UNIV 1213: Leadership and Teamwork

The purpose of this interdisciplinary course is to introduce students to the characteristics of leadership. Students gain a broad understanding of the theoretical approaches to leadership and teamwork and the core concepts of contemporary leadership.  Mastering the fundamental concepts increases the student’s ability to apply these concepts to their own life experience.

II. PMU Competencies and Learning Outcomes

The course requires critical thinking and analysis as well as familiarization with learning outcomes expectations and measures.  The course provides a logical framework by which students prepare for the senior year capstone experience.  Students are introduced to the fundamental concepts and tools used to enhance  decision-making.    They  learn  to  recognize  the  importance  of  leadership  and  teamwork, concepts such as initiative, planning and organizing, quality improvement, consulting, critical thinking and problem solving, and group facilitation.   The student learns to understand the consequences of changes in relevant variables. Course exercises require students to work as a team to analyze a problem, and to write and orally present a report.  Students work in groups on projects and assignments and use the Internet to retrieve relevant information and data needed to address the projects and assignments.

III. Detailed Course Description

Leadership and teamwork depends on willingness to act and to learn from experience.   Exercising leadership and building successful teams requires information from a wide variety of disciplines.  The course increases students’ capacity to enhance their performance potential, competence, and skills. Students learn that leadership involves inspiring and developing people toward goal mobilization. Success as a leader requires learning continually from experience through the disciplined integration of action and reflection.   Leaders must know how to use feedback to create change.   Because of the emphasis on leadership and teams, this course requires that students interact in class.  Although a great deal of learning takes place in class, learning depends significantly on how much effort students put into this course outside of class.

IV.      Requirements Fulfilled

The course is a required University Core course for all students during the first semester of the second year of undergraduate study.

V.        Required Prerequisites

UNIV 1211:   Professional Development and Competencies

UNIV 1213:   Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

VI.      Learning Outcomes

A.  To recognize the importance leadership plays in groups and organizations.

B.  To understand differences between traditional and contemporary (post-industrial) leadership paradigms.

C.  To recognize the complexities of the leadership process.

D.  To become familiar with the concept of change and the process of leadership. E.  To be able to integrate change to foster collaborative leadership.

F.  To be able to analyze the various theoretical approaches to the study of leadership.

G.  To be capable of recognizing the views and perceptions of leaders and the leadership process.

VII.     Assessment Strategy

Assessment here focuses on the student’s final critical thinking and communication abilities and maturation.   This is based on information taken from individual portfolios and the individual student reflective notebooks.

•    At regular intervals each student must submit his learning logs to receive credit and constructive comments.  This includes work done in class over the previous weeks, comments, and a summary of what was learned in classes as well as any questions or comments or ideas that the student wishes to share about the classes.  Students should complete these reflections as soon as possible after class to promote recall and avoid being penalized for any late submissions.

•    At the end of the course, each student should submit his own portfolio to be used in the final course assessment.   This should include all the work the student has done in and outside the class.   In addition, the student’s portfolio must include a summary of how beneficial the course was to him. When stating this, students should be specific and use as many examples as possible to explain this issue.

•    Students will complete three written reports. Each report may be accompanied with a Power Point presentation.

•   There are two exams – the midterm exam and the final exam.

•   Students will complete two group assignments.

•    Also contributing to the grade are the student’s maturation, teamwork, and leadership abilities as evidenced from the group log, learning logs and the faculty member’s daily journal observations.

•    Students  complete  projects  that  contain  a  minimum  of  four  leadership  and  teamwork  learning outcomes.    The  projects  are  used  to  indicate  a  level  of  achievement  of  the  selected  learning outcomes.  The projects contain a brief description of the outcome at least three supporting articles, chapters from books, or other materials that demonstrate the importance and/or use of the outcome, and one supporting document that measures, implements, or reinforces the outcome.

•    Note:  All of these assessment strategies are linked to the assessment capstone course ASSE 4311: Learning Outcome Assessment III.

A Note about Late Assignments

•   No Late Assignments Permitted.

•   Late Assignment/Grade ZERO

•             Sometimes people procrastinate and don’t complete their assignments until the last minute. Then a computer failure or glitch kicks them off-line and their assignments cannot be submitted on time. If that happens, you get a zero.

•             The key is to complete your assignments ahead of time in case of technical difficulties. Technical difficulties are real. They happen. They must be anticipated.  They  are  not  an  excuse  for  a  late submission.

Assessment in Percentage

1. Three Individual Article Analysis Assignments (2 pages/400 words) 60%

2. One Group Assignment (PowerPoint Presentation/Effective Leader Dealing with a Dilemma 20%

96-100% = A+                       90-95% = A

86-89% = B+                          80-85% = B

76-79% = C+                          70-75% = C

66-69% = D+                         60-65% = D

59% and below = F

Grading Scale

All assignments are due on the date scheduled and cannot be made up unless arrangements have been made in advance with the instructor.  A minimum grade of 66% (D+) is required to pass this course.

VIII.   Course Format

This course meets in a seminar format, one hour per class, two classes per week.   In many classes students will be asked to work in groups of three to read and discuss the reading material.  Each week a different student will be designated as the discussion leader for his group.   The designated leader is responsible for managing his group and ensuring that notes are recorded.  The faculty member will enter into the group discussions only when asked, or when the group needs direction.

All work completed by the group is compiled into one notebook or log (loose leaf binder) for each group.  In addition, students are required to keep an individual “learning log” in which, after each class, they enter their own assessments of what they learned, and what questions they are left with from the class.

Lectures to the entire class are held to an absolute minimum as the emphasis is on student participation. BLACKBOARD

•   Course syllabus

•   Course assignments

•   Links to related Web sites (See “Supplemental Online Materials.”)

•   Course calendar  (an active utility)

•   Course e-mail utility (an active utility)

•   Course discussion list (an active utility)

•   Students’ course grades (an active utility)

IX.      Topics to Be Covered

A.  Defining Leaders

C.  Defining Managers

D.  Situational Leadership Continuum

E.  Leadership and change

F.  Power, Persuasion, and Influence

G.  Ethics and Leadership

H.  Teams vs. Cross-Functional Teams

I.   Individual and Group Learning

J.   Why Teams Fail

K.  Team Communications

L.  Learning What Is Good for the Enterprise

M. Establishing Priority

N.  Setting Achievable Goals

O.  FeedBack Analysis

P.  Managing Meetings

Q.  Problem Solving – Solution Implementing

X.        Technology Component

Students are expected to have a computer account on the BLACKBOARD or some other server so that the class can communicate via e-mail.  Students should immediately sign up for the online discussion group for the class.  Students are also expected to become familiar with the use of the Internet.

All assignments and projects are submitted online and in class.   Assignments focus on guided collaborative learning, media-assisted instruction, and research projects.  Students should check with the instructor in order to obtain the specific methods to be used in the course.

XI.      Special Projects/Activities

The following two group assignments are required to complete the course.

A.  Assignment 2

Effective leaders are constantly facing leadership dilemmas.  However, they know how to harness the power inherent in the dilemmas and mobilize people toward goals.   Select a dilemma and develop a plan that would allow a person to discover ways to handle the dilemma.   Focus on developing trust, and generating commitment, getting work done while building future performance capacity,  integrating  action  and  reflection,  creating  a  shared  vision,  delegating,  coordinating, resolving conflicts, and creating a shared vision while catering for diversity.

B.  Assignment 4

Organizations frequently need to create performance teams or workgroups.  Develop a proposal that would create such a group.  Start by asking the following key questions:

•   How focused should the group be?

•   How courageous a stand should it take?

•   How empathetic should it be?

•   How can it make a quality decision in a timely manner?

The project requires students to schedule standing meetings when everyone can attend as if it is an extra class meeting.   The only people who are responsible for an efficient team are the team members.  If there are minor difficulties in scheduling, assignments at the beginning of the course, faculty are available to lend a hand to organize the team.  All members receive the same grade for the team project. Non-contributing members exist only if the team allows it.   Students have the opportunity to grade their contribution.  Peer-evaluation forms are used.  Every student evaluates the contribution of other group members at the end of the semester.  To some extent these evaluations affect the student’s grade.

XIII.   Textbooks and Teaching Aids

A.  Required Textbooks

Cannon, M. D. & Griffith, B. A. (2007). Effective groups: Concepts and skills to meet leadership challenges. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

ISBN-10: 0205482910 ISBN-13: 9780205482917

Morrison, E. K. (1994). Leadership skills: Developing volunteers for organizational success. USA: Fisher Books. ISBN: 1-55561-066-8

 Rees, F. (1997). Teamwork from start to finish. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. ISBN 0787910619

XIII.   Important Information

Course Requirements

Students are expected to: (1) complete all assigned readings and assignments on time, (2) actively participate in class and group discussions, and (3) be in class on time every day.  If absent, students are still responsible for all class work.

Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism

Students are not discouraged from studying for this course together outside class.  However, assignments must be done by the individual unless a “team effort” is directed by the instructor.  Copying the words or ideas from material that is not your own without indicating the source of the material is plagiarism and is considered cheating.  Copying or recycling assignments and plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated.  Serious problems with plagiarism and cheating may be reported in accordance with PMU policy (see Student Handbook pp.

139-142 for a clear explanation of action that is taken by the university when cheating, dishonesty and plagiarism occur).

Students are not allowed to do the following:

•   Use work created by another student

•   Use work you have used in a previous class

•   Use words taken directly form the Internet or any other source

•   Use any material from the Internet or any other source without giving credit to the source

  Attendance

Students are expected to attend and be on time for all classes.  Attendance will be taken.  In the rare instance that you must be absent, contact the instructor before class to explain the circumstances.  If you must be late, enter the class as quietly as possible.

The PMU attendance policy states that if a student misses more than 15% of the course, the student may fail or be withdrawn from the course.   This means that students must not miss more than six hours of class time during this semester.  Also, three tardies or late appearances to class equal one absence.

At PMU, here are the procedures for absences and notification:

5% absences (1 absence from a 2-hour class) = letter from Registrar

10% absences (2 absences) = warning letter from Registrar

15% absences (3 absences) = notification and possible withdrawal from the course by the Registrar

Students who are absent from a class will have one week (7 days) to provide documentary evidence (e.g. doctor’s certificate) to their teacher. If they fail to give this evidence to their teacher within the one week period they will be marked absent for the missed class.

Participation is a strong part of the final score in this course. Please see p. 125 of the PMU Policies and  Procedures Manual.

You are entirely responsible for making up all work that you miss when you are absent.  The instructor is not responsible for telling you what you missed or tutoring you for lectures that you missed.  Please share phone numbers with other students so that you can find out what assignments you missed.  Class materials such as handouts and PowerPoint Presentations will be available in Blackboard.

Withdrawals