requested.
Grade Components:
The final course grade will be based on a total of 100 points for each examination and weighted according to the following scheme:
Exam 1 25% 100
Exam 2 25% 100
Exam 3 25% 100
Exam 4 25% 100
Total Points 400
Course Grading Scale:
Percentage Letter Grade
90 – 100 percentage points A
80 – 89 B
70 – 79 C
60 – 69 D
<60 F
According to University Guidelines the grades are converted to your grade point average by the following scale:
A = 4.0
B = 3.0
C = 2.0
D = 1.0
F = 0.0
Any issues concerning grading need to be called to my attention within one week of receipt of the grading. Grades assigned at the end of the session are not negotiable. Because of the grading system that KSU uses, there will likely be a large number of times that a student is just a few points away from the next grade. I do not round up – the time to accumulate points is during the session, not at the end of it.
Doing well in the class:
There is no bell curve for this class, thus no “quota” on letter grades. This means that everyone starts the class with a chance to earn an “A”. Here are some ideas that may help you succeed.
ü Come to class: I will not take attendance (although I may create a seating chart so that I can get to know you by name) but the best way to learn the material is to come to class, listen to the lecture, participate in discussions, and ask questions about material that is confusing or unclear.
ü Read the book: You are responsible for material assigned in the book as well as material from lectures. While lectures and the book are designed to complement each other, there may be material in the book that is not explicitly covered in the lectures and material in lectures that is not in the book (another reason to attend lectures). This is not done to punish you or “trick” you, but to help you gain the greatest understanding of management principles and theory. Note: discussions in class but not necessarily in the book are fair game, especially if the topic is discussed at some length.
ü Start studying early for exams: Considering both the quantity and complexity of the material covered in this class in the short time frame of five weeks, cramming the night before (or worse – not studying at all) is a bad idea. Read the book chapters before and/or after lectures, make sure you understand the terminology and theories, and ask questions.
ü Use your “human resources” on exam day: I will be in the room on exam day. Feel free to ask questions when the terminology, phrasing, or nuance of a question is unclear or if you think there might be a mistake.
ü Keep your ears and eyes open outside of the classroom: I highly recommend frequenting websites, reviewing newspapers, looking at news programs that cover business matters, management issues, industry events, and international business, etc. Seeing what is going on in the “real world” and how it relates to what you have learned in the classroom and from the textbook is rewarding both now and into the future.
Academic Misconduct:
I take academic misconduct extremely seriously. Please keep your eyes on your own paper during exams, and should you witness or suspect that others are engaging in academic misconduct, please bring it to my attention. Strict confidentiality will be maintained. You work hard to get the grade you earn; do not let others free ride off of you or your peers.
Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. In addition, it is considered to be cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University’s policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.
Disability Services:
University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided with reasonable University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting or visit www.kent.edu/sas <http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/ for more information on registration procedures).
D. Reminder: For fall semester the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, March 20, 2011.
Week Date Day Topic _____Reading Assignment
1 Overview January 10 Monday Introduction to Class Read syllabus
Chapter 1 “ “ “ Nature of Leadership Chapter 1
Special Leadership in Sports, Student Organizations,
Topic Professional Groups
2 HOLIDAY January 17 Monday Martin Luther King Jr. Day
(No Classes Offices Closed)
3 Chapter 2 January 24 Monday The Nature of Chapter 2
Managerial Work
Case Acme Manufacturing Company Case
Chapter 3 Perspective on Chapter 3
Effective Leadership
4 Chapter 4 Jan. 31 Monday Participative Leadership Chapter 4
Delegation & Empowerment
Cases Echo Electronics and Alvis Corporation
5 Special Feb. 7 Monday (1) Small Business and Employee Legal Issues
Topic Speaker: Mr. Jack Crews, Kent Regional Business
Alliance
(2) Career Services speaker: Topic TBD
(3) Dr. Stevens: An International Perspective on Leadership Asia/European Perspective & review for Exam #1
6 EXAM 1** Feb. 14 Monday All material since start of course – incl. Chapters 1 - 4
7 Chapter 5 Feb. 21, Monday Dyadic Relations, Attributions Chapter 5
And Followership
Cases Cromwell Electronics and American
Financial Corp.
8 Chapter 6 Feb. 28, Monday Power and Influence . Chapter 6
Cases Restview Hospital and Sporting Goods Store
Chapter 7 Managerial Traits and Skills Chapter 7
Case National Products Case
9 Chapter 8 March 7, Monday Early Contingency Chapter 8
Theories/Leadership; review
Case Foreign Auto Shop
10 EXAM 2 Mar. 14, Monday All material since Exam 1; incl. Chapters 5 - 8
11 Spring Recess March 21-27 No Classes but Offices open
12 Chapter 9 Mar. 28, Monday Charismatic and Chapter 9
Transformational Leadership
Chapter 10 Leading Change in Chapter 10
Organizations
13 Chapter 11 April 4, Monday Leadership in Teams Chapter 11
And Decision Groups
Chapter 12 Strategic Leadership by Chapter 12
Executives and Review
Cases Columbia Corp. & Costco
14 EXAM 3 April 11, Monday All materials to include Chapters 9-12
15 Chapter 13 April 18, Monday Ethical, Servant, Chapter 13
Spiritual, & Authentic Leadership
Chapter 14 Gender, Diversity, & Chapter 14
Cross-Cultural Leadership
16 Chapter 15 April 25, Monday Developing Leadership Chapter 15
Chapter 16 Overview & Integration Chapter 16
17 May 1, Sunday Classes End
FINALS WEEK – MAY 2, 2011 through Friday, May 6, 2011
EXAM 4 The class’s fourth examination is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Monday
May 2, 2011 Chapters 13 – 16 and any other assigned materials
Remembrance Day May 4, 2011 No final exams or classes from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m.
Latest revision: January 6, 2011
