APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015

ORG 2000 Leadership in Action - Final Bachelor Program in Leadership

Responsible for the course
Birgit H Jevnaker

Department
Department of Innovation and Economic Organisation

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
30

Language of instruction
Norwegian

Introduction
Leadership in Action is a final Bachelor in Leadership programme, a mandatory 30 credits programme leading to the award of the title Bachelor of Management.

Learning outcome
The aim of the programme is to provide a final, Bachelor level course based on reflection within the areas of management and organisation.

The programme is both process-based and knowledge-based and adapted to suit the learning situations of adult students and those already in employment. BI’s Leadership in Action therefore offers a combination of:

-collaborative learning and stimulating meetings with participants in employment with experiences from many fields
- a choice of options and tailormaking of some of the course literature, as well as individual learning assignments
- a project paper which will mesh with the interests of the individual and his/her business
- a foundation in an appropriate knowledge framework and personal guidance for further learning
- use of action learning and active reflection in order to stimulate a deeper level of awareness with respect to various aspects of leadership and organisation.

The programme views leadership as an opportunity to release human potential and reflection. The programme is therefore to be an arena for dialogue, reflection, learning and action (cf. the title Leadership in Action or LiA). The experiences, challenges and issues of the participants themselves form the basis of the programme – these will be "confronted" with new forms of leadership, relevant theories and methods with respect to practical new thinking and reflection. By working in project groups and in groups working on other assignments, as well as individually, participants will work on solutions and shed light on relevant problems from their own organisation or other organisations. The learning outcomes depend on active participation and participants taking responsibility for their own learning while interacting with others.

The programme also aims to promote multiple perspectives on leadership. Leadership and organisation are complex subjects and areas of practice in which one can never become a complete expert. There are no easy solutions. The programme will therefore particularly emphasize the following:

- development of integrated learning and stimulating participants’ awareness of competent leadership
- encouraging the development of a constructive and reflective attitude towards concrete, contemporary and future-oriented issues in the fields of leadership, organization, renewal and strategic development;
- development of knowledge, creativity and integrity with respect to leadership in action.

The term integrity is related to what participants already know, in addition to creating suitable opportunities for further learning in an ethical manner. The target group is primarily adults with management experience who wish to develop their leadership skills and qualify themselves for new responsibilities. It also includes employees who have been in an organisation for some time and whose ambition it is to take on the challenge of becoming a leader and/or co-creator.

Prerequisites
Admission requirement: A minimum of 90 credits from college and/or university level courses. In addition, participants must be at least 25 years old and have 4 years of employment experience in order to be considered for admission.

In order to be awarded the title Bachelor of Management, participants must have 180 credits (completed and passed courses) approved by BI, as shown in the study model for the Bachelor of Management.

Compulsory reading
Books:
Coghlan, David and Teresa Brannick. 2014. Doing action research in your own organization. 4th ed. Sage
Farstad, Per og Birgit Helene Jevnaker. 2010. Design i praksis : designledelse og innovasjon. Universitetsforlaget. s. 7-36 og 122-124. (Videre lesn. anbefalt før samling Samspill og ledelse i nettverk)
Ibsen, Henrik. 2005. Bygmester Solness. Gyldendal. Annen utg. kan brukes. (OBS Alle leser dette skuespillet; utgangspkt. for dialog om ledelse)
Klemsdal, Lars. 2013. Hva trenger vi ledere til? : organisering og ledelse i komplekse arbeidssituasjoner. Gyldendal akademisk
Klev, Roger, Morten Levin. 2009. Forandring som praksis : endringsledelse gjennom læring og utvikling. 2. utg. Fagbokforlaget
Krogh, Georg von, Kazuo Ichijo, Ikujiro Nonaka. 2001. Slik skapes kunnskap : hvordan frigjøre taus kunnskap og inspirere til nytenkning i organisasjoner. NKS Forlaget. Hele boken unntatt kap. 10
Moxnes, Paul. 2007. Fasett-mennesket : personlighet og rolle : et lederopplæringsperspektiv. Forl. Paul Moxnes
Sewerin, Thomas. 2012. En plass i stolen : en arbeidsbok for grupper om grupper. 2. utg. Tertulia books. (Sewerins bok finnes også på engelsk i en utvidet versjon som inkl. coaching).

Articles:
Alvesson, Mats. 2011. Hvordan motivere individer. Personalkonsepter, organisasjonsidentitet og drivkrefter. Magma. 03. Fagbokforlaget i samarbeid med ECONA. 33-40
Samling strategiartikler (1-2 artikler plukkes ut av faglærer)

Other:
- Utdelt materiale er obligatorisk.
Det tas forbehold om endringer i litteratur. Informasjon om obligatorisk litteratur foreligger normalt i god tid før kursstart (for spørsmål, ta kontakt med lokal programansvarlig).


Recommended reading
Books:
Amundsen, Oscar og Trond Kongsvik. 2008. Endringskynisme. Gyldendal akademisk
Arnulf, Jan Ketil. 2012. Hva er ledelse. Universitetsforlaget
Askheim, Ola Gaute Aas, Tor Grenness. 2008. Kvalitative metoder for markedsføring og organisasjonsfag. Universitetsforlaget
Bolman, Lee G. og Terrence E. Deal. 2014. Nytt perspektiv på organisasjon og ledelse : strukturer, sosiale relasjoner, politikk og symboler. 5. utg. Gyldendal akademisk
Brøgger, Benedicte, red.. 2007. Å tjene på samarbeid : medvirkning, partssamarbeid, bedriftsutvikling. Gyldendal akademisk
Haaland, Frode Hübertz og Frode Dale. 2005. På randen av ledelse : en veiviser i førstegangsledelse. Gyldendal akademisk
Johannessen, Stig O. 2011. Myter og erfaringer om ledelse : et kompleksitetsperspektiv. Gyldendal akademisk
Kaufmann, Geir og Astrid Kaufmann. 2009. Psykologi i organisasjon og ledelse. 4. utg. Fagbokforlaget. Del II, og videre kap. 8, 10, 12.
Kvalnes, Øyvind. 2012. Etikk og samfunnsansvar. Universitetsforlaget
Kvålshaugen, Ragnhild og Grete Wennes. 2012. Organisere og lede. Fagbokforlaget
Løwendahl, Bente R. og Fred E. Wenstøp. 2010. Grunnbok i strategi. 3. utg. Cappelen akademisk. (Anbefalt. Sjekk med faglærer hvilken strategibok klassen kommer til å bruke mest.)
Martinsen, Øyvind L., red. 2009. Perspektiver på ledelse. 3. utg. Gyldendal akademisk
Selvik, Arne. 2005. Omgitt av løgnere : om ærlige tilbakemeldinger til ledere. Fagbokforlaget
Strand, Torodd. 2007. Ledelse, organisasjon og kultur. 2. utg. Fagbokforlaget. (Nyttig også som oppslagsbok)
Sørhaug, Tian. 1996. Om ledelse : makt og tillit i moderne organisering. Universitetsforlaget. (f.eks. kap. 2)
Yukl, Gary A. 2013. Leadership in organizations. 8th ed. Pearson. (Gir oversikt over klassisk ledelsesforskning internasjonalt)

Articles:
Jevnaker, Birgit H. 2000. Dynamikk mellom innovasjon og design i bedrifter. Magma. Innblikk i hvordan ledere kan samarbeide og utvikle ny strategisk kompetanse i bedriftens fornyelse, design og innovasjonsprosesser (ev. utdeles).

Other:
Obs: Faglærer skal godkjenne egen valgt pensumdel som kommer i tillegg til oppført obl. litteratur i kurset. Det forventes at studentene leser den obligatoriske litteraturen men ikke alt som står under anbefalt. Dette er tips som kan brukes i egen valgt litteratur.


Course outline
Leadership in Action, a final Bachelor of Leadership Programme, consists of the following five units:
1. Leadership in perspective
2 .Strategic Management and organisation
3 .Personal and competent leadership
4. Interaction and leadership in networks
5. Leadership in Action

The order of units 2-4 may be altered to suit local needs. Any such alterations will be made known to participants well in advance. The programme will also be flexibly implemented and relevant issues may be raised across modules in order to facilitate integrated learning, as well as to meet needs arising during the course of the programme.

The literature encompasses approx. 2250 pages in total, including both mandatory literature and literature selected by individual participants according to the topics they have selected and in consultation with course instructors.

Computer-based tools
itslearning

Learning process and workload
The course structure is based on the principles of proximity and distance. The programme runs over two semesters and is organised in (Sessions may be arranged flexibly in consultation with the national Programme Officer and total a maximum of normally 15 days). The option of considering locating one of the sessions (e.g. the final one) elsewhere (in Norway or abroad) is usually considered – in order to promote interaction, learning by experience and international competence, based on a coordinated knowledge-based and action learning study programme.

In order to provide best possible integrated learning in theory/practice, the programme is based on active participation by students and entails regular attendance and a sharing of responsibility by participants for their own learning. Mandatory requirements for the award of a course certificate are participation at a minimum of 75% of the sessions in addition to a completed and passed examination (30 credits). Normally participation in all modules is a prerequisite for a pass grade in the course examination.

The Programme “Leadership in Action” will be related to the students’ own experiences. Participants are therefore required to bring along issues from their own everyday experiences as employees/leaders. In the course of the programme these issues will be subjected to a process consisting of meaningful exchanges of experience, action and reflection tasks and project work leading to action plans.

There will be lectures by course leaders and invited guest speakers. At the individual sessions, participants will be working on a variety of mini-projects, cases and team training.

Within a give framework, individual participants are to develop their own syllabus and be examined on this syllabus. In this course description there is therefore a relatively comprehensive list of recommended reading.
BI Online Studies
The teaching platform itslearning is used in addition to seminars.

Coursework requirements
None

Examination
The course concludes with an individual oral synopsis examination and a project paper (1-3 participants). The evaluations are an integrated part of the learning process. Both examinations must be completed and passed.

(1) Synopsis examination:
Participants are to write an individual synopsis paper (a theory and reflection report) of 3-5 pages excluding references and attachments, based on the relevant literature (total 800 pages) selected by individual participants for their chosen topic in consultation with and approved by the course instructor. (The principle part of the literature referred to must be from the individually selected syllabus, although compulsory literature should naturally also be referred to where relevant). All individually selected literature and the obligatory syllabus are to be referred to in the body of the text, as well as in a complete list of references which is to be attached. (See BI rules on writing citations and references.)

The synopsis paper is to be delivered in advance and also be brought to the oral examination (without additional notes/ comments. Candidates are not permitted to consult any other literature during the oral examination.) This individual work is a precondition for and the basis of the oral synopsis examination. Candidates may also be invited to discuss topics from the obligatory syllabus during the oral examination.

The criteria underlying the overall evaluation are as follows:
1) Demonstrated ability to find fruitful and relevant perspectives and present knowledge with respect to the formulation of a limited topic or issue in focus. 2) Demonstrated ability to discuss and summarise using a variety of perspectives and an actively reflective and independent, and if possible creative relationship to knowledge, sources and the topic selected. 3) Demonstrated competence and maturity in approaching interactions in a constructive and ethical manner with respect to dilemmas in leadership and organisation and the challenges focused upon. Grades will be awarded on the basis of the oral synopsis examination, including the written synopsis and reflection on literature selected (one grade awarded only).

(2) Project paper
Project work is to be carried out in groups of up to 3 people and based on the issues participants have brought along and which are to be evaluated in the form of a project paper. The paper is to be based on the participants’ own empirical material (see instructions and evaluation criteria in the text on project papers.)

Examination code(s)
ORG 20001 Leadership in Action - Oral synopsis examination counting 40 % towards an approved grade in ORG 2000, 30 ECTS credits.
ORG 20002 Leadership in Action - termpaper counting 60% towards an approved grade in ORG 2000, 30 ECTS credits.

Both examinations must be completed and passed with an overall grade of E or better in order to achieve an approved grade on course ORG 2000, 30 ECTS credits.

Examination support materials
Only the individual written report (synopsis text without additional comments) is permitted in the oral examination. This will be the basis of the oral evaluation.

Re-sit examination
Makeup examinations take place in conjunction with the next scheduled examination.

Additional information