GRA 8141 Leadership

APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2012/2013

GRA 8141 Leadership Responsible for the course Ragnhild Kvålshaugen Department Department of Strategy and Logistics Term According to study plan ECTS Credits 5 Language of instruction English Introduction Leaders of organizations today face many types of challenges. These challenges include leading organizations in such a way that they are capable of coping with rapid change and the greater complexity created by globalization and increased interconnectedness between organizations, the need to understand and shape organizational cultures and to motivate employees, and the need to understand and manage politics and conflicts between individuals and organizational units to mention some of the challenges. Learning outcome Being a successful leader in an organization depends on one’s ability to understand, and respond effectively to, the context within which one works. In order to so, the leader needs to understand his/her leadership point of view, what the organization should do, how to lead others, and designing the right context that enable the leader and the employees to move ahead realizing the objectives of the organization. Knowledge The students will through the course receive guidance in creating their own, practically applicable model of leadership. This will be done by that the students receive knowledge about leading oneself as a leader, leading others, strategic thinking, designing functional organizations and managing change. Leadership is a function of all these elements taken together and these elements together produce the organization’s results. Skills During the course the students should become more self aware about their own leadership by clarifying their personal leadership model. Further, they should develop skills in influencing others and in strategic thinking. Reflections You are never the perfect leader. Therefore the leadership course emphasizes developing the students’ aptitudes of the importance of becoming reflective leadership practitioners, i.e. developing the capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning in order to improve and develop your leadership. Prerequisites none Compulsory reading Books: Clawson, James G. 2011. Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface. 5th ed. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River. 434 pages Articles: Compendium of articles (see syllabus for further details) Recommended reading Books: Avolio, B. J., & F. Luthans. 2006. The High Impact Leader: Moments Matter in Accelerating Authentic Leadership Development. New York : McGraw-Hill. 273 pages Kouzes, J. M. & B. Z. Posne. 2007. The leadership challenge. 4th ed. San Francisco. Calif. : Wiley. 375 page Manz, Charles C. and Henry P. Sims. 2001. . The New Superleadership: Leading Others to Lead Themselves. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehle. 255 pages Yukl, Gary. 2010. Leadership in Organizations. 7th ed. 644 pages. Course outline Introduction to leadership and the nature of managerial work Self- leadership Strategic leadership Influencing others Designing functional organizations Leading change Computer-based tools It's learning and e-mail. Learning process and workload The leadership course is designed as a combination of lectures, team presentations, exercises, case discussions and hand-ins, and reflective discussions based on your own experiences. The course requires substantial preparation and active participation in class. The leadership course is integrated with the strategy course. Examination 30 % - reflections on your personal leadership model (written, individual) 30 % - classroom contribution (oral, individual). 40 % - case work (report and presentation) (written and oral, team) Examination code(s) GRA 81411 - Process evaluation; accounts for 100 % to pass the program GRA 8141, 5 ECTS credits The course is a part of a full Executive Master of Business Administration Program and all evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the degree. Examination support materials Re-sit examination Re-takes are only possible at the next time a course will be held. When course evaluation consists of class participation or process elements, the whole course must me re-evaluated when a student wants to retake a exam. Retake examinations entail an extra examination fee. Additional information

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