University of Baltimore
Merrick School of Business
MGMT732– Leadership:
Self-Organization in the Firm
Spring 2015 Syllabus http://home.ubalt.edu/rbento/MGMT732S15.htm Dr. Regina Bento Professor of Management Office hours: By appointment Office: BC549; Phone: (410) 837 5073 E-mail: rbento@ubalt.edu Teaching Philosophy: http://home.ubalt.edu/rbento/TPHILOS.htm |
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Course Description MGMT732 Leadership:
Self-Organization in the Firm (3): Covers self-organizing systems,
complexity theory in management, dialogue as a management tool, leadership in
a complex system, pursuing a personal discovery process and growing new
knowledge and innovation. A major objective of this course will be to
discover the management principles and processes that promote and foster
self-organization as an alternative to command and control hierarchies. This course
will also draw on the profound implications of self-organization for growing
new knowledge and innovation. A second major objective of this course has to
do with the process of personal discovery. Parallel principles of spontaneous
order operate at the level of the organization and at the level of the
individual. As a result, a highly leveraged form of change in an organization
is leadership through personal growth and discovery. Welcome to MGMT732! This course was first designed as
part of a trilogy of leadership courses: MGMT 730: Leadership, Learning and Change,
MGMT 731: Leadership Seminar, and MGMT 732: Leadership: Self-Organization in the Firm. These
courses were developed by a team of faculty working in close collaboration,
who shared not only a common vision but deep ties of friendship: Dr. Susan Zacur (MGMT731), Dr. Barry Brownstein (MGMT732) and I (MGMT
730). I have been teaching MGMT730 for several years, and now that Dr.
Brownstein has retired I have been asked to teach MGMT732 as well. Teaching
leadership, however, is a paradoxical task: leadership is something that
cannot be “taught,” but it can be learned. That learning requires a
willingness to engage in a process of self-examination and growth that may be
daunting, but also quite rewarding. MGMT 732 invites you to approach
leadership from a perspective that Bill George calls “authentic,” and that
requires the kind of personal discovery process that Parker Palmer refers to
as the “inner work” of leadership. This Spring, while remaining faithful to
the core values, principles and content of previous versions of MGMT732, we
will follow a structure that has been inspired by an elective Harvard MBA course
developed and taught by Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic and currently a Senior
Fellow at Harvard Business School, where he has taught leadership as a
Professor of Management Practice since 2004. We
will examine the personal side of leadership, starting with your life stories
and your crucibles, and going through the steps that can help you develop
into more authentic leaders from the inside out, and become (even more)
effective leaders of others. We will examine concepts such as
lifelong leadership development, understanding and framing your life story,
the power of leadership crucibles, discovering your authentic self, knowing
your principles, values and ethical boundaries, understanding your motivated
capabilities, building support teams, integrated leadership, purpose-driven
leadership, empowering other leaders, and effective use of leadership style
and power. The course will progress along three major parts: ·
Part I. Examine your leadership journey: your life story and the impact it has in your
leadership; how leaders often lose their way and why this might matter to
you; examining and framing the crucibles that shape the lives of leaders and
your own; emerging from the crucible experiences to make the transformation
from “I” to “We,” or from the hero’s journey to the leader’s journey; ·
Part II. Discover your authentic leadership: examine the five areas of personal development that were
revealed in Bill George’s research to be essential for authentic leadership:
a) self-awareness; b) values, leadership principles, and ethical boundaries;
c) motivated capabilities; d) team; and e) integrated life ·
Part III. Put your authentic leadership into action: the purpose of your leadership, empowering others to
lead, and the effective use of leadership style and power. Throughout the course, this authentic leadership development
will take place in a context where we examine the power of dialogue and the leadership
principles that promote self-organization as an alternative to traditional command-and-control
hierarchical structures. Self-organization is related to the notion of
spontaneous order (a concept that originated in the social sciences, with
Friedrich Hayek, who received the Nobel prize for Economics in 1974), and to
the ideas about chaos and complexity theory in the physical sciences. To put
it simply, order tends to spontaneously emerge from seeming chaos: life
organizes into progressively greater levels of complexity. Examples of self-organization include the evolution
of life on Earth, language, crystal structures, the Internet and free market
economies. As you can imagine, self-organization has deep implications for leaders
who want to promote the generation and diffusion of knowledge and innovation in
organizations and society. |
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Learning Objectives
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Course Materials
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2) Harvard Business School case: “Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Young Minister
Confronts the Challenges of Montgomery” (Product #: 406016-PDF-ENG): Please
see instructions in our course website on Sakai, under “Assignments” about
how to purchase the case directly from Harvard Business School Press (https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/import/ptos/33573124 ) |
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Methodology In this course we will be using the web both as a
technological resource and as a social space, where we will work together to
build a learning community. The "Discussion Forums" will be our
virtual classroom, where we will come together every week to talk with each
other, share information and resources, reflect about readings and
experiences and apply theories and concepts. There are no lectures in this
course, just discussions. Just as in real life, you may be rewarded or penalized to
the degree that you improve or hinder the effectiveness and efficiency of our
organization -- in this case, the course. Class participation is a basic
assumption: without it, the course will not work. We will form a learning community where each of us will
share responsibility for our collective learning through dialogue and
contribution of additional resources, experiences, examples and applications.
My role as a professor is not to create arbitrary rules, pile on assignments
and then judge how you survived them, in a “bulimic” model of learning where
you ingest as much material as possible and then
disgorge it on demand. Rather, my role is to provide the basic “scaffolding”
for learning and then help you construct, individually and collectively, your
own course. A core assumption is that the commitment to learning is actively
shared by all participants. I invite you to be the co-creators of a course
that is never completely “ready,” but that evolves continually in response to
our insights, learning needs and interests. The work in this course will be fun and exciting. It will
also, however, be challenging and intensive. Please note that this is an elective course: you are exercising a
choice, and therefore making a commitment.
The concepts used here are intended to be immediately useful and
applicable for the rest of your life. Because it focuses on leadership “from
within,” it requires you to be reflective, have personal curiosity about
yourself and the origins of your leadership, as well as a high level of
personal openness and willingness to share.
Please, before committing to the course, make sure this is right for you
-- and right for you at this particular time in your life. You will also be
asked to commit to a series of norms for dialogue in the Discussion Forum. It is highly recommended that you complete your readings before
the week when they are assigned to be discussed, so you are ready to reach
the ground running when the week officially starts (for example, use Week 1
to read the materials for Week 2, and so on). We
will use the following types of learning experiences: 1.
Weekly Discussion Forums Throughout
the course you will be expected to participate in the weekly Discussion
Forums in a timely, constructive and committed way (only substantive postings
will count, not just "I agree"). The “Discussion Forum” area in our
course site includes one Discussion for each week of the course. In those
weekly Discussions you will find discussion threads where you will contribute
your personal reactions, reflections, responses, comments, examples, and
analyses about the readings and other resources explored during the week, how
they relate to current events, practical experience, and/or the postings of
other class members. In
the weekly discussions, you will be interacting with each other; I will only
intervene in your interactions when necessary (e.g., to encourage timid
participants, correct erroneous statements or enforce “netiquette” norms, if
other conference members have not done so already). The discussions in the
Discussion Forums will be led by each week’s Leadership Team, as described
below. Weekly
discussions start on Tuesday and end on Sunday, with Monday as a
grace period (i.e., postings on Monday still get full points, but they should
be avoided because they don't give others the chance to react to your
contributions). Please make sure to post as early and as often in the week as
possible, but do NOT post to future weeks, so that we all stay
together, week by week, around the same topics (remember, this is not an
Individual Study!). Every
week you should contribute to each of the following types of
threads in the Discussion Forum:
2.
Leadership Teams
The Leadership Team for any given week should do whatever
it takes to stimulate and sustain a lively dialogue, by monitoring threads,
asking questions, reacting to postings, and so on. In addition, the LT should
post, on the first day of the week, its own assignment for the class (using
the thread entitled "From the Leadership Team"). This LT assignment
may take different forms, and each Leadership Team should find creative ways
to elicit class members' reactions, reflections, responses, comments and
examples about the week's topics and how they relate to current events or
practical experiences. The LT is encouraged to explore related resources and
come up with creative ways to engage everyone in active exploration. Feel free
to touch on whatever captures your imagination, strikes you as particularly
relevant, or relates to practical situations. Pretend you're hosting a
dinner, and keeping the conversation around the table as interesting and
lively as possible... It is up to the Leadership Team members to decide how to
coordinate their efforts to successfully perform the LT tasks. For example,
it's OK for each member to take primary responsibility for one or more
threads, while participating in the other threads listed in item 1. Don't
forget that even during the weeks when you are part of the LT you are still
expected to post your own individual contributions to week’s main threads
(i.e., if the team decides that someone will be primarily responsible for
leading the discussion in one specific thread, that person will still be
expected to contribute to the other threads as any other class member). For each of your two Leadership Weeks, please rate all
team members’ contributions to the collective learning of the class
(including your own contribution), using the confidential Peer Evaluation
Form available in the Assignment folder. Please submit your completed
forms in the Assignment folder by the end of the course (two forms, one for
each of your teams). 3. Leadership Story Bill George’s “True North” is a
book to be experienced, not just read.
At the end of each chapter, there are a series of exercises that are
meant to be instrumental in your authentic leadership development. They have
been “test-driven,” with great success, by Harvard Business School students
and by executives around the world. Each
week, as you read the assigned chapters, you should do the corresponding
exercises and keep them in your Leadership Journal. Please make a pact with yourself
about doing the Leadership Journal exercises each week: they will give another dimension to your
experience of Bill George’s book, and to the course, if you allow them time
to percolate, rather them doing them all in a rush at the last moment. Please note that, given the private
nature of the information in the Journal, you are not going to be asked to
turn it in. The fact that you have done it will be a matter of honor and
trust, and the fact that it is in your best interest – if you do not did not
do it, you would be cheating yourself out of a most valuable experience. Instead of turning in your Leadership Journal, you will
use it to write your “Leadership Story.” Your “Leadership
Story” should be submitted as a Word document (doc or docx) in the Assignments area of Sakai by the end of the
course. The format is flexible (minimum 1,500 words, but typically no more
than 10,000), but your Leadership Story should contain the following elements
(similar to the field interviews with leaders in Bill Georg’s research, as
described in Appendix A of True North): Leadership Story: ·
The Road
to Leadership: Early influences and development, impact of key people, main
experiences, and meaning of crucible(s) for your development as a leader (refer
to True North – Introduction and Chapters 1 through 3, and the notes and insights
from the corresponding exercises in your Leadership Journal). ·
Discovering
Authentic Leadership: the five areas of
development in your True North “compass:” a) self-awareness; b) values,
leadership principles, and ethical boundaries; c) motivated capabilities; d) people
in your team; and e) an integrated life (refer to True North – Chapters 4
through 8, and the notes and insights from the corresponding exercises in your
Leadership Journal) ·
Authentic
leadership in action: the purpose of your leadership, empowering others to
lead, and the effective use of leadership style and power (refer to True North
– Chapters 9 through the Epilogue, and the notes and insights from the
corresponding exercises in your Leadership Journal) 4. Final
Exam: Integrative Case The Harvard Business School case “Martin
Luther King, Jr.: A Young Minister Confronts the Challenges of Montgomery”
(Product #: 406016-PDF-ENG) brings together multiple ideas and
concepts discussed throughout the course. Your final exam will consist
of an analysis of this integrative case, due by the end of the
course. It should be submitted as a Word document (doc file) in the
Assignments area of Sakai, where you will also find instructions about how to
structure your analysis and how to purchase the case directly from Harvard
Business School Press (https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/import/ptos/33573124 ) Writing Resources: UB has tremendous resources to help the development of
your writing skills. Our Achievement and Learning Center offers online feedback on your writing projects through
the OWL,
accessible through "MyUB" portal, or you
may schedule an appointment with the ALC for a writing consultation. Don't leave it to the last minute, when they will be
overwhelmed! Call 410.837.5383, stop by AC 113 or email alc@ubalt.edu to make an appointment. |
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Grading Information Your
grade will be based on your performance in the following assignments:
UB policy forbids the public display of student grades in any form. Periodic grade updates will be posted for individual viewing on our Sakai Gradebook during the semester. Please note that even though each Weekly Discussion Forum will be graded, and those grades will be posted on the Sakai Gradebook, such posting will not necessarily happen on a weekly basis. The last day to drop the course without a “W” is 2/6/15 and the last day to withdraw from the course with a “W” is 3/31/15. Final letter grades for the course will be
assigned as follows:
Grading Rubrics The
Merrick School of Business is strongly committed to the improvement of
student learning through the assessment of our undergraduate and graduate
degree programs. As part of this process, rubrics have been developed
to provide students with qualitative guidance about what level of performance
meets, exceeds or falls below expectations for effective communication,
analytical and problem solving skills, ethical reasoning, and other skills
necessary in business. Rubrics are
located on the Merrick School website at www.ubalt.edu/merrick/student-resources/rubrics.cfm. |
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Course Outline – Tentative Schedule
(*) Bill George: True North:Discover
your Authentic Leadership. Jossey-Bass, 2007. ISBN-10:
0787987514. ISBN-13: 978-0787987510 (**) Arbinger
Institute: Leadership and Self-Deception ; Brownstein: The Inner-Work of Leadership (***) E-reserves: found on Sakai (left-navigation
bar); this list may be modified during the semester |
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Student Resources If
you have a Sakai technical support question, please contact Sakai Support in
one of the following ways:
They
were contracted specifically to support UB users, so make sure to address
your technical questions to them. Langsdale
Library at the University of Baltimore is a full partner in Sakai. You can
access a wide array of library services including the online catalog, electronic
databases, electronic reference services, research help,
reserved readings in full-text, intercampus borrowing, and interlibrary loan
(ILL Express). The
Achievement and Learning Center (ALC) is a free resource for all UB students.
Any student who feels the need for academic support should contact the ALC.
Among other services, the ALC provides tutoring, individual writing
consultations, workshops in writing and public speaking, and peer advising. The
ALC also offers workshops on various topics. For more information or to make
an appointment, call 410.837.5383, visit the ALC web site, e-mail alc@ubalt.edu,
or stop by AC-113. Students
who feel they have special needs or a disability that may affect their work,
and for which they may require accommodations, should contact the Center for
Educational Access (CEA) immediately, so that learning needs may be
appropriately met. All accommodations must be approved through the CEA
Office. Accommodations are not retroactive; therefore planning for
accommodations as early as possible is necessary. Please stop by AC-139 or
call 410.837.4775 to schedule an appointment with a disability specialist. For
more information, please visit the CEA web site. See the Sakai community’s ADA Section 508 compliance statement. ·
Office
of Community Life and Dean of Students
·
Academic Advisors – see your assigned advisor |
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UB Academic Policies Code of ConductThe Merrick School Code of Conduct:
All members of our academic community are expected to follow the MSB code of
conduct, and you, as a student, are expected to comply with the MSB Student’s
Responsibilities and Expectations Academic
Integrity The University of Baltimore
comprises a community of students, faculty, administrators, and staff who
share a commitment to learning. As the practice of academic honesty is
essential to learning, the university has established a policy for academic
honesty. It can be found online in the Student Handbook ( http://www.ubalt.edu/campus-life/student-handbook.cfm
). The Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism Policy for the Merrick School of
Business, Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences, and College of Public
Affairs can be found at http://www.ubalt.edu/campus-life/student-handbook.cfm#Academic_Integrity All members of our community share
responsibility for actively fostering academic honesty, actively discouraging
academic dishonesty, and engaging in ongoing discussion of activities that
may violate the spirit of honesty. Although the Academic
Integrity Policy places primary emphasis in fostering honesty, it also
provides clear consequences for behavior that violates the policy, together
with fair procedures for judging alleged cases of dishonesty. Use
of Turnitin.com: “As a part of an
institution-wide effort to ensure the originality of student work, the
University of Baltimore licenses Turnitin, a
commercial text matching service that analyzes students’ submissions against
its own archive of student papers, articles and web sites to report on student
originality and identify possible plagiarism. Incorrect use of other
individuals’ work will likely result in plagiarism charges, which can lead to
a failing grade on an assignment, a failing grade in the course, or even
suspension from UB. All UB faculty members reserve the right to use
this or other measures to evaluate your work for originality and proper
attribution. Not understanding the definition of plagiarism or improper
attribution are not excuses for failure to abide by originality requirements
in this or any other course.” Nondiscrimination
Statement The University of Baltimore does
not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, age, color, national origin,
sex, sexual orientation or disability in its programs, activities, or
employment practices. Inquiries regarding discrimination related to
educational programs and activities should be directed to Kathleen Anderson,
Dean of Students, University of Baltimore, AC-112, 1420 North Charles Street,
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-5779; 410.837.4755. Inquiries regarding employment
discrimination should be directed to Rebecca Spence, Affirmative Action
Officer, University of Baltimore, 1030 North Charles Street, 3rd Floor,
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-5779; 410.837.5410. Accessibility
Policy The University of Baltimore is
committed to providing barrier-free education to physically handicapped
students and is actively working to bring its facilities and programs into
full compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended
(P.L. 93-112, P.L. 93-516). It is the policy of the university to reassign
classes to accessible buildings whenever conflict arises for a handicapped
student. Privacy
Act Public Law 93-380 (Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, also known as the "The Buckley
Amendment") provides certain rights to students (and in some cases
parents) concerning access to educational records. Briefly, these rights are
of two kinds:
For more specific information on
your privacy rights, view the FERPA for Students
page on the UB website. Grades University policy forbids the
public display of student grades in any form including the use of the
telephone to inform students of their grades. At the option of the
instructor, arrangements may be made to inform students of particular course
grades by personal mail only. Official grade reports are sent to each student
within three weeks of the end of each semester period. Students may use MyUB to access their files for grades. |
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