School of Management, Unit Catalogue 2006/07

MN30203 Organizational leadership

Credits: 6

Level: Honours

Semester: 2

Assessment: EX60ES40

Requisites:

Before taking this unit you must (take MN10001 and take MN10005 and take MN20080) or take MN20291

Aims: This course is about leadership in and of organizations. It aims to take a critical approach to some of the vast literatures of leadership, considering a systemic view which locates leadership in the context of organization and organizing. It also aims to develop students' understanding and appreciation of the nuances of leadership behaviours experienced in organizational contexts as well as encouraging their leadership skill development through self-awareness and learning.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the unit, students should have developed an understanding of self-awareness, assumptions and values against which behaviour of others is routinely evaluated together with an appreciation of how 'things are made to happen' by influencing and 'leading' people in collective contexts called organizations.
Skills:
* ability to reflect on and learn from theory and practice of leadership of organizations (T/F/A);
* a critical awareness of current issues and frameworks of leadership in organizations and organizing (T/A);
* the ability to acquire and analyse data, information and situations; to evaluate relevance and validity; and to synthesise this in the context of topical business leadership problems (T/A);
* ability to conduct in-depth research into management and business leadership issues (F/A);
* the facility to incorporate subject specific knowledge of organizational situations with an appreciation of their practical implications for leadership (F/A).
Content:
Leadership is often described as the most widely studied and least understood concept in the social sciences. With this backdrop, the course aims to make some sense of what is undoubtedly assumed to be the most important element in organizational life - the exercise of influence by which 'things are made to happen'. Students will be encouraged to reflect on the assumptions they make about leadership - the person(ality), the position, the process, the performance - as well as to consider their own self-awareness, assumptions and values against which they evaluate others' influence. Drawing on contemporary business illustrations as well as literature and metaphors, this unit will explore the complications involved in becoming, being, confronting and evaluating leadership in organizations.

University | Catalogues for 2006/07