Syllabus for MNP-505

ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP I


COURSE DESCRIPTION

Organizational Management and Leadership I presents a comprehensive, integrative, and practical focus on leadership and management. It is based upon a framework that analyzes leadership and management at different levels: individual leadership, team leadership, and organizational leadership.

The course presents leadership and management theories/concepts that have emerged over the past several decades. In addition, students will survey contemporary perspectives on ethics, networking, coaching, organizational culture, diversity, learning organizations, strategic leadership, and crisis leadership. Special attention will be paid on examining the role that leaders play in identifying and implementing change in organizations.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

(CO1) Explain the role of individuals as leaders, including traits, attitudes, ethical perspectives, behaviors, and styles.

(CO2) Analyze sources of influence and their relevance to different leadership situations.

(CO3) Compare the principal theories of leadership and evaluate their relevance to different leadership situations.

(CO4) Demonstrate the ability to apply specific leadership skills to relevant contexts.

(CO5) Evaluate and apply concepts of followers, teams, and team leadership.

(CO6) Analyze and apply different approaches to organizational leadership.

(CO7) Discuss the conditions that impede or facilitate organizational change.

(CO8) Plan and implement a change effort within an organization.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the University's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbooks

ISBN-13: 978-1111827076

ISBN-13: 978-1422186435

Module Commentaries

Each module in this course includes commentary material. This material serves to supplement, clarify, summarize, or illustrate text material. Read these commentaries in addition to the text material and before you work on the activities in the module.

COURSE STRUCTURE

Organizational Management and Leadership I is a three-credit online course, consisting of four modules. Modules include topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and self-assessment activities, and write a final paper. See below for more details.

Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

Discussion Forums

This course requires you to participate in eight graded discussion forums. There are also one ungraded but required introduction forum in Module 1.

Online discussions provide an opportunity for you to interact with your classmates. During this aspect of the course, you respond to prompts that assist you in developing your ideas, you share those ideas with your classmates, and you comment on their posts. Discussion forum interactions promote development of a community of learners, critical thinking, and exploratory learning.

Please participate in online discussions as you would in constructive face-to-face discussions. You are expected to post well-reasoned and thoughtful reflections for each item, making reference, as appropriate, to your readings. You are also expected to reply to your classmates' posts in a respectful, professional, and courteous manner. You may, of course, post questions asking for clarification or further elucidation on a topic.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete five written assignments. Written assignments focus on relating topics covered in the modules to your own experiences.

Self-Assessments

You are required to complete five self-assessments. Each self-assessment  requires you complete one to three self-assessment exercises and then write 1-2 page paper to discuss what you learned about yourself, areas of strength, and areas for improvement.

Final Paper

You are required to write a final paper to demonstrate your mastery of the course content. The application will be specific to a leadership situation in which you are currently involved or have been personally involved in the past. Your paper should be 8-10 pages in length and follow the guidelines listed in the Final Paper area of the course website.

You will complete your final paper in three steps:

  1. Final Paper Topic and Plan: You will be required to submit your idea for your paper topic as well as a paragraph describing the problems and how you plan on approaching the topic.  
  2. Final Paper Outline: You will be required to submit a detailed outline for your final paper.
  3. Final Paper: You will submit the final paper itself at the end of the course.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A

=

93–100

B

=

83–87

A–

=

90–92

C

=

73–82

B+

=

88–89

F

=

Below 73

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, discussion postings, projects, etc.). Graduate students must maintain a B average overall to remain in good academic standing.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.

Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:

Plagiarism

Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.

If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and originality report checking, click the links provided below.

Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism

When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

Writing Assistance at Smarthinking

Originality Report Checking at Turnitin

Disciplinary Process for Plagiarism

Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.

If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.

If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.

Possible sanctions include:

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