MBA 2399 Leadership Development

MBA 2399 Leadership Development

Course code: 
MBA 2399
Department: 
Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Credits: 
4
Course coordinator: 
Jan Ketil Arnulf
Course name in Norwegian: 
Leadership Development
Product category: 
Executive
Portfolio: 
MBA China
Semester: 
2017 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

The previous modules have focused on different types of managerial knowledge that is required for optimal performance in international business organizations. The students should thus have become familiar with both basic and advanced perspectives on the several facets of the business leader’s job.

In this final module we will emphasize the importance of leadership as behabiors influencing employees, co-workers and other stakeholders towards commitment and co-operation towards busines objectives. The module focuses on fundamentals in leadership theories (particularly transformational leadership), assessment of leadership performance and potential, and on how leadership capacity in organizations may be developed. A particular emphasis is made on the relationship between leadership, leadership development and strategic business objectives. Additional emphasis is given to cross-cultural aspects of leadership, authority and interpersonal behaviors.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

There are several objectives in this module. First and foremost theories of leader traits, leader styles, and leadership effectiveness will be reviewed and the students are expected to acquire broad knowledge in this area.

Besides this, cultural differences in personality and leadership behaviour will be discussed and the possible limitations in previous leadership research for the non - western cultures will be emphasized.

Participants will also be assessed on tests of personality and leadership styles and feedback will be given. Thus, participants should acquire an expanded perspective on their own dispositions and preferences as regards their leadership behaviour. Basic training in selected leadership skills will eventually be provided based on the results of the assessments.

Finally, a broad range of practical approaches to leadership development will be presented as well as a range of international cases. The aim is that the students should acquire the knowledge that is necessary to evaluate the basic premises for any leadership development program critically. When students have finished this course, they should be able to have a qualified opinion how leadership affects their organizations, how leadership may be assessed, and how to design programs for leadership development that integrates strategic, organizational and personal needs.

Learning outcomes - Skills

The students should be able to make informed choices of behavior in their roles, differing between management and leadership roles. They should be able to see and recognize how personality and culture influence leadership styles in themselves and other managers. They should also be able to conduct coaching conversations with employees and fellow managers.

Learning Outcome - Reflection

The students are invited to write a personal leadership development plan, which links the specific challenges in their jobs to the course contents. The students are required to work on this plan as a pre-course preparation, during the course, and reflect back on the course as a final revision of their leadership plan as the course term paper.

Course content

Theories of leadership wih emphasis of transformational leadership and team theories.
The issue of leadership effectiveness.
Cross cultural differences in personality and leadership.
Theories of human personality with an emphasis on the five - factor model.
Assessment of personality and leadership style.
Theories of communication as well as learning and behaviour change.
Research on leadership training.
Training in selected leadership skills.

Module schedule
Day 1. Leadership and management - what is the impact of leadership on organizational performance?
Day 2. Interpersonal perception, personality and leadership styles.
Day 3. Transformational leadership, team theory and team leadership .
Day 4. Leadership training in theory and practice.

Learning process and requirements to students

The course is conducted as a teaching module, where students have classes all day for four subsequent days, a total of 32 hours.

Continous assessment:
The students are evaluated through an individual written assignment called "individuel leadership development plan" weighing 50%, a group presentation held throughout the course, weighing 30% and their in-class participation weighing 20%. In sum, this course accounts for 4 ECTS credits.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component will be graded using points on a scale  0 -100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course. Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam components will get a lower grade or may fail the course. Candidates may be called in for an oral hearing as a verification/control of written assignments.

Specific information regarding the points system and the mapping scale beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.

The course is a part of a full MBA and examination in all courses in the MBA programme must be passed in order to obtain a certificate for the MBA degree.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Additional information

It should be emphasized that the selection of articles may be changed and that the final selection of articles will be announced only a few weeks before the this teaching module is scheduled.

Qualifications

Granted admission to the BI-Fudan MBA programme. Please consult our student regulations.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
50
Grouping: 
Individual
Duration: 
3 Week(s)
Comment: 
Individual written assignment called "individuel leadership development plan" weighing 50%
Exam code: 
MBA 23991
Grading scale: 
China
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Activity
Form of assessment: 
Presentation
Weight: 
30
Grouping: 
Group (5 - 10)
Comment: 
Group presentation held throughout the course, weighing 30%
Exam code: 
MBA 23991
Grading scale: 
China
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Activity
Form of assessment: 
Class participation
Weight: 
20
Grouping: 
Individual
Comment: 
Class participation weighing 20%
Exam code: 
MBA 23991
Grading scale: 
China
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam organisation: 
Continuous assessment
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Total weight: 
100
Sum workload: 
0

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 4 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 110 hours.