Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this paper, successful students should be able to:

1.    Identify and apply appropriate theory and models of leadership.

2.    Have developed self-awareness of their own personal attributes relevant to leadership.

3.    Recognise leadership styles and approaches appropriate to personal and organisational challenges.

4.    Have analytical decision making abilities to achieve desired organisational outcomes.

5.    Demonstrate positive leadership skills in practical exercises.

6.    Recognise the ethical dimensions of leadership and know how to act ethically in their leadership.

7.    Comprehend multi-cultural leadership issues relevant to Maori, Pasifika and Asian cultures.

Paper Requirements

To successfully complete this paper, the following conditions must be met:

·                Obtain a final minimum mark of 50% overall in the paper;

·                Submit all assessments. If any assessment is not handed in, a DNC grade will be awarded for the paper. NOTE: As per the General Academic Regulations of University, if you do not submit a completed compulsory component, you may be withdrawn from the paper.

Reading

Recommended text

Jackson, B., & Parry, K. (2011). A very short fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership. London: Sage.

Weekly topics

1.                  What is leadership?

2.                  Models, theories and approaches to leadership.

3.                  Human behaviour, teams and organisational culture.

4.                  Ethics and decision making.

5.                  Qualities and attributes of great leaders.

6.                  Understanding yourself.

7.                  Understanding others.

8.                  Inspiring, motivating and strategic leadership.

9.                  Communicating and listening.

10.              Resilience, perseverance and conflict resolution.

11.              Leadership contexts and adaptation.

12.              Cultural contexts and contemporary leadership challenges.

Assignment 3:  Problem solving case (40%)

Due date and time:   9am on Wednesday 28 May 2014

Submission instructions: A soft copy version is to be submitted electronically via Turnitin  and a hard printed (double sided) copy is to be handed directly to the lecturer at the start of the lecture (9am) on Wednesday 28 May.

Assessment brief:

Your written assignment will explore a specific leadership challenge (scenarios describing these challenges will be given to you during the tutorial on Friday 9 May. You will be required to use your understanding developed from lectures, tutorials, readings, the first two assignments and personal reflection to develop a proposed plan or approach as to how you would address the issue.  The assignment should include the following:

1.      An overview of the problem/issue (including identification of the critical challenges involved).

2.      A statement of the leadership principles you will use to guide your approach in addressing this leadership challenge.

3.      A review of relevant literature, including an outline of the range of options available I terms of addressing the challenge (give examples and reference them).

4.      The outline of your ‘plan of attack’ as to how you propose to address the leadership challenge (this could be outlined in a flow chart, or you could use a SWOT analysis approach or another approach to analyse your options and choose a way forward).

5.      A consideration of the things that could go wrong and how you would deal with them (risk analysis).

6.      An outline of what success would look like and how you will measure it.

Other requirements:

• The assignment should be 2,000 – 2,500 words in length (excluding references and any appendices).
• A high standard of English writing is required – edit your work.
• Use diagrams, illustrations and figures to enhance your presentation.
• Use the assignment outline and marking schedule below to guide your efforts.

Marking schedule                                                                                                      Marks                          Depth of understanding                                                                                  10

Quality of analysis                                                                                          5

Ability to use relevant literature                                                                    5

Range and quality of options considered                                                       5

Creativity and quality of the plan                                                                   10       

            Quality of writing (including quality of English)                                             3

            Quality and number of references and use of APA 6^th format                      2

                                                                                                            Total marks     40

List of leadership challenges to choose from for Assignment 3 (further details will be provided during the tutorial on Friday 9 May)

1.      Poor organisational performance: Low work ethic, no motivation, negative culture, complaints and defensive/aggressive staff.

2.      A team with a high level of stress, burn-out, health issues and lack of balance.

3.      An entity with high levels of bullying, harassment, ‘back-stabbing’, gossip, accusations and denials.

4.      An organisation where staff do not feel valued, are resentful, not engaged, complain about poor communication and disempowerment.

5.      A company with declining revenues, running at a loss. Financially not viable and a bleak future.

6.      An organisation where there is a high level of disagreement and conflict between the board, executive team, staff, suppliers and customers.

7.      A team where family and church commitments take precedence over work productivity and organisational performance.

8.      An organisation where there is a high risk of loss of competitive advantage due to loss of IP. A high risk of staff being ‘poached’ by competitors, a lack of loyalty and high degree of self-promotion, self-interest and personal financial rewards are the highest priority.

9.      An organisation where remuneration is inequitable to the extreme. Deeply hierarchical, top down management style and ‘patch-protection’ and self-interested climbing the corporate ladder is the norm.

10.  A high stress and high risk work environment where decision making is critical for safety and success but where accidents and near-miss incidents are high and a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude predominates.